"You all seem to be having a good chat."
As he spoke, Link took the seat at the head of the table alongside Dumbledore.
The hall fell silent.
Most of the Ministers sat with their eyes lowered, as though they hadn't heard Link's greeting at all.
Yet the entire conference hall was filled with an intense sense of tension.
The most obvious example was the now-insane French Minister for Magic.
The moment he saw Link, he wet himself.
If not for the Binding Charm that had been cast on him beforehand, he would probably have bolted for the door by now.
After a long while, Auguste, seated in the corner, let out a charming laugh and said, "My dear Lord Link Flamel, you have no idea! Just now, Madam Picquery from the Magical Congress of the United States was saying she wanted to formally condemn your invasion of the French magical community and your intimidation of everyone here! She even said she wanted an explanation from you! She claimed it was her duty as a messenger of peace!"
"You don't need to sow discord here, Auguste. I do think Lord Flamel's actions were somewhat inappropriate, but I'm sure he had his reasons!"
Before Link could respond, Picquery immediately took over.
"Lord Flamel and I are old friends. As early as several years ago, MACUSA had already begun extensive trade with the British Ministry of Magic. Lord Flamel himself also made major business investments in the American magical community. During several of those meetings, we had many pleasant conversations!"
"It is precisely because I understand Lord Flamel's upright character that I wanted to know his reasons for acting this way!"
"And if there's anything we can help with, I'm sure none of us would refuse!"
This time, after Picquery finished speaking, no one applauded.
Even the German Minister for Magic wore a blank, stunned expression.
Link continued staring at Picquery without a trace of emotion, placing enormous pressure on her.
At that moment, she truly hated that bitch Auguste.
If it had only been Link Flamel, Picquery felt she could still negotiate with him.
After all, MACUSA's strength was genuinely formidable.
Combined with the support of several smaller allies around them, even if negotiations completely broke down, a conflict with the British Ministry of Magic would at least end with both sides badly wounded.
Because of that, Picquery had always believed her status was equal to Link Flamel's.
They were equals.
But now Dumbledore had entered the conference hall together with Link Flamel.
That action alone was enough to show Dumbledore's stance on this matter.
Two Legendary wizards.
And not just ordinary Legendary wizards, but ones in the middle stages, perhaps even above the middle stages.
That alone far exceeded what MACUSA could withstand.
The holographic projection currently playing was proof enough.
During the early stages of the British Ministry of Magic's assault on the French Ministry, only Link himself had taken action.
Yet with Link alone, the French Ministry's proud defensive system had been completely destroyed.
With that level of destructive power, combined with those almost miraculous spatial teleportation techniques...
If the British Ministry simply teleported Link and Dumbledore into MACUSA headquarters...
Wouldn't a decapitation strike be effortless?
The moment she thought of that, Picquery felt her neck itch.
Most of the people present had reached the same conclusion.
Wizards might think differently from ordinary people, but anyone capable of becoming Minister for Magic was, despite having warped views on certain matters, generally intelligent.
Or perhaps more accurately, cunning.
That was why, after receiving the recording of the French Ministry's fall from Link, they had rushed to the British Ministry without delay.
They all understood that, when facing the flourishing Flamel family and the British Ministry of Magic, yielding was necessary.
It was for survival.
There was no shame in it.
At that moment, Link, seated at the head of the table, withdrew his gaze from the now-soaked Picquery.
He slowly looked around the room.
Only after his sharp gaze forced everyone to lower their heads did he finally speak.
"Since you all want an explanation, then I'll give you one."
"As for the British Ministry's war against the French magical community, I believe anyone with an Auror Department already knows the direct cause."
"But what I want to tell you is that this war was not merely one of revenge."
"Nor was it, as many of you imagine, because I coveted the prosperous French magical community."
"In reality, the conflict between the British Ministry and the French magical community happened because we discovered something extremely dangerous within French territory."
"I know that sounds like an excuse."
"Even with Dumbledore vouching for me, you may not believe it."
"But through this war, I have already obtained sufficient evidence."
Link slightly raised a hand.
A silver-white thread flew out from the French Minister's temple and automatically merged into the holographic projection overhead.
Scenes buried deep within the French Minister's memories appeared.
The footage showed how the French Ministry had fallen into chaos after being manipulated by the Shadow Figure.
At first, most of the Ministers maintained their composure.
Quite a few even cast gleeful looks toward the French Minister sitting below the projection.
After all, in today's world, many Ministries of Magic were actually poor.
The French magical community had developed rapidly over the years, drawing wealth away from many other magical markets.
It would have been strange if no one resented them.
But when the female secretary in the memory came back to life and began describing how the Shadow Figure had seized control of the International Confederation of Wizards and used Sky City to threaten the entire world...
No one in the room could laugh anymore.
"This... has to be a joke..."
muttered the Polish Minister for Magic, a thin middle-aged man.
"If possible, I'd also like to say this is just a joke," Link replied calmly.
"But unfortunately, as you all just witnessed, these memories were extracted directly from the French Minister's mind."
Link's words clearly failed to achieve the intended effect.
The Ministers still looked unconvinced.
After all, memories could also be altered.
And if this information were true...
It would be a devastating blow to most Ministries of Magic.
Seeing this, Link showed no anger and continued, "If you still don't believe me, you can try contacting the International Confederation of Wizards yourselves."
"But I believe you'll never receive a reply."
The moment those words were spoken, many Ministers' expressions finally darkened.
Because from the very moment the British Ministry invaded France and caused such an enormous disturbance over Paris, many of them had already tried contacting the International Confederation of Wizards to demand an explanation.
Unfortunately, none of their messages had ever received a response.
Not only did that make Link's claim about the "Sky City Threat" much more believable, it also meant they could no longer rely on the International Confederation to restrain or punish the British Ministry.
"So, Lord Link Flamel," Picquery nodded with a faint smile, "after telling us all of this, what exactly do you intend to do?"
Beside her, Auguste could barely tolerate the fact that Picquery had been speaking so boldly just moments ago, only to immediately start addressing Link respectfully.
She covered her mouth and laughed.
Surprisingly, however, she did nothing more than laugh.
She didn't seize the opportunity to mock Picquery.
That made Link narrow his eyes.
Given the intelligence of both women, it was impossible they still hadn't figured out why he had gathered everyone here.
His goal was obviously to unite everyone's strength against the "Sky City Threat."
The reason they continued asking questions despite already knowing the answer was simply because they wanted greater benefits.
That was greed.
After all, the Sky City Threat endangered every magical community in the world.
Picquery and Auguste's behavior was practically no different from a capitalist selling the rope that would eventually hang themselves.
Rather than becoming angry, Link smiled.
His gaze, as sharp as if enhanced by the Severing Charm, moved back and forth between Picquery and Auguste until neither woman could maintain her smile.
"Picquery, you're far inferior to your grandmother."
Dumbledore spoke softly.
"If she were in your position today, she would never have entertained such thoughts."
"To be honest, I believe this matter benefits all of us."
"There's no need to demand extra advantages."
"Don't you agree?"
Picquery's eyelids twitched twice.
She was clearly dissatisfied that Dumbledore had brought up her grandmother.
She even seemed unconvinced.
"You've misunderstood us, Professor Dumbledore."
Auguste smiled sweetly at Dumbledore and Link.
"Now that Lord Link Flamel has explained everything so clearly, we're naturally willing to join the alliance against the 'Sky City Threat.'"
"It's just that we believe further discussion is needed regarding how exactly we should deal with the Sky City Threat."
"That way we can develop practical plans that benefit everyone."
Picquery nodded in agreement.
Link, however, said coldly, "The first reason I gathered everyone here today was to announce the existence of the Sky City Threat."
"The second was to unite everyone's strength against Sky City."
"As for the details you wish to discuss, we can leave those for later."
"For now, I only need your answer."
"Are you willing to join this alliance?"
The moment those words fell, the conference hall became completely silent.
Even Picquery and Auguste stopped speaking.
Both had a feeling that their little scheme might not succeed so easily.
After a brief moment of consideration, however, they still raised their hands together, indicating their willingness to join.
With them taking the lead, the German Minister, along with several Ministers whose Ministries relied on either MACUSA or the Russian Ministry, also raised their hands.
But it still wasn't enough.
Because in this enormous conference hall, they only accounted for about one-third of the total.
Link's gaze shifted toward the remaining third.
"Have you not understood something?"
Hearing that, even Picquery, Auguste, and the others who had already agreed couldn't help laughing.
Faced with the gazes of so many influential Ministers, the remaining Ministers immediately felt overwhelming pressure.
Some had even begun trembling.
In the end, however, the thin Polish Minister stepped forward.
His face was deathly pale, but he forced himself to speak despite his nervousness.
"Your Excellency Lord Link Flamel, there is indeed one matter I still don't understand.
"May I ask you to clarify it for me?"
The Polish Minister's humble attitude, along with his nervous and submissive appearance, nearly made Picquery and Auguste laugh again.
Link simply waved for him to continue.
The Polish Minister glanced toward Picquery and Auguste.
There was no anger on his face.
He only said calmly, "What I want to know is this."
"This Shadow Figure who occupied the International Confederation of Wizards and created the 'Sky City Threat'..."
"What exactly does he want?"
"Or to put it more directly..."
"After doing all of this, what is he trying to obtain?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Ministers from the smaller Ministries all voiced their agreement.
None of them spoke loudly.
But there were many of them.
Soon, the entire conference hall became noisy.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Link tapped the table several times.
The hall instantly fell silent.
Everyone's attention returned to him.
As they looked at Link, Link was also studying the expressions on each of their faces.
Even Picquery and Auguste were no exception.
He actually understood their reactions.
For influential Ministers like Picquery and Auguste, there was never really any room for negotiation regarding the Sky City Threat.
Their Ministries occupied dominant positions in the current international magical world.
The very existence of Sky City threatened that position.
So long as they wished to continue leading the international magical community and profiting from that leadership, they had no choice but to eliminate the Sky City Threat.
Negotiating conditions along the way was merely a secondary matter.
The special status of their Ministries already determined that they naturally belonged on Link's side.
But for regional Ministries like Poland's... the situation was entirely different.