I'm the King of Curry at Hogwarts

Chapter 169 Duke Meowlington

Louis was not surprised at all by his two girlfriends' obsession with diamonds.

Some say that women and dragons are the same species, both having a unique fascination with shiny things, and that's true.

Looking at Catherine's sparkling eyes, even a scumbag like Louis was secretly wondering if he had been too harsh on his woman. How could a few diamonds make her dream about him like this?

"So you have one too, right?" Louis's words immediately drew the two women's attention from Chromie to Christa.

"No... I'm not interested in anything sparkly." Christa swallowed hard and quickly denied it.

Just kidding, if I admitted it, I'd probably be eaten alive by the two mistresses.

Besides, she really doesn't have a hobby of collecting diamonds... her hobby has always been sleeping after eating.

Seeing that a dragon's life was about to be taken, Chromie quickly spoke up to explain, "Alright, don't wrong her. Only bronze dragons have a collecting obsession. After all, you can't expect red dragons to go through timelines and retrieve anything, can you?"

"But...on another note," Louis looked down at Chromie, "aren't we in a hurry to leave, or should we continue our discussion about the diamonds for a while longer?"

"Oh, sorry." Chromie quickly waved his short arms, like a shaman throwing a handful of sand into the air.

The sands of time that were raised dissipated in the air, creating ripples that flickered for a moment before a portal appeared before everyone.

"Come in," Chromie said in a monotone, emotionless voice.

The air in 1815 was much fresher than in later years. Although people in that era didn't pay much attention to environmental protection, it was during the First Industrial Revolution... so the pollution wasn't as severe as during the Second Industrial Revolution.

Just like the song "We Hope Emperor William Will Returns" says, Grandma said that when she was young, she could drink the Elbe River water directly without getting sick. In these days, at least the sky is blue, the mountains are green, and the water is clear, except for the London sky and the Thames.

Courtesy Thames: Are you?

Louis looked around but didn't see any signs of a military garrison. The surrounding area was full of dense woods, with only a few cats of different colors occasionally flashing by in the woods.

—It's strange, how come there are so many cats in Belgium now?

"Brussels is just ahead, Louis." Chromie's voice sounded behind him, followed by two coughs, and then continued, "Strange, why does the timeline feel right, yet a little off?"

"So is it crooked or not?" Louis looked at Cromy, who was taking out his pocket watch and carefully comparing the timeline, with an unfriendly expression.

"It seems... there's a small problem, but it's not serious." Chromie coughed twice more, then his expression suddenly changed. Before Louis could ask what was wrong, his entire body was abruptly suspended in mid-air, spinning around and around, sometimes doing forward rolls and sometimes backflips, looking extremely comical.

"What's wrong with you? What kind of outfit is that?" Louis asked with concern, looking at Chromie who was still performing like a circus act. "It's quite unique..."

"There are...there are spacetime turbulences interfering with me, stop them!" Chromie cried out in a high-pitched voice, looking extremely panicked, her little hands grabbing wildly, trying to find her balance, but to no avail.

At the same time, two pale golden halos of time appeared around Chromie's body, spinning continuously.

"What should I do?" Louis wasn't in a hurry, after all, it wasn't him who was being hung up.

A pale yellow hourglass emerged from Chromie's body and fell to the ground with a thud.

At this moment, Chromie seemed to have been completely silenced by the spacetime turbulence, shaking her head and making muffled noises, unable to utter a single word.

"How do you use this thing, Chris?" Louis turned to look at Chrisstassa.

"Aim at her and try it." Christa didn't dare admit she didn't know how, but gave a vague suggestion.

Louis picked up the hourglass, which was still ticking, and aimed it at Cromi. It worked! The Wheel of Time turned into ripples and vanished without a trace.

Chromie, now free, fell from mid-air and landed hard on her backside.

The feeling was quite unpleasant, and Chromie grimaced for a long time before she finally managed to get through it.

