Chapter 23: Hidden Achievements
Flourish and Blotts, Diagon Alley
Ronald Bilius Weasley
July 15, 1989, Saturday
After closing the lid of his chest, Ron shrank it back to the size of a keychain and hung it on his belt. Then, turning to Mr. Flourish, he said, "Mr. Flourish, I arranged to meet my brother Bill here. Can I wait here until he arrives?"
"Hmm? Of course, young Weasley. Let me get you a chair," Mr. Flourish said and took out his wand to probably conjure a chair.
But Ron interrupted, saying, "You don't need to bother, Mr. Flourish. I can manage on my own." Then, with a wave of his hand, a comfortable armchair and a small table appeared beside the counter, positioned so as not to obstruct other customers.
After sinking into his armchair, Ron placed one of the two books he hadn't put in his trunk on the table and opened the other to read.
Both books were about the etiquette of the wizarding world.
Ron knew that two of the three political factions in Magical Britain placed great importance on etiquette and magical traditions.
While the Grey Faction wasn't as extreme as the Dark Faction, they still valued basic wizarding etiquette, and someone who didn't even adhere to basic etiquette probably wouldn't even be able to sit down at the table to discuss business with them.
For Ron, who aspired to build a business empire, this was unacceptable. Therefore, he needed to learn the basics.
He also knew that, although they didn't express it as openly as the other two factions, the established and old families in the Light Faction also valued basic etiquette.
If Ron encountered one of them and didn't behave according to basic etiquette, they might not say a word, but their opinion of him wouldn't be very positive.
At the very least, they would likely not see him as being on their level. And this could put him at a disadvantage in his relationships with them and in the business he would do.
Meanwhile, Mr. Flourish, who had been watching Ron's actions in stunned silence, finally came to his senses. He finally understood what was wrong with this situation.
"Young Weasley, you... Can you use wandless and nonverbal conjuration?" Mr. Flourish asked, barely believing what he was saying.
After all, it was a level of skill he himself couldn't master, and this nine-year-old boy was using it as if it were Lumos's magic.
'Am I dreaming? Was everything that just happened a dream? Considering I've finally found a way to get rid of those damned books, it certainly must be a dream,' thought Mr. Flourish.
"Hmm?" Ron lifted his head from his book and looked at the store manager, saying. "Yes, I learned them from my older brothers' Hogwarts book."
"Aren't you aware that you're nine years old?" Mr. Flourish asked.
"Yes, I know that."
"But isn't it forbidden for you to practice magic outside of Hogwarts?"
"Really? But I don't go to Hogwarts."
"Yes, but you are a wizard who is not yet an adult, which means that practicing magic outside of Hogwarts is forbidden until you are an adult. The Ministry uses a spell called The Trace to detect such situations."
"Hmm... so, can this Trace spell distinguish between accidental spells and intentionally cast spells?"
"Huh? I'm not sure. But does it matter if it can distinguish them?"
"Of course it does. If the Ministry accuses someone of breaking the law, the accused can file a lawsuit, right? In that case, the Ministry needs to present evidence to prove their claim."
"I think you're right. Aha. In that case, they'll most likely check the wizard's or witch's wand. There's a spell that shows the last cast spells with the wand. Aurors use it a lot. And since accidental spells can't be cast with the wand, the crime would be proven." Mr. Flourish said proudly.
"Oh. Then there's no problem. I don't have a wand," said Ron. Then he lowered his head and returned to his book.
"Eh? Never mind. If anyone asks, I didn't see anything," Mr. Flourish muttered to himself.
Then he turned back to Ron and spoke again. "Young Weasley, could you call me if a customer comes in? I want to collect the copies of The Invisible Book of Invisibility while the store is empty."
"Of course, Mr. Flourish. I'll let you know if anyone comes in," Ron said, lifting his head from his book again.
"Thank you," said Mr. Flourish, and then, activating his Eye of Demiguise, he disappeared among the bookshelves.
But just as Ron was about to refocus on his book, two notification sounds and Alfred's voice shifted his attention.
-Ding
[One of the Hidden Achievements has been accomplished: First Sale of an Original Product.]
[Reward: A book named "Magical Theories on Transmutation". Your reward has been sent to your inventory.]
-Ding
[One of the Hidden Achievements has been accomplished: First Money Making.]
[Reward: Inventory-Linked Coin Pouch. Your reward has been sent to your inventory.]
These two consecutive, unsolicited successes had somewhat surprised Ron, but part of his surprise stemmed from the fact that the notifications were arriving now.
[Given your circumstances, I delayed the notifications until your negotiations and business were finished, Master Ronald. Would you like me to inform you immediately next time?]
'So that's why,' Ron thought, and then mentally called out to Alfred. 'No need, Alfred. It was a wise decision to act this way. Please continue to do so in the future.'
