"It's fine, I just got here anyway." The wizard gently lifted his head, revealing Alan's young face beneath the cloak. "But I'm dressed like this to hide my identity; do you, as Durmstrang's deputy headmaster, need to be so mysterious?"
"Master, you don't know." The wizard sitting across from Alan looked up; it was Karkaroff, but even sitting down, he still refused to remove the hood from his head. "The Death Eaters active in Norway have, for some unknown reason, reassembled recently. If they find out I'm in Durmstrang, it will be troublesome. Those guys would love to suck the marrow from my bones; I really have no choice."
Karkaroff still had a full beard, but his courage was completely inconsistent with his appearance. Alan pursed his lips in exasperation upon hearing this; why hadn't this guy improved after so many years, still such a coward? Alan did know a little about Karkaroff's mention of the Death Eaters; Fwooper was gathering them, so she must have already assembled the personnel for the Norway transport mission.
"Have you clarified all the information I asked you to investigate?" Alan didn't dwell on these minor matters, directly asking the main question.
"Don't worry, I've checked everything," Karkaroff said, gulping as he looked at Alan. Although he hadn't met this young man in many years, he still felt immense fear toward Alan. After all, he had personally witnessed Alan torture Yaxley into madness, then secretly put Torquil to death, and force the Travers family away. And in the end, this young wizard, who in his eyes had used every ruthless method, not only got away with everything but was even awarded the title of combat hero by the British Ministry of Magic and publicly commended.
Now, his master was even more formidable; the name of Silver Lightning Trading Company had even spread to Norway, and Silver Flash's products were almost equivalent to luxury goods here. Karkaroff could tell how immense Alan's financial resources were just from the funds he provided him.
"Speak, the intelligence on the Norway officials and the Pure Land Society should not be difficult for you to collect," Alan said, seeing Karkaroff's discomfort in his presence, and thus disinclined to make small talk.
"Yes, master," Karkaroff said, organizing his thoughts briefly before speaking in a low voice. "In the Nordic region, although there are four countries—Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland—because the number of wizards in each country is relatively small and the culture is quite unified, although there are nominally four Ministries of Magic, they completely share one Ministry of Magic institution. Even the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic are in the same location. In terms of internal functions, although some individual departments still have offices for each country, most are managed uniformly. Even the Minister for Magic here is only one person, and his title is not the Minister for Magic of a certain country, but the Minister for Magic of the Nordic Union."
"As for the Pure Land Society, it's more complex. Their nature is actually similar to the Death Eaters in Britain, the only difference being that there is no Dark Lord capable of unifying all voices within the entire Pure Land Society, and the ideology of most local wizards also leans toward pure-blood supremacy, so they have many supporters here." At this point, Karkaroff paused. Although the Dark Lord was a thing of the past, mentioning the title again still made him feel lingering fear.
"The Pure Land Society is nominally an organization, but it's actually more like a family confederation. All members of the organization are clansmen within the confederation, and each pure-blood family has its own sphere of influence, usually not interfering with each other. They only act under the name of the Pure Land Society when there is a common external enemy or common interests. So, simply mentioning the Pure Land Society, local wizards actually don't recognize it much, because some families, although they have a place in the Pure Land Society, control areas that are particularly far from where they are now, and they rarely encounter each other normally."
"Generally speaking, when we mention the Pure Land Society, we will directly mention specific families. For example, in Norway, where we are now, the largest pure-blood family is the Jacobsen family. Many of these families have a seat in the Nordic Ministry of Magic's Wizengamot Council, so the Ministry of Magic is not just fully aware of the Pure Land Society's existence, but they are also intertwined, practically hand in glove."
At this point, Karkaroff felt he hadn't been accurate enough and added, "At least for locals. They are quite rule-abiding when dealing with local wizards, even assisting the Ministry of Magic in various aspects. And the number of Muggles in Norway is also very small; as long as they don't run into the Pure Land Society, they won't actively trouble these Muggles. But when facing outsiders and non-pure-blood wizards, the Pure Land Society's image is not so benevolent. The people in this organization are extremely xenophobic and deeply dislike and despise Muggle-born wizards, striking out fiercely upon discovery."
