"The people from the Mystic Society really are persistent. How many times has this been now, them entering Hogwarts?" Rowena said in a teasing tone. "Salazar alone has sent me materials twice."
"Three times, I think?" Rhys scratched his head.
It wasn't because he had a bad memory. The main reason was that the monks of the Mystic Society hadn't left much of an impression on him. On the other hand, he still remembered every detail of Ragnarok as clearly as ever.
There was only so much a person could remember. Unimportant memories would sink into the depths of the sea of memory, only resurfacing when a certain keyword brought them back.
Of course, the spectacle the Mystic Society had put on at noon today would probably stay with him for the rest of his life.
Godric Gryffindor returning to Hogwarts... truly astonishing.
"Did you record what happened at noon?" Rhys blinked, struck by a brilliant idea.
"Of course. This was a milestone event in Hogwarts history. How could we not record it?" A smile appeared on Rowena's face as she took a crystal ball from her robes.
She lightly tapped the crystal ball, and images began flickering within it, replaying scenes from what had just happened.
Eventually, the image froze on the moment the red-haired man had made his appearance.
[Secret Society.. Godric Gryffindor.. well, it isn't a secret anymore, is it? Haha, so just call it Mystic Society or Order...]
A familiar voice came from within the crystal ball.
The corners of the mouths of all three people in the office curled upward in unison. They all looked as though they were trying to hold back their laughter, but were having trouble succeeding.
Looking at Godric's appearance inside the crystal ball, Rhys nodded in satisfaction. Once Godric finally came to his senses and returned to Hogwarts in the future, he would copy this recording and play it at his birthday banquet, or perhaps simply send it to him as a birthday gift.
After showing Salazar what he wanted to see, Rowena stretched out her hand and put the crystal ball away.
Rhys suddenly felt that something seemed off, but Rowena spoke again at that moment, distracting him.
"I suggest we don't take any action against him for now. I want to see what exactly he's trying to do. Surely he didn't really come here just to participate in the tournament?"
After some thought, Rhys agreed with Rowena's suggestion.
After all, he needed to focus his energy on the competition. He could leave this matter concerning the sudden appearance of "Godric" to Rowena.
Seeing that her two old friends had reached an agreement, Helga also expressed her approval, though she still voiced her concerns.
"Isn't it too dangerous to let someone with malicious intentions wander around the castle like this?"
"Sometimes you have to take a little risk. Otherwise, how are we supposed to find out why he came? More importantly, this person's condition is extremely peculiar. I couldn't find any flaws at all."
"Same here," Rhys added.
Rhys had been unable to find any flaws in the man claiming to be Godric. If he hadn't previously summoned Gryffindor's phantom from the Resurrection Stone, he might really have believed that man was Godric himself.
After leaving Hogwarts, Godric had founded the Mystic Society to eliminate the influence of the divine remains. Somehow, that explanation actually made sense.
Hearing the words of her two old friends, Helga's expression grew serious, because she too had been unable to find any flaws in that man.
He seemed to be exactly the old friend who had left the school a thousand years ago.
"See? That's what makes this interesting." From Helga's expression, Rhys could tell that this thoughtful witch had also failed to catch the man's slip.
"If even the three of us can't confirm that he's a fake, then there's really no difference between him and the real Gryffindor."
Rhys nodded, then shook his head.
There was a Muggle saying that if something quacked like a duck, looked like a duck, and tasted like a duck, then it was a duck. But that definitely didn't apply to the current situation.
Memories of his time with Gryffindor surfaced in Rhys's mind, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If Godric were here, he would probably have already howled in rage, leapt up, beaten the impostor pretending to be his friend half to death, and then captured him.
It seemed that he wouldn't need to search for any so-called evidence to prove the other man was a fake.
In his eyes, if he hit the wrong person, then he could simply apologise later.
"How about we just make a move and take him down?"
As soon as the thought slipped out, Rhys regretted it a little. It really wasn't his style.
Both Rowena and Helga widened their eyes.
Good heavens, how could such a suggestion come out of Salazar's mouth?!
"I object."
"That wouldn't be appropriate."
Rowena and Helga rejected Salazar's proposal in unison.
At a time like this, rashly clashing with the mysterious visitor from the Mystic Society was obviously unwise. That Godric's magical power was on par with the three of them. If he truly possessed Godric's Flame Domain, then controlling the scope of the battle would be extremely difficult. The fight could last for months and spread over thousands of miles. Hogwarts itself might be reduced to rubble, and capturing him alive would be out of the question.
"I want to figure out what that fellow is after first. It won't be too late to act once he reveals his fox's tail," Rowena stated.
"Hogwarts is not a suitable place for a battle." Helga's position was equally clear.
Rhys chose to go with the majority.
"At most, he's trying to use this opportunity to destroy Hogwarts or gain some benefit from the seal beneath the dungeons. What I don't understand is how that relates to the Mystic Society's purpose. The intelligence I have says that the Mystic Society's ultimate goal is to restore the Age of the Gods, though I have no idea what method they intend to use."
"Why not just wait and see?" Rowena still maintained her attitude of patiently baiting the fish.
"Works for me." Rhys supported Rowena's idea.
"Oh, right. Let me keep the Resurrection Stone ring."
As though remembering something, he added another sentence.
Rowena narrowed her eyes.
"Salazar, do you not trust me? I already said I wouldn't—"
"I don't."
Rhys's answer immediately rendered Rowena speechless.
He wasn't lying. Even Rowena herself felt that it would be difficult to suppress the urge to summon Godric again just to see what would happen.
She really was a woman who couldn't be trusted!
Rowena returned the Resurrection Stone ring to Rhys.
"By modern wizarding standards, this ring is a Dark artefact," Rowena said with certainty. "Its malice towards the user is extremely obvious. It's encouraging people to commit suicide."
"Then what do you think about the Gryffindor we summoned? Is he just a reflection of our memories?"
Rowena shook her head.
The Godric summoned from the Resurrection Stone ring was different, and she had an even bolder theory....
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12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI