After only one glance, Link looked at old Harris in surprise.
He seriously suspected that old Harris had directly handed him the inventory catalog of the International Confederation of Wizards headquarters.
Because not only did the catalog contain many extinct magical materials such as merfolk meat, along with many obscure alchemical products and artworks Link had never even heard of, it even included precious knowledge like potion formulas and alchemical techniques.
Even Link had to admit there were indeed many good things here.
Realizing this, Link lowered his head and carefully examined the catalog. Beside him, Dumbledore, who had been silent all this time, could not help leaning over as well.
The two of them studied it for nearly half an hour before Dumbledore suddenly pointed at a line on the catalog and said, "This one is quite good. We should take it."
"Eos Potion? What is that used for?"
Link asked in confusion.
"I prefer to call it the Dawn Draught. Didn't Severus ever mention it to you? Though that's normal. This potion has been lost for nearly a thousand years, and its effect is quite specialized."
"It's also not a native British potion, but one invented by an ancient Greek potion master. Severus himself probably doesn't even know it once existed."
Dumbledore explained, "As for its effect, it's actually simple. It greatly enhances mental strength, while also increasing magical talent and spell control ability."
"Most importantly, it works even on legendary-level wizards and can stabilize a legendary wizard's realm to a certain extent."
"Whew!"
"I originally thought this potion had vanished forever. I never expected to see it here."
"Mr. Harris, are your Dawn Draughts newly made or ancient relics?"
Old Harris smiled and said, "You must be joking, Professor Dumbledore. How could we possibly reproduce an ancient potion like that?"
"While we do possess the formula, most of its required ingredients have long gone extinct. So the Dawn Draughts were discovered while exploring ancient ruins."
"But don't worry, they were preserved very well and should still retain at least ninety percent of their original effectiveness."
"Of course, the important thing is that we have two bottles of Dawn Draught. One for you and one for Lord Link Flamel."
"But note that each bottle counts as one selection. So if you take both, your two selection opportunities will be completely used up."
Link turned to exchange looks with Dumbledore.
"You can take them. Dawn Draught is the best potion for legendary-level wizards. Its effect may be slightly weaker, but it's more stable and has no side effects."
"Most importantly, the benefit you originally planned to obtain is probably no longer available.", Dumbledore spoke softly.
Link nodded and said to old Harris, "Alright, I want both bottles."
The moment those words came out, Dumbledore was visibly stunned.
Everyone knowledgeable about potions knew that a person could only drink a potion like Dawn Draught once in their lifetime. With Link's potion skill, there was no way he didn't know that.
Which meant the second bottle was meant for him.
'This really…'
Dumbledore shook his head helplessly, though warmth rose in his heart.
Meanwhile, old Harris also looked very pleased.
Though he did not know what the so-called "benefit" Dumbledore had compared with the Dawn Draught referred to, that did not matter. What truly mattered to him was completing this deal.
He stood up smiling and said, "Then it's settled?"
"Of course not." Link shook his head expressionlessly. "Besides that, I also want the formula for the Dawn Draught."
"The formula? To be honest, we do have it, but most of the ingredients have already gone extinct."
"Nobody in this world could possibly recreate it anymore. But… fine. If you really want to study it, I can give it to you as well. Consider it a free bonus."
"Then you might as well give a bit more. I also want the clustered spatial transition technology recorded here."
The moment Link said that, the smile on old Harris' face finally disappeared.
Clustered spatial transition was a subsidiary technology developed during their research into Sky City technology.
Its characteristic was that, much like phoenix flame teleportation or house-elves' special Apparition spells, it could forcibly carry out spatial transition while ignoring most anti-Apparition restrictions, and the overall process was relatively comfortable.
In terms of effect and rarity alone, it was not truly that important to the International Confederation of Wizards represented by old Harris.
What actually annoyed old Harris was that Link was pushing further after he had already compromised once.
He took a deep breath and said with displeasure, "Committee Member Link Flamel, aren't you being a bit too greedy?"
"You're not really qualified to say that about me, are you? The truly greedy one should be you." Link shook his head casually.
"Wanting benefits without paying anything, where in the world does such a good deal exist? Besides, compared to the things you're offering, you seem to desire the resources from the French Ministry of Magic much more, don't you?"
Old Harris fell silent.
Link's words had directly struck his weak point.
The International Confederation's base, Sky Island, was purely a technology-export city. Not only could it not produce resources itself, it actually required huge amounts of imported resources to sustain the continuous advancement of its technology.
All kinds of basic resources were indeed more important to them than those so-called "treasures" piled up in warehouses.
Link clearly understood all of this very well. He was not some clueless fool.
After realizing that, old Harris' previously stern expression instantly softened. Smiling, he said,
"You're absolutely right, Committee Member Link Flamel. Then let's settle it this way. Next, let us discuss with the Minister of the French Ministry of Magic how many resources your ministry should pay to compensate everyone here for their losses. Of course, my proposal for compensation is…"
Old Harris licked his lips, then pulled out something resembling a statistical report from somewhere and began reading, "Twenty cubic meters of acromantula venom, three hundred cubic meters of dragon blood, two thousand thunderbird tail feathers, thirty tons of Dirigible Plums, ten thousand chameleon skins, twenty kilograms of fairy wings, seventy kilograms of horned sea serpent horns, one hundred tons of pure mithril, thirty thousand unicorn tail hairs…"
As old Harris continued reading, the faces of the French Minister of Magic and the other delegation members became increasingly pale.
