"Go ahead. What's the problem?"
Link said calmly.
Hearing that, the giant beast wrapped around old Barty seemed to receive an order. It wiped the drool from its mouth with a claw, then reluctantly returned to Link's side.
Old Barty let out a sigh of relief.
"As I mentioned earlier, enthusiasm for joining the war is extremely high among the public. The same is true for Knockturn Alley and Hogwarts."
"Right now, a large number of people with black wizard backgrounds, as well as underage young wizards, want to join the Hit Wizards and Auror forces. We think the final decision on how to handle them should come from you."
Link did not answer right away.
He leaned back in his chair, slowly rubbing a wand in his hand.
It was Snape's wand.
It had been completely destroyed during the battle at Hogwarts that night, yet now it was completely intact in Link's hand.
As Link moved the wand, the terrifying beast from before now behaved like a little dog, constantly jumping after the wand's movements with obvious excitement and joy.
Old Barty's heartbeat sped up again.
He wasn't someone who had never seen the world.
The moment the beast's phantom appeared, he had already recognized that it was a pure curse magic construct.
Yet now, Link had not only nurtured his curse magic into developing a certain level of self-awareness.
He had even made it show such strong attachment and obedience.
Just how terrifying was that level of power?
"As for the dark wizards in Knockturn Alley, before they join the war, just reject all their applications. They won't dare disobey."
"As for Hogwarts, we'll only allow sixth and seventh-year students to join the Hit Wizard force as trainee Hit Wizards."
"Also issue an order that anyone who wants to join must have permission from their guardian. Those without guardians must receive Dumbledore's approval."
Link spoke again.
Old Barty quickly pulled himself out of his wandering thoughts. He silently repeated Link's words to himself several times until he was sure he had remembered everything before nodding.
He wasn't surprised by Link's decision.
As the British Ministry of Magic's "military academy," Hogwarts was always expected to join the war.
That had been the agreement between the Ministry and Hogwarts for hundreds of years.
The fact that Link wasn't forcibly drafting every Hogwarts student like he had during the Goblin War was already extremely merciful.
As for Knockturn Alley...
That needed even less explanation.
Ever since Link took over the Ministry of Magic and the Flamel family's influence continued to grow, Knockturn Alley had practically become the Flamel family's private territory.
Whether those dark wizards fought or not depended entirely on a single sentence from Link. No one there dared go against his will.
Still, Link's temporary rejection of their request to join the war made old Barty feel much more at ease.
Those dark wizards were simply too brutal.
If they were deployed to France as a regular army, they would probably ruin the discipline of every other unit as well.
At that point, the British Ministry of Magic's image abroad would truly become that of a "dark wizard" government.
"Then there's one last question, Mr. Flamel."
Old Barty's expression became especially serious.
"Will Dumbledore take part in this war?"
"That's an unnecessary question."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Flamel. We're just worried because Dumbledore has never stated his position."
"That's because there's no need for him to." Link narrowed his eyes. "If your home were destroyed and your family murdered, would you hold yourself back from taking revenge? So stop worrying."
Only then did old Barty finally relax completely.
He had never expected Dumbledore to charge into battle like an ordinary soldier.
It was simply too frightening for a legendary wizard with an unclear attitude to remain quietly behind the front lines during wartime.
If Dumbledore had other intentions, a single move from him could wipe out the entire British Ministry of Magic and allow him to take power himself.
All old Barty wanted was for Dumbledore not to cause trouble.
But from what Link said, not only did Dumbledore have no intention of causing trouble, he might even fight alongside them when the critical moment came.
That was perfect!
With two legendary wizards fighting together, they could probably flatten the French Ministry of Magic.
Just imagining it made old Barty excited. A smile finally appeared on his face as he bowed to Link.
"In that case, I'm relieved. The International Confederation of Wizards should also have no reason to stop us."
"The International Confederation of Wizards?"
"That's right. They've been sending communication requests nonstop for the past four hours, but we've ignored every one of them. Would you like to answer now?"
Link nodded.
"Put them through. I'd like to hear what they have to say."
Old Barty smiled, stepped back, and personally prepared the communication.
Soon, a huge full-length two-way mirror was wheeled in front of Link.
Clouds swirled inside it, making everything blurry.
But after magic was poured into it, the image gradually became clear, finally revealing the familiar face of Elder Harris of the International Confederation of Wizards.
"Good afternoon, my dear Mr. Link Flamel. I'm very pleased to see you again. The honor is mine."
The moment he appeared, old Harris greeted him politely.
This standard greeting was supposed to make people feel both welcomed and aware of the speaker's noble bearing.
But Link felt nothing.
It wasn't because he was using Occlumency.
It was because Harris was wearing nothing but a loose bathrobe. His hair was a complete mess, and his eyes were full of bloodshot veins.
He looked like someone who had been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night and forced to work until now.
Hearing such formal greetings from someone who looked like that only made it seem funny.
"You look rather miserable, Mr. Harris."
Link smiled without holding back.
"Yes, and I have you to thank for that." Harris rolled his eyes. "If it weren't for the surprise you prepared for me, I'd be sitting in the dining hall enjoying lunch right now. Merlin! Today's menu was full of my favorite Chinese dishes. Just thinking about it breaks my heart."
"Then why don't we end the call now? Interrupting someone during a meal is quite a serious sin."
