It didn't take the two of them too long to reach their destination as the girl turned back to look at him when they reached a large wooden door.
"My father is inside. You can talk to him about the houses…", she said as she pushed the door open, revealing a large brightly lit room.
She looked inside and shouted, "Papa! Customer!"
Alex walked in while the girl waited for him outside. A middle-aged man sat on a luxurious chair as he smoked a cigar. He rubbed his palms together when he saw Alex walk towards him.
He sat down on one of the two chairs that were placed opposite the middle-aged man and smiled warmly, "Hello, I am here to buy some property for my princess. Do you mind filling me in on the trends and prices in this country please?"
The man's face brightened up when he heard the word princess. He sat up straight, trying to look smart and capable. He failed miserably at it as his large pot belly did the exact opposite of what he wanted although his expensive suit helped him a little.
"Oh, dear sir. I am the most knowledgeable broker in Great Britain. I can get people to build you a large mansion with the highest tier of security spells that are usually taken care of by the goblins.
The goblins usually are a handful if you go to them directly but they will listen to me quite well. What do you say, sir?"
"What's your name?", Alex asked as he tapped the table.
"Uh… people call me Broker Grump."
"Nice. Now Grump, I asked you to tell me about the trends and prices. Not about protections and whatnot."
"Oh. I'm sorry sir.", Grump apologized, unfazed as he continued, "The trends right now are just…. The best protections and wards. The houses have to look great on the inside but should be hidden from human sight. Something along the lines.
As for prices, an extremely large mansion will cost you around ten thousand galleons and you will get the best wards and shields along with it. That is the best package that we have right now.
Mid-size multi-floored houses cost around two thousand galleons while the small ones cost a thousand. The best wards cost a thousand galleons while the lowest costs a hundred. You can also opt for no wards and protective charms if you have the knowledge to do it yourself."
Alex nodded as he thought about it for a while, "Understood. I need a few specific things to be built for me. Is that possible?"
"Of course, sir. We will build anything for you as long as it is possible for us. It will cost you extra based on the difficulty."
"Great. Then I'll take a medium-sized house with the best wards and protection. I want an underground floor that is built completely with magic-resistant materials since I need a place for the princess to conduct experiments."
"That will be done, sir. The price would be…. Two plus one for the house and wards. The magic-resistant room…. Let's see, about twelve thousand galleons. The total will be fifteen thousand galleons, sir. You have to pay half of the amount upfront."
Alex nodded and said, "Bring me the money, Kite."
Toffy popped up beside the table, dressed in an expensive tuxedo, looking like a posh butler. He placed the box on the table and said, "Twenty thousand Galleons."
Alex stood up and opened the box, revealing neatly stacked rows of gold coins.
"Here, you go. Use the best materials and hire the best workers for the job. I also want it to be built in a very secretive place. If you can do all that, then this money is yours. Yes, every single coin inside will be yours."
"Hahahaha, thank you sir.", he said as leaned forward to grab the box but Toffy caught his hand midway.
"Nuh-uh.", said Alex as he glanced at Grump before looking at Toffy, "Give him seven thousand five hundred galleons."
Grump was about to protest when Alex took out his wand and looked straight into his eyes, "You satisfy me, you get the rewards. You disappoint me, I take your life. Got it?"
"Ye- yes sir. I'm sorry about my shameful display just now."
Alex waved him off and walked out while Toffy took care of the money matters. He walked out and on his way, left a small stack of ten galleons on the counter for the girl, who, after he left began jumping around like an excited bunny.
He walked to the same alley where Toffy was already waiting for him before going back to his house.
He took off his suit and tossed it onto the floor before plopping himself on the sofa beside Helen.
"Hey Helen, Toffy will take care of the payments from now on so all you have to do is wait. Just enjoy your time with your grandkids until I come back. We can then start my training."
"All right.", she said as she ruffled his hair, "Maybe you should turn back to your real appearance. It feels weird looking at a grown man when I know that he's just a child."
"….. yeah. You totally feel weird huh?", Alex said as he smirked. He knew how attraction and infatuation worked but he had never felt it until now.
Doubtful about his future, his hand involuntarily reached out to his sausage and eggs.
"Hey, Helen… you should have a decent knowledge about the human body, right? Since you have to study about transformations and stuff…."
"Oh yes. I do know a lot about the human body."
"Well…. I read in a book that males and females have this kind of physical attraction towards each other but I suddenly had a feeling that there's something wrong with me…"
"What do you mean? I don't think there's anything wrong with you."
"No… not like that. I never felt any kind of attraction towards girls."