What a Good Kid—Eight Meals a Day?!

Ollivander suddenly froze when he heard Charle's words.

"???"

"Wait, you're buying a Wand from me. How do I end up owing you eight hundred Galleons?"

Charle merely smiled.

"Have you forgotten? I reminded you before that I needed a Wand with sufficient carrying capacity."

"You confidently told me it wouldn't break, and that if one broke, you'd compensate me with ten. Only then did I feel at ease testing the Wands. But in the end, twenty of them broke in a row."

"For a moment, I thought I would be left without a Wand, that I wouldn't be able to enter Hogwarts, that I'd have to say goodbye to my wizarding career. Do you know how much psychological damage that caused a young wizard like me?"

"According to your previous promise of ten for every one broken, it seems you should compensate me for the price of two hundred Wands. Although none of the broken Wands had an extreme combination like holly wood and Phoenix Feather, they shouldn't have been too expensive. But an average price of five Galleons should be reasonable, making it one thousand Galleons."

"After deducting two hundred Galleons for the Mithril Wand, you still owe me eight hundred. My calculations are correct, aren't they?"

Ollivander's expression changed again and again, becoming utterly spectacular.

"Th-this..."

Charle spoke in a ghostly tone.

"Mr. Ollivander, of course, you can choose not to pay. But I imagine you wouldn't want others finding out that twenty Wands broke in a row in your shop, would you?"

"Tsk, tsk, Europe's Three Great Wandmakers..."

"Tsk, tsk, renowned alongside Gregorovitch..."

"Tsk, tsk, crafting fine Wands since 382 BC..."

"Tsk, tsk..."

Ollivander's face alternated between green and white.

"Stop tsking, stop tsking! A transfer—Gringotts transfer, all right?"

"But you absolutely must not tell anyone about what happened today!"

Professor McGonagall was stunned as she watched Charle hold Ollivander in the palm of his hand. The hand she had been about to use to take out her Money Bag and pay for Charle's purchase froze in place.

Only after a moment did she come back to her senses. She coughed forcefully at Charle, wondering what she ought to say.

At that moment, Charle laughed.

"I'm joking. Just joking."

"How could I possibly demand eight hundred Galleons from Mr. Ollivander?"

"Much less threaten him with the Ollivander Family's reputation. I, Charle, am a conscientious and moral young wizard. How could I do something like that?"

Hearing this, Ollivander felt as if he had been pardoned. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and forced out a smile.

"Actually, I was joking too. Hahaha, how could there be a Wand worth two hundred Galleons?"

"Would I, Ollivander, be that kind of unscrupulous merchant?"

"This Mithril Wand is a gift for you, Charle, my friend. Let it stand as a testament to our friendship."

After a round of knowing laughter, Charle finally put the Mithril Wand back into its box.

Ollivander sighed in relief and was just about to send this little plague god away when Charle suddenly remembered something and asked him.

"By the way, Mr. Ollivander, can I have the Wands that broke earlier? You can bill the Ministry of Magic for their original price."

This time, Ollivander was genuinely stunned.

"The broken Wands? What do you want those for?"

A mournful expression appeared on Charle's face.

"I was thinking about what you said, Mr. Ollivander. Wands have lives too. Yet so many Wands broke because of me this time. I truly can't bear it."

"Just thinking of how they were destroyed because of me makes my tears want to flow from the corner of my mouth—ah, no, from my eyes."

"I have always believed that every life deserves respect."

"Please let me take them away. Consider it my way of making amends, of giving them a proper resting place."

Ollivander stood there blankly for a moment after hearing Charle's words, and his face showed emotion as well.

After making Wands for so many years, he had found that wizards basically treated them as mere tools.

No matter how tirelessly he repeated that Wands and wizards shared a mysterious connection, the vast majority of wizards still scoffed at the notion.

Even adult wizards were like that, let alone young wizards who had just received their Wands and were delirious with joy. All they could think about was waving them as quickly as possible and watching sparks and fireworks burst forth.

Someone who respected Wands as much as Charle did was truly one of a kind.

Professor McGonagall, standing nearby, even wiped at the corners of her eyes.

In her eyes, although Charle had a few minor flaws, this action alone made the kindness in his nature and his respect for life abundantly clear.

