The streets of London are always wet, and water can be found everywhere on the uneven roads.

Passers-by come and go in a hurry, and most of them habitually carry an umbrella in their hand. Living in this rainy city all year round, you always need to take precautions, don't you?

It's been a cold year in London on the whole, and maybe the Muggles living in London will have a snowy Christmas this time.

Dressed in a thick woollen coat and carrying a black umbrella like other Muggles, Maca hurried forward with a calm face.

Most of the shops on the roadside have closed. It seems that when people have been busy all year and now need to take a break, these stores can't care about making money.

Everyone is waiting for Christmas.

All the hustle and bustle of the wizarding world could not be brought into the Muggle world, which was always so harmonious and peaceful.

Suddenly, Maca, who had been walking forward, turned a corner and came to an old-fashioned residential area.

The environment here is noticeably darker than the street outside, with old walls covered with creepers and large patches of damp moss in the corners.

As Maca passed by the mouth of a dark alley, she could vaguely see several fat rats scurrying into the gutters that could be found everywhere in London.

He didn't hesitate, and kept walking forward, leaving one old house after another behind.

Soon, he stopped in front of a three-story apartment building.

The year-round rains make the houses a little blackened and everything look dirty, especially in old houses.

The door of the apartment was open, and the large wooden door with faded paint was being eroded and rotted little by little by the repeated rain, giving off a strange smell that could not be described as unpleasant.

Maca lifted her leg and walked through the door.

There was a janitor's room to the right of the entrance, but it was apparently a long time since there had been no janitor, and it was empty, except for a broken wooden chair that stood alone behind the reception window.

Maca just glanced at it subconsciously and walked towards the stairs in front of her.

As he made his way up to the third floor and into the slightly dimly lit hallway, a door opened.

"Oh, a new face, kid...... Are you here to see the house? ”

Out from behind the door was a shriveled little old man, who pushed his eyes on the bridge of his nose, but still squinted at Maca.

"It's not bad here, the landlord is very polite, but he always likes to chatter...... When you're older, you always want to talk more when you can, don't you? ”

Maca shook her head and said, "Uncle, I'm here to visit a friend of mine. She lives here and has only been here for a short time. ”

"Really?" The little old man thought for a moment and said, "Oh, it's the little girl with the surname Werther, right?" It's very beautiful, and it's good-hearted, but it's a very poor life......"

Maca said calmly: "This is the life she chooses for herself......"

With that, he said goodbye to the old man and walked deeper into the hallway.

"It's good to choose for yourself...... In this life, how many opportunities do you have to choose......" Behind him, there was a faint voice of the little old man.

"Knock Knock"

It wasn't long before Maca arrived at the door of Room 306, and he knocked lightly on the old wooden door, which was not much better than the door of the apartment downstairs.

"Who?" A crisp and pleasant voice sounded from behind the door, vaguely with a hint of sleep.

"It's me, McLean...... It's not early, get up quickly, senior sister. Maca replied in a relaxed tone.

Suddenly, there was silence in the room, and then he heard the sound of hurried footsteps.

With a "crunch" sound, the wooden door was suddenly opened from the inside, and a sweet breath rushed towards the maca standing at the door.

"Yikes!" "Bang!"

Another exclamation rang out, and the wooden door was closed again.

Maca took a complicated step to the side, trying to erase the image she had just overheard from her memory. He subconsciously looked into the corridor, but saw that the little old man just now was nodding at him with a clear face, and then went in the direction of the stairs.

Who would have thought that a beautiful woman who has already grown up would be so careless? Wearing such loose pajamas, he ran to open the door for him in a hurry!

"Caught off guard...... No, it's impossible to prevent......" Maca rubbed her forehead helplessly.

After a few more moments, the door was opened again, and Charlotte, who was already fully dressed, finally appeared in front of Maca.

"Junior Brother...... Just now...... You don't see anything, do you? Charlotte still had a slight flush on her cheeks, but on the surface, she was obviously unwilling to admit defeat, "If you see something you shouldn't see, I'll beat you until you lose your memory!" ”

She raised her white fist and threatened with force.

