Africa.
After a year of construction, with magic and technology working together, this primal land seemed to have hardly changed at all.
Of course, that was also because, in this world-class nature reserve, the only visible trace of human intervention was the tall building standing at the entrance.
But if one looked closely, one would notice that the roof of the building was connected to countless dense white threads, like a spider's web.
Under the sunlight, those threads looked almost transparent, but every now and then, a streak of golden light would flash across them, gliding slowly into the distance.
This was the magical cable car system Tver had specifically asked the Egyptian Centre for Alchemical Studies to build, combining their work with Dumbledore's magical knowledge.
Alchemy gave the cable cars extraordinary stability, Dumbledore's magic made them almost absurdly sturdy, and with travel technology "kindly" provided by the Knight Bus, the cable cars could safely and swiftly carry visitors through the skies above the entire reserve.
To put it bluntly, even without the Magical Creatures, this facility alone could pass for a roller coaster and drive every visitor wild.
Although the cost was enormous, in order to realize the idea of keeping visitors and Magical Creatures from disturbing one another, Newt Scamander had built this vast sightseeing network without the slightest hesitation.
Of course, that was also because he was spending Tver's money...
At the moment, however, Newt's attention was not on testing the cable cars.
Today was the day the reserve officially opened to the world.
As the person in charge, Newt knew very well that relocating all the Magical Creatures whose habitats had been squeezed out had already cost an astronomical number of Galleons.
Add to that his exacting demands for every facility, and if Tver came over only to find a complete mess, even someone as generous as him would have no problem selling Newt off to make up the shortfall.
So even though it was the Christmas holiday, Newt had brought the staff around to inspect everything, dealing with any oversights and possible problems.
"Mr. Scamander, we've found out why the Occamy suddenly expanded," Neville said, running over breathlessly. In his arms was a small, rat-like creature with a long snout and black fur covering its body.
"A Niffler tried to break into its nest and steal the Occamy's shiny silver eggs."
Yes, Neville had been coaxed here by Newt during the summer holiday half a year ago, where he had begun his "fulfilling" internship.
He had returned to Hogwarts for classes after the holidays ended, but even so, the moment the Christmas holiday began, Newt had summoned him back again.
Newt simply adored this honest child who could not even bring himself to complain.
"That's good." Newt quickly took the Niffler from him, tapped its mischievous little head, then stuffed it back into his own pocket.
"Did Tver say when he would come?"
"The professor didn't say, but... he's usually very punctual," Neville said hesitantly.
"In other words, he always shows up exactly at the last moment," Newt could not help grumbling. "As expected of a world-famous big shot. Even his entrance has to be timed so precisely."
For such an important occasion, if it were Newt, he would have wished he could spend the entire day soaking in the reserve.
"Before you complain about someone next time, could you at least look around first?" Tver rolled his eyes.
Newt turned around with the flow of the conversation, looking at Tver in some surprise, as if he really had suddenly become some extraordinary figure.
But when he noticed the woman and the little girl behind him, confusion flashed through his eyes for a second.
Noticing the strange look in Newt's eyes, Tver glared at him fiercely.
"This is Joanne Rowling, and this is her daughter, Catherine. Joanne, this strange old man is the Magizoologist I mentioned before, Newt Scamander."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, madam."
Unexpectedly, Newt broke into a delighted smile, as if they were already quite familiar with each other.
Joanne looked strangely at her hand, which Newt had taken, and for the first time felt that Tver's description of someone had been so accurate.
"Um... hello, Mr. Scamander. Have we met before?"
"Of course not," Newt said with a beaming smile, "but I've read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone several times. I've been looking forward to meeting you for ages!"
"Th-thank you."
Although she was gradually getting used to her current global fame, hearing a wizard say he liked the story she had written still felt odd to Joanne.
But Newt did not notice that detail. Or rather, he had already stopped paying attention even to Tver, his financial backer.
"Well, here's the thing..."
As he led Joanne toward the reserve's reception hall, he revealed a wicked smile, as if his prank had succeeded.
"I wonder whether you'd be interested in writing other magical stories?"
"Other stories?" Joanne paused, studying Newt's age before recalling how Tver had introduced him.
"You mean..."
Newt raised an eyebrow proudly, clearly pleased by Joanne's quick understanding.
"That's right. The story of the First White Wizard and the First Dark Lord!"
Tver: "???"
Joanne: "?!"
Tver stared blankly at the two people walking ahead.
Joanne, her face full of delight, immediately turned the tables and began tugging Newt along, asking question after question about the old stories of those two legendary figures.
Newt was not annoyed at all. In fact, it seemed he had been waiting for years to spill all the stories he had kept bottled up.
"Uncle Fawley, are Mum and that grandpa talking about something interesting?" Catherine asked curiously while looking around the spacious hall.
"Um..."
Faced with a child this young, Tver suddenly had no idea how to explain.
"This isn't something you should know right now. Once you grow up, you'll naturally understand the stories they're talking about."
Catherine was a little unwilling, but in her eyes, Uncle Fawley still had plenty of authority, so she only pouted in disappointment.
Seeing this, Tver glanced at Neville, who had pricked up his ears and was secretly paying attention to the conversation ahead.
"Neville, if you don't mind, could you show us around?"
After working for several months, he had finally managed to delegate the work and free up a little time.
He had to take a good look at exactly how this place had managed to burn through so many of his Galleons.
Sensing the threat in the professor's gaze, Neville shivered all over and quickly pointed to the beautiful hall.
Since Tver had arrived early and there was still some time before the official opening, the first group of visitors with reservations had not yet been brought over, leaving the hall rather empty.
But the quiet building was filled with clean, intersecting modern lines. Paired with the portraits and introductions of Magical Creatures on the walls, the ancient magic did not feel old-fashioned at all. Instead, it gave the place a futuristic, almost science-fiction atmosphere.
Technology gave magic a concrete sense of structure, while magic accomplished things technology could not.
One could say that this hall alone was far more mature than the prototype in Britain, enough to be called a model example of magic and technology fused together.
Neville gave a mysterious smile and led the two of them to the elevator.
"Once you take this elevator, you'll be able to see the wonderful world of Magical Creatures!"