Unicorn Horn, Because I'm Kind-Hearted

Inside Gringotts.

The goblin behind the counter looked at the several black-robed wizards outside with surprise and confirmed once more.

"Gentlemen, are you certain you want to mortgage your properties, Wands, and the Magical Items in your possession?"

"If you fail to repay when the term expires, then under the agreement, all of these will belong to Gringotts."

The Dark Wizards said impatiently,

"Yes, that's right. Stop asking and give us the Mortgage Gold already."

As they waited at the counter, their gazes kept darting outside, and they looked quite anxious.

After all, who knew whether any Fellow might have their eyes on Charle, that Fat Sheep?

If someone beat them to it, all their efforts would have been for nothing.

Seeing them like this, the goblin's eyes flashed with an unusual gleam.

It chuckled.

"Don't be in such a hurry, gentlemen. Judging by your appearance, you must be about to make a Big Business deal, which is why you're taking out a mortgage loan here."

"Then let me congratulate you in advance on your fortune."

"But honestly, Wands, properties, and a few Magical Items can't be mortgaged for many Galleons. Are you sure it will be enough?"

"After all, you all look like men making Big Business deals. If you don't have enough Galleons and can't keep things running, wouldn't that be troublesome?"

Hearing this, the Dark Wizards exchanged looks, each hesitating somewhat.

Indeed, if they wanted to lure Charle out of the Leaky Cauldron and get him to follow them, they would certainly need to produce something quite rare.

Such things could be found in Knockturn Alley, but every one of them came at an exorbitant price.

They weren't entirely sure whether the Galleons from the mortgage would be enough to buy such items.

At that moment, an eager expression appeared on the goblin's face.

"How about this? Gringotts recently introduced a new service called a Leverage Loan."

"Through this method, you can obtain far more Galleons than usual."

"As for the cost, the interest will be a little higher, and the consequences of failing to repay at maturity will be more troublesome."

"But as long as you can repay it, there won't be a problem. This is the best way to solve a Capital Shortage."

Under the goblin's persuasion, the hesitation on the Dark Wizards' faces gradually turned into resolve.

Indeed, once they kidnapped Charle, tens of thousands of Galleons would come easily enough.

Why would they need to worry about repaying Gringotts's loan then?

"Leverage, right? Starting at Five Times?"

"No, Five Times is too little. Ten Times..."

"Forget it, max it out. Go all the way!"

Very soon, the Dark Wizards who had signed Gringotts's agreement left Gringotts carrying bulging Money Bags, their faces filled with excitement and anticipation.

"With this money, we can buy some truly good stuff to lure Charle out!"

"We're going to be rich!"

That night.

Charle was still in his room, reading through the many magical books he had bought from Flourish and Blotts.

From time to time, a Deep Blue notification flashed through his mind, informing him that he had acquired material from a certain field and that deducing the corresponding knowledge would reduce the Deduction Point cost.

At the same time, an Assembly Line was operating beside Charle.

Charle had created this Assembly Line with Transfiguration, using the vases, tables, chairs, plates, and other objects in the room as raw materials.

Now, he had turned them into an Assembly Line that continuously transported the Magical Items in the boxes to Charle's mouth.

This way, Charle could read and acquire material on one hand while opening his mouth to swallow Magical Items and gain Deduction Points on the other.

This was so much more convenient!

Charle could not help but remark,

"Magic really does change lives."

The only pity was that these Magical Items were all common goods. The vast majority were Scribbling Quills or Prank Items like Nosebleed Nougat. Their magic was weak, and none contained powerful magic.

Even so, the constant stream of input had still caused Charle's total Deduction Points to surge by a great deal compared to before, reaching nearly eighty thousand again.

Yet when he recalled the pleasure of gulping down Sublimation Potion and feasting heartily in Dream R'lyeh, Charle still felt a sense of disappointment.

"I wonder when I'll be able to return to those days."

"Dak, my dear Dak, I miss you so much."

"And R'lyeh, my holy land of dreams, let me go have another meal... Ah, no, let me go see it again."

Just as Charle was reminiscing and sighing, there came a knock at his door. It was a message from Old Tom.

"Mr. Charle, someone is looking for you in the lobby. He says he may have something you like."

Charle raised a brow, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

He did not seem to know anyone in the Wizarding World. He had no friends.

Someone had come looking for him so late at night?

He quietly became more wary.

But after thinking for a moment, Charle still left his room.

If this person truly could produce something that interested him, there was no harm in meeting him.

With so many trump cards in hand, even if the other party had some scheme, Charle had no fear of ordinary wizards.

Soon, Charle arrived in the lobby of the Leaky Cauldron and saw a Middle-aged Wizard who looked honest and simple.

The wizard's face was filled with humility and unease, carrying a hint of ingratiating flattery. He looked like the sort of honest man who was often bullied.

When the wizard saw Charle emerge, he cautiously took a bundle from his robes and smiled ingratiatingly.

"Are you Mr. Charle?"

"I heard that you bought many Magical Items in Diagon Alley, so I remembered that my family seems to have a few inherited items. I wanted to see whether you would be willing to buy them."

