Dawn didn't begin with questions right away. Instead, he exclaimed in surprise, "Boss, are you Egyptian? Your English is really good!"
"That's nothing," the man replied with a smile, shaking his head as he poured himself a glass of amber-orange liquor. Through the dim light, it looked like tiny fish were swimming inside the glass.
"There are plenty of British wizards who come to Egypt for curse-breaking work. For those of us who do business openly, speaking English is no big deal."
"So, does that mean you know a lot about the British wizarding world too?" Dawn asked casually, then smoothly followed up, "I just arrived here recently. How is the Egyptian wizarding world different from the British one?"
The man paused to think. "Well, I've never been to Britain, but I've heard a lot about it…"
"The British wizarding world is mostly concentrated in Diagon Alley and a few wizarding villages, right? But there's no such thing here in Egypt."
He shook his head.
"Here, everything is scattered. Wizards are spread out in small clusters around the pyramids. Most shops are set up in tents, and they move around frequently."
Dawn thought aloud, "So… strong mobility. That must mean it's mostly one-time trades. Easy to run into counterfeits?"
"That's one way to put it," the man nodded. "But the area near the Great Pyramid of Khufu is better—Egypt's Ministry of Magic is based in Cairo, so it's a bit more regulated here."
He paused for a moment.
Then the middle-aged man offered a word of caution.
"I might be overstepping, but if you ever go to the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, you'd better be careful…"
"Think of that place like your Knockturn Alley back in Britain. The people running shops there—and the things they sell—carry a fair amount of danger."
But in the magical world, danger often went hand in hand with value… Dawn kept that thought to himself.
On the surface, he only nodded, showing that he understood.
Then he asked, "Is there anything unique being sold around here?"
"Unique? You mean local Egyptian specialties? Oh, then you'll be disappointed. The stuff sold around here is mostly basic supplies."
The man shrugged.
"And we don't even have an ice cream shop like Florean Fortescue's."
"You know about Florean Fortescue?"
"Of course. I once thought about starting an ice cream business in my bar, so I researched wizarding shops in different countries… Unfortunately, I had to shut it down after three months due to poor returns."
"Why?" Dawn asked lightly, as if he were just chatting.
"Logically, ice cream should be popular in the desert, right?"
"Who knows… maybe not enough children come to this part of town." The man grunted, clearly still a little upset about the failed venture. He tilted his head back and finished his drink in one gulp.
As Dawn watched his chewing mouth, he thought he heard the faint, miserable cries of goldfish.
"Oh, you can't drink this…" the man warned. "Egyptian brandy. According to the International Confederation of Wizards, only adults are allowed to consume it."
He wiped the corner of his mouth and poured himself another glass.
Dawn played along, showing a disappointed expression.
A moment later, he continued the conversation.
"I'm really interested in Egypt. I want to learn the language. Do you have any recommendations, boss?"
"Oh, that's easy," the man replied casually. "Just go to any bookstore and get yourself a copy of Egyptian Translation: English Edition. I think there's a shop selling books just ahead."
He recommended, "All the British curse-breakers who come here buy a copy. It has side-by-side translations of the two languages and even reads out loud. Very easy to learn."
Dawn nodded and memorized the name of the book, planning to look for it later.
Just then, another person came up to the bar.
He said something in a language Dawn didn't understand, then picked up a glass of crimson liquid that the man poured for him, slapped a coin on the counter, and left.
Dawn glanced over—it was a silver coin engraved with the image of a pyramid.
"Is that Egyptian currency?" he asked.
"Yes. It's called a Deben. Its value is roughly the same as a British silver Sickel… But don't worry, British currency works just fine in Egypt."
The man pocketed the Deben and slid the silver Sickel on the counter back toward Dawn.
"Alright, kid. It's getting late. Time for you to head out."
Dawn pointed at the untouched drink in front of him. "But I haven't finished what you offered me."
"Tch, fine. If you're not afraid your parents will worry, then you can stay a bit longer." The man sighed and shook his head.
Dawn put on an annoyed face and lied without hesitation. "Hmph! They're probably still chatting with my older brother about curse-breaking. They don't have time to care about me."
He gently swirled the glass, watching the cold, pale vapor slowly drift out from the rim.
"Boss, what exactly is curse-breaking? Why does Egypt need to hire so many people for it?"
"Well, that's a bit complicated to explain…"
The man looked at the child who seemed to be sulking. After a moment's thought, and seeing no new customers entering, he didn't mind chatting a little more.
"The main reason, of course, is the Statute of Secrecy."
"The Muggle world has always been fascinated by the pyramids, always trying to uncover the secrets hidden inside. So, the Ministry of Magic has to clean out anything in there that can't be exposed beforehand."
"Because the pyramids are full of curses, this job came to be called curse-breaking."
"As for the other reason…"
"It's because of the treasure and secrets hidden in those pyramids."
He paused, realizing he might've said too much to a child.
But after a moment, he figured since he had already started, he might as well finish.
"Hey, kid. Do you know what makes Egypt so fascinating to the wizarding world?"
"What?" Dawn asked.
"It's this country's belief in gods."
Dawn frowned slightly. "Myths exist all over the world. What's so special about Egyptian mythology?"
"No! It's not that the myths are special—it's that Egypt is special," the man said, shaking his head.
He explained:
"In all the countries of the world, throughout all of history, Egypt is the only one that was ruled by wizards."
"Every pharaoh in history—with rare exceptions of the occasional Squib—was a wizard."
He took another sip of his drink and continued.
"So, doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"They had magic. They were wizards. So why did so many pharaohs still worship the gods? Why did they carve images of deities into their tombs, even after death?"
"And then there's the matter of mummies…"
"These pharaohs were wizards—so why did they believe so strongly that mummification would preserve their souls, that they were guaranteed to return in the future?"
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