Chapter 503 The Potter Family

“Thanks… but I don’t smoke.”

Sean politely declined the “vending machine’s” kind offer.

The man’s screen immediately displayed a regretful expression. “That’s a real shame. This stuff is good, a special supply for the nobility. You can’t even buy it normally.”

“A special supply for the nobility?” Sean asked casually. “Then how do you have it?”

“Because this is Cadola Royal City,” the man replied.

It might be a little hard to believe, but the Potter Family is just that generous.

He’d been in Cadola Royal City gathering intelligence for some years now, so he could be considered a semi-local. At first, he didn’t believe any nobles could be so good to the common people. Based on his understanding of nobility, not exploiting the commoners was already considered conscientious. The idea of them sharing their joys with the people was something not even the movies would dare to portray.

But after living here for a while, he discovered that the Potter Family was truly different from other nobles.

Besides frequently reimbursing everyone for various unexpected expenses, they also shared gifts from the Church Court—like cigarettes and liquor, symbols of the High Nobles—with the public. Although these items were sold, the prices were very affordable.

Take the “Waffle” brand cigarettes he was holding now, for example. 200 a pack. It might seem expensive at first glance—enough to buy a whole carton of regular cigarettes—but in reality, the Potter Family didn’t make a single cent.

Gifts from the Church Court don’t have a set price. Their value depends entirely on how much the Church Court gives and how much value the family creates for the Church Court. Usually, the ratio is outrageous. After all, nobles are supposed to work for the Church Court, and the gifts it distributes are rewards for its subordinates.

Calculated this way, the cost of a single pack of “Waffle” cigarettes would be in the tens of thousands. The smuggled price in many places is over four digits. In comparison, the Potter Family selling them for just 200 was practically giving them away.

“The way you put it, I’m almost tempted,” Sean said with a smile.

“Want one, then?” the man offered again.

Every old smoker loves turning others into old smokers.

“Don’t you dare,” Elvire immediately shot Sean a glare.

If Sean had been a smoker already, she wouldn’t have said anything. Even if she disliked the smell of smoke, she would never force Sean to change his habits for her. In Elvire’s eyes, since she had chosen this man, it meant accepting everything about him, and his habits were part of what made him who he was.

But Sean didn’t smoke before, so she had to step in.

As Sean’s good friend, she had a duty to stop him from picking up such a harmful habit.

“Hey, I was just kidding. Don’t take it seriously.” Sean was just making a joke to build some rapport with the vending machine man. It was their first meeting; they needed something to talk about.

It was also a way to liven up the atmosphere.

Honestly, the guy had really startled him just now.

The vending machine was so realistic. He, Elvire, and Elise had passed by here several times without ever noticing it was actually a person who had transformed.

He had to admit, it was a very clever use of the “Transformation Technique.”

From a Wizard’s perspective, the Transformation Technique was usually used to turn into small animals—cats, dogs, chicks, birds, and the like. Transforming a living being into another living being was relatively simple, which was the standard way to use the technique. But precisely because it was “standard,” it was also more easily seen through. This was especially true in a city where all the residents were Wizards. Transforming for no reason would easily arouse suspicion. In a situation like this, an unexpected transformation was the safest and most correct choice.

It’s just that…

“As far as I know, transforming into an object can easily lead to problems,” Sean said.

Transforming a living being into another living being was easier because they shared certain commonalities, like possessing life. But a person and a vending machine… Sean really couldn’t think of anything they had in common, except that both were made of Energy—which was the very reason a person could become a vending machine, as Energy is the essence of all things in the world. But besides that, were there any other similarities between a person and a vending machine?

Sean thought not. Even their most basic physiological structures were different. Therefore, the initial transformation must have placed immense physical and psychological stress on the Wizard, who would need time to adapt. And the most terrifying part was that very adaptation. Adapting would cause a person to subconsciously become dependent on their current state. Maintaining a form so completely different from a human for a long time could easily cause the Transformation Technique to become a one-way spell—once transformed, there was no going back.

“You’re right.”

The man took out a lighter, lit a cigarette, and put it sadly into his mouth slot, saying, “I can’t change back now.”

Sean: “…”

Elise: “…”

Elvire: “…”

There was nothing the man could do.

Just as Sean had said, Cadola Royal City was full of Wizards, so turning into a small animal was useless. It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried; the result was that whether he turned into a cat or a rat, someone on the street would always greet him.

Moreover, his skin was yellowish and his appearance was vastly different from the local residents, marking him as an outsider at a glance. If he were only staying for a short time, he could pretend to be a tourist in Cadola Royal City. But he needed to stay long-term, for at least three to five years. Who tours for that long?

And Cadola Royal City didn’t allow immigration; no outsiders had long-term residency rights. The maximum stay was three months. With no other choice, he had to become a vending machine and hide in a convenience store.

He had chosen this spot carefully.