Amosta weighed the bag in his hand that had been expanded by the Seamless Stretching Charm. Even after the weight was weakened by the constant addition of the Floating Charm, the still heavy feeling made him feel extremely happy.
Seven hundred gold galleons - this was the reward he earned after spending half a month sleeping rough and starving in the old forests of the Jura Mountains in France. It was enough to be worth the formal staff of Hogwarts or the magic One year's salary for senior ministry officials.
After checking that there was nothing wrong with the heart of the cockatrice brought by Amosta, Cacus, who was sitting opposite, closed the rough wooden box and smiled with satisfaction.
"Your credibility is the brightest light in the underground world, Mr. Jin Viper. Every transaction with you is a perfect enjoyment!"
Amosta put the money bag away silently, turning a blind eye to Karkus Foley's praise. Everyone came out just for the golden galleons. It was best not to have any friendships unless necessary.
"Any other decent commissions recently?"
"You are still as hard-working as ever, Mr. Jinvi."
Amosta's indifference did not displease Karkus. In fact, most of the people here were cautious in their words and deeds. Only those who were polite and enthusiastic like him were an outlier.
Kakus's smile remained unchanged, and while he was flattering silently, he took out a notebook from his arms and flipped through it.
"What are your requirements regarding the type of tasks and remuneration?"
"My habits have not changed from before, Karkus, don't waste each other's time." Amosta said coldly.
"Of course, of course, how could I forget your request - I will not accept any commissions for wizards or Muggles, the commission fee is more than five hundred galleons, and the time to complete the task needs to be as short as possible... I will not forget any client. Habits, Mr. Golden Viper...but,"
Karkus looked through the notebook in his hand, mumbling something, but his brows gradually furrowed. Until the notebook turned to the latest page, he could not pick out a task that met Amosta's requirements.
"Well... I'm afraid I have to apologize to you, Mr. Jinvi. Tasks that suit your habits are usually hot-selling items. There was another one that provided raw materials to prepare a magic activity inhibitory potion worth 550 galleons. Unfortunately, the mission was taken away by someone else three days ago..."
Hearing this, Amosta stood up and turned around to leave, acting resolutely.
"Please wait a moment, Mr. Jin Viper!"
Karkus, who had already prepared the ground, immediately stopped him with words. Faced with Amosta's unkind gaze, Karkus's forehead veins jumped, fearing that the man in front of him would take out his wand and nail him to the ground with a spear, just like It was the same as he had dealt with those unruly werewolves.
"no offense,"
Karkus quickly explained, "I really don't have any commissions that meet your requirements. However, there are some commissions with very generous fees, but they are just higher-risk tasks. I wonder if you would be interested in hearing about them?"
"Higher risk?"
A high-risk mission that could make Karkus Foley, who had been hanging around here all year round, definitely not be a small job like smuggling. Amosta was hesitant, but after thinking for a moment, he sat back down again and faced Karkus. Kusi nodded,
"Let's talk about it first."
Karkus subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. It is not an easy job to earn intermediary fees from dangerous wizards like Golden Viper. You never know where you will offend them in some inexplicable place and lead to your own death. Therefore, you must be ready at any time. Be prepared to run for your life.
"The fee for the first commission is twenty thousand gold galleons..."
As soon as he heard the amount of the commission, Amosta's eyebrows jumped and he held his breath.
"-The client sent me a magic contract from Albania. He hopes that someone can help him rescue the Lestranges and the Carlo brothers and sisters from Azkaban. What do you think of this commission?"
"Hmph, I'm not that stupid, Karkus, I refuse this commission."
Amosta refused without hesitation.
If it was just to save people, Amosta might hesitate because of the weight of galleons. Although the dementors in Azkaban were dangerous, they were not impossible for him to deal with.
The real danger of this mission lies in the fact that there is something wrong with the person being rescued.
No one in the wizarding world doesn't know that the Lestranges and the Carrow brothers are the most radical Death Eaters. Once someone rescues them, it can be expected that Dumbledore, who spent the rest of his life fighting against Voldemort, will definitely intervene. Investigation, Amosta didn’t want to waste the rest of his life on the run.
Moreover, the location of Azkaban is top secret in the magical world, and finding it is very time-consuming.
Karkus was not surprised by Amosta's straightforward refusal. According to him, the person who issued the mission most likely drank too much Firewhiskey and was not so clear-headed. After all, who would want to face the Dementor? What about that disgusting, terrifying creature?
"Your choice is very wise, Mr. Jin Viper, then, let me think about it---there is another commission. Someone claims to have found the address of a magical ruin built by a powerful wizard in ancient times, hoping to recruit some extraordinary wizards as Guard, the client said that they cannot provide a direct high commission fee, but they are willing to share the discoveries in the ruins with explorers. Look at this commission--"
It is indeed possible to obtain high profits by searching for ruins. Not only items such as gold, silver and gems, but also many ancient magics that are lost today and are famous for their pursuit of power are likely to be found in the ruins. If you can learn from them, it will be beneficial to yourself. The improvement of strength is not without its benefits.
