A Tycoon's Training Method

William took the black box, but didn't open it; he simply placed it in his Safety Watch.

Following the principle of "if there's money to be made, why not take it?", Aberforth quickly brought over a bunch of wine.

It's obvious from its appearance that it's expensive.

No wonder there aren't many wizards at the Hog's Head; it would be a miracle if they even had any.

William didn't mind being taken advantage of like this at all. Instead, he opened a glass of lime brandy and poured one for himself and the Goblin.

Hermione picked up William's cup, took only a small sip, and finding it a bit spicy, stuck out her tongue and dared not drink any more.

"Come on..." William picked up his glass and said with a smile, "We should discuss the remaining debt."

"Mr. Stark, it's not time for the agreed payment yet."

The Goblin was also a lover of alcohol, drinking one glass after another like she didn't care about her life.

Of course, it's also possible he wanted to take advantage of William. After all, he wasn't paying for the wine!

"We at Gringotts won't run away; we guarantee we'll pay it back on time. We're not like Ludo Bagman."

The Goblin wanted to say... they really are still spreading rumors.

He's not in the same league as Ludo, that kind of conman who's practically ready to run away overseas.

"Really?" William said softly, "How is Ludo Bagman? How many Galleon did he return to you?"

The Goblin's face darkened. "He only returned 20,000 Galleon, and it's said he's hiding inside Hogwarts?"

"Probably," William said, finishing his drink. "I haven't seen him lately either."

He gave Hermione a look. Hermione understood, leaned close to William, and said softly, "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be back in a bit."

After Hermione had walked away, the Goblin suddenly chuckled and said, "Mr. Stark, I have something to tell you, but don't tell anyone else."

"What is it?" William swirled his glass.

"Bagman has placed another bet with us. He's betting that Ron Weasley will win big in the game... to pay off his previous debts."

William gave the Goblin a deep look.

As a referee in the Triwizard Tournament, Ludo's actions constitute a serious violation of regulations.

Cheating is a tradition in the Triwizard Tournament, but this tradition applies to professors and students, not referees.

The Gringotts Goblin also told William... this was a reminder.

After all, Hermione is one of the Champion, and if William can help her win, Ludo Bagman will naturally lose.

This is probably one of the reasons why the Goblin agreed so quickly when William asked Gringotts to rent "things".

The rent was already substantial, enough to offset the million Galleon debt, and it would also help Granger win.

They're really playing hard to get.

The Goblin quickly finished her brandy and then expertly lit the Firewhisky.

"I'm going to the restroom first, we'll continue our conversation later. I still have some questions to ask." William stood up.

The Goblin nodded, watched William leave, and then quickly picked up the whole bottle of whiskey and chugged it down his throat in a hearty manner.

Since Stark is paying for it anyway, I'm definitely going to get it for free!

Twenty minutes later, after drinking three more bottles of wine, the Goblin finally realized something was wrong.

He stood up groggily and glanced around.

Haven't Stark and Granger been gone a little too long?

Did it fall into the toilet?

Just then, Aberforth arrived, slammed the bill on the table, and said menacingly, "Pay for the drinks!"

"But what about Mr. Stark and Miss Granger...?" the Goblin asked, bewildered. "They're treating today!"

"They've been gone for twenty minutes!" Aberforth muttered.

"..."

In an instant, the Goblin's face turned green. He couldn't believe that Stark and Granger had just run away like that?

They've earned so Galleon!

You can't even bear to pay for a little bit of alcohol?

You two are so stingy!

"Pay up! You're not leaving today!"

Aberforth pulled out his wand and slammed it down on the table.

Running away was inevitable.

Especially the toilet escape... it was an essential skill for skipping out on the bill in my past life.

Before William began cultivating in his previous life, he always ended up paying the bill whenever he went out to eat with his roommates.

So when William saw that Aberforth looked like he wanted to kill him, he immediately tried to run away.

If they don't run away, can I still stay and pay?

He clearly only wanted two bottles of Butterbeer, but the old man drank so much!

And that Goblin, she wasn't polite at all either.

William gave Hermione a look, then made an excuse to leave.

Finally, he called Hermione over and Apparition.

As for that Goblin, knowing Aberforth as William does, he'd make her wash dishes and wipe tables even if she didn't pay him.

Freeloading? Not a chance!

In the evening, William and Hermione returned to school by carriage.

After getting out of the car and entering the Great Hall, William heard some shocking news:

Krum was attacked by Harry Potter!

This was spread by Peeves; it's said that Professor Moody found Harry at the crime scene.

According to Peeves:

Harry wanted to take Krum back to his dorm, but Krum refused. So Harry knocked him unconscious, intending to force himself on him like Merlin.