It seemed Dumbledore's worries had been entirely unfounded. How could such a kind child possibly do evil in the future?

"What a wonderful child. So kind!"

Ollivander sighed, then packed up the shattered Wands, which could not have been reused anyway, for Charle.

Carrying the rather heavy bag of broken Wands, Charle's heart brimmed with anticipation.

Though these Wands were broken, their wood and core materials remained.

Phoenix Feather, Unicorn Mane, Dragon Heartstring...

No matter which material it was, it came from extremely high-level Magical Creatures and contained extraordinary magic.

If he ate these Wands, he should gain another large batch of Deduction Points.

There would definitely be enough points for the Second Deduction of Apparition!

Charle then followed Professor McGonagall out of Ollivander's Wand shop, visiting Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Flourish and Blotts, and a general store where they bought Cauldrons and various odds and ends.

Only then did Professor McGonagall finally relax.

Her guidance of Charle could be considered complete.

Looking at Charle carrying bags upon bags of purchases, Professor McGonagall asked him, "Charle, do you have somewhere to stay?"

"Is there anything you need help with?"

Charle said that he had an apartment of his own in the Muggle World.

That was not a lie. The apartment had been awarded to him by the Muggle school he had attended before.

Before Charle's rise, that school had merely been an obscure public primary school.

But after Charle suddenly emerged, its name had appeared in newspapers across Britain more times than anyone could count.

For that reason, the School Board of Governors had decided to purchase the apartment as thanks and support for Charle.

So in this life, Charle had become a homeowner at a very early age.

"Still, I'd like to stay at the Leaky Cauldron for a few days and continue experiencing the atmosphere of the Wizarding World."

After learning about Charle's circumstances, Professor McGonagall was relieved. She told him that if anything came up, he could ask Tom, the owner of the Leaky Cauldron, to contact her for help. Only then did she leave to guide the Muggle students who would be arriving afterward.

After Professor McGonagall left, a relaxed smile appeared on Charle's face as he headed toward the Leaky Cauldron.

Though the first floor of the Leaky Cauldron looked rather run-down, the rooms on the second floor were said to be quite refined.

There had been descriptions of it in the original work, saying that the Undetectable Extension Charm had been cast inside, making the space far more spacious than it looked from outside.

Of course, the price was equally far from cheap.

To make it easier to obtain Deduction Points, Charle planned to stay at the Leaky Cauldron until Hogwarts began.

He naturally would not treat himself poorly, but neither did he intend to actually spend such a huge sum.

After all, the Galleons he had not had much of to begin with were hardly abundant after buying a pile of miscellaneous supplies.

"Fortunately, the kind Minister Fudge made that agreement with me. Otherwise, how could I afford the best rooms at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Minister Fudge really is a good person."

With that thought in mind, Charle arrived at the Leaky Cauldron's counter and called out to Tom, the owner.

"Boss, give me ten of your most luxurious Deluxe Meals."

"Put the entire bill on the Ministry of Magic's account."

"From now on, prepare this amount for me every meal, every day."

Tom reflexively replied, "One Deluxe Meal?"

"Our portions are quite large. Not many young wizards can finish a full meal..."

The next moment, Tom realized that the quantity Charle had mentioned seemed not to match what he had understood.

"Wait, ten?"

"You mean ten?!"

"Friend, are you joking with me?"

Charle replied blandly, "Do I look like I have the time to come here just to joke with you?"

"Or is it that the Leaky Cauldron can't even supply ten meals per sitting, so you can't earn this money?"

Tom decisively shook his head.

"How could that be!"

"Just ten Deluxe Meals. That's only thirty a day. We can certainly handle that much..."

This time, Charle shook his head.

"Thirty a day? How did you calculate that?"

Tom stared at him in astonishment.

"Three meals a day, ten portions per meal. Isn't that thirty?"

"Oh, oh, I understand. You mean you don't eat breakfast, right? That makes it even easier."

Charle shook his head once more and said quietly, "Is it possible that I eat eight meals a day, meaning I need eighty portions a day?"

"From today until Hogwarts starts, that will be the daily amount."

"Though I'll also need a spacious, comfortable room..."

Tom shuddered, his voice cracking.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Please, the deluxe rooms upstairs..."

"Complimentary!"