As the conversation reached this point, the look in Link's eyes when he turned toward Headmaster Doug completely changed.
Though the frail old man appeared so humble, and even a little obsequious, in front of that crowd of despicable people, in Link's eyes, his hunched, thin frame was becoming taller and taller, until he seemed to stand like a giant who could hold up the sky.
"Phew!"
Taking a deep, emotional breath, Link turned his head again toward Krum, who had finally calmed down a little, and said, "Madame Maxime intends to pay how much to buy Durmstrang?"
"Buy!? You heard right! She's not trying to ally with Durmstrang, she wants to buy it…" Krum's anger flared up again at Link's words, but this time it didn't last long.
Soon, his voice wilted as he sighed weakly, "Five hundred thousand. She's willing to offer five hundred thousand Galleons! Merlin, do the things we've done here even mean anything? No matter how humbly we bow, those stingy bastards will never give us five hundred thousand Galleons…"
Hearing this, Link frowned deeply.
Because of his birth in the Flamel family, ever since arriving in this world, Link had never had to worry about money. But that didn't mean he didn't understand the value of a Galleon.
In fact, as the future heir of the Flamel family, Link had studied and analyzed the wizarding world's economic system thoroughly while inspecting his family's industries.
The first thing he had learned was that the value of wizard currency, Galleons, was far higher than he had initially imagined.
That so-called exchange rate in the original books, where one Galleon equaled five pounds, was merely a preferential policy the Ministry of Magic and Gringotts extended to Muggle-born Hogwarts students.
Students from other backgrounds didn't qualify for the exchange, and even those Muggle-borns had an annual cap, they couldn't exchange without limit.
That made sense, since pounds meant nothing to wizards. They could transfigure as much of it as they wanted.
On that basis, the purchasing power of Galleons in the wizarding world was astonishing.
Consider Arthur Weasley, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, a government department known for its generous benefits. Even though he wasn't respected and held a low position, his monthly salary was only fifty Galleons.
Yet with those fifty Galleons, he supported the entire Weasley family of nine, and even put seven children through school.
Not only that, he managed to save up enough to tinker with that flying Muggle car of his, spending another full fifty Galleons on it.
If that still wasn't enough proof of the Galleon's strength, then the Triwizard Tournament prize money was another solid example.
An international competition uniting multiple prestigious schools, drawing attention from the whole magical world, yet its championship prize was only a mere one thousand Galleons.
And then there was Arthur Weasley's seven-hundred-Galleon windfall from The Daily Prophet lottery, and the ten-thousand-Galleon bounty placed on Sirius Black, a criminal who had thrown the whole wizarding world into panic.
All of this proved one thing, five hundred thousand Galleons was a staggering fortune, enough to make almost anyone's heart stop beating.
So the question was, how could Maxime possibly come up with that kind of money?
Durmstrang and Hogwarts, two of the three great European wizarding schools, had long been running in the red. Even with tuition income, Durmstrang still needed help from its external governors.
And Beauxbatons, which like Hogwarts didn't charge tuition, couldn't possibly be wealthy either.
After thinking for a while, Link rubbed his temples and asked Krum, "Could Madame Maxime be lying to you? As far as I know, she shouldn't have that much money."
"No, Link, you're wrong. That madwoman Maxime piled up all five hundred thousand Galleons right in the Headmaster's office and showed them to us! We checked, thought she was bluffing, but it turned out Beauxbatons really is rich!"
Krum gave a bitter laugh. "You know Nicolas Flamel, right? He's a graduate of Beauxbatons, its most distinguished alumnus. All these years, he's been funding Beauxbatons."
At those words, Link suddenly understood.
Nicolas Flamel, the legendary maker of the Philosopher's Stone.
With that Stone, he and his wife had achieved true immortality, living from the fourteenth century to the present day.
As the greatest alchemist in history, the wealth he had amassed over centuries must have been astronomical.
Now Link understood how Maxime could afford half a million Galleons, and why, during the Triwizard Tournament, the Beauxbatons students had looked down on Hogwarts' hospitality.
With Nicolas Flamel as their patron, money was never a problem. Naturally, the Beauxbatons students enjoyed privileges far beyond those of Hogwarts students.
But what was worse, Flamel had reportedly grown tired of life. Back in 1992, he'd handed the last Philosopher's Stone to Dumbledore and, after that story's events unfolded, had peacefully awaited death with his wife. No one knew if he was still alive.
If he wasn't… then what kind of terrifying inheritance had he left to Beauxbatons?
To compete in wealth with a monster like that, even if Link combined the fortunes of both the Flamel and Beckman families, it wouldn't come close.
Clinging to one last bit of hope, Link sighed and asked, "Krum, what do your professors think of all this? I mean, are they only giving in because they have no choice, or are they happily preparing to sell Durmstrang for a good price?"
At those words, Krum, who had still been drowning in despair, suddenly lifted his head.
By now, even he had an idea of what Link was suggesting. He grabbed Link's hand and said excitedly,
"Except for a few greedy ones, most of our old professors have deep feelings for Durmstrang. If the International Confederation of Wizards hadn't suddenly withdrawn its funding, forcing us into this crisis, they'd never agree to let Beauxbatons swallow us up, no matter how much money was offered!"
