The next day...
"Are we going straight to the mine, or what?" Lupin asked, sitting across from Kaisen in the hotel restaurant.
"No rush, let's..."
Chew, chew, chew...
"Let's go to the Muggle crystal market first."
Chew, chew, chew...
"If there's nothing there, then we'll go to the Wizard market in Uruguay."
Chew, chew, chew...
"If none of those have it, it won't be too late to go to the mine."
"Alright, then what about our language problem?"
"Last night I couldn't sleep, so I went home and dug out my Spanish language textbook from college. I should be able to communicate normally now," Kaisen said, waving directly at a passing restaurant server.
"Uh... another... a sparkling wine, in a glass bottle, ice-sealed, and enchanted with a stasis spell."
[This is probably how foreigners feel when they read the letters we help Chang write.]
Soon, a bottle of champagne with an ice bucket was brought over.
Kaisen poured two glasses and clinked them with Lupin: "To our successful discovery of that crystal!"
"But Kaisen, we haven't succeeded yet."
"What's the problem with that? It's just celebrating in advance. What's wrong with that?"
They exchanged glances...
Makes sense, drink up!
Soon, the two left the hotel and got into a taxi. Kaisen immediately began to show off his language skills: "Oh... Good morning, esteemed sir, I would like to ask if you could take us to the most renowned crystal distribution center in your esteemed city? I will compensate you appropriately for your efforts."
"You can speak English... And your Spanish is quite good, little Shakespeare," the driver said slowly as he started the car.
Lupin sat beside him, watching Kaisen's originally fair face gradually turn red, and couldn't help but discreetly pull out his wand and begin to examine him.
Kaisen's current appearance was indeed a bit frightening, similar to someone afflicted by a Blood-Boiling Curse. However, he examined him with his wand for a long time and finally determined that it was not a curse.
It was purely because Kaisen's face was small, and he was embarrassed to blush.
"Relax, being called 'little Shakespeare' is a compliment, isn't it?" He patted Kaisen's shoulder, comforting him.
The latter, however, rolled his eyes: "If you learned another country's language, and after talking to someone for a long time, you were told that your vocabulary was so outdated even their grandmother wouldn't use it, how would you feel?"
"...Besides Spanish, do you know any other languages?"
"I also know Chinese, but that's not the point. The point is that this kind of thing is extremely embarrassing; you'll know when you try it."
"I won't. I only know English, plus a half-assed ability to write but not speak Runes," Lupin quickly shook his head and said.
"Being able to write that stuff is enough. Runes aren't language-driven anyway."
After some time, the two got out of the car. Kaisen even thoughtfully kept the driver's phone number, at least communication wouldn't be a problem.
Entering the massive building before them, all the crystals mined in Uruguay would first come here before being shipped worldwide.
Walking into the building, it must be said, the building could probably be seen as a huge, unrenovated, not-so-large mall, with dazzling crystals displayed everywhere as if they were free.
"Oh, dear lady, do you mind if I chip off a small piece of this crystal? If it's what I need, I will give you a price you cannot refuse. Of course, if it's not, I will still offer you appropriate compensation."
....
"Oh, esteemed sir, do you mind if I chip off your crystal... Oh! Sir, please do not strike my head with a stick, that is very unsafe!"
"Lupin!"
"Oh, esteemed sir, look at my companion, he is so strong..."
"Don't let his thinness fool you; he's got muscles in his bones. I guarantee he'll use his studded Martin boots to kick your backside hard."
"What the f-?"
"Ah!"
"You motherf-! Goddamn hell, I'll kill you!"
As Kaisen, who was running away with Lupin while trash-talking, was hit on the head by a wooden stick flying from behind, he immediately began to unleash his linguistic charm.
Turning around in one smooth motion, giving the middle finger in one smooth motion, a string of proper old England curses poured out, stunning the boss whose weapon had already slipped from his hand.
"He's stunned, right?" Kaisen whispered to Lupin, tilting his head.
"Hmm... Look, is he reaching into his pocket? Could there be a weapon there?" Lupin agreed.
Kaisen watched as the boss pulled a switchblade from his pocket and murmured, "He's not coming in peace."
"Strictly speaking, we're the ones who came not in peace," Lupin reminded him.
"You don't need to tell me that," Kaisen mumbled, reaching into his pocket. Soon, two thick wooden sticks, about forty centimeters long, were pulled out from under Kaisen's clothes.
"Let's have a righteous group beating."
Then they saw the boss put the switchblade back in his pocket and pull out a .44 caliber Truth-brand Carbon-Based Life Calming Device.
Kaisen and Lupin exchanged glances, the former whispering, "What now? Should we hit him with a spell?"
"There are too many people here, and surveillance cameras... Most importantly, we're Wizards, and we flew directly. Theoretically, Wizards traveling to other countries should report to the Ministry of Magic, then the Ministry of Magic negotiates, distributes Portkeys, and finally, upon arriving in the new country, we get local identification DIY'd by the local Ministry of Magic. So, for multiple offenses, we're looking at a conservative twenty years," Lupin said, taking a deep breath.
"That serious? He's pointing a gun, and we're not allowed to resist?"
"Casting magic in front of Muggles, the more Muggles watching, the heavier the sentence. Blowing up the Ministry of Magic with Dark Arts in a Wizarding gathering place isn't as serious as exposing magic."
"As for resisting... we're undocumented in the Uruguayan magical community right now, not protected by their laws."
"Then can't we just Apparate away? Theoretically, they wouldn't know it was us, right?"
"Your face is very recognizable. When we get back to England, even with Dumbledore mediating, we'll still have to pay a hefty fine."
"Thanks for the compliment. Dumbledore can handle that; he's loaded."
"And there's the mandatory labor in Diagon Alley; I've done that before."
"...Are you fast?"
"...Very fast."
"I'll count to three, two, one."
"One!"
Bang!
With a loud bang, the gun fired.
Fortunately, the shot was aimed at the ceiling, and the boss who fired it was currently being hit squarely on the head by a thick wooden stick.
"Run, Lupin! Even if the Aurors don't catch you, the police will!" After throwing down the wooden stick, Kaisen quickly pulled Lupin and fled.
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/DaoistRoeoNQ
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