"What can I see when you cover the room so dark...... What happened just now? The door opened and closed......" Maca cooperated with her, and naturally pretended to be confused.

“…… You have to take care of it! I'll just see if the door closes well......" Charlotte beckoned, "what are you still doing standing there, come in!" ”

"Smack!"

Maca walked past her and slapped him firmly on the back with the usual slap.

"Senior sister, can't you change this habit?" As he spoke, he casually glanced at the surroundings of the room, only to find that there seemed to be nothing to see.

In addition to a small round table and a chair, there is only a wardrobe and a bed.

On the south-facing walls, the curtains were drawn so tightly that no light could penetrate. In the whole room, an antique oil lamp from nowhere was faintly flickering.

"Habits are habits, and you can't change them! If you don't want to, find a way to make yourself willing to ......," Charlotte said, slapping Maca in the back again.

"Okay, willing to ......" Maca nodded again and again, "Senior sister, what are you doing in the room so dark?" ”

"The air outside is so humid, it's a little less to come in! A gas change at noon every day is enough. Charlotte said, walking directly to her bed and sitting down, "You can sit too, huh!" You're a guest, and the only chair is given to you, so is Senpai right to you? ”

"Yes, great."

"Why did you remember me here today? It's just such a broken room, and there's nothing to look at......" She said this, and suddenly said with a smile, "What, seeing that the big beautiful senior sister lives alone, do you want to plot against you?" ”

"Yes, the plot is ill-intentioned," Maca shrugged, "I'm just here to find out something about the senior sister, and by the way, I also have a good time visiting the beautiful senior sister who is soaring in freedom." ”

"Then you see it! There was nothing, and he was miserable and poor, and he pointed to the crack in the roof opposite, and a crack was clearly visible in the ceiling.

Seeing that she said so badly, Maca nodded instead.

"Well, it's good, as long as you're having fun, it's great." He said, "This kind of ordinary life will always calm people's hearts...... Speaking of which, have you found a job? ”

Charlotte looked at him straight for a while, then blinked and said, "It's hard to find!" It's too hard for someone who came out of nowhere to find a regular job...... Junior brother, you just said that you want to find out something from me? ”

"yes!" Maca hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke, "Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up while you were enjoying your freedom, but do you have the magic book called 'Abateel' in your family?" ”

Charlotte's face changed suddenly, she was silent for a long time, and finally shook her head.

“…… Do you want to get it too? She pursed her lips, "yes, it's a not-so-secret yet...... That's not something the average wizard should be exposed to, and trust me, that spellbook can bring terrible disasters to anyone. ”

"I know, Demon Summoning and Demon Sacrifice...... In fact, disaster may have already struck. Maca said in a deep voice.

Charlotte glanced at Maca hesitantly.

"My father also mentioned it...... Is this true? She looked a little uneasy, "The last time I went to McMillan's house was to give a search order. ”

"Don't you know?" Seeing her ignorant look, Maca couldn't help but ask.

"I've never taken the initiative to find out about family affairs...... It's too late to hide! Charlotte shook her head repeatedly, "Looks like you know more than I do." ”

"I'm sorry, Senpai. I shouldn't have come to talk to you about this, but you should recall all this nonsense......" Maca thought carefully for a moment, and suddenly put aside the topic just now, "To express my apologies, I'll treat you to a meal!" ”

Charlotte pouted and said, "You want to send me away for a meal?" ”

"Then two meals!" Maca spread her hands.

It seemed to be raining again outside, and it was dripping and dripping. The wind of the call sign carried cold raindrops back and forth between the buildings, washing the air over and over again.

Around the crack in the corner of the ceiling, the watermark spread again as if it would never dry out.

Truth be told, this terrible environment is quite close to the bottom of the Muggle world, and in a metropolis like London, it's just a small corner of the road. But even such a poor life is a "real freedom" that Charlotte could not ask for.

But when a bird trapped in a cage wants to find freedom, how can it be so easy to find?

"Little brother, do you know?" She looked at Maca, who was walking in front, and said faintly in her heart, "With this hard-won 'freedom', I don't have much time to enjoy." ”