The pressure field descended instantly under the effect of magic power.
A second ago, the representatives from the French Ministry of Magic sitting across from Link and Dumbledore were still excitedly cursing, but in the next moment, they all became like ducks with their necks grabbed.
Their voices stopped abruptly, and they even collapsed onto their seats, clutching their chests with suffocated expressions.
Old Harris, who had been talking with Iyeta at the head of the long table, frowned slightly when he saw this.
Because in the entire restaurant, only the representatives from the French Ministry of Magic were affected like this.
No one else, including him, who was sitting extremely close to those representatives, felt anything unusual.
That was terrifying.
They had conducted an in-depth investigation on Link Flamel.
So they were very clear that Link Flamel, as a wizard who had stepped into the legendary realm, possessed an ability that could control the atmosphere.
But according to the intelligence they had, wasn't this ability supposed to be a large-scale restraining spell similar to a barrier?
Since when could he control its effects within such a small area?
Had Link Flamel's power improved dramatically again during this period?
Or was the intelligence department of the International Confederation of Wizards simply incompetent?
Old Harris was full of doubts.
Meanwhile, Link slowly swept his gaze across the painful faces opposite him, faces twisted from difficulty breathing.
After a long while, he said calmly, "Actually, regarding the issue of us sending too few representatives, there's really nothing we can do about it."
"You have to understand, after the British Ministry of Magic was reformed, the productivity and creative enthusiasm that had been suppressed among the people completely exploded this year."
"This caused the entire British Ministry of Magic to enter a stage of rapid development. And along with that came a series of problems urgently needing solutions."
"For example, taxation issues after Gringotts was nationalized, and the management of immigrants and foreign merchants."
"Oh, and by the way, among those people, immigrants and merchants from the French magical world make up a large portion."
"I've interacted with some of them before. They told me that under the management of the French Ministry of Magic, the French magical world has already become a pool of stagnant water, without any vitality or hope. Ordinary wizards living there are barely surviving."
"Of course, that isn't important."
"What I want to say is that after its reform, the British Ministry of Magic has become a newly risen sun."
"While it gradually climbs toward the peak, our officials are always busy. There are endless problems and work waiting for them to complete."
"The people simply don't want to see them abandon unfinished work and run abroad."
"So even for meetings hosted and organized by the International Confederation of Wizards, we can only send a small number of personnel."
"But your French Ministry of Magic is different."
"Your Ministry of Magic, and even your entire magical world, has already rotted."
"In an environment like that, your officials should be very relaxed, maybe even completely idle, right?"
"In fact, the people probably can't wait for them to get lost. Even if they just leave the country for a few days, at least everyone else can breathe easier for two days."
"With that being the case, it's easy to understand why you brought so many officials here."
Link's words did not sound especially vicious to outsiders.
But to the officials from the French Ministry of Magic opposite him, they were like nails driven straight into their hearts.
They struggled to prop themselves up from their seats, seemingly wanting to say something.
The French Minister of Magic at the front was so furious his face turned red, nearly fainting on the spot.
But the powerful pressure field tightened around their hearts again, forcing them to collapse helplessly once more.
Link simply watched them quietly, mockery on his face.
So what if they brought more people and shouted louder?
Under Link's suppression, they couldn't say a single word. They could only glare helplessly.
"Oh dear, what's all this?"
Just as the French Minister of Magic looked like he was about to suffocate to death, Old Harris finally stood up and said, "Please let them go, Mr. Link Flamel. They've already received the punishment they deserve."
Link glanced at Old Harris, let out a cold laugh, and waved his hand to remove the barrier.
Only then did the representatives from the French Ministry of Magic finally breathe again in the literal sense. One after another, they slumped in the banquet chairs, gasping heavily.
A few of the leaders still seemed unwilling to accept it. Despite their chests heaving like bellows, they still wanted to say something, but Old Harris glared at them and spoke first,
"A banquet should look like a banquet. What we're having now is merely a luncheon welcoming our guests. As for formal discussions, let's save them for the actual meeting after the luncheon ends!"
Those words forced the French representatives back into their seats again, all of them wearing ugly expressions.
But Old Harris seemed completely unaware of it. Switching to a smile, he continued, "Come now, it's time for the food to be served."
"To welcome all of our guests, we specially prepared delicacies from the lower world. I hope everyone enjoys them!"
"Lower world?"
Link raised an eyebrow and said in confusion.
"That's what they call the surface. As for people living on the surface, they call them lower world people.", Sigefin leaned close to Link and explained softly.
"Then what do they call themselves? Upper world people?"
"No. Though it means something similar, they prefer calling themselves heavenly people."
"Hah!"
Link nearly burst out laughing when he heard that. Mockingly, he said, "Why don't they just call themselves Celestial Dragons instead!"
Sigefin clearly didn't know what Celestial Dragons meant.
