Chapter Fifty-Nine: Harry Potter

Wands, fairies, unicorns, centaurs, fire dragons... In this new world, all these things were connected to wizards, and the era seemed to be the late twentieth century, as evidenced by the vehicles and electrical equipment seen among the passersby.

“A world where ordinary people and wizards coexist, and those wands... Harry Potter?”

This was the first thought that came to Karn’s mind. It was the most likely scenario, though he didn’t rule out other possibilities. Still, if this truly was the world of Harry Potter, then there were countless valuable things within it that he could trade for.

From what he had just glimpsed, Karn had already seen potions, fire dragons, unicorns, and more.

“Wizards probably need magical items, and apart from those, perhaps gold. Fortunately, I didn’t sell off all my gold earlier—maybe I should buy even more now...”

After considering a moment, Karn began to think about what to bring. Firearms remained his most effective means of protection. Though his chakra reserves had grown considerably, now reaching the level of a jōnin, practicing ninjutsu was still a troublesome affair; even a single Earth Dragon Concealment Technique had cost him much time. To be honest, Karn was not suited for a ninja’s way of combat.

A ninja’s entire approach relied on intelligence, whether at the lowest rank or at the level of Kaguya, the progenitor of all chakra. Intelligence was always paramount, and gathering it demanded keen insight—unfortunately, Karn’s weakest skill.

Karn possessed endless potential for growth; perhaps in some world he might ascend to godhood in a single leap, relying then on sheer power to crush his foes. Toiling away at training seemed far less appealing than enjoying a good drink, as long as he could ensure his own survival.

“Now’s not the time for such thoughts. First, let’s get the supplies ready and make arrangements here.”

He then carefully organized his spatial backpack: firearms, gold, essential living supplies, and some technical manuals and items that were slightly ahead of their era. After all, there were many ordinary people in that world besides wizards.

In addition, Karn made a hefty purchase of gold. Due to time constraints, he only managed to acquire several tens of millions of dollars’ worth—already a large transaction in the United States. Any more would have required travel to other countries or waiting longer.

During this period, Karn also interviewed several assistants, and after careful selection, he settled on two.

Betty Ross and Laura Jones—both highly educated. Betty had experience as a biological researcher and stellar academic credentials, while Laura had managed companies with thousands of employees.

After hiring them, Karn assigned each several tasks. Laura was suited for company management and official business, so he put her in charge of the pharmaceutical wholesale trading company, the securities firm, and the establishment of a military security company, promising her future dividends and stock options as the business grew.

Though titled an assistant, Laura’s duties were really those of a CEO; her salary was high, and her future earnings looked promising. Before joining, she had used her own network to look into Karn Pent and discovered he had multiplied a fortune of several million several hundredfold in just a few years—reason enough for her to take the job.

Betty Ross, on the other hand, was tasked with leveraging her network to recruit biological researchers, oversee the research center, and handle Karn’s daily affairs. Her workload seemed lighter than Laura’s, but she spent much more time with Karn.

Just arranging these two assistants consumed much of Karn’s time, but with their help, he’d no longer need to handle errands himself.

Yet during this month or so, Karn always found Betty a little odd. She claimed to be at odds with her father and wanted to strike out on her own, accepting Karn’s invitation because it matched her field of expertise—but to Karn, that sounded like nonsense.

Aside from that obvious lie, he didn’t find other faults in Betty. He planned to ask Orochimaru to develop a kind of cursed seal; when the time came, both Betty and Laura would each receive one.

When his gold purchases were complete, Karn’s total, including what he’d obtained from the ninja world, amounted to three tons. If magical items in the wizarding world weren’t too expensive, he intended to fill his spatial backpack to the brim before returning.

On Earth in the Marvel universe, there seemed to be only one magical sanctuary—Kamar-Taj—but its system favored diligent training, and magical items were far from common.

But this new, unknown magical system might bring Karn unimaginable profits. Before that, though, he needed to proceed with caution.

..................

London, England

As the final decade of the twentieth century drew to a close, this city ought to have been surging into the modern age, but Karn could still feel its ancient character lingering from the previous century.

“These trading rules are such a headache. Three days... If I can’t find a wizard in three days, I’ll have to bind the trading coordinates to someone unlikely to die. The only one I’m sure of now is Elizabeth?”

Karn shook his head. If he had to choose, Charles would be better than Elizabeth—at least Charles was sure to outlive her by several years.

But finding a wizard in the world of ordinary people was truly a challenge. After arriving, Karn gathered some intelligence and quickly surmised that this was the world of Harry Potter.

Perhaps his reading was limited, but given the time period and what he’d seen through the trading system, he was ninety-nine percent certain.

He now had two methods: find a dentist in London named Granger, or locate the Dursley family. But all he knew was the surname Dursley, and nothing about their occupation.

Finding people didn’t require much of his own effort. He quickly sought out a reputable private security firm, originally formed from the merger of several detective agencies, with over a decade of cooperation with the London police—reliable in both manpower and reputation.

Upon contacting the company, Karn stated his requirements.

“You want to find a dentist named Granger and a family named Dursley? Sir, do you have any other information about the Dursleys?”

Karn chuckled lightly and replied, “If I knew more, I wouldn’t need your help, Mr. Husband. You have only one day to earn the rest of your fee...”

With that, Karn placed two thousand pounds on the table. Before coming, he had exchanged fifty thousand pounds, all in legal tender for the late twentieth century.

His price was generous—five thousand pounds for finding one person, ten thousand for both. To this private security firm, it was the biggest private job outside of the police, and with little risk involved.

“Rest assured, Mr. Karn, leave it to us.”

Mr. Husband elegantly pocketed the cash, then smiled at Karn.