Early Retirement, and a Murderer Escaped from Prison

Argus threw the Heart of Lonely Mountain into the furnace. Even amid temperatures exceeding a thousand degrees, the Arkenstone showed no change.

"Hmm… it may take a little more time. You can use this period to gather the other materials."

Aaron nodded slowly, then headed to the seventh Secret Chamber.

The moment he stepped inside, Weihert floated before him with a gratified look on his face. "I knew you would return safely."

"I almost didn’t make it back alive."

"Now that does interest me." Weihert studied Aaron thoughtfully. "You’ve grown much stronger."

"Can you tell how strong I am now?" Aaron was somewhat nervous. This time, he had not worn the Demon Sealing Ring or created a Thoughtform. It could be said that he had made no attempt to conceal anything.

Weihert hesitated for a moment, then nodded blankly.

"If I didn’t look closely, I really wouldn’t have noticed. A High-level Archmage, only one step away from becoming a Grand Archmage.

What exactly did you go through in that other world?"

"That’s my own secret. I don’t want to talk about it."

"If you don’t want to say it, forget it." Weihert curled his lip and said teasingly, "Interested in fighting me again? I can suppress my strength to that of a mid-level Archmage."

Aaron decisively waved him off. Having been utterly thrashed once, he had learned more than enough from the experience. He would never fall into the same pit twice.

"What a pity. I was planning to teach you some more advanced magic!"

"Heh!" Aaron rolled his eyes speechlessly. "I can’t even cast advanced Elemental Magic instantly yet, and I’ve barely used ultimate Magic Arrays a few times. Even if you taught me, I might not have the time to learn!"

"Not bad." Weihert raised a brow approvingly. "At least you know not to bite off more than you can chew."

Aaron shrugged. He had always preferred keeping his feet on the ground.

That was also why he had not immediately used Magic Points to raise his strength to Grand Archmage. No matter how good the hardware was, if the software could not keep up, it would only be an empty shell.

"Ancestor, do you think Dumbledore can see through my current strength?"

"If you don’t try to hide it, then yes, he can at close range. Unless you break through to the level of Grand Archmage."

Hearing that, a small wave rose in Aaron’s heart, and he silently made a decision: whenever he was not using a Thoughtform, he had to wear the Demon Sealing Ring.

I need to develop quietly, then blow that old bastard’s mind.

"Understood. I’ll go talk to Ancestor Flor first. If nothing unexpected happens, I won’t come here again before school starts."

"I understand." Weihert gave him a look that said he knew exactly what that meant. "I recommend going to Diate’s library. Some of our predecessors recorded their stories there.

You can dig them out and have a look. It will help broaden your horizons and ease your mind."

"I’m more interested in the magic recorded there." Aaron gave an awkward laugh and turned to enter the twenty-eighth Secret Chamber.

"Ancestor Flor, your beloved descendant has returned."

Flor’s memory was summoned. He looked Aaron over from head to toe, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips. "Looks like you gained quite a lot."

"I suppose so! I fought in a war that concerned the safety of an entire world.

I helped the righteous side win that war." Aaron scratched his head sheepishly. "Though I think they wouldn’t have lost without me."

"But with you, many fewer people died." Flor said meaningfully. "Isn’t that so?"

Aaron froze for a moment, then gave Flor a thumbs-up. "No wonder you’re a psychology expert, Ancestor. I hadn’t even said anything, and you’d already fed me a bowl of chicken soup."

"Looks like your mental state is healthy." Flor laughed self-deprecatingly. "That puts me at ease."

"If nothing unexpected happens, I won’t come to see you before school starts."

"What you want most right now is to relax. Being around teachers like us really isn’t appropriate.

If you get bored, you can visit Diate’s library. It has records of quite a few interesting things, and they may be of some help to you."

Aaron frowned slightly. He always felt that Weihert and Flor were hinting at something.

But he did not pay it much mind. Living in the present was what mattered most.

After leaving the Secret Chamber, Aaron took Abei to his Small Shop in Diagon Alley.

Jeans followed closely behind him, while the other two bodyguards tailed them in secret. He understood, though. After he had run away from home several times in a row, they had all become jumpy.

His strength was still a little lacking now, but in another year or so, none of them would be able to control him.

For an entire week, Aaron lived as if he had entered retirement early.

Other than collecting the money when the shop closed at night, he spent the rest of his time either strolling around or chatting and laughing with the owners of other shops. Occasionally, he went to Ollivanders Wand Shop to play chess with his great-uncle.

The place he visited most often was The Leaky Cauldron. It was a mixed bag, but practically every piece of news in the Magic World could be uncovered in that tavern.

"Doing nothing really does put you in a good mood!" Aaron leisurely read the newspaper in the shop. Beside him sat a neatly dressed Young Dragon. What was surprising, however, was that it had a straw in its mouth, and a large bottle of milk was visibly draining under its suction.