"What just happened?" Catherine asked with concern. She had just come in and saw Chromie performing acrobatics by himself, which was quite puzzling.

"It's just a spacetime turbulence, nothing serious." Chromie seemed quite nonchalant, as if it were no big deal.

She looked at Louis, stretched out her little hand, and Louis, not coveting her treasure, returned the hourglass to her little hand.

"Let's go, let's go to Brussels together," Chromie suggested, tucking the hourglass back into his pocket.

Along the way, the group felt something was off, but strangely, they couldn't pinpoint the problem. After walking through the dense forest for a while, the view suddenly opened up, and Louis finally realized what was wrong.

There were so many cats! All sorts of cats had been darting through the dense forest along the way, and now, what appeared before them was still a group of cats—yes, a real group, and they were even dressed in early 19th-century British military uniforms.

The red and white uniforms of the so-called "Lobster Soldiers," with their black peaked caps, are how these cats in front of them are dressed. Some are walking upright carrying guns, while others are lying on the ground transporting goods. It's clear that these cats are very good at walking upright, and they haven't forgotten their ancestors' skills (or perhaps their ancestors'?).

For a cat lover, this is absolutely paradise on earth.

But Louis only had a general fondness for cats. He turned to Cromy and asked, "What's with these cats? I don't recall any historical record of Britain domesticating cats and incorporating them into the army."

"Uh... there might indeed be a significant error in spacetime, otherwise I wouldn't have encountered such strong resistance when I brought you here," Chromie said somewhat awkwardly. "This should be a cat world, where the rulers are not humans, but cats... In simpler terms, all historical figures have been replaced with cats, and it's very likely that the Duke of Wellington, whom we are to protect, is also a cat..."

Six periods appeared in Louis's mind.

What the hell? Say it again?

He was somewhat skeptical, but everything in front of him told him that what Chromie said might really be true. After all, in real life, where would a cat carry a gun and run around like that?

Soon, the cats spotted them. A group of cats dressed in lobster military uniforms approached, carrying guns with gleaming bayonets, looking cold and intimidating.

You never know, after you poke it, you might end up with a transparent hole.

"You! What are you doing, meow!" The one-eyed orange cat, who looked like a military officer, pointed his sword at them with an unfriendly expression and a very stern tone, but the "meow" at the end of his sentence really ruined the atmosphere.

It feels a bit like she's deliberately trying to be cute.

"We are special envoys of His Majesty the King and the Cabinet, requesting an audience with His Excellency the Duke of Wellington," Louis lied.

It was obvious the small squad in front of them wouldn't believe them. Without even thinking, they snapped, "You're completely bald, you think you can impersonate His Majesty the King's envoy? You didn't even get the Duke of Meowlington's fiefdom right!"

Louis's lips twitched. What the hell, Meowlington? I'm...

Seeing the cat in front of him was not very credulous, Louis took out the Crown of St. Edward and put it on his head.

"This is a token given to me by His Majesty the King."

The young officer clearly knew his stuff. As someone whose ancestors had followed Charles II through the Central Plains, his family had many tales about royal treasures. He recognized the St. Edward's Crown at a glance. After a moment's thought, he said, "Wait here a moment, meow. I'll go inform His Excellency the Duke, meow."

"Okay, meow." Louis was misled and subconsciously picked up a meow-like phrase.

The squad leader left, leaving several subordinates still watching them with their guns at the ready. Catherine leaned close to Louis's ear and whispered, "Little Deer, I really liked your meow just now."

"Why don't you meow me?" Louis retaliated with a backhand strike.

"Meow~" The senior's voice was ticklish and soft, just like a little cat's paw scratching at Louis's heart.

"Try cat ears when you get home, don't refuse." Louis subtly pinched Catherine's waist.

A moment later, the squad leader who had gone in brought out the Duke's adjutant. The adjutant carefully examined them and, seeing that none of them were carrying any weapons—mainly because their clothes were not thick enough to conceal any weapons—said, "His Highness the Duke requests your presence. Please follow me."