"Muggle-born wizards who come to Norway will at best be beaten and then expelled, and in severe cases, they may even be tortured and killed. They view blood purity as the highest honor, and the local Ministry of Magic turns a blind eye to this situation. After all, the idea of pure-blood supremacy also accounts for the majority within the Ministry of Magic, let alone their own like the Pure Land Society. And besides Muggle-born wizards being hostilely viewed by the Pure Land Society in Norway, half-blood wizards with a high proportion of Muggle blood, as well as Muggle-friendly wizards and entities, will also be suppressed by the Pure Land Society."
"The Silver Spears you asked me about earlier belong to this category. When the Silver Spears first moved in, many of their members and collaborators were Muggle-born wizards, and they were here to poach and smuggle local magical creatures, which angered the Pure Land Society. So the Pure Land Society once launched targeted purges against the Silver Spears, reportedly killing several of them. Now, the Silver Spear club here, if not completely unable to move, is certainly as good as dead upon exposure."
Karkaroff briefly introduced Alan to the wizarding structure of Norway and the Pure Land Society's modus operandi. Alan nodded understandingly after hearing Karkaroff's account.
If the situation of the German Ministry of Magic was gradually moving toward division, then the Ministries of Magic in the Nordic region were tending toward unification, a stark contrast. The Pure Land Society in Norway also differed somewhat from the Death Eaters. If the British Death Eaters were a bunch of out-and-out terrorists, the Pure Land Society was more like a triad organization based on families. They would use extreme methods to strike down enemies, but they would also maintain local order to some extent, and the Ministry of Magic in Norway was like an official institution controlled by the families, essentially birds of a feather.
No wonder Fwooper was so resistant when she learned of her previous appointment. In Norway, she couldn't even use the power of the Ministry of Magic, which was like being pressed to the ground and beaten without being able to call the Aurors; it was even possible that law enforcement would come and join in.
"What about the professor and student I asked you to keep an eye on? What's their situation?" Alan certainly hadn't forgotten Fwooper and Aseria's young sister.
"You're referring to Asia Donnelli, who teaches Potions at Durmstrang, and Anais Roer, right?" Although Karkaroff wasn't sure why Alan specifically asked him for information on these two, he faithfully completed the task.
"Asia Donnelli joined Durmstrang a few years ago, only two years after me. This witch's Potions skills are indeed good, but she's usually very low-key and doesn't have many friends. I can feel that she seems to be hiding something, but since we don't usually interact, I haven't had much contact. And Anais Roer is a third-year student at Durmstrang and also my student, but this young girl's health doesn't seem very good; she always looks sickly. Her relationship with Asia is good; it seems they knew each other before enrollment, and Asia has been very caring toward Anais."
"Has that Asia made any unusual moves recently?" Alan took a sip of the now cold butterbeer on the table and asked softly.
"She's been frequently entering and leaving the school recently, using the excuse of purchasing potion ingredients, but for the past two days, she's been staying quietly in school," Karkaroff replied after a brief recollection.
Alan nodded upon hearing this; it seemed Fwooper was almost ready. He had contacted Fwooper two days ago, and she said she would be able to start the first transport mission in two or three days.
"You've done very well," Alan said, nodding contentedly at Karkaroff, then took a bulging leather pouch from his person and pushed it across the table to him. Karkaroff heard the dull thud of the leather pouch on the wooden table and the metallic clinking from inside as it was pushed, and realized it likely contained a huge sum of money.
"Master, the funds you gave me earlier haven't been spent yet. It was thanks to your support that my cousin was able to secure his position on the school board, and I, too, managed to get involved in the deputy headmaster position. Now, what is this?" Karkaroff said, gulping as he looked at the leather pouch in front of him, but quickly regained his composure and respectfully asked Alan for instructions.
"This contains 3,000 Galleons; you take it first," Alan said in an undeniable tone. "This money isn't for you to bribe the school board and principal; it's for you to do something for me. You need to quickly find a good location in a large wizard gathering area in Norway and buy a plot of land for me. I plan to open a branch here, and you will be my agent then. Don't worry, you'll be well compensated."
"Master..." Karkaroff's face immediately fell when Alan brought this up again. Alan had often urged him to do this before, but he had always put him off. He never thought that today, his master would simply throw the money in his face.