[As you wish, Master Ronald.]
Regarding the rewards from hidden achievements, the Inventory-Linked Coin Pouch, as the name suggests, was a pouch linked to the currency wallet feature in his inventory.
This pouch allowed Ron to access and transfer coins from his inventory. While he could already summon and send coins whenever he wanted to his inventory, this pouch provided a cover, so it wasn't entirely useless.
The other reward was more important to Ron: a book containing magical theories on transmutation.
Although it didn't contain direct knowledge, but only theories, Ron readily accepted any information on such an important and useful field as transmutation.
Unfortunately, it wasn't appropriate for Ron to summon and examine these items from his inventory or sleep and enter the Library right now. So, he decided to examine his rewards after returning home and refocused on reading his book.
And as Ron became engrossed in his book, time began to slip away again. Unbeknownst to him, about two and a half hours had passed since he arrived at Flourish and Blotts.
Meanwhile, the Library's Scan feature hadn't stopped for a single moment. Even as Ron was negotiating with Mr. Flourish and trying to sell his items, the scanning process continued.
Normally, a two-and-a-half-hour scan could scan 15,000 books, but unfortunately, Flourish and Blotts didn't contain that many.
At least, it didn't contain that many unique books. The total number of unique books here was a little over 10,000, and when different editions containing different information were included, the total number reached 11,273.
Therefore, that was the total number of books Ron could copy, so the scanning process finished and stopped about half an hour ago.
But Ron was still surprised that a bookstore could hold so many unique books. It was no wonder that Flourish and Blotts was the most famous and largest bookstore in Magical Britain.
When you factor in copies of these 10,000 unique books, at an average of 50 copies each, it amounts to nearly half a million books. And the only place that could surpass that number was probably Hogwarts Library.
And that was also one of Ron's next targets.
Ron was halfway through reading his book when he heard someone enter the store. Just as he was about to call out to Mr. Flourish, he looked up and realized it was Bill.
Bill entered Flourish & Blotts and, after taking a few steps, noticed Ron sitting in a comfortable armchair just beyond the counter, looking at him.
He immediately went over to him and said, "You seem quite comfortable, Ron."
"I am," said Ron, and with a swift movement of his hand, he conjured another armchair next to his own, so that the table he had previously conjured was now between the two chairs.
"But it would be nicer if I had some snacks. We should take some snacks with us the next time we go out," Ron said.
"Sure, we can do that," Bill said, then sat down in the armchair Ron had conjured.
He then placed a stack of papers he had been holding on the table and said, "These are the solicitors I could find according to your criteria. Eight in total. Five of them run their own solicitor offices independently. The other three work under senior solicitors in a solicitor's office."
"Those solicitors working under a solicitor's office aren't suitable. Let's skip them," Ron said.
"Why? Wouldn't a larger solicitor's office be better? Besides, if the person we will talk to is inadequate about the subject, they can consult the senior solicitor," Bill said.
"That is actually one of the main reasons. These people you've found might meet our criteria, but I doubt the people they work with in their office will. This situation can hinder our work. Also, when we talk to the solicitor, we'll be discussing a lot of confidential information, and I want this information to be known by as few people as possible," Ron explained.
"Hmm... I understand what you mean," Bill said, then picked up the papers again, set aside three of the eight, and handed the remaining five to Ron. "Take a look and see if you find anyone you like."
Ron took the papers Bill handed him and began to examine them, but frankly, he didn't think he could decide on a solicitor based solely on the information on the papers. He needed to meet them in person to make a final decision.
So, the information Bill had gathered wasn't for making a decision, but rather to get general information about these solicitors and learn the location of their offices. This way, they could go to their offices and meet them face-to-face.
But of course, there was an exception. If Ron recognized a name among the candidates Bill had compiled, he might prioritize that person. After all, he knew far more about this world than the original Ron did, and he would prefer to do business with someone he knew.
And this exception arose when Ron, after examining three of the five papers in his hand, moved on to the fourth.
After reading the solicitor's name on the paper and quickly glancing at the information, Ron handed the paper to Bill and said, "This one. We'll go to his office first and talk to him. And if we come to an agreement, we won't need to talk to the others."
"You haven't even looked at the last solicitor's information. What's so special about this one?" Bill took the paper Ron handed him and checked which solicitor it was.
"Edward Tonks? Although this solicitor's fee isn't the most expensive among them, it's still expensive. Also, I've heard he's very particular about details and little things. Because of this, he's even lost some clients. Are you sure about this?" Bill asked.
End of Chapter 23.
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Ch.24: The Value of a Galleon
Ch.25: Are You Using NDAs Here?
Ch.26: Signing a Magic Contract