As soon as Link finished speaking, he raised his hand, signaling old Barty to end the call.
Harris was clearly startled.
He shouted angrily through the mirror, making old Barty lower the wand he had already raised.
When the image stabilized again, Harris could no longer maintain his polite smile.
His face looked so ugly that it seemed he might start cursing at any moment.
But in the end, he only sighed, stood up, and bowed.
"Honorable Council Member, please accept my deepest condolences regarding the attack on Hogwarts and the casualties among its students. The International Confederation of Wizards shares the grief of everyone who lost family and friends in this tragedy."
This was the International Confederation of Wizards' official expression of sympathy for what had happened in Britain's magical world.
Link had already received many similar messages.
More than a dozen Ministries of Magic, including MACUSA, the Bulgarian Ministry of Magic, and the Sakura Island Ministry of Magic, had all sent voice messages of condolence immediately after the Hogwarts incident.
The Minister of the Sakura Island Ministry cried even harder in the message than the parents in Britain who had actually lost children. He even said he wanted to personally bring people over to mourn at the site. Link called him insane and rejected him on the spot.
But an official condolence from the International Confederation of Wizards?
That was a bit strange.
As far as Link remembered, those "Celestial Dragons" living in the floating city had never been in the habit of mourning for others.
Although he found it odd, Link still stood up and returned the bow.
Harris's expression immediately became much better.
He took a cigar, lit it, and took a deep drag before saying, "So now, Link, I only want to ask you for one thing. Could you withdraw the British Ministry of Magic's declaration of war against the French Ministry of Magic?"
"I think we have better ways to solve this, just like last time. We could hold another mediation meeting, sit down face to face, and talk it over."
"To be honest with you, I received a call from the French Minister of Magic earlier."
"He swore on his life while crying that what happened at Hogwarts had nothing to do with him or the French Ministry of Magic. He said it was entirely the work of violent criminals from the French magical community."
"But no matter what, the incident has already happened, so they're still willing to offer humanitarian compensation."
"What do you think of magical materials worth thirty million Galleons?"
"That's already their lowest offer. I really shouldn't be telling you this, but if you're willing to come to the negotiations, I'm confident I can get you that price."
After speaking, Harris winked at Link with his right eye, looking as if they were close friends and he had just helped Link make a fortune.
But Link remained unmoved.
"Those are good terms. Unfortunately, I'm not a businessman. Also, I think you should carefully read our declaration of war again. Our target has never been the French Ministry of Magic. It's the French magical community, or rather, Voldemort, who's hiding within it."
"I thought Voldemort was just an excuse for your declaration of war. But from what you're saying now, he's really still alive? As a Horcrux? What a madman!"
"Otherwise, why do you think Hogwarts, even with Dumbledore there, suffered such heavy losses this time?"
"You're right. That explains everything." Harris sighed.
"In that case, if you insist on fighting, then fight. But I have to remind you, Link, the Statute of Secrecy is the foundation that keeps the balance between the wizarding world and the Muggle world."
"You must keep the scale of this war under control. If the Statute of Secrecy is broken because of the war, you'll face sanctions from both the entire wizarding world and the Muggle world. By then..."
Harris did not continue.
Some things changed completely once spoken aloud, and he believed Link understood what he meant.
Humans were social creatures.
An individual rejected by everyone and denied all trade and assistance could not survive.
The same applied to an organization like a Ministry of Magic.
But Link's expression did not change at all.
Only the giant beast floating beside him seemed to sense its master's emotions as it bared its fangs at the two-way mirror.
"You can try."
Link spoke calmly.
The beast phantom suddenly lunged forward and bit the two-way mirror to pieces.
He had never cared about threats like this.
So-called sanctions only worked when both sides had roughly equal strength.
When one side's fist was big enough, such sanctions became meaningless.
The other side could simply smash through your front door with one punch.
History had already shown many examples of this among Muggles.
In a world like the wizarding world, where supernatural power actually existed, it was even more true.
And if the British Ministry of Magic truly defeated and fully absorbed the French Ministry of Magic,
then without question, it would become the strongest wizarding organization on the planet.
By then, forget sanctions.
Those "Celestial Dragons" would probably be the first to come flatter Link, hoping to profit from the ruins of the French magical world.
Snap!
Link smiled and snapped his fingers.
Old Krell, dressed in a pure black Auror uniform, immediately appeared beside him.
Old Barty knew the next discussion was not something he was allowed to hear.
With good sense, he led Newland and Scrimgeour out of the office.
As for Percy, no one even needed to tell him.
He had already squeezed his legs together and run out as though fleeing for his life.
Judging from how he looked, he was probably rushing to find a bathroom.
Old Barty wasn't in the mood to laugh at his old rival.
Faced with the beast phantom that had appeared beside Link, his own reaction hadn't been much better than Percy's.
Thinking that, he couldn't resist taking another peek through the crack in the door.
He really wanted to see old Krell, the man who controlled the Auror Corps and acted so arrogant every day, make a fool of himself.
But after just one glance, he froze.
Because old Krell wasn't frightened by the beast at all.
Instead, he got along with the phantom extremely well. The tension that had existed while everyone else was in the room had completely disappeared.
Old Barty even felt that the beast phantom's savage grin looked remarkably similar to old Krell's smile.
It gave him the feeling that old Krell and the giant beast made entirely of curse magic were the same kind of being.