Softly, she replied, "Yes… my research is only a step away. Once I succeed completely, any emotional power will be able to transform into harmless energy in my hands."
Wade was shaken.
If she could really achieve that, then what did he even need a system for? Just cling to her thigh, and he could become a god straight away!
"Then when you come out, won't you become a god in minutes?"
"God?" She went silent for a long while after hearing that word, then finally said, "Gods are omnipotent. But I… no matter how strong I become, I can't make up for the regrets of the past. So, I can never become a god."
"Sis! I don't want to work hard anymore!"
"You're calling me sis? Do you even know how old I am?"
"Then… auntie? Auntie, I don't want to work hard anymore!"
Exasperated, she said, "Don't joke around. How can you not work hard? Even if pies fall from the sky, you still have to be willing to bend down and pick them up."
"So all I need to do is bend down a little?" Wade asked excitedly.
"You… why are you always looking for ways to slack off?"
"In fact, wanting to slack off is the very driving force of human progress! If people hadn't been too lazy to walk, how would flying brooms ever have been invented?" Wade said with utmost seriousness.
"Fine, let's say you're right. Even if I want to help you, still… judging by my current conversion speed and your rate of absorbing the 'residuals,' by the time I come out, your beard might already be whiter than that Professor Dumbledore of yours."
"..."
Wade's eyes went wide as if struck by lightning.
Dumbledore's beard was still reddish-brown right now! For it to turn white, that would take fifty or sixty years!
Which meant…
"So… that means you'll only be able to come out once I'm a hundred-year-old geezer?"
"Actually, with your abilities, I can't predict what you'll achieve in the future. Who helps whom then is still uncertain… Strictly speaking, I'm also making an investment."
"Uh… you give me too much credit… Wait, your voice…" Wade suddenly realized.
Back when she first appeared, whether it was her figure or her voice, he couldn't see or hear them clearly.
But now, he could actually hear her true soft tone?
"Yes… I've finally reclaimed a little of what belongs to me… It's just a pity that things are no longer the same…"
Wade guessed that she must be thinking of her old friends again.
But now, after so many years, those dear friends of hers might already be gone.
After all, not every wizard could live as long as Dumbledore or Headmaster Dippet.
And he could completely understand her feelings.
To be trapped while still young, wasting away the years that should have been most precious…
When all she could do was use her consciousness to quietly watch as her once-close friends aged one by one, and then passed away one by one—just imagining it was enough to feel suffocated with despair.
"I can sense the change in your emotions, Wade… Are you feeling sorrow for my situation?"
"No. I just put myself in your place for a moment… Theoretically, what I'm feeling should be your sorrow."
"Your empathy really is strong… But one person being sad is already enough. Why add you to the count? Alright, my consciousness should withdraw now. I've disturbed you long enough."
"Mm. If you ever feel bored, you can come talk to me anytime," Wade said sincerely.
Not because he was fawning—this really was a thigh worth clinging to!
Keeping a good relationship here was definitely no loss!
Whether she eventually came out or not, she could still be of enormous help to him!
At the very least, whenever he ran into something he didn't understand about magic—especially when it came to Dark Magic—he could ask her directly! Kekeke~~
After all, expecting Dumbledore to teach him Dark Magic was simply unrealistic. Even if Dumbledore claimed not to mind, he would never actually feel comfortable teaching it.
And it wasn't like he could just write to Grindelwald with questions, either.
Of course, Grindelwald would be more than happy to teach him—but without a doubt, his letter of inquiry would also appear on Dumbledore's desk just a few minutes later.
That scheming old fox would love nothing more than to drive a wedge between him and Dumbledore!
"Of course, I won't hold back on that. Even if I can speak with anyone now, the only person I truly trust is you."
"Uh, that's really flattering… but why do you trust me so much?"
"What's inside me is a tremendous temptation for anyone. And yet, even after experiencing its allure, you still managed to resist it… I know exactly how difficult that is. With empathy as strong as yours, you must understand my feelings, don't you?"
"Mm… I do." After thinking it over seriously, Wade agreed with her reasoning.
If he were in her position, he too would put his trust in someone who could resist temptation.
After pondering for a while, Wade suddenly said, "I'm not the only one who could do what I've done. If… if something ever happened to me, maybe you could go to Professor Dumbledore… Honestly, I've never seen anyone better at resisting temptation than him…"
The only temptation Dumbledore couldn't resist was family.
And once he broke free from his attachment to family, the current Dumbledore was frighteningly powerful!
Although Dumbledore believed he feared power, worrying that he wouldn't be able to withstand the temptation of it, Wade felt that was just his way of avoiding the issue.
Even if he had once fallen into it, after officially standing against his former dearest friend, it was unlikely he would ever again be swayed by something as shallow as the lure of power.
Dumbledore was at his peak right now. If he truly wanted power, who could stop him? But the fact that he didn't want it—that itself proved he had already resisted its temptation.
Dumbledore simply didn't want to pick up that sword, still unable to get past the guilt in his heart.
Back when he had wanted to take up that sword, he had hurt his sister. Now, he no longer wanted to hurt anyone at all.
Even if the possibility was no more than one in ten thousand…
'As long as I don't touch it, no one will be hurt because of me.' - That was Dumbledore's current state of mind.
"Dumbledore, hm? I'll remember that… But why would you say 'if something ever happened to you'?" she asked.
"When someone's hit by the Killing Curse, they die. And the path I'm walking… I'll inevitably be dealing with that kind of dangerous curse often in the future. No matter how strong I am, I can't claim I'd never be struck. If I were ambushed, it'd mean instant death… so thinking ahead about it isn't such a bad thing," Wade said calmly.
Accidents happen suddenly, no matter how powerful you are…
There was already a ready-made example Wade knew of—and it was a very representative one.
Even someone as powerful as Voldemort probably never imagined he'd fall, at the height of his strength and influence, to a baby who couldn't even speak.
Wade was confident, but who could say he wouldn't someday run into the same kind of accident as the future Tom?
By laying some groundwork now, maybe when the Senior came out later, she'd be able to pull him back once.
Just tossing out one casual sentence now could become a safeguard later—why not do it?
"I understand… Alright, I should go…"
Her soft voice slowly faded, like a wisp of breeze dissipating.
_________
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