As he spoke, a bitter expression appeared on his face.

"It's quite embarrassing, really. My daughter is entering Hogwarts this year too, but I can't even afford to buy her a new Wand."

"If you can take my things, I'll be able to buy her a new Wand and a new Robe."

As Charle listened to the Middle-aged Wizard, he nodded repeatedly, his expression seemingly touched.

But Charle sneered inwardly.

That kind of story might have worked in the nineties, but he had heard variations of it hundreds, if not thousands, of times in his previous life. How could he believe it so easily?

He had always believed one thing: people who were truly suffering and embarrassed rarely displayed their hardships and pain to others.

Those who eagerly told strangers such things, especially when money was involved, were scams ninety-nine percent of the time.

Charle believed there was truth, goodness, and beauty in the world, but he never hesitated to speculate about others with the worst possible malice.

Then his gaze fell on the bundle.

When the Middle-aged Wizard opened it, Charle's pupils narrowed slightly.

Inside was a slender horn.

Charle had read plenty of essays on Accio over the past few days, and Transfiguration also involved many animal traits, so he recognized it at once as the horn of a young Unicorn.

Although it had been stored for quite some time and its magic was far weaker than when the Unicorn had just died, it was still a treasure.

Most importantly, the Wizarding World had long passed a resolution banning the hunting and killing of Unicorns for their horns, making Unicorn Horn an extremely precious and prohibited item.

The moment this item was produced, Charle became completely certain that the seemingly honest Middle-aged Wizard before him was no kind person.

This Unicorn Horn was clearly bait meant to tempt him.

It really was not easy for the other party. Facing a young wizard like him, he had gone through such lengths to set up this trap, and his acting was quite convincing too.

Charle's expression shifted, and he chuckled.

"Oh, this is an Erumpent Horn. It isn't worth much."

"But sir, I truly sympathize with your daughter. How about this? Three Galleons. I'll take your Erumpent Horn, and you can go buy your daughter a Wand."

The Middle-aged Dark Wizard opposite him clenched his fists at those words, disbelief flashing through his eyes as curses erupted in his heart.

Erumpent Horn?

This was clearly a Unicorn Horn, which he had bought in Knockturn Alley for five hundred Galleons!

Yet Charle had called it an Erumpent Horn the moment he opened his mouth and was offering only three Galleons?

Fuck, this young wizard was even more ruthless than a Dark Wizard!

But that also confirmed it. With such shameless behavior, he was either from an aristocratic family, a Big Business family, or a family of Ministry of Magic bureaucrats.

After all, normal people could not do something so shameless!

Then the Middle-aged Dark Wizard felt a wave of relief.

Good thing they had maxed out their leverage at Gringotts, gotten more Galleons, and bought a few more items.

Otherwise, if they had only bought one Unicorn Horn, it looked like it would not even be enough to satisfy this young wizard's greed!

Then he hurriedly put on a pleasantly surprised expression.

"Three Galleons? That's wonderful! This way, my daughter can buy a new Wand!"

"But I still don't have the money for new Robes and textbooks. I have a few more things like this at home, passed down from my ancestors, but they're bigger and inconvenient to bring here."

"Mr. Charle, my home is nearby. How about you come with me and take a look?"

Charle sneered inwardly.

So they really wanted to trick him into going out. It seemed he had drawn too much attention in Diagon Alley these past two days.

They had really gone to such lengths to set this up. If it had been another young wizard, he might truly have been sweet-talked into following them in a daze.

But Charle still had a question in his heart.

A Unicorn Horn was quite valuable. Even the horn of a young Unicorn would cost at least several hundred Galleons, and one needed connections to buy it.

Judging by the situation, the other party had prepared other bait as well, and it probably would not be inferior to the Unicorn Horn.

All told, that would cost at least a thousand Galleons or more.

That did not count as poor in the Wizarding World. Why would someone with so much money take such a risk to do this?

But after a moment, Charle suppressed his doubts.

Who cared? Since they were targeting him, wouldn't it be a waste if he did not take the bait?

After swallowing several magical materials like Unicorn Horn, his Deduction Points would surely exceed one hundred thousand, perhaps even reach one hundred fifty thousand.

That way, even if he forcibly carried out a Second Deduction on Animagus Transformation, he would have more than enough points.

So Charle pretended to hesitate. First, he snatched the Unicorn Horn from the other man's hand and stuffed it into his robes, then pondered there for quite a while before finally sighing.

"Fine, I'll go take a look."

"What can I do? I'm just too kind-hearted."

The Middle-aged Wizard opposite him nearly crushed his back teeth.

You fucking call that kind-hearted?

Kind-hearted my ass!

But he still gritted his teeth and forced out words of immense gratitude.

"Yes, yes, yes, Mr. Charle, you truly are so kind-hearted."

"I thank you on behalf of my daughter."

But the Middle-aged Dark Wizard had already made up his mind.

The moment Charle entered Knockturn Alley, he would make sure Charle learned exactly what cruelty was!