Beep, beep, beep~ Beep, beep, beep~
A series of urgent notification tones rang out from Lynn's pocket. It was the ringtone he had set for his mobile phone, and it sounded particularly demanding.
As soon as Lynn answered, Edgar's voice came through the receiver. "Hello? Lynn! Have you arrived in France yet?"
"Not long ago. I just stepped out of the fireplace at the Magic Immigration Office."
Lynn replied while dragging his trunk to avoid the crowd. "I have to say, it feels a tiny bit warmer here than in Britain. At least the wind isn't biting your face as much."
"Where do you plan to go first?" At this moment, another voice joined the call; it was William.
"I plan to find Luc first and visit Beauxbatons Academy of Magic to broaden my horizons," Lynn said, revealing his plan.
Just after finishing the banter with Edgar and William and hanging up the "group chat," before he could put the mobile phone back in his pocket, the screen lit up again, displaying the name "Luc Leclerc."
"Lynn, are you in France? Where exactly are you? I'll come pick you up."
Luc's voice carried a hint of a smile.
"Yes, I just arrived at the main gate of the Paris Magic Immigration Office..." Lynn said as he looked around, his gaze quickly locking onto a familiar figure waving toward him.
"...Uh, I see you!"
Beep, beep... "That was fast!" Luc patted Lynn on the shoulder.
"Let's go. I'll take you to visit our Beauxbatons. I'm sure you'll love it there; it's a completely different style from Hogwarts."
...When Lynn stood before the grand and magnificent palace-like building that served as the gate of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, he was still slightly shocked by the sight before him.
The massive milk-white marble gate was exceptionally grand. Inside the gate was a huge fountain with water columns that constantly changed shape, the droplets reflecting a unique luster in the sunlight.
Behind the fountain was an extremely wide plaza paved with smooth stone slabs.
Looking into the palace interior, the architectural style was very distinct, featuring extensive use of light blue, gold, ivory white, and cream colors.
Marble walls as smooth as mirrors, tapestries shimmering with a silky luster, exquisite reliefs and acanthus patterns everywhere, and crystal chandeliers and gilded decorations visible at every turn... From the outside, this palace looked like it had been taken straight out of a fairy tale.
"How is it? It looks quite spectacular, doesn't it?" Luc's tone carried unshielded pride.
"It is indeed very spectacular," Lynn nodded honestly, comparing it to the simple, grand, and somewhat rugged Castle of Hogwarts.
"It looks... well... much grander than Hogwarts, and more 'bright'." He found a relatively neutral word.
The two of them walked through the grand gates of Beauxbatons, chatting and laughing as they began to stroll through the campus.
The corridors were spacious and bright, the ceilings were high, and the walls were hung with tapestries depicting magical forests and fairy legends. The air seemed to be filled with a faint, lingering floral scent.
"By the way, Luc," Lynn remembered something and asked curiously, "Your school keeps Abraxans, right? Can I go see them?"
Just then, a gentle female voice came from the side:
"Of course you can."
Lynn instinctively turned his head to look.
Whoa~ Man! So tall!
This lady's stature was extremely tall, even a head taller than Hagrid!
She wore exquisite black satin robes, and her temperament was elegant and noble.
"Abraxans are precious magical creatures that only we in France possess."
The lady explained with a smile, "Many wizards who come to visit Beauxbatons do so specifically to see them with their own eyes."
"Good morning, Madame Maxime," Luc immediately greeted the newcomer respectfully.
Lynn also realized who she was—this was the Principal of Beauxbatons, Madame Olympe Maxime. He quickly followed suit and greeted her as well.
"Hello to you both," Madame Maxime nodded slightly. She looked at Lynn. "You must be Lynn, right? A friend of mine in Switzerland mentioned you.
Winning the championship at the International Alchemy Competition at such a young age is truly remarkable."
"No, no, you flatter me. It was just good luck."
Lynn was rarely humble for once; he couldn't exactly say, "If you're bad, practice more; if you can't afford to lose, don't play," could he?
After a few more brief words with Madame Maxime, she indicated she had matters to attend to and gracefully turned to leave.
Clearly, her appearance this time was largely out of curiosity, wanting to see what the Hogwarts student who stood out among a crowd of young alchemists looked like.
After Madame Maxime left, Lynn followed Luc as they continued to explore the campus, eventually arriving at the area specifically for raising Abraxans.
The treatment of the Abraxans was indeed extraordinary.
They had an extremely vast outdoor area where they could run and stretch their wings to their heart's content.
The nearby stables were also built like individual small palaces, each stall being spacious, bright, clean, and tidy.
[Ding! Task issued: Feed an Abraxan. Reward: One Abraxan.]
[It will arrive in your hands in a very reasonable manner.]
???
"Arrive in a very reasonable manner"... that sounds even more unreasonable!
"Um... Luc," Lynn asked, with the mindset that it would be a waste not to take a reward, "Can I feed them? They look quite friendly."
"No problem," Luc agreed readily. "These Abraxans have very good tempers, and they're often fed by the students, so they're used to it."
Luc pointed to the place where the fodder was piled.
Lynn walked over and found that besides top-quality hay and oats, there were indeed several small wooden buckets nearby, emitting a scent of malt whisky.
He picked up a bucket filled with a small amount of whisky and walked toward the group of Abraxans who were "shaking their heads."
Just as he got closer, before he could even speak, a noisy, drunken "conversation" drifted into his ears.
"Wine~ where's the wine?"
"Listen to me... hic... last time I flew so fast..."
"I'm not bragging... in all of France... hic... my feathers are the brightest..."
Lynn: ... His footsteps paused, and several black lines appeared on his forehead.
Wait, what?
This group of Abraxans were actually a bunch of drunks?!
"Ahem," Lynn cleared his throat and asked the group of Abraxans, who were starting to focus their gaze on the bucket in his hand, "Still drinking? I have some here."
"Drink~" × N
Almost in unison, several Abraxans immediately stepped closer to Lynn, staring intently at the bucket in his hand.
One of the most impatient ones even poked its head over directly, trying to stick its long muzzle into the bucket.
[Ding! Task completed. Reward being issued! Please wait patiently...]
The system's notification tone rang out again. It actually required "waiting"?
"So, Luc."
Lynn pointed at the fellow in front of him who had already buried its entire head in the bucket, making satisfied "glug-glug" sounds, and couldn't help asking, "Do you guys really not think it's a bit... off for Abraxans to drink like this?"
Luc looked at the scene and rubbed his nose somewhat awkwardly. "Well... indeed, the keepers have mentioned this issue as well.
But they are indeed very healthy after drinking, full of energy, and their flight is more... wild? Although sometimes they do look a bit drunk."
"I'm not drunk~ hic... I can still drink! Another bucket!"
The Abraxan in front of him suddenly lifted its head from the bucket, let out a loud drunken hiccup, its mane stained with quite a bit of wine, and shouted with a thick tongue, making Lynn's face fill with black lines.
This isn't drunk?
It's almost catching up to those old drunks at the Leaky Cauldron! Lynn complained wildly in his heart, while simultaneously feeling a hint of worry about the Abraxan the system was about to "reasonably" deliver.
It couldn't be a drunkard too, could it?
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