"Commissioner? If I remember correctly, shouldn't it be Minister?"
The Muggle Prime Minister pointed at the title of "Minister" on the frame of Uric Gamp's portrait and asked in confusion, "So why has a Commissioner suddenly appeared now?"
Uric Gamp nodded.
"You can also think of him as the current Minister of Magic. It's just that the Ministry has been restructured, so now he's addressed as Commissioner instead. As for the details of the restructuring, you don't need to know them. You only need to know that Link Flamel is one of the greatest wizards of the past hundred years."
"I have to agree with that," Dumbledore said. "Link's talent is unmatched among anyone I've ever seen. For the Ministry of Magic, or rather the British magical community, to have a leader like him is a great honor. In fact, Prime Minister, besides explaining the recent unusual movements within the wizarding community, there's another matter regarding Link that I'd like to ask for your opinion on."
"Oh? So that's what this is about! Go ahead, Professor Dumbledore. As long as it's something I can do, I'll certainly do my best!"
The Muggle Prime Minister answered without hesitation.
Now that he knew supernatural powers truly existed in the world, it wasn't as though he had never fantasized about wielding such power himself.
Unfortunately, although every resident of Number 10 Downing Street knew about the portrait of Uric Gamp on the wall, not every Muggle Prime Minister ever had the chance to communicate directly with real wizards.
Even for the current Prime Minister, aside from receiving the one-sided order to "assist in sealing France's border" through an incredibly abrupt and bizarre method last time, this was only his first real conversation with a wizard.
Not to mention that standing before him now was the legendary Dumbledore.
If the other side casually gave him some potion that could restore youth, extend life, or strengthen the body, wouldn't he make an absolute fortune?
Dumbledore was clearly pleased with the Prime Minister's attitude. He nodded and continued,
"Although the British Ministry of Magic's war against the French magical community ended in victory with lightning speed thanks to the efforts of Link and the others, the true enemy who started this war is still at large. Not only that, our enemy has now gained control of an even greater power, one capable of threatening all humanity."
"Therefore, I sincerely recommend that you issue a warning to your people, and to every other nation in the world, telling them to begin constructing underground shelters and prepare for evacuation."
"Ha! You're saying that just because of one sentence from you, we're supposed to start building shelters? Do you know what you're saying? Do you know how much money that would cost?"
The Muggle Prime Minister's expression immediately changed after fully understanding Dumbledore's meaning. "Of course, it's not that I don't believe you, Dumbledore. It's just that this matter is far too important."
"How about this? Have someone write up a report. Explain the entire situation in detail, including the cause and effect, how long the coming disaster is expected to last, what material assistance you're willing to provide, and so on."
'After we receive the report, we'll hold a meeting to thoroughly discuss the feasibility of your proposal."
"Then we'll give you our answer. How about that?"
Hearing this, Dumbledore's expression hardly changed.
After so many years, he was no longer the young man who killed in a fit of anger or traveled the world chasing an impossible dream.
Now he possessed a greater dream, along with far deeper patience and composure.
He wouldn't become angry over something like this.
Besides, at most, this Muggle Prime Minister was only speaking sarcastically. There wasn't much actual insult behind it.
The portrait of Uric Gamp, however, clearly didn't see it that way.
Even though the Ministry he had founded had been restructured by Link, it was still his life's work.
He would not tolerate disrespect.
Uric Gamp grinned wickedly.
"Hehehe. I'd advise you to agree quickly. Otherwise, what awaits you won't be polite words like these."
"What? Are you threatening me?" The Muggle Prime Minister casually sat back behind his desk.
Admittedly, as an ordinary person, he feared wizards.
But as the Prime Minister of Britain, he didn't think wizards were all that impressive.
It was an easy conclusion to reach.
If wizards were truly powerful enough to order Britain around at will, then why were Muggles, rather than wizards with extraordinary powers, the rulers of the Earth?
Naturally, the Prime Minister's thoughts couldn't escape Dumbledore.
Not because Dumbledore had used Legilimency on him, nor because the Prime Minister lacked self-control or couldn't hide his emotions.
Rather, the Prime Minister simply couldn't be bothered to hide them.
"Sigh. Most people are foolish, and rulers like you are the finest among fools. Pride has blinded you, preventing you from realizing that I truly have your best interests at heart."
Dumbledore shook his head with a sigh, his face full of regret.
"Stop wasting words on him, Dumbledore," Uric Gamp sneered. "I'd advise you to leave soon as well. Link is already on his way here. If he finds out you met the Muggle Prime Minister before he did, even you will probably be in trouble."
"Not at all. Link is a very good child."
"Haha! Stop comforting yourself. As far as I know, Link's personal strength is already on par with yours, isn't it? On top of that, he controls the British Ministry of Magic, Durmstrang, the Beckman Group, the Flamel family Hunter Corps, and even more than half of Hogwarts."
"In the face of that kind of power and influence, what qualifications do you still have to shape his thinking? The only thing left is your personal relationship. But you know very well that relationships are incredibly fragile."
Contrary to what the portrait expected, Dumbledore didn't become angry. Instead, he thoughtfully stared at Uric Gamp's portrait.
"I think, compared to me, you should be more worried about whether Link will simply destroy you. After all, the things you just mentioned aren't things a magical portrait should know."
The moment those words were spoken, the expression on Uric Gamp's portrait immediately changed.
Before he could speak again, however, Dumbledore turned toward the Muggle Prime Minister and said solemnly, "Prime Minister, perhaps you still don't understand what kind of group wizards are. But if you've studied even a little sociology, you should know that people with powerful individual strength have a very difficult time forming a truly stable society. That's because they simply don't need to unite into a massive collective to fight natural enemies or natural disasters. In many cases, even the greatest disasters this planet has ever seen can be solved by individual wizards or small groups."
"So, for a very long time, what you knew as the Ministry of Magic wasn't truly a governing body."
"It was merely an institution responsible for maintaining the Statute of Secrecy and preserving the balance between the magical world and Muggle society."
"Many people respected the Ministry of Magic under many circumstances."
"But if the Ministry wanted to command them through orders, that was absolutely impossible."
"Even the Ministry's own organization was remarkably loose."
"Many of its personnel simply worked for money and had no loyalty whatsoever to either the Ministry or the British magical community."
"That situation lasted for hundreds of years."
"Until Link appeared."
"Using his extraordinary power and wisdom, and taking advantage of the various crises that had occurred within Britain's magical community over the past few years, Link directly restructured the Ministry of Magic and truly brought it under his control."
"After that, he eliminated the oligarchic forces within the British magical community through military power."
"He used the wealth left behind by those oligarchs to heavily encourage commerce, infrastructure, and public welfare."
"By expanding the military and preparing for war, he integrated the Ministry's personnel into a unified force, turning the Ministry into a solid block and allowing his orders to reach every corner of it."
"After that entire process, public opinion toward him became extremely favorable."
"After all, although he never made the sort of campaign promises people used to make before becoming Commissioner, the reality was that under his leadership, Britain's magical community had reached the greatest level of prosperity it had seen in hundreds of years."
"Of course, there were drawbacks as well."
"The current prosperity of Britain's magical community is mainly built upon the wealth the oligarchs 'contributed.'"
"It is by burning through that inheritance that Link's popularity has grown like oil poured onto a blazing fire."
"But one day, the oligarchs' inheritance will run out."
"In fact, that day is already approaching."
"And when it comes, falling from the clouds of rapid development into the mud overnight will drive the people mad."
"The more they admire Link now, the more they'll hate him then."
"Link understands this as well."
"So he did something that completely reversed the situation."
"Prime Minister, you and Link are colleagues in a sense."
"Do you know what he did?"
"...A... a foreign war..."
The Muggle Prime Minister answered with a trembling voice.
The answer was obvious.
Dumbledore had already clearly stated that the British Ministry of Magic had defeated the French magical community.
The Prime Minister had to admit that it was indeed an extremely simple and decisive solution.
As long as the British Ministry declared war on the French magical community, then regardless of victory or defeat, all of its internal contradictions would be redirected outward.
If they won, they could seize massive resources from the French magical community to replenish themselves and maintain rapid development.
If they lost, the solution was equally simple.
Blame every internal problem on the French magical community.
At that point, the public's hatred would be directed toward France's magical community rather than Britain's Ministry of Magic.
Moreover, because the war would consume a great deal of the unstable elements within Britain's magical community, even if some inexplicable upheaval occurred afterward, it would be difficult for it to threaten the Ministry under Link's control.
This strategy had also been commonly used in Muggle society before.
Combined with universal conscription, it had been nearly perfect.
Now, this same strategy had evolved into a new form.
It was just as effective, though structurally far more complicated.
If possible, the Muggle Prime Minister himself wished he could employ such a strategy.
After all, Muggle society was currently filled with internal conflicts as well.
Unfortunately, this method placed extraordinarily high demands on its leader.
Given the current situation, Britain simply couldn't carry out such a strategy.
The reason the so-called British Ministry of Magic could do so was entirely because Link Flamel's own strength and control were overwhelming.
The Prime Minister would even bet that from the very moment Link Flamel first took control of the Ministry, he had already been mentally prepared to launch a war.
Otherwise, Link Flamel wouldn't have begun aggressively expanding military power from the very start.
If that was truly the case...
Then just what kind of terrifying person was Link Flamel?
Just thinking about it made the Prime Minister's scalp tingle.
"I believe you now have a basic understanding of Link," Dumbledore said again, his voice as gentle as ever. "So tell me, do you still wish to negotiate with Link personally?"
This time, the Muggle Prime Minister shook his head vigorously.
He wasn't an idiot.
Professor Dumbledore was undoubtedly one of the kindest negotiators he had ever met.
If something could be settled with Dumbledore, there was no need to trouble Link Flamel.
After all, who knew what Link Flamel's attitude would be? Judging from Dumbledore's description alone, he certainly didn't sound like a good person.
Having figured that out, the Prime Minister forced out a smile.
"Oh my, Professor Dumbledore! I was only joking with you just now! You were saying we should begin constructing underground shelters and prepare for evacuation, right? That's very negotiable! Come, come, let's head to the conference room and discuss it properly. While we're at it, I'll have my secretary bring us some drinks. By the way, would you prefer tea or coffee?"
Dumbledore said nothing.
He merely looked at the Muggle Prime Minister with a warm smile.
Meanwhile, Uric Gamp's portrait, which had remained silent, suddenly spoke.
"I don't think that's necessary anymore. Because... our Commissioner is about to arrive."
The moment he finished speaking, a pitch-black crack suddenly split open in the very center of the office.
At first, the crack was no thicker than a thread, and its edges were highly irregular.
But as time passed, it slowly expanded until it became a doorway.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Rhythmic footsteps echoed from beyond the black doorway.
The sound wasn't loud, yet it was strangely heavy, giving the Muggle Prime Minister an overwhelming feeling of suffocation, as though each step landed directly upon his heart.
The Prime Minister struggled to loosen his necktie.
The unbearable sensation of suffocation made him want nothing more than to tear out his windpipe and hook himself up to a ventilator.
Then, at that moment, a tall figure finally emerged from the pitch-black doorway.