But in the current context, he could roughly tell it carried an even stronger meaning than heavenly people, so he sneered along with him, "After all these years, they really haven't changed at all."
Link said nothing. He only gave Sigefin a deep look.
At this moment, Sigefin was radiating intense hatred from head to toe. The emotion was so strong it almost felt suffocating.
At the same time, under Old Harris's orders, all kinds of food began appearing on the tables before everyone.
The first things served were all kinds of bread.
They were placed in small woven baskets and set before each guest.
Then came all kinds of meat dishes.
Most of them were roasted meats, with the original forms still intact.
For example, whole roasted chickens, squabs, venison legs, and so on.
The most extravagant one was a wild boar head placed at the center of the long table, apparently meant to be the main course.
It was over two meters long and more than one meter tall.
Although Link understood that wild boar heads were much larger than domestic pig heads, and that some boars had heads taking up a third of their body size, a pig head this huge still showed that the boar had been a massive beast when alive.
As decoration, large amounts of fruit and lettuce were arranged on and around the giant boar head.
Those were also the only green things on the banquet table.
Link truly didn't know what to say about it.
Because judging from the style of the dishes, this was a typical medieval noble banquet.
The ingredients were precious, but the cooking itself was crude. The focus was on visual impact, trying to create a feeling of extravagant luxury.
As for the taste...
Link didn't think it would be very good.
There was no way those huge roasted chickens and pig heads had absorbed flavor properly.
"Iyeta, hurry and help serve the food. I can hardly wait. Though it's a bit greasy, it's been a long time since I enjoyed lower world delicacies like this."
Old Harris rubbed his hands together impatiently.
Hearing that, Iyeta walked over with a smile. With the help of magic, she moved the pig head from the center of the table onto a nearby serving cart.
Then she took a small knife, struggled a bit to cut off the pig's nose, chopped it into two portions, and placed them separately onto Link's and the French Minister of Magic's plates.
"This is sixteenth-century noble dining etiquette. The wild boar head was a banquet dish used to entertain guests, the very precious kind. Normally, they would first remove the boar's nose and give it to the most honored guests."
Dumbledore clicked his tongue in amazement while looking at the pig nose on Link's plate. "This is already an extremely high-level treatment. The few times I came here before, I never got this kind of treatment."
While listening to Dumbledore's explanation, Link also examined the pig nose in front of him.
Thanks to the original size of the pig head, even half the nose was enormous, almost as large as Link's face.
But there was also a serious issue.
The pig's nostrils didn't seem to have been cleaned properly.
Link could even see some short, stiff hairs inside the two wide nostrils.
Normally, if they had cleaned it using a heated iron rod, those hairs shouldn't exist.
And when Iyeta had just cut the meat, she wasn't wearing gloves. The moment Link thought about how she had been secretly flirting with Old Harris earlier, he completely lost interest in the pig nose in front of him.
"I see. Then I'll trouble you to take care of it for me."
Link spoke casually and swapped the plate holding the pig nose with Dumbledore's empty plate.
"Really?" Dumbledore looked pleasantly surprised. "You're sure?"
Link smiled and nodded. Only then did Dumbledore start eating happily.
Judging purely from his expression, the pig nose actually seemed to taste quite good.
Meanwhile, the French Minister of Magic across from them ate even more eagerly.
This eagerness wasn't because his table manners were sloppy or rude. Quite the opposite, his dining etiquette was extremely proper, at least much better than Link's.
The problem was that he ate far too quickly.
A huge chunk of pig nose was completely devoured in just a few minutes. After finishing, he even licked his lips, looking unsatisfied.
Old Harris burst into laughter at the sight.
"It looks like this suits your taste very well, Minister."
"Of course, Mr. Harris." The French Minister of Magic wiped his mouth and said elegantly, "I can only enjoy such delicacies here with you. This is an immense honor for me."
"Then eat more. Being able to make you comfortable is also my honor."
Old Harris smiled as he spoke. Then his gaze shifted toward Link's side. After glancing at the pig nose on Dumbledore's plate, he calmly continued,
"In order to help everyone understand each other better and achieve positive cooperation as much as possible, this conference will continue for several days."
"During this period, you may also take your time sightseeing here. This is a privilege granted to you."
"Oh! That's truly wonderful!" The French Minister of Magic stood up excitedly and bowed. "Touring the famous Heavenly Realm has always been my dream."
"Merlin above, the civilization inside this Sky City is like a dazzling gem, radiating the brightest light in the world. And today, I can actually embrace this gem. This really is..."
Toward the end, the French Minister of Magic's voice even became choked with emotion.
Old Harris was deeply moved as well and hurriedly stood up to comfort him.
The two kept talking for quite a while before the French Minister of Magic finally calmed down and sat back down. Before finishing, he even gave Link a provocative look... As if he had achieved something remarkable.