He ultimately failed and was captured by Filch, who was nearby.

Adding to Rita's previous report, Harry defeated Weasley and Malfoy in a two-on-one fight.

Good heavens, he's already attacked three Champion in just a few days.

For a moment, many unsuspecting Champion felt a chill run down their spines.

Krum was attacked, and Karkaroff was the angrier.

He insisted that this was a Hogwarts conspiracy, simply because their school had more Champion than other schools!

This is blatant jealousy.

He demanded that Harry Potter be sent to Azkaban to be imprisoned with those wicked Death Eaters.

Krum did not accept this explanation. Upon waking up, he accused the Squib administrator of the crime.

Filch was also nearby, and he kept staring at him, seemingly hating him.

However, this claim has no market.

Filch is just a Squib; how could he possibly attack Krum, a grown wizard?

"No, Filch is capable of doing it!"

Room of Requirement, William said this while setting up defensive magic.

Filch bought a lot of prank products from me.

"Since Krum's leg was trapped, it's possible for him to launch a sneak attack."

"But that would definitely leave traces of the prank product," Hermione said after casting a "Protego Totalum" spell.

"That's right, Filch might be able to do it, but it's definitely not him." William nodded.

"Harry couldn't have either. I asked him what happened, and he said he was going to the Hospital Wing to find Ron."

Harry's words should be credible. He wasn't lying, and he had no reason to target Krum.

Well, there is some reason for it. William knows that Harry deliberately framed him.

For example, misleading him to go to Professor Snape's office.

"Ron said he was talking to Bagman about the Quidditch World Cup at the time," George added.

"It was Moody who first discovered Krum collapsed on the stairs."

"Moody?" William squinted.

And... Ron was talking about the Quidditch World Cup with Bagman?

William almost believed the Goblin after listening to her.

"Who could have done that?" Phoebe asked, puzzled. "Why would they attack Krum?"

Yes, why is that?

This is indeed a very strange thing.

To prevent a Polyjuice Potion incident, William even took a look at the Hogwarts Map.

Krum is still the same Krum.

"Alright, let's talk about this later." William raised his hand and called over Qiu and Cedric, who were setting up magic in the distance.

"I've received confirmation... regarding the details of your First Task."

What is it?

"Fire Dragon!"

"What?" Cedric looked up and asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Qiu's face turned somewhat pale.

"Yeah, George can't stay calm either."

Phoebe had lost her usual composure, and her face appeared extremely pale.

Only Hermione remained calm.

From her first encounter with the fire-breathing dragon at Gringotts to the white dragon in Venice... she followed William and had been through countless battles, gaining experience facing fire-breathing dragons many times.

If all these experiences still don't make Hermione completely calm, then she really hasn't grown at all.

Seeing that William's face didn't seem to be lying, everyone finally reluctantly accepted it.

"The specifics of the First Task are still unclear, but one thing is certain..."

William smiled and said, "You'll definitely be dealing with fire dragons, so I'll teach you how to deal with them during this time."

Everyone was a little excited; William personally guiding them in magic was a rare opportunity.

Hermione remained incredibly calm... She received magical guidance every night.

Aside from being a little overwhelmed at first, she's now used to it and even enjoys it.

"The best way to practice how to fight a fire dragon is, of course, to face it directly."

As William spoke, he pulled a box from the Safety Watch.

"I've already gotten you a fire dragon!"

"Are you kidding me, bro?" George exclaimed.

William was certainly not joking.

He rented this for 5,000 Galleon a day... and until next week.

In just a few days, tens of thousands of Galleon were spent.

Of course, William is only renting it for a few days. If he were to rent it for a month, it would cost 150,000 Galleon!

You might as well just buy a fire dragon.

Five thousand Galleon a day seems expensive, but the Goblin still feel wronged.

They felt they were only renting to William at a discount because of his old creditor.

After all, Gringotts ' fire dragons are safer than ordinary fire dragons.

Gringotts ' intentions were simple: to give William some face while also hoping to make Ludo Bagman lose!

Killing two birds with one stone.

However, all things considered, 5,000 Galleon a day is still an astronomical price.

For example, Mr. Weasley's annual income was less than a thousand Galleon.

The prize money for the Triwizard Tournament is only one thousand Galleon.

As for William, the rent alone costs tens of thousands of Galleon!

From an economic perspective, it's definitely not worth the loss, but he'd rather train the guys than suffer economic losses.

Otherwise, why bother having so many people participate in the Triwizard Tournament?

If these people are stronger now, fewer people will die in the future... that's all.

(Please vote with your recommendation tickets and monthly passes, everyone!)