Especially at the end, when they heard old Harris also intended to demand an additional two hundred thousand Galleons in direct compensation to the British Ministry of Magic for the price difference, they completely broke down.
A few older officials, like the president of the International Magical Trade Standards Association, even fainted on the spot.
They were all people who clearly understood the real economic situation of the French magical world.
So they also understood very clearly that while the French magical world was indeed wealthy right now, if they truly paid according to old Harris' list, the entire French magical economy would probably regress directly back to the impoverished state it was in when the French Ministry of Magic had first been established in the seventeenth century.
"We can't pay that much!"
The head of the Auror Department of the French Ministry of Magic stood up and shouted loudly. Of course, he understood nothing about economics.
He did not even know how massive those numbers actually were. He simply wanted to bargain the price down.
Still, he at least opened the conversation.
Hearing him, several nearby officials immediately followed up.
"Merciful Mr. Harris, we sincerely beg you to reduce the scale of resources. This truly exceeds our limits."
"That's right. Our French magical world has indeed developed rapidly in recent years, but that was only possible because we made huge investments."
"And now, before we've even recovered those investments, you're demanding such an enormous amount of resources. You're trying to kill us!"
The officials tried very hard, but it was all useless.
No matter how they pleaded, old Harris' expression did not change in the slightest.
It was as if he had already decided that even if they had to sell everything they owned, they would still hand over those resources.
This ignited anger in many of the French officials present.
They understood that at this point, even if they agreed to hand over Norton's corpse, old Harris and Link would not want it anymore.
Because the nature of the matter had completely changed from negotiation into outright extortion against the French Ministry of Magic.
But they were not completely cornered yet.
At worst, they could simply stop cooperating.
If they refused to provide the resources, what could the International Confederation of Wizards and the British Ministry of Magic do?
Declare war?
Impossible.
The International Confederation of Wizards would never allow the British Ministry of Magic to declare war.
Direct war between two ministries could very likely lead to the collapse of the Statute of Secrecy that had been maintained for centuries.
So the more likely outcome was that the International Confederation of Wizards would compensate and appease the British Ministry of Magic out of their own pocket.
Then, through their own channels, they would unite the other Ministries of Magic across Europe to impose comprehensive economic sanctions on the French Ministry of Magic and demand repayment for the resources they had compensated to Britain.
That would undoubtedly still cause the French magical economy to decline.
But no matter what, it would still be better than suffering immediate economic collapse, right?
When weighing two evils, choosing the lesser one was obvious.
For a moment, the eyes of nearly all the French officials regained determination.
They had achieved unprecedented unity.
Let's all stop cooperating together.
However, just as they had already decided in their hearts to announce this to old Harris and Link, the French Minister of Magic, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly stood up.
He looked much more energetic now. There was even a relaxed smile on his face, as though he had just made the perfect decision.
Under everyone's gaze, he spoke cheerfully, "This is all perfectly reasonable. We can fully accept it."
"All resources will be paid in full within one week."
'However, considering the current tense situation in the French magical world, I will still need everyone's assistance in coordinating and transferring the goods."
"Therefore, I request that the International Confederation of Wizards dispatch Aurors and Hit Wizard forces into the French magical world to help us complete the work and stabilize the situation!"
"Minister, what nonsense are you talking about?!"
"Have you been put under the Imperius Curse? Where are the curse-breakers? Get someone over here now!"
"You damned traitor! Do you even know what you're doing?!"
The officials of the French Ministry of Magic completely exploded.
Some sat frozen in their seats, still unable to process the sudden turn of events, but more of them stood red-faced and roared furiously at the French Minister of Magic.
Yet no matter how they expressed their anger, the French Minister of Magic, after making his statement, remained completely unmoved. He simply stared at old Harris with bright eyes.
"Hahaha!", Old Harris laughed loudly.
"Minister, it's best that you're being so straightforward! Don't worry, the International Confederation's Aurors and Hit Wizard forces will return to France with you."
"They will help you eliminate the rebellion and stabilize your rule. Of course, this arrangement cannot last too long. I hope you understand."
"Of course I understand. As long as they can hold things together until January next year, that'll be enough. By then, I should be retiring anyway."
"Excellent!"
Old Harris and the French Minister of Magic stood up and clasped hands tightly together.
Both of them wore bright smiles on their faces.
Compared to them, the expressions of the other French officials looked as vicious as evil spirits.
At this point, how could they still not understand?
This year was the final year of the French Minister of Magic's term. Once this year ended successfully, he would be able to enter Sky City based on his years in office and become one of the Celestials.
So before January next year, he absolutely had to remain firmly seated in the position of Minister of Magic.
That was an extremely difficult task.
By now, he had already practically been branded a traitor by the French wizards. Once he returned, he would most likely be forced from office.
And so, in the shortest time possible, he had naturally erased all external conflicts and won over the International Confederation of Wizards to gain their support.
Selling out his country and humiliating it?
Compared to his dream of becoming one of the Celestials, none of that mattered in his heart!
The minister beloved by the French wizards had already sold them, along with the entire French magical world.