Although Steven was eager to write a letter and Vid said he didn't mind being alone, Steven didn't shrug off his responsibilities and leave.
He discussed the wording of the letter with Vid and then began talking about the magical creatures he was raising.
Although Professor Morry disapproved of him traveling to places where dangerous magical creatures lived, he did not completely dismiss Steven's dreams. After graduating from Hogwarts, Steven acquired a farm where, over the years, he had raised many "little darlings."
Vid knew that Hagrid at Hogwarts liked to keep all kinds of dangerous creatures, such as fire dragons, and called them "cute little animals." He thought Steven was the same, but upon further understanding, he found out that they were truly adorable and mostly harmless magical creatures, like Diricawl, Silence Bird, Puffskein, Little Fairies, and Crup. The most dangerous among them was an Occamy, which could stretch and shrink its body at will, becoming as large as a dragon, but it fed on insects, birds, and mice.
"I've always wanted to raise a Granian," Steven said. "You know, a type of Pegasus. Granians can fly, running faster than the wind. But aside from the mythical Siegfried, no one has ever tamed a Granian."
"Is it difficult to tame this kind of Pegasus?"
"They are dashing animals, yearning for freedom and unwilling to be bound."
As Steven spoke, he mentioned other Pegasi—Hogwarts' Thestrals, Beauxbatons' Divine Talisman Horses, and the fire-breathing Pegasus Yseron.
Some wizards looked down on any magical creatures other than wizards, considering them to be inferior animals. But Steven was fascinated by them, knowing each creature like the back of his hand. Vid felt that just from chatting with him, he had learned a lot in a short time.
Suddenly, someone arrived and interrupted their conversation.
It was a blonde wizard they had seen before at the small stone platform. His face wore a look of exhaustion and regret. He greeted Steven and then looked at Vid, trying to muster a smile, "Mr. Greg, I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to collaborate this time. I hope next time, if you have new works, please contact me. I can surely offer a price that you'll be satisfied with."
He handed over a card with the wizard's name and contact address on it.
Steven raised an eyebrow, losing his smile. His previously honest and gentle demeanor suddenly turned a bit cold.
Vid took the card with a smile and said, "I hope we have that opportunity in the future."
The blonde wizard seemed a bit relieved, quickly said his goodbyes, and left.
"You're not really planning to collaborate with him, are you? He got your surname wrong," Steven said, rather unhappily.
"Yes, he got it wrong," Vid put away the card and said, "But it doesn't matter, because I didn't intend to remember his name either."
It seemed the blonde wizard had flipped a switch, as two more wizards came to say goodbye one after another, saying similar things and leaving their cards with Vid.
At least this time they remembered Vid's full name.
After they left, Steven whispered an introduction to Vid.
"——Don't collaborate with Bolton. He seems easy-going, but he's ruthless, often messing with contracts, though he's too afraid to cross my father."
In other words, if Vid were to deal with him, it would be easy to suffer losses.
A wizard with a center part and a ring of beard came to bid farewell, holding a conspicuous black cane.
"Mr. Gray, I really admire your talent, but unfortunately, Professor Morry and I had significant disagreements over the price—hope we can keep in touch, and there might be new opportunities in the future."
"Of course, thank you for the time and effort you put into this," Vid said, accepting his card.
[Cyrus Sharp], that was the wizard's name.
"Sharp is a very capable person, always able to procure hard-to-get items, including many illicit goods. I heard he was in Azkaban three times when he was young—my father doesn't really like him, but sometimes buys things from him," Steven introduced afterward.
"He got out of Azkaban?" Vid was surprised. In his impression, Azkaban was an isolated island in the vast sea, a prison from which there was no escape.
Steven misunderstood Vid's meaning and explained, "Well, because he's very cunning, adept at hiding his crimes, and each sentence was no more than half a year."
"Oh—hmm—so that's how it is."
After listening, Vid realized he had been foolish—just because movies only showed Death Eaters sentenced to life imprisonment, it didn't mean Azkaban only had life sentences.
The wizards gradually left, until only Marchioni emerged from the small stone platform, loudly "complaining" as he walked, "Dear Professor Morry, I was once your student too, but now I feel I never received any of your favoritism—of course, I'm not complaining; I just want to tell you that even though I've left school, I will always respect your decisions and hope you can give me a little attention and care."
He gestured with his thumb and index finger to show just how small his request was.
"Oh, please, when have you ever suffered a loss?" Professor Morry said irritably.
Indeed, though Marchioni was complaining, he couldn't help but smile, his face full of delighted triumph. He walked briskly and lightly to Vid, doffing his hat and bowing, saying with a beaming smile, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Vid Gray. Please allow me to introduce myself—Marco Marchioni, I deal in all kinds of magic items. I believe today's meeting is a fortunate event, and I look forward to building a deep friendship with you, bringing even more positive changes to the Wizarding World in the future, or rather—making more money!"
"——Hello?" Vid was startled by his exaggerated actions and instinctively looked at Professor Morry.
Professor Morry nodded and directly stated the final result: "Marchioni is willing to pay fifty thousand Galleons for the technology rights to the Friendship Book. Moreover, every Galleon he earns from it in the future, he will pay you 3 Sickles."
Marchioni's radiant smile got a bit stiff—it was apparent that although this price would still let him earn a lot, the thought of possibly not having to pay so much made him feel heartbroken and frustrated.
He thus chattered on, grumbling about Professor Morry's favoritism towards Vid, completely carving the profits out from an unfortunate businessman like him.
Professor Morry remained unmoved, as if Marchioni's voice was just a buzzing fly nearby. He soon drafted the contract and, as a witness, urged Marchioni and Vid to seal the agreement.
The beauty of the Magic World is that there is no need to worry about business partners breaking agreements, as the price for breaking a contract is often more severe than death itself.