"Oh, that's a big problem."
Never mind Babajide, whose face instantly fell. Even Tver shook his head helplessly.
Although he had long since prepared himself mentally for incidents like this, for such a mess to break out at this critical moment was still troublesome.
He had pushed for the Joint Operations Office precisely to seize time, to establish an image of justice and order for muggles, especially muggle governments, before dark wizards became notorious.
The results had been decent, but now it was even more obvious that in the eyes of those who knew the truth, the image of wizards had already been badly damaged.
"It's only been half a year!"
Babajide clutched his head in frustration and rubbed his temples. This movement seemed to be becoming a habit of his.
He was clearly a full generation younger than Dumbledore, yet his gloomy, miserable face looked even less energetic than old Dumbledore's.
No wonder no one had competed with him for the position of Confederation president back then.
He sighed, somewhat aggrieved.
"Let's go. We need to meet that American president."
"What?" Tver's spectator-like expression froze. "The American president is asking for you. Why should I go?"
Babajide stared at him expressionlessly, his gaze even carrying a trace of resentment.
Tver curled his lip and stood up helplessly.
"I only just got back to Bhutan. I haven't even had a sip of tea, and now I have to run off to America. I'm just a minor British representative…" he muttered in complaint.
Although Tver had long planned to meet that American president, since after the Cold War, the United States had become the strongest and only superpower in the world, the current situation was clearly not right.
Following Babajide to the White House in Washington, Tver immediately noticed the panic hidden beneath its orderly surface.
This counted as the second air disaster in the United States.
The previous one had cost them a Secretary of Commerce and the entire team he was leading. This one was a commercial passenger plane, a Boeing 747 carrying more than two hundred passengers.
Although air disasters were usually accidents, the public pressure on the government would certainly not be small.
Especially for the current president, this was not a time when he could afford negative news.
As if thinking of something amusing, Tver followed Babajide with a faint smile. Under the guidance of a pretty young woman who was said to be an intern, they arrived at a reception room in the White House.
As the intern led the way, she kept glancing back curiously at the two men who were supposedly wizards, as if trying to find a flying carpet on them.
Of course, her gaze lingered more on Tver, who was half a step behind. After all, a wizard this handsome was not merely a matter of curiosity.
Noticing her gaze, Tver suddenly turned his face and smiled gently at her, startling her so badly that her heart began to race.
She hurriedly led Babajide and Tver to their seats, then cleared her throat and said solemnly, "The President is currently preparing for a nationwide televised address. During this interval, he may have fifteen minutes to speak with you…"
"Ten minutes," Tver interrupted casually, somewhat taking charge of the room, though Babajide was more than happy to have things made easier.
"What?" The girl thought Tver meant it would only take ten minutes to resolve the matter here.
But clearly, Tver did not intend to give any face to the president he had yet to meet.
"We will only stay here for ten minutes. In other words, the waiting time and meeting time combined add up to ten minutes."
"If it exceeds ten minutes, whether the President comes or not, or whether there are too many matters to discuss, we will simply leave."
Since this president wanted to give them a show of force, Tver naturally had to return something in kind.
Otherwise, if this swollen-headed holder of American power thought wizards were easy to bully, their meeting would already have half failed before it even began.
The girl was startled by Tver's sudden seriousness. Just moments ago, he had looked like a leisurely young nobleman, but once his face hardened, he felt even more imposing than her father.
"I… I…"
She was so frightened that she did not know what to do. As an intern, receiving these two guests had already been an arrangement specially appointed by the President.
How could she possibly have the standing to deliver such a message to the President?
"Don't be afraid." As if seeing through her thoughts, Tver smiled gently. "Just pass my words on exactly as I said them to the presidential aide directing you. She'll know what to do."
With that guidance, although she still looked dazed, the girl followed Tver's instructions and turned to find…
Wait. How did he know about the presidential aide?
Watching the girl walk away with an expression that seemed to question her entire life, Babajide turned helplessly to Tver.
"Using Legilimency on a muggle right in front of me, the President of the Wizards' Confederation. You really are far too reckless."
"Did you want to stay here for half an hour? We don't have that much time to waste." Tver rolled his eyes in disdain.
Babajide was simply taking the benefit and still pretending to complain. Otherwise, he would have stopped him long ago.
Sure enough, Babajide gave an awkward smile and did not continue dwelling on the matter.
"But if you act this forceful, won't you anger the President? Then won't we have come here for nothing?"
"Although that intern doesn't know whether the President is actually preparing a televised address, I can be certain that he wants to waste these ten minutes even less than we do."
For the president of a country, understanding, and even controlling, unstable factors within the nation was absolutely one of the things he most wanted to do.
Especially for the current President of the United States. At present, the only thing in this world that might threaten America's position was likely these mysterious wizards.
So, put another way, controlling America held extraordinary significance for Tver in maintaining future peace and stability.
Seeing that Babajide still seemed ready to ask more, Tver nodded toward the doorway. "Look, isn't he coming over in a hurry now?"
Babajide immediately turned his head and looked. Sure enough, the current President of the United States, a very standard middle-aged white man, walked in.
"My apologies." He wore a friendly smile, as if the little clash that had just happened had not been at his instruction. "With such a major incident, I need to stay in contact with the rescue site at all times."
A standard politician's face.
Babajide and Tver realized this at the same time, but neither of them was easy to deal with. They immediately put on equally friendly expressions.
"We understand. After all, no one wants to see a disaster like this happen."
"But as far as I know, the cause of this air disaster, as well as the previous passenger plane crash into a mountain in Croatia, is not as much of a 'no one' matter as it appears on the surface." The President's smile gradually faded, and Babajide sensed something different in his tone.
"What do you mean?"
The President immediately said coldly, "What I mean is, how exactly are you wizards going to take responsibility for these two air disasters?"