Chapter 47

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As he slowly descended from the sky, Ethan held Tracey by the back of her collar so that she wouldn't crash to the ground.

She was too mesmerised by the scenery to care about it, however, as she looked around with wide eyes.

They had taken the official Portkey this time, to not have any problems with the law, and had thus landed in the millennial city of Alexandria. It was the magical centre of Egypt and the main place of interest for Ethan's trip.

As they landed, Ethan felt Miyuki stretch on his shoulder as she climbed on top of his head, her form shrinking just enough so that she would fit. As she lay on top of his head, four tails swayed behind her.

It had happened overnight again; one night she had three tails, and the morning after she had four. This fourth tail came with an increase in size, an enhancement of her illusion magic and mind magic, the toughness of her body, as well as one new ability.

Metamorphosis.

It was perhaps one of the most powerful abilities of a Kitsune because, pushed to its peak, it was what differentiated a Kitsune from another beast.

A Nine-Tailed Kitsune could become an absolute beast of power only the likes of Dumbledore could subdue, or maybe even stronger than that, but power alone wasn't enough. Metamorphosis allowed them to blend in anywhere, and in this case, it was mostly with human society.

In reality, Miyuki's mother probably could have lived in human society with some precautions, especially in muggle society. An eight-tailed Kitsune would only be able to be discovered by the most thorough inspections, and a Nine-Tailed one was supposedly impossible to distinguish from a human, or whatever they chose to transform into.

Miyuki was still young, however, so she was unable to make such drastic changes to her form. For now, she was only able to change her size within some limits, but that was enough for her, as she had managed to regain her spot on top of Ethan's head. His hair made a comfortable nest, apparently.

Glancing around, Ethan spotted a few people looking at them, but it wasn't so suspicious; they had just used the Portkey after all.

Quickly enough, a middle-aged man with a curbed spine approached and addressed Ethan's parents, "Dear Sir, Madam, it is this city's pleasure to welcome you! May I inquire about your esteemed identity?"

Henry took out papers and said, "We have a reservation for the Qasr Wadj-Wer." A coin flicked into Henry's hand. "Would you be so kind as to lead us there?"

The man did not grab the coin, merely passing his hand over Henry's, yet the coin suddenly disappeared. Henry looked unimpressed, but the man winked at Ethan and Tracey.

The poor man did not realise he had chosen the wrong children to impress.

With a swift step, Ethan arrived next to the middle-aged guide, and his eyes shining with burning fervour, he asked, "How did you do that trick?"

The guide would have waved him off, but there was a certain intensity within Ethan's gaze that made it hard for him to just ignore.

He decided to play it off: "I'm afraid that's a secret."

That did little to make Ethan back away, however, as he continued staring with intensity until Helene spoke up and said, "Stop being rude, Ethan."

Although he was really curious about the unfamiliar magic, he did as he was told and lowered the intensity of his gaze. He had become quite used to acting his age, and with that came certain advantages, such as right now, as the guard raised his hands to defuse the situation, "It's alright, madam; I'm used to it. Many are curious about the mysterious magic of Egypt."

Ethan had to give it to the man; even in an uncomfortable situation, he was still selling himself.

However, as he looked back at Ethan, he sent a pointed look at Miyuki and said, "We are going to pass by some Nasiha; it would be wise to hide your friend, young friend."

Ethan assumed Nasiha meant Muggles.

Ethan did not have to do anything as Miyuki's form started morphing, her tails merging into one and her foxy appearance turning cat-like. Although she could not turn into a human yet, a cat wasn't too hard, as it was not too far from a fox, shape-wise, that is. The transformation was not perfect, and it would be obvious to any wizard at least somewhat trained in Transfiguration to guess that she was not a natural cat, but it was fine for muggles.

After that, as the man led the way, Ethan expected them to go deeper into the city, yet they went for the bay instead.

Alexandria was situated in the northernmost portion of Egypt and was in direct contact with the Mediterranean Sea. And up north in the city was a large bay, where the legendary lighthouse of Alexandria used to be located before its destruction.

Ethan was curious as to why they would come here, considering it was full of muggles, and Tracey mirrored his thoughts as she asked, "What is the Qasr Wadj-Wer?"

Ethan looked into the bay, at the different ships, or more particularly, the yachts. His parents were rich, so if they had made a reservation, it was somewhere expensive. He just expected their first destination to be a palace, both because of common sense and because of his rudimentary knowledge of the Arab language, thanks to his runic training.

Before the guide could answer, Ethan answered, "Wadj-Wer was an Egyptian god. The embodiment of the sea and oasis, I believe."

Runes were deeply linked to mythology in most Runic languages.

The guide looked at Ethan with surprise as a genuine smile appeared on his face. "You are well informed, young friend. Qasr means palace, so in English, it would translate as Wadj-Wer's Palace. It is the best hotel in all of Alexandria and known worldwide for its exceptional service."

Looking around, Tracey asked in a lowered voice, "Does it also serve muggles?"

The guide took a moment, struggling with the term muggle, before suddenly remembering its meaning: "Ah, yes, muggle. We call them the Nasiha. But no, they are not served. You will understand."

The two stopped talking and followed silently after that. The guide led the four, or five counting Miyuki, who was now on Ethan's shoulders as to appear less conspicuous, through the crowd and to a ship, making both Ethan and Tracey curious.

They thought it was a ship, and then they were told they were going to a hotel, but they were indeed led to a ship.

It was a large ship, although it looked quite inconspicuous in the large port among all the other ships. Oddly enough, Ethan did not remember seeing it when he looked over at the ships earlier and only really noticed it when they were about to board. Something about his ignoring it felt unnatural, so he guessed there was some spell in place.

As they boarded the ship, however, Ethan and Tracey finally understood that it was nothing more than a front, as inside, covered from all muggle eyes, or Nasiha, as they were called here, was a set of stairs.

It was about the last thing Ethan, or anyone for that matter, would expect to find in a single-level ship, and it wasn't small ones either, as they went down at least a dozen metres.

Down the stairs, the walls around them were made of see-through glass, allowing those walking them down to look at the rich sea life of the Mediterranean Sea with surprising clarity.

Squinting his eyes at the glass, Ethan extended his magic out of his body, and as it came into contact with the glass, he felt the traces of a strong enchantment. It not only protected the whole structure, but Ethan was pretty sure that the vision they were shown was not really the bay.

He doubted there were so many fish in a place with so many ships, although he was no fishing expert.

Ethan did not get to examine the glass walls for long, however, as they quickly reached the bottom of the stairs, where the Qasr Wadj-Wer awaited them.