Chapter 63: "Miscalculated" Exchange Rate
Silence. A heavy, overwhelming silence.
Thankfully, the soft sound of breathing behind him confirmed his ears were still functioning properly.
It wasn't dinner time yet, so Alexander sat quietly on the soft coral sofa, gazing out the transparent walls of Poseidon at the ever-changing underwater world.
By now, they had clearly dived deep—very deep. The water outside had darkened into an abyssal black, barely kissed by the last traces of sunlight. Strange, unidentifiable sea creatures drifted past, completely ignoring the glowing structure of Poseidon as if it didn't exist.
At least there was no sign of a deep-sea squid... getting snatched up mid-trip would be unfortunate.
"Alexander, do you remember what it looked like when the walls were transparent earlier?" Kate asked, tilting her head as she leaned against his left arm.
"Nothing special," Alexander replied calmly, already sensing what she had in mind.
"Right... but if I cast the spell now, will this sofa disappear?" Kate stood up and declared, "Thetis!"
The surroundings instantly darkened. The vibrant underwater world outside vanished, replaced by a void lit only by scattered bioluminescent flickers above them. Oddly enough, the coral sofa remained solid beneath them.
Looking down, Alexander recognized a few grotesque sea creatures—an ugly monkfish with dangling lures, a viperfish with menacing protrusions like a rake.
For a moment, he felt as though they'd been transported to an alien world.
Kate stood frozen, half in awe, half in fear, her eyes scanning the deep-sea panorama.
Poseidon moved fast and smoothly. Whenever it approached strange monsters, they instinctively parted and swam away, unaware of what they were avoiding.
At one point, Alexander spotted a massive sperm whale. Under his enhanced vision, he could clearly see its battered form—covered in scars, evidence of repeated battles with giant squids.
With the faint lighting on Poseidon's ceiling contrasting the abyss outside, it felt less like the ocean and more like drifting through the dark, endless universe.
Unable to take it anymore, Kate sat down abruptly.
"Thetis!" she blurted out again.
As the outer walls turned opaque and familiar furniture reappeared, she visibly relaxed and nestled closer.
"Alexander... what were those magical creatures? Why is it so dark down there?" she asked, shrinking her neck like a startled kitten.
"This is the deep sea, Kate. The sun doesn't reach these depths," he explained gently. "And since it's the deep sea, most of those creatures are rare—even I don't know many of them."
He reached out and played with her hand. It was a small moment of tenderness, but it deepened the connection between them.
Suspension bridge effect, perhaps?
Just then, the smooth stone table began to fill with food.
It was dinnertime.
This meal's curry theme continued—but instead of chicken or mutton, thick lobster claws and octopus tentacles were the stars of the show. For once, the rice was normal, not some bizarre variant.
Not bad. Considering this entire horror trip cost only 100 Galleons, it was quite a bargain.
Alexander knew that Acromantula venom went for 100 Galleons per pint. And here he was, eating luxury seafood in a magical submarine.
Of course, all ingredients were likely sourced locally—and possibly free—but still, each of these three horror trips felt grand and costly.
Let's not forget the basic currency structure of the British wizarding world:
1 Galleon = 17 Sickles, 1 Sickle = 29 Knuts, which meant 1 Galleon = 493 Knuts.
Recently, Alexander had learned that £5 (British pounds) could be exchanged for 1 Galleon.
Based on the 2021 exchange rate, this 100-Galleon horror trip would cost about £500, or 4251.85 yuan.
But of course, this wasn't 2021. It was 1988, and Alexander wasn't an economics major—he had time-traveled before even starting college.
If calculated by purchasing power, the cost would be drastically different.
Take some examples from Hogwarts:
Harry's snack cart spree: 11 Sickles + 7 Knuts
Knight Bus fare: 11 Sickles
Three Butterbeers: 6 Sickles
Advanced Potion-Making textbook: 9 Galleons (even more expensive than a wand!)
Using real-world comparisons:
1 Galleon ≈ 255 yuan
1 Sickle ≈ 15 yuan
1 Knut ≈ 0.5 yuan
So...
Harry's snack cart splurge cost ~168 yuan
A Butterbeer was ~30 yuan
That textbook? A whopping 2295 yuan
Even Harry's 7-Galleon wand came to nearly 1785 yuan
Which meant… Alexander's current horror trip—100 Galleons—was about 25,500 yuan per person.
And that's still considered cheap?!
No wonder the Weasley family was portrayed as poor.
Arthur Weasley once spent 50 Galleons (12,750 yuan) on a Muggle car to enchant it.
Percy gambled 10 Galleons (2,550 yuan) with Penelope... and was too embarrassed to pay when he lost.
Definitely the most un-Weasley of the bunch.
The Weasley twins, though, were pure chaos.
They gambled their startup money with Ludo Bagman, and in their fifth year (Harry's third), they had managed to save 3 Galleons, 5 Sickles, and 37 Knuts—roughly ¥1020. No wonder they panicked when Bagman refused to pay them back.
In truth, the Weasley family tradition was to spend whatever they had.
When Mr. Weasley won 700 Galleons (178,500 yuan) from the Daily Prophet, the whole family blew it all on a vacation to Egypt.
Then there was Dobby. His salary at Hogwarts was 1 Galleon per week—over 1000 yuan/month.
And Dumbledore had initially offered 10 Galleons/week. That's higher than most Muggle graduate salaries in 1988.
Hogwarts was clearly loaded.
Even the prize money for the Triwizard Tournament in Harry's fourth year was 1000 Galleons—over 255,000 yuan!
And Sirius Black's bounty? 1,000,000 Galleons. That's 255 million yuan!
Suddenly, Alexander was struck by a bold thought.
I'm rich now. He could theoretically help Sirius escape and then turn him in for the reward.
…But wasn't Sirius innocent?
Alexander shook his head.
"Ugh. I'm starting to dislike Black more and more... maybe because he's too noble? That kind of person just exposes my flaws."
Then he sighed.
It's all purchasing power. That's the real issue.
If he hadn't time-traveled, his post-college salary wouldn't even match Dobby's.
Definitely a miscalculation.
"Forget it. Let Sirius go."
"I'm really an upright wizard!" Alexander announced aloud with unwarranted pride.
Kate looked over, eyebrows raised.
"…Are you okay?"
She pulled out a green voucher and handed it to him with a straight face.
"Here. This is a 50% off coupon for St. Mungo's."
"…Who wants this?" Alexander tossed it back, then grabbed a curry-soaked lobster claw and stuffed it into Kate's mouth.
Then, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, he recited,
"Thetis."
The walls turned transparent again.
Kate, cheeks full of lobster, stared in horror at the deep-sea abyss around them.
Alexander burst into laughter.
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