N-A-A Chapter 71 What if I insist on buying it?
Chapter 71 What if I insist on buying it?
Underground overturned alley, a magical creature trading market.
Pushing open the door to the broom room, the stuffy stench of feces and the pungent smell of feathers left by various creatures filled the air, making Ares, who had been accustomed to the fresh atmosphere of Hogwarts campus for more than a month, feel slightly uncomfortable.
Once his eyes adjusted to the light inside the room, so different from the gloomy, ghostly environment outside, Ares was thrown into a daze by the bustling magical animal market before him.
Every market area separated by bamboo fences is still conducting bloody and cruel transactions as before.
In comparison, the monotonous, repetitive life at Hogwarts seems like a fairy tale.
However, the foundation of that peaceful, fairytale world, though solid, had only one pillar.
If one day the pillar breaks, that campus will inevitably have to face a world whose underlying logic is etched with cruelty.
It took Ares a moment to calm the ripples in his heart before he took a step toward Brockel's store.
Brokel—the guy who sold dragon blood to Ares last time.
Ares's main purpose for leaving school this time was not the dragon blood... The amount he bought last time was enough for him to use for a while. He came to find Brockel because of a promise he made to someone.
Standing in front of Brockel's stall, ignoring his scrutinizing gaze, Ares looked up at the Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon bound to a cross by iron chains as thick as bowls.
After nearly two months of rest, Fire Dragon has not yet recovered.
And it seems things have gotten even worse.
Compared to the last time I saw it, its dark brown dragon scales looked even duller and its expression was more listless... Its huge and ferocious head drooped down on its chest, and it didn't even have the strength to lift its head anymore.
What happened to its eyes?
Tilting his head, Ares examined the dragon's eyes—the Norwegian Spinosaurus's closed eyes were bulging, with traces of scarlet blood still remaining at the corners.
"I taught him a lesson with an eye-illness curse."
The seller, Brockel, also recognized Ares as a regular customer by the details of the cloak.
Spitting on the ground, Brockel turned and glared at the fire dragon with a dark expression.
"When I was buying the goods, the Norwegian merchant who smuggled fire dragons had several wild fire dragons. I saw that this wild dragon was a female dragon carrying eggs, and I thought that dragon eggs should be worth something, so I paid a high price to buy it back."
"Hmm, and then?"
"As a result, the dragon eggs didn't sell well."
The wild dragon dealer said irritably,
"Because dragon eggs only become valuable after they hatch. If they don't hatch, it's just a dead dragon; you can't sell its blood, liver, tendons, or anything like that because it's not mature enough..."
"Hmph, this beast is much smarter than I thought. Ever since it came to me, it has absolutely refused to incubate its dragon eggs."
"So, you taught it a lesson?"
"Oh, no, it's a valuable treasure in itself."
Brockel spat at the fire dragon, then looked at Ares.
"This dragon laid an egg this time. About two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to run into some self-important fool who thought he could hatch it, so he bought the dragon egg..."
As a result, the mother dragon went berserk, desperately trying to retrieve her eggs. Fortunately, my extinguishing spell was effective enough to prevent her from causing any damage... but she overturned all the stalls around the area, so I taught her a lesson.
A moment of silence—
"Didn't they say it only laid one dragon egg?"
Ares raised his chin slightly and pointed to the wooden crate under Brockel's buttocks.
"And what's under your butt?"
"Oh, that fool who bought the eggs from me spent a whole week messing around with them, but the dragon eggs didn't show any signs of life, so he returned them to me."
"Oh, you're such a kind person, actually willing to recycle?"
Why wouldn't I want to?
The wild dragon dealer said smugly,
"That fool only wants half the money back... Besides, after the dragon egg was sold, the mother dragon refused to eat anything anymore. How can this go on? She'll starve to death."
In my opinion—
Ares looked at the Spinosaurus and clearly noticed that it was exhaling more and inhaling less.
He said in a calm tone,
"Even if it's willing to eat, this fire dragon won't live much longer."
"I can't agree with that—"
The dragon trader sized Ares up and down a few times, a mocking smile on his face.
"This beast is much more resilient than you think... and I have a way... as long as I get it pregnant with another dragon egg, it won't try to kill itself anymore—alright, I've wasted so much time rambling on, have you decided whether you want to buy the dragon egg?"
"Oh? You noticed?"
Ares asked, but his tone didn't show much surprise.
"nature-"
The wild dragon dealer said smugly,
"A wizard like you wouldn't be listening to my nonsense if you weren't interested."
"Give me a quote."
"Two thousand Galleons, no bargaining."
Beneath the oversized hood, Ares's eyelids twitched indifferently.
"That doesn't seem to be the true value of dragon eggs—you just said dragon eggs aren't worth much."
"For those who don't want dragon eggs, they are indeed worthless."
The wild dragon dealer said in a tone that was both amused and smug,
"But it's still valuable to customers who want it."
唳—
It's unclear whether the conversation between the two startled the seemingly unconscious fire dragon, or whether it understood that the wizard wanted to buy its dragon egg.
The Norwegian Spinosaurus, its head drooping, struggled to prop itself up, its half-closed eyes fixed on Ares, and let out a mournful groan.
"I can give you five thousand Galleons."
Ares withdrew his gaze from the mother dragon, his tone calm and composed.
Upon hearing his offer, the wild dragon dealer showed no joy; instead, he appeared extremely grave. He slowly lifted his buttocks from the wooden crate, his sleeves drooping to conceal his hands.
"you mean?"
"I want the dragon egg!"
Ares said, gesturing with his chin towards the mother dragon.
"I want this fire dragon too."
"Oh, how ridiculous! A saint has suddenly appeared out of nowhere?"
The wild dragon dealer narrowed his eyes to slits and sneered coldly.
"I'm sorry, sir, but have you ever seen a fool sell a goose that lays golden eggs?"
These wizards who frequent underground markets all have noses that are sharper than dogs.
Those passing by had already sensed a faint but palpable killing intent, and they all took a detour, fearing that trouble would affect them.
The owners of the neighboring stalls also looked on alert, setting up magical barriers with different glows in advance!
Ares's gaze, hidden beneath his hood, flickered towards the dragon trader's sleeve, his tone calm and unwavering.
"What if I insist on buying it?"
The dragon dealer grinned.
"Oh, that's very... I mean... Avada Kedavra!"