In less than ten minutes, Victor finished a large pot of fried rice. Then, to everyone's amazement, he polished off two more pots and was now stuffing his face with dessert.
"Victor, what exactly happened to you? Why were you so badly hurt?" Hermione suddenly asked. This was a question everyone in the Guild wanted to know.
"Hmm... well..." Victor thought for a moment, his cheeks bulging. "To put it simply, I went to a very mysterious place that day, ran into a huge group of terrifying monsters, and got a bit too reckless, so I had to fight for my life."
"Monsters?" Hermione frowned, placing a new cake in front of Victor. "Were they some kind of powerful magical creatures?"
"Of course not," Victor replied, shoving a large piece of cake into his mouth. "Magical creatures are nothing compared to those things. They are completely beyond your imagination."
"Then what did you run into?" Hermione asked anxiously. "With your power, could there possibly be a monster in this world that could hurt you that badly? And even if there was, if you couldn't beat it, couldn't you just run away?"
At this, the other members of the Fairy Tail Guild also nodded in agreement. In their minds, Victor was a person who could use a hundred-meter-long Basilisk as a club. So, they were all very curious about what kind of being could have pushed this terrifying person to the brink of death.
However, Hermione had guessed one thing correctly. There were no monsters in this world that could severely injure Victor. They were in another world.
Facing the curious stares of the people around him, Victor sighed helplessly, then suddenly rolled his eyes and said, "Don't ask anymore. I won't tell you. It's not something you should know about right now. You wouldn't be able to handle just looking at a scene like that."
Victor didn't want the people in the Guild to know about the Fiendfyre world. He didn't want them to know about the battle he had with those monsters.
For these young wizards, it was a battle that was completely beyond the scope of a normal person's imagination and their highest understanding of power.
This was like the people of the Trisolaran world being unable to imagine that Trisolarans could unfold a proton into a two-dimensional plane and etch circuits on it to create a supercomputer.
These young wizards were not yet mature, and their powers were not up to par. They couldn't handle this kind of devastating blow.
However, Victor's previous few sentences had the opposite effect. The more he said, the more curious everyone became. What kind of monster was so terrifying that he couldn't even speak of it?
Just as the members of Fairy Tail were itching with curiosity, Victor's stomach suddenly rumbled. His stomach was revolting again!
"Master, I'll go back to the kitchen and have Kururu make you some more food," Cedric said, his mouth twitching and a bead of cold sweat running down his forehead.
Honestly, he was very curious as to why the person in front of him could drink a 2-liter bucket of milk, eat several pounds of rice, and then eat a two-pound chocolate cream cake without his stomach swelling! Was his stomach a black hole?
A moment later, Kururu and Cedric came over with a large platter of Spanish seafood paella and a whole roasted pig. Victor immediately started stuffing his face again, making the people around him hungry just by watching.
Zoe licked her lips and quietly grabbed a spoon, wanting a bite of the king crab meat. But just as she reached out, the platter of paella suddenly moved a bit away from her. She thought it was her imagination and reached out again, but the platter moved away from her again. After trying several times, Zoe finally shouted in embarrassment and anger, "Master, are you guarding your food?!"
"Hmph. I haven't even settled the score with you for sneaking into my seafood tank and grabbing two of my fire crabs. I worked hard to catch this king crab from the bottom of the Bering Sea. If you want some, go catch your own," Victor said, turning his head proudly and fiercely guarding the platter.
In a land of culinary delights, food is paramount, and fine food is the pinnacle of it all!
He could share a bite of fried rice with them, but trying to steal a bite of lobster from his mouth? No way!
And just like that, amidst the cheerful commotion in the Fairy's Abode, the secret of Victor's injuries was subtly forgotten.
As night fell, people gradually left the Guild, and only Victor and Harry remained. Hermione had told Victor that Harry had moved his home to the Guild before she left.
Looking at the slightly awkward boy in front of him, Victor suddenly made a suggestion. "Harry, why don't we go for a walk outside together?"
Harry was stunned and subconsciously nodded. "Okay."
At this moment, the stars were brilliant. Even though they couldn't compete with the silvery moonlight, they added a gentle glow to the world.
Victor and Harry walked on the lawn outside Hogwarts Castle, slowly making their way to the shore of the Great Lake. In the distance, Hagrid's hut emitted a faint light.
Victor found a spot and sat down, looking up at the galaxy. Harry nervously sat down beside him, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't know how. The two fell into a moment of silence as the cool breeze blew across the lake.
After some time, Victor broke the silence. "Harry, I want to know, why did you move to the Guild?"
"Master... you don't approve?" Harry's face fell.
"Of course not." Victor shook his head with a smile. "Rule number two of the Guild: as long as you join Fairy Tail, we are all family. So, if you want to treat the Guild as your home, I have no objections."
"I just want to understand what you're thinking."
"I..." Harry lowered his head and was silent for a moment. "I hate living there..." He then briefly told Victor about his experiences growing up with the Dursleys.
"Harry, I'm not in a position to judge your relationship with the Dursleys. But do you think what you did, leaving without a word, was the right thing to do?" Victor asked.
"..." Harry fell silent. He didn't know how to answer this question. Three days ago, he had successfully left the Dursley's house, but he always felt a mess inside, as if something was missing.
"You could have left the Dursleys a year ago, when you joined the Guild, but you didn't," Victor said with a smile, looking up at the twinkling stars. "That must have been a difficult decision to make, right? I imagine you thought about it for a long time."
"But since you made the decision, why is there a hint of regret in your eyes?"
"No! I don't regret it!" Harry immediately denied, as if a sensitive nerve had been touched. "Living in the Guild is so much better than living there. Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Scarlia and Zoe—I have friends with me every day. I don't have to worry about not having dinner, and I don't have to be locked in a room again!"
At this moment, a cool breeze blew by, and the grass swayed with it.
Victor looked at Harry's green eyes expressionlessly. "Harry, what's the point of lying to yourself? Are you sure your denial just now came from your true heart?"
"..." Harry lowered his head and remained silent.
"I don't know if Dumbledore has ever told you, but after your parents died, besides the Dursleys, you had many better options," Victor said slowly. "But do you know why Dumbledore still sent you to the Dursleys under those circumstances?"
"I don't know..." Harry shook his head.
"The Protective Charm your mother cast on you protects you from Voldemort's power until you come of age. But this magic requires you to stay with your blood relatives to work. Do you know what that means?"
"Your aunt has been risking her life to protect you for the past decade or so. You should also know that the Ministry of Magic has arrested many of Voldemort's minions recently. Can you imagine who would be the first to suffer if they decided to come after you?"
"Harry, as the Guild Master, I have to remind you of something: some things you can't just give up on. Magic is an extension of a person's heart's power. If you try to deny your own heart, you will eventually deny your own magic..."
Watching Harry walk away silently with his head down, Victor knew that the other person had taken his words to heart, and he believed Harry would make the right choice. But just then, a figure appeared silently beside him and also watched the distant figure.
"Good evening, Professor Dumbledore."
"Good evening, Victor."
"Have you fully recovered from your injuries?"
"My external injuries are mostly healed, but the internal ones will take a while to mend," Victor replied, glancing at the person next to him. "Professor, I've always been curious, is eavesdropping a hobby of yours? This isn't the first time, you know."
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