The young wizard spoke with a relaxed tone, carrying a touch of pure curiosity, instantly breaking the tense atmosphere.
The invisible pressure suddenly eased, and Oliver took a deep breath, his thoughts immediately becoming lively.
He associated it with those few people who had hurriedly fled before, remembering the casual comment "the Witch Pure Party will surely react!", and then glanced at Delaine with a cold expression, sneering inwardly—
"So that's it! This guy doesn't know what kind of official he's become, acting all high and mighty, yet terrified to death at the thought of confronting the Witch Pure Party directly! A bunch of cowards!"
He secretly scorned them in his heart, yet wore a smile on his face, casually bringing up the name he had just made up:
"Oliver, sir, my name is Oliver Cruise."
"Oh..."
Vid glanced at the top of Oliver's head and smiled faintly.
Just then, the image on the Flow Mirror in the inn flickered, the host and college professor discussing economic conditions disappeared, replaced by a serious-faced female anchor:
"This is NY1 News, interrupting with an emergency weather warning."
"Hurricane Louis' sustained wind speed has reached 240 kilometers per hour, mainly passing through the islands of Antigua, Barbuda, and St. Martin, the massive circulation is expected to generate widespread swell and offshore currents..."
This hurricane did not directly hit the United States mainland, and Oliver was originally unconcerned.
But when he was about to say something, he found that the two friends across from him had turned to look at the Flow Mirror, so Oliver had to sheepishly shut his mouth and pretended to be interested, looking at the screen.
Behind the anchor emerged a giant weather map and a map of the United States, she pointed to the area near the Atlantic Ocean, speaking slightly faster:
"Starting tomorrow, coastal regions are expected to experience offshore currents and waves reaching 10 to 15 feet high, such sea conditions are extremely dangerous, citizens must stay away from beaches this weekend, swimming, surfing, kayaking, and other water activities are strictly prohibited..."
The inn remained noisy, with almost no one paying attention to the Muggle weather news. Only three or five wizards glanced at the changed screen, then turned away bored.
Apart from those who haven't graduated from school yet, hardly any wizard can be trapped by a hurricane.
Oliver saw the atmosphere had relaxed, ready to regroup and share his "brilliant analysis," but he saw the two officials in front of him simultaneously put down their cups.
"The wind is coming." Delaine glanced at the sky outside and said.
Vid nodded and said, "Yes, let's go."
These two sentences sounded extremely baffling to Oliver, yet he felt they were not discussing the weather but rather conveying some signal he couldn't understand.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but noticed the pair had no intention to continue talking, merely nodding slightly as a farewell, then got up and swiftly walked out of the inn.
Oliver was left alone in the same spot, full of doubts, he couldn't help but strongly slam the table:
"Absurd! Completely absurd!"
Those scared away by a name too, the officials who abruptly left mid-conversation too... Do all these properly trained wizards have some issue?
Could it be that due to growing up in different environments, the gap between their ways of thinking is truly this vast?
Looking at the empty seats around him, an inexplicable sense of despondency welled up inside Oliver.
He grabbed his coat, ready to leave, but as soon as he took two steps, his eyes caught sight of the half-full bottle on the table.
The golden liquor refracted a transparent light, seemingly beckoning to him.
"Tsk!" He clicked his tongue in irritation, licking his lips, staring at the cup and muttering softly, "The money's already paid, not finishing it would be too wasteful... The funding approved this time wasn't much..."
He hesitated for a few seconds before finally sitting back reluctantly.
"Forget it, I'll finish drinking before leaving."
...
Just after stepping out of the White Bridge Inn and into the dim alley, Delaine and Vid stopped in unison with tacit understanding.
"Need my help?" Delaine asked.
Vid looked up at the sky, about to unleash wind and rain, and said, "No need. I can handle this minor issue myself."
At the other end of the alley, there were already several indistinct figures appearing.
Knowing that those were Vid's Poppets, Delaine realized he wasn't alone, so he nodded to accept this decision.
Then, he glanced at the White Bridge Inn and said coldly:
"I will summon a few reliable people, closely monitor that guy inside, follow this line, and drag out the rats hiding behind him!"
At this point, he bit his teeth and sneered sharply:
"Want to confine and monitor you, then sway our Witch Pure Party? How audacious! I want to see who gave him such courage!"
Vid nodded, hesitated a bit, and said, "Be careful when you are looking for people."
Delaine's face darkened, silently acknowledging with a nod.
There was a sentence they both held at the tongue's end, tacitly acknowledging without saying aloud—
What the man calling himself Oliver said... was too close to the truth!
And they even claim Vid to be a descendant of Grindelwald...
Though this is not the truth, indeed many within the Witch Pure Party hold this belief.
However, among ordinary members of the Witch Pure Party, the person bearing this identity is considered to be "Braun," not "Vid Gray."
Among the Witch Pure Party, those who know that "Braun is merely a substitute, Grindelwald truly values Vid" are indeed few.
Then...
What is the source of the rumor? Are these people forcibly linking the two based on ambiguous clues?
Or... are some within the Witch Pure Party, due to dissatisfaction with Vid or even Grindelwald, quietly spreading rumors taking advantage of this incident?
So after parting ways, Delaine needs to not only monitor the guy inside but also thoroughly investigate within the Witch Pure Party.
Compared to external threats, the hidden instability within is much more dangerous.
Vid didn't say much. He turned and walked towards the other end of the alley, with Vidas and others instantly surrounding him.
"Master, the prediction data is out. The storm will mainly impact the southern shore of Long Island, the northern shore will also be visibly affected. Furthermore, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan will be affected."
"Lucky us." Vilan said cheerfully, "Long Island's north and south shores are home to many wealthy and elite families, some even are established old-money families."
"Too bad... the Upper East Side in Manhattan is barely affected, just a gusty storm at most." Vito said seriously.
"Then we'll make the storm fiercer!" Vilan put his hands behind his head, laughed easily, "Summer break is almost over, let's give them a lifelong unforgettable end-of-summer memory!"