"Link, we don't need five hundred thousand Galleons! Twenty… no! Ten! Just one hundred thousand Galleons, we can keep the school running, even if it means living hard!"
Looking at Krum trembling all over, staring at him with eyes full of desperate, doglike pleading, Link hesitated a moment, then finally nodded.
"If all you need is one hundred thousand Galleons, I can provide that on behalf of the Flamel family."
"Really? Oh, Merlin… that's wonderful… Thank you, Link! You're truly..."
Krum stammered incoherently, too overcome with excitement to think straight. If Arkam hadn't been tugging at Link's leg with his tail, Krum would have probably picked him up and spun him around.
Link struggled free of Krum's grip and said calmly, "No need to thank me. People as noble as you and Headmaster Doug are rare these days, you deserve support, not to be begging the vile ones."
"Also, you can't represent Durmstrang alone. You should probably go ask Headmaster Doug for his opinion first."
At that, Krum, who had been on the verge of hugging him again, abruptly changed direction mid-lunge, showing off an impressive agility for such a large man, and dashed toward the crowd, laughing.
After Krum explained things, he soon returned with the frail Headmaster Doug in his arms.
By then, Link had already straightened his rumpled dress robes. He bowed respectfully to the elderly headmaster and said, "It's an honor to meet you, Headmaster Doug."
"Oh, child… no, I should say, Mr. Flamel!" the headmaster stammered. "I must confirm again, are you truly willing to donate one hundred thousand Galleons to Durmstrang?"
"Please, Headmaster Doug, just call me Link," he said with a smile. "As you see, I'm the sole heir of the Flamel family. Our family has always valued wizarding education."
"Years ago, we became Hogwarts' only official sponsor, providing them with immense funding. And now, we're equally willing to support Durmstrang, with, say… a donation of one hundred thousand Galleons."
Krum had spoken loudly earlier, so now, a crowd had gathered around them, curious onlookers, nobles, and even members of the League of the Despicable.
When they heard this, even the most jaded aristocrats looked shocked.
After all, one hundred thousand Galleons.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The first to react was old Mrs. Schwartz, ever the opportunist. She began clapping enthusiastically.
That seemed to be the signal.
In an instant, the hall erupted into thunderous applause and flattery, drowning Link in noise.
Listening to their praises, Link only felt that their respectful expressions and honeyed words were utterly fake.
He knew perfectly well that they already saw him as some rich, naive fool with too much compassion to spare, hoping to squeeze a few more "tragic stories" out of him to get more money.
Link ignored them all. His gaze stayed fixed on Headmaster Doug.
The old man was trembling so badly he could barely stand, leaning on Krum for support, repeating "Thank you, thank you" over and over, overcome with emotion.
The room was too noisy, so Link stepped closer, hugged him gently, and whispered sincerely in his ear, "You don't need to thank me. I do have a request, though, not a harsh one. I just want the same rights as the Hogwarts sponsor."
"Good, good…"
"In that case," Link smiled, "let's discuss the details later. This isn't the right place for business."
He was just about to step back when he felt the surprisingly strong grip of the frail headmaster tightening around his wrist, he couldn't break free.
"There's no time like the present, let's go to Durmstrang right now!"
The headmaster was panting hard as he said this.
Link blinked, then patted the old man's hand.
"Headmaster Doug, you're too hasty. You should talk things over with your professors first, and I need to arrange the transfer of funds. The day after tomorrow, all right? I'll visit Durmstrang then."
"You must come!"
"Of course."
"You must…"
———
It took nearly an hour before Link finally managed to calm the overexcited headmaster.
Watching Doug and Krum vanish into the fireplace, both still glancing back at him repeatedly, Link lost all interest in staying. Ignoring the pleas of the League of the Despicable and the petty nobles, he left the banquet hall with Beckman.
Unlike Krum and the others, they didn't use Floo Powder. They simply opened the doors and walked back along the dark forest path.
"Why did you do that?"
They walked in silence for a long while before Beckman finally spoke softly.
He'd been wondering this for some time. He hadn't asked during the banquet, partly because of the crowd, and partly because Link was acting in the name of the Flamel family. Though Beckman was his elder, he had no right to interfere.
And besides, he knew Link wasn't the kind of person to throw away a hundred thousand Galleons out of sheer charity.
At his question, Link suddenly turned around.
In that moment, Beckman realized that Link's eyes were shining eerily bright in the darkness.
"What do you think a magic school is?"
Link's voice was calm, cold as the northern glaciers, but his gaze burned like fire.
The question caught Beckman off guard.
Still, as a seasoned old fox, his mind quickly spun up a few evasive answers to toss the question back.
But before he could speak, Link continued, "Magic schools were originally modeled after Muggle schools by our wizarding ancestors."
"When they created them, out of noble and kind intentions, they copied the Muggle idea almost completely, defining a magic school as an organized institution for systematic magical education."
"But those founders forgot one thing, wizards are not the same as Muggles."
A dark, sinister flame suddenly ignited in Link's raised palm, its twisted heat writhing wildly in the night breeze.
And just as suddenly, he clenched his hand and snuffed it out.
"We wizards hold the greatest power in the world, magic."
"Under the protection of that power, even the weakest wizard student can easily kill."
"If such power is then nurtured through years of guidance and shaped by ideology, then a magic school… becomes nothing less than a factory, a factory that endlessly forges wizard soldiers."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.