As soon as Tver and Marvolio got off the plane, they were met by agents claiming to represent the Greek government. Seeing their stern faces, the two of them climbed into a tightly sealed vehicle with considerable amusement.
It was the sort of business van where, from the outside, you could not tell at all that someone was waiting inside to talk to them.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tver Fawley and Mr. Marvolio," a young man in a suit said stiffly before the two of them had even settled into their seats.
The seats in the back had been rearranged into two rows facing each other, and the man had been sitting opposite them the entire time, as if he had been waiting for quite a while.
"I am the Prime Minister's chief assistant. You may call me Simitis."
"So the Greek government likes expressing its pleasure in such sudden ways?" Marvolio lounged in his seat, grinning openly without the slightest restraint.
Tver casually examined the layout inside the vehicle, as well as the black earpiece the assistant had been wearing the whole time.
He was certain that every word spoken here would be relayed without omission to the Prime Minister on the other end.
Simitis did not mind the sarcasm. He only lowered his head slightly, which counted as an apology for his rudeness.
"Please forgive us. Before the Prime Minister receives you as guests, I must make sure we have not picked up the wrong people. After all, your methods are far more... magical than we imagined."
A trace of fear flashed through his eyes. Though he quickly hid it, both Tver and Marvolio caught it all the same.
The two exchanged a somewhat surprised glance.
Tver had thought this incident was either the result of someone in power being unable to suppress their desire, or a political rival trying to trip up the current Prime Minister.
But judging from the chief assistant's attitude, this did not seem like a Muggle attack on wizards at all. Instead, it seemed more like...
"Has a wizard threatened you?" Tver asked directly.
It was both to show that he was neutral and objective, easing the Prime Minister's concerns, and also to display his own strength. He did not need to be wary of other wizards.
The Confederation of Wizards had certainly warned Muggle governments before, but with Babajide's cautious and meticulous personality, he would not have done anything that would make people feel such fear.
"That is something we should be asking you, Mr. Wizard."
Simitis raised his head and spoke through gritted teeth, sounding as though he was furious but did not dare say so. Tver, however, had already obtained the information he wanted.
"Then let's talk about why a wizard was able to throw the sleeping Prime Minister onto the street, then leave a warning behind as if he owned the place."
Tver folded his hands over his knees. Simitis, who had originally been sent to probe their attitude, had instead become the one being questioned.
"I never told you that..."
Simitis was so startled that he nearly stood up, only realizing they were still on the way to the secret meeting room when his head almost hit the roof of the vehicle.
"I don't know how you found out about this, but since you've asked directly, there's no need for me to keep hiding it."
He took a deep breath and steadied his slightly disordered breathing. It also seemed that he received some sort of instruction through his earpiece.
"Yes. On the night after the murder, a wizard suddenly appeared in the Prime Minister's bedroom, then suddenly took him onto a road full of speeding cars."
"That wizard did nothing else to the Prime Minister. He only left behind the words, 'This is a warning for harming wizards,' and then disappeared again..."
"That does sound very much like something a Death Eater would do," Marvolio could not help commenting.
Of course, Death Eaters usually did that to threaten other wizards. Their methods toward Muggles were not nearly so merciful.
Simitis frowned, but did not dwell on Marvolio's interruption, nor did he ask what Death Eaters were.
"Gentlemen, I know that the Confederation of Wizards you represent should be here to maintain order between the two worlds."
"He is. I'm not." Marvolio quickly waved a hand, distancing himself from the trouble.
He had finally figured it out. This definitely involved the complicated and fragile relationship between wizards and Muggles again. That sort of headache was best left for Tver to handle himself.
"...That's fine." Simitis was speechless for a moment, but Marvolio's lazy, roguish attitude actually made him relax a little.
"But no matter what, I hope you understand that the Prime Minister has always been willing to maintain friendly cooperation with the wizards."
Whatever his previous attitude had been, after such a scare, the Prime Minister would not dare show any displeasure toward Tver, who was clearly of a higher level.
Moreover, Greece operated under a parliamentary system. Although the Prime Minister held actual power, he was still influenced by Parliament and the political parties.
They would never allow the Prime Minister to control a power capable of twisting their thoughts.
So maintaining the status quo was exactly what the Prime Minister wanted.
Unfortunately, things had not gone as he wished. The Prime Minister, newly appointed this year, had run into this mess almost immediately.
"So the poisoning of the wizards was not ordered by the Prime Minister, or by any of you?"
"Yes." Simitis nodded with absolute certainty.
Of course, that was what the Prime Minister had told him. As for whether it was the truth, he could only insist on that position.
Tver withdrew his probing gaze and began thinking over this incident, which was growing more complicated, yet somehow clearer at the same time.
The most intriguing part of it was probably the wizard who had warned the Prime Minister.
If it had been an Auror, then he could not possibly have been unaware that this was a blatant violation of the rules. Had he done it purely to vent his anger?
No. If he had truly been that close to the dead wizards, he would absolutely not have minded using some hidden method to kill the Prime Minister. There would have been no need at all to resort to such a crude warning.
So this was... someone using the situation to make a move?
Before Tver could follow that thought any further, the vehicle slowly came to a stop.
"Gentlemen, the Prime Minister is waiting for you inside."
Simitis was the first to open the door and step down, allowing Tver to see the unremarkable little house in front of them.
If he had not sensed at least twenty bodyguards hidden nearby, and even a sniper rifle aimed at him, Tver might have thought it was just an ordinary little country villa.
But just as his indifferent gaze passed through the dense trees and met the sniper's eyes, Simitis stepped in front of him and blocked his line of sight.
"My apologies. Because of what happened before, we had no choice but to increase security here. This is not aimed at you personally."
If Tver had not noticed, he naturally would not have done so. But the problem was that even after raising his estimate of Tver's abilities as high as he could in his mind, he had still underestimated him.
"So it's aimed at all wizards, then."
Marvolio grinned, very much like an unruly underling serving some underworld boss.