However, after thinking for a moment, Amosta still rejected the commission.
It’s not because he is afraid of risks. Exploring the ruins also requires a lot of time to prepare, and there is a high probability that the result will be nothing. Amosta doesn’t like to pin his profits on unreasonable luck.
Karkus was very patient, and he introduced several long-cherished commissions to Amosta. However, for each commission, either the benefits were not proportional to the risks, or they would cause huge trouble after completion. Exceptions were rejected.
In the end, even Karkus was troubled by Amosta's pickiness. He sat there frowning and thinking, silent for a long time.
"There is one more, the last one, Mr. Jinkui, if you are not satisfied---"
For a long while, Karkus stretched his head with a cautious expression. Although he could not see the expression behind the magic vortex on Amosta's face, he was still trying his best to observe the dangerous guy on the opposite side.
"Have you ever heard of... Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?"
"Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?"
Amosta's body trembled. Although the memory of the plot in his previous life has been basically lost, it is impossible for anyone who has attended Hogwarts not to have heard that Amosta was following people in the underground world. After passing the spell, it can be seen that the spells he cast and his spell-casting habits were cultivated under modern orthodox magic education, and there is nothing to hide.
"It's just a school legend at Hogwarts, why are you bringing that up?"
Seeing Amosta take the bait, Karkus secretly rejoiced, but remained calm.
"You don't often stay in the country, so you may not know it. Although there is no relevant report in the Daily Prophet, the news has spread privately. It is said that the secret room has really been opened. Someone in Hogwarts borrowed the secret room. The power is causing panic, and Dumbledore can't do anything about it..."
"etc!"
Amosta interrupted Kakus without politeness, "What does this have to do with entrustment? Did someone pay me to hire me to protect those children in the school?"
"of course not!"
Kacus smiled slyly,
"But Salazar Slytherin's name is indeed attractive enough, right? The client believes that Slytherin left a secret treasure in the secret room and was obtained by the so-called heir. Otherwise, how can we explain that even Dumbledore is like this?" Even the powerful guys can’t find any clues?”
Amosta kept silent. He really didn't remember much of the plot of the original book, but at least he remembered that there seemed to be no wealth, magic, or powerful alchemy tools left in the secret room.
However, according to the greedy nature of the wizards here, it is not surprising to have such speculation.
After all, the four founding giants of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry are all powerful wizards with official histories and possess powerful magic powers that ordinary people cannot match. Once their legacy appears, people will definitely flock to them.
"Even if that's true,"
Amosta was unmoved, "Does anyone dare to rush into Hogwarts and steal things from Dumbledore? It would be safer to go to Azkaban to fish out those lunatics."
"Not necessarily to rob, but to use a more reasonable method."
Karkus was in high spirits and seemed determined to convince Amosta.
"I can provide some assistance, such as allowing you to enter that school as the external investigator of the school board -
The noble witches and wizards on our school board need to respond to the growing dissatisfaction with the terrorist activities happening in the school, but at the same time, they are also worried that the attacks will continue to happen, and the wizards they send out will not do anything. Effect, and even become the laughing stock of people,
But if there are reliable wizards, they are willing to negotiate with Dumbledore - after all, Dumbledore's performance in this series of events was disappointing, and they may think that he is old and therefore a bit slow..."
"It seems that you have already planned to target me."
If Amosta hasn't discovered this by now, he would be really stupid. It's not that Cacus doesn't have a commission for taste, and the high-risk tasks he proposed previously are just bait. The real purpose is to hope that I can accept the last commission.
Sure enough, he was still seen through.
Kakus's heart tightened, and he showed a humble smile,
"After all, the choice of investigator requires the approval of Albus Dumbledore, so wizards born in Hogwarts are the first choice. Strength and credibility are also very important. Here, only you meet the requirements."
Amosta cannot deny,
"How do you solve the problem of keeping my identity secret? You should know that this will expose my true face."
As astute as Karkus Foley, he had naturally considered this issue for a long time. He couldn't wait to promise,
"The client will not know that Mr. Jin Wei took over the commission. Although the school board will know your name in the outside world, they will not find out your identity in the underground world from me."
"how about you,"
Amosta asked aggressively, "In your plan, you are the only person who will know my identity both in the outside world and in the underground world. How do you ensure that you are trustworthy?"
"The unbreakable oath, guaranteed by the lives of everyone in the Foley family, will always keep your identity secret."
Amosta stared intently at Kakus's face, which was not young, and did not express his position in a hurry.
"It seems that you can get a very big return from this order, right?"
"This is my personal secret, Mr. Jinvi."
Kakus seemed to have victory in hand, he smiled and said
"Eight thousand gold galleons, plus the gratitude of the school board, and maybe even a commendation from the Ministry of Magic, in exchange for the secret treasure in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets - Mr. Golden Viper, this deal is a good deal..."
………………
