Allen hadn't clearly seen who the other party was—his first priority upon arriving was to stop Annie and Tibbers.
Wizards had lived in relative peace for a long time, and public murder was unnecessary unless it could completely absolve oneself. Clearly, the timing and location were all wrong for that.
As for whether the other party was innocent—there was no doubt. Annie always acted with restraint; if she was attempting to kill someone, it meant she had caught them red-handed doing something evil.
After calming Annie down, Allen casually snapped his fingers, and vines rapidly grew along the ground, binding the captured person and lifting them into the air. Then, Allen froze.
Although this form of Auror had appeared only once, Allen recognized her instantly.
He gave a wry smile and asked Annie, "Little girl, what did this person do to get caught by you?"
"She looked mysterious and suspicious, and when I asked her, she wouldn't answer. Most importantly—she stole our money!"
Stole money? Allen instinctively turned his head and noticed traces of a small pouch peeking from Auror's tattered clothing—he hadn't had time to put it away during the battle and had shoved it into his clothes.
Ah… it seems like I accidentally set him up.
Worse, there was no way to deny it this time. After all, the person had been thoroughly beaten.
But the more urgent issue wasn't this—it was how to cover it up. If anyone investigated, Auror's identity would be exposed. Allen had no intention of helping him, but after so many years of friendship, he couldn't just leave him to be caught.
After hastily casting a healing spell, Allen caught the pleading look in Auror's eyes and immediately petrified him, then tossed him like a package to Valor.
Don't be fooled by Valor's small size. Carrying a completely incapacitated wizard was no problem, especially with Allen having lightened Auror's weight with a levitation spell.
As Valor carried the magically hidden Auror away, Allen extended a hand toward Annie. "Come on. To cover for that idiot, we need to pretend we're fighting—otherwise, there's no explaining the magical surge just now."
A few minutes later, two professors who had rushed over to deal with the disturbance froze.
By the time they entered the small grove, it was a complete mess. The two culprits—each with a wand raised and casting spells furiously—were hard at work. Yes, that's exactly how the professors would describe it; the first impression was chaos.
Unfortunately, when they rubbed their eyes to confirm, the duel had already stopped. Only the residual magical collisions and traces of the battle told the story of how intense it had been.
"Hello, professors—what's going on here?" Allen greeted innocently, feigning ignorance, his expression betraying nothing.
But at this place, at this moment, who else could they ask but him?
"Excuse me, you're exchange students, right? Did you notice any strange magical fluctuations here just now?"
"What fluctuations? We didn't see anything. We were just practicing magic, nothing unusual happened," Allen replied with complete innocence. Annie nodded in agreement.
"Are you kidding? Such strong magical fluctuations!" The professor wasn't convinced but was restrained by his colleague.
At first, they hadn't recognized Allen. Most exchange students looked similar unless particularly distinct. Luckily, Allen had made a strong impression, and one professor was able to identify him.
Everything seemed normal—considering Allen's power, the "practice duel" explanation was plausible.
But a new problem arose. "Weren't you on leave today? You said you had a cold."
"Yes, that's why I exercised a bit—to sweat and recover faster."
…speechless.
Practicing magic didn't violate school rules. After warning Allen and Annie not to hurt anyone, the professors left without noticing any problem.
At this moment, Valor returned with Auror, tossing him onto the ground with a THUMP.
Although Valor could lift him, it clearly bore no affection for Auror.
Released from the petrification spell, Auror groaned painfully, complaining nonstop:
"Merlin above—Allen, you're responsible for this! Your sister almost killed me! I was that close!"
Had he been in his normal form, he would have sounded stern and righteous. But in his current potion-altered form, Allen felt no sympathy—and inexplicably, a smile tugged at his lips.
After a few quick healing spells, Auror, though still injured, could finally stand. It wasn't that Allen couldn't fully heal him—doing so would be far beyond the norms of the magical world. A slightly injured Auror was safer.
Even so, Auror marveled at the magic's efficacy. Although he had once tried Allen's wish-based magic, that was strictly life-saving, something he didn't dare attempt. Now, this healing spell, more effective than a hospital treatment, truly intrigued him.
Unfortunately, there was no chance of indulging that curiosity. Instead, Allen spread his hands. "Medical fee!"
Auror wanted to hit him—if not for the fact that he couldn't overpower Allen or Annie, he would have.
He had never seen such audacity. They injured me, healed me, and now they demand money? Is there no justice?!
Allen, naturally, looked completely justified. "Separate matters. I didn't interfere with your mission, but I saved your life for free. Healing, however, is different—so, five hundred Galleons, please."
Auror said nothing, tossing a bag of exactly five hundred Galleons.
Clearly, Allen was helping him—he could see that—but the price still stung a little.
Allen handed over a knut with a coordinate embedded. Auror blinked. Allen looked at him with mild disdain.
"If you're in danger and damage your money, I'll know to rush over."
"Why not use Galleons for such a valuable item?"
Another eye-roll. "Waste of money!"••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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