"Young Master, don’t you get bored resting like this?" Jeans said with a wry smile. "You’re still young. This is the perfect time to study properly."

"Heh! I’m only fourteen this year. No, thirteen, that’s right.

What were you doing when you were thirteen?"

"The old patriarch had me study Muggle knowledge, as well as the history of the Magic World’s development."

Aaron: …

Damn! An elite among butlers!

"Ahem! It’s not like I don’t know my limits.

I killed at least four-digit numbers of enemies in that other world. I need a lively and peaceful environment to dissolve the hostility in my heart." Aaron spoke with a straight face. "Besides, taking it easy doesn’t mean wasting my life. Starting tomorrow, I’ll resume normal training."

Jeans immediately felt greatly relieved. "I’ll prepare a schedule right away."

"That won’t be necessary." Aaron hurriedly said. "I’ll arrange it myself."

"Young Master is sure?"

"Of course. But there’s no need to trouble the ancestors.

I’ll visit Diate’s library myself, and I’ll improve my Magic Array proficiency on my own.

As for swordsmanship, I probably don’t need to train that anymore. But I’m still somewhat interested in firearms.

Besides that, I’ll visit the other Secret Chambers in the family. Fishing, painting, skiing, music, flower arranging, and so on—I’ll treat them as leisure activities."

"Uh… that isn’t impossible." Jeans stammered. "It just feels a little inappropriate."

"What’s inappropriate about it?" Aaron said seriously. "My parents said that the vacation before school starts is mine to manage. Even if I spent every day lying in bed sleeping, you couldn’t stop me."

"Fine. We’ll do as Young Master says."

"You should have been listening to me in the first place." Aaron curled his lip and turned the page of the newspaper. A photograph entered his sight.

Seeing the haggard, filthy, disheveled man in the picture wearing a ferocious expression, Aaron could not help sucking in a breath.

"Holy shit! This guy still hasn’t been caught and sent back to Azkaban?"

"Although Sirius has been imprisoned for twelve years, his foundation is still there.

If a wizard is determined to evade the Ministry of Magic’s pursuit, they really can’t catch him in a short time."

"What a talent!" Aaron said with a faint smile. "How did he suddenly decide to escape from prison?"

"Young Master is interested?"

"This is a current political hot topic. Everyone is interested." Aaron stared at the photograph in the newspaper, focusing on Sirius Black’s melancholy eyes. "His mental state isn’t stable, but his goal is very clear.

Logically speaking, if he was imprisoned in Azkaban and wanted to escape, he should have done so long ago. There was no reason to wait twelve years.

And how did he escape? Did anyone help him? None of that is known."

"Perhaps it has something to do with Voldemort." Jeans guessed. "There are rumors that Sirius was Voldemort’s most loyal servant, and that he escaped specifically to take revenge on Harry Potter."

"I don’t see it that way." Aaron picked up Abei and shut the shop door with one wave of his hand. As they walked, he said, "If he wanted revenge on Harry, he could have acted before Harry had any contact with magic. There was no need to suffer for twelve years, let alone the fact that he did not resist at all when he was captured."

"Young Master is truly quick-witted. I hadn’t even considered that."

Aaron stopped walking and gave Jeans an eye roll.

He knew his all-capable Butler too well. There was no way Jeans had not thought of what he had thought of. He had probably even considered another layer or two beyond it. He simply did not want to waste thought on such insignificant matters.

Rather than use Floo Powder to return home, the two planned to enter Cross Street through The Leaky Cauldron. There was a car there for transportation, which Aaron had impulsively acquired to practice his driving skills.

But just as they entered The Leaky Cauldron, a short, fat man approached them with a warm smile on his face.

"Mr. Jeans, I didn’t expect to see you here. What a coincidence." Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, said excitedly. "And of course, Aaron Gaius. Dumbledore has mentioned to me more than once that Hogwarts has an exceptionally outstanding student.

Though isn’t that obvious? The heir of the Gaius Family has always been synonymous with excellence."

Aaron and Jeans exchanged glances. Neither of them was fond of the Minister for Magic, but one did not slap a smiling face. They really could not bring themselves to say anything to drive him away.

"Minister, why are you here?" Jeans asked politely.

"Looking for someone." Fudge lowered his voice. "Harry Potter."

"What do you want with him?" Aaron frowned slightly. "And if you’re looking for him, shouldn’t you be on Privet Drive?"

"Er… Mr. Gaius, your classmate committed a small offense." Fudge said somewhat awkwardly. "He inflated his uncle’s sister like a balloon, and quite a lot of people saw it."

"This matter is neither too serious nor too minor, but no matter how you look at it, it doesn’t require the Minister for Magic to personally intervene, does it?" Aaron said pointedly. "There aren’t many people connected to Harry Potter who could make the Minister for Magic step in. Dumbledore or Voldemort?"

At the mention of Voldemort’s name, Fudge could not help shuddering. He forced a smile. "It has no direct connection to that person, but a murderer has escaped from prison."

Aaron: …