Stormwind Town.
Lucien found an empty spot at the edge, with Newt following beside him. After hearing Lucien's explanation, Newt was clearly intrigued.
He called out and guided the circling Thunderbird down to land. The moment it touched the ground, the Thunderbird hopped straight over to Lucien, chirping nonstop.
"Boss, when going to your territory?"
"I hungry again, Boss. Do you have more food?"
"I' never like staying here for long. There always humans hiding and peeking at me, thinking they well concealed…"
Lucien had not realized that this Thunderbird was such a chatterbox during their interactions over the past few days.
He quickly stopped its incessant rambling and went straight to the point.
"Wait a moment. Why did you fly here? And why do you keep calling me 'Boss'?"
Lucien's questions clearly confused the Thunderbird. It had not expected its Boss to ask something so obvious.
Still, it had to answer its Boss's questions, so the Thunderbird chirped a few times.
"Boss, you fly fast - me fly slow. After you won, you gave food. That proves you can get food, and also means you acknowledged meeee! So aren't you my Boss? Isn't that our Thunderbird rule?"
"?"
Do Thunderbirds really have such a rule?
Flying faster and providing food meant you could conquer a Thunderbird?
Lucien immediately relayed the Thunderbird's words to Newt and asked whether things truly worked the way it claimed.
Newt fell silent for a few seconds.
"Uh… I've communicated with Frank and learned that the King of Thunderbirds is indeed the fastest flyer and the strongest hunter in this area. But specific behavior like winning a flying race and then providing food…"
"Hm. I'll add this as a new point of knowledge in my next book."
Lucien understood at once. This was something Newt himself had not known either.
Lucien then spoke to the Thunderbird with some helplessness.
"Let's just consider our flying competition a game, all right? And that meal was simply to thank you for flying with me over the past few days, okay?"
The Thunderbird shook its head.
"No. A win is a win, and a loss is a loss. Besides, the prey you caught, Boss, was too delicious! What was I even catching before?"
A vein twitched on Lucien's forehead. Was this Thunderbird stubborn, or was it simply trying to freeload off him?
Although raising a Thunderbird could yield valuable materials, such things were extremely rare and expensive on the market.
However, unlike the Magical Creatures he already kept, Thunderbirds required an enormous range of activity, and his self-made gourd space was definitely not enough to satisfy it.
The space required just to house Norbert, a dragon, was already enough to keep Lucien busy. Once he returned, he would have to consult Newt or ask for his help to expand it further.
As for letting it roam freely in the Forbidden Forest, the climate in Britain was far too different from here, making it unsuitable as well.
"Boss, where your territory?"
"My territory? Uh, why do you ask?"
The Thunderbird spread its wings slightly and let out a proud cry.
"If it's inconvenient for you to take me there, I can fly over myself. I don't fly that slowly, you know? And besides, I can track your location, Boss. Thunderbirds have veryyyyy strong navigation and positioning abilities! You know? You know?"
Lucien's headache only worsened. He quickly relayed their recent exchange to Newt.
Newt looked at the Thunderbird, then at Lucien.
"Then you should take this child with you. It would be far too dangerous for an underage Thunderbird to cross the ocean alone."
The answer clearly caught Lucien by surprise, but he still voiced his concerns to Newt.
When Lucien mentioned the Thunderbird's living space and environmental requirements, Newt waved a hand dismissively.
"It's fine. I have a way to help you solve that. Early exposure to a variety of Magical Creatures is also a valuable part of growth."
Lucien was taken aback, not expecting Newt to agree so readily.
Come to think of it, Mr. Newt seemed almost too kind to him. Was this the value of Hufflepuff?
Perhaps it was also because of his attitude toward Magical Creatures, as well as his related abilities, that Mr. Newt valued his talent so highly.
As for solving the space issue, Newt said, "Lucien, you don't need to worry about the preserve or the magical authorities having any objections. I'll take this Thunderbird under my name for rescue and observation purposes. In fact, this isn't the first time something like this has happened. When it comes to Magical Creatures, I do have some influence."
Newt spoke as if he were afraid Lucien might not be willing to take the Thunderbird, though in truth, that was exactly the situation.
Whether due to talent or fortune, Lucien always seemed to make new discoveries in the field of Magical Creature research.
This was extremely rare and made Newt value him all the more.
That was why he wanted to support him as much as possible, allowing Lucien to interact with Magical Creatures more frequently, cultivating interests as he grew.
With Newt having said so much, Lucien had no reason to refuse.
"Mr. Newt, thank you for your help and support."
Seeing Lucien agree, Newt revealed a look of satisfaction.
"Alright, then I'll go speak with the officials first."
After Newt left, Lucien and the Thunderbird stared at each other.
Lucien had not expected that he had come here merely to fly around and complete a loan task, only to end up bringing a Thunderbird back with him.
"Chirp!"
"Boss, I hungry. Want to eat."
Lucien's mouth twitched. He was now even more convinced that this Thunderbird simply wanted to freeload off him.
"Wait a moment. I'll go make some."
Lucien did a quick mental count. He already had a Qilin, a dragon, a Niffler, a Thunderbird, a colony of Acromantulas, a herd of Mooncalves, a group of… At this rate, he could practically open a zoo in Dorset.
Newt brought Lucien back home.
Seeing the elderly man and the young man chatting and laughing together, Tina was equally pleased.
"It looks like your trip to Arizona was very enjoyable?"
"Tina, I gained a great deal this time. Do you know, about Thunderbirds—"
Tina listened with a smile as Newt excitedly recounted their experiences. She knew her husband well. Whenever he made a new discovery related to Magical Creatures, he would become like this.
After Newt finished speaking, Tina looked at Lucien with concern.
"Lucien, you didn't run into any accidents this time, did you? Hehe. When Newt was young, his talent for causing trouble was no less impressive than his ability to communicate with Magical Creatures."
"Uh, well, there was a small incident, but it was nothing serious..."
"Nothing serious, Tina. I'm going to show Lucien something first."
With that, Newt quickly pulled Lucien away, not daring to give Tina a chance to ask any more questions.
Lucien followed Newt into the study. In addition to books, there were also several Magical Creatures inside.
They all appeared to be either young or injured, likely kept there for ease of care. The study was very much in line with Newt's personal style.
Newt walked over to the desk, and the surrounding clutter automatically flew aside, leaving only a single item behind.
It was a briefcase.
Seeing the case, Lucien already had a few guesses.
________
(^///^) Please support this fic and also read 12 chapters ahead at Patreon.com/DrakDevil1