Wellington... no, I mean the Duke of Meowlington's temporary residence, the commander's mansion, was quite luxurious, probably related to the commander's personality. Squads of busy cat soldiers shuttled back and forth, and cats dressed as messengers kept coming and going. Louis even saw a group of cat servants huffing and puffing as they carried fish much larger than themselves around, running around aimlessly, not knowing whether they were dawdling or doing something else.

Upon entering the mansion and passing through several rooms, the group was led to Duke Meowlington's office.

Duke Meowlington is a long-haired Maine Coon cat. He looks very handsome and sits on a chair like a human, flipping through documents. However, he doesn't look very hygienic. He puts his paws in his mouth and licks them a couple of times before turning the pages. If the enemy sees this, they might poison the documents.

That would truly solve the problem once and for all.

Seeing Louis and his companions enter, Duke Meowlington looked up, scrutinizing them, especially Louis at the front. After a moment, he nodded and greeted them, "Hello, meows, hairless... um, what should I call you, meows?"

Meowlington's verbal tic is different from that of the squad leader. The word "meow" sounds rather incongruous, yet he pronounces it with a sense of authority. Perhaps that's just his charisma.

"Humans," Louis replied.

"Hmm, humans." Duke Meowlington nodded. "I have never heard of or seen a race called humans. You are from...."

"From the distant East." Louis was right; in fact, his soul was that of an Easterner.

Even if all else fails, Ye Ziyan is a genuine Easterner.

"So this is what the East is like, meow? The world is truly full of wonders..." Duke Meowlington exclaimed. "May I see His Majesty's keepsake?"

Louis nodded and laid out the three British treasures in order.

"Hmm..." Duke Meowlington stepped forward and just picked up the Royal Orb when ripples of spacetime suddenly appeared in the air.

"Watch out!" Chromie shouted immediately.

"Danger!" Louis quickly went over and took away the three national treasures, protecting Duke Meowlington behind him.

Duke Meowlington was, after all, a seasoned commander. His basic professional ethics were to remain calm even in the face of a collapsing mountain. He only hesitated for a moment before reacting and quickly retreating behind his desk.

It's still unclear where Louis and his group came from, and he doesn't know how to deal with them. So the best course of action is to keep his distance and call for guards.

"Guards! Guards!"

But there was no response, not even a reply.

"You have been pulled into the spacetime turbulence, Your Excellency." Louis didn't turn his head, his face solemn as he looked at the spacetime ripples in front of him.

Under Duke Meowlington's wary gaze, five black giants, each nearly three meters tall, emerged from the ripples, their heads almost touching the ceiling. These dragonmen were covered in black scales, but their limbs and bellies were an unnatural pale white with a slight sheen, making them look anything but benevolent.

Their heads resembled giant lizards, with long tails covered in barbs, and each carried a massive weapon. Duke Meowlington had no doubt that these five oddballs could easily overturn his mansion.

"What...what are they?" Meowlington sat down in the chair, her legs feeling weak.

"It is the Eternal Dragon, Your Excellency," Louis replied.

The Eternal Dragon immediately fixed its gaze on Chromie upon its appearance. The leader, whose muscles were noticeably more muscular than the others, glared at Chromie with its vertical pupils and hissed, "Chromie, it really is you, you stinking bug..."

"You're the real bugs, Mundris!"

Despite Chromie's advanced age and tens of thousands of years of life, her little mouth is quite clumsy, probably due to a lack of talent. When others insult her, she can only retort with "You're the one who blah blah blah," which sounds a bit like a primary school student's verbal battle.

I'm really afraid she'll say something that will backfire.

Mundris chuckled cacklingly, then after a moment, pointed his giant axe at Louis and his three companions: "You brought these mortals here just to... send Wellington to his grave?"

(End of this chapter)