At the same time, the flying carriage carrying Link quietly landed on the open ground in front of Flamel Castle's main gate under Newland's control and the escort of the surrounding Auror convoy.
Mrs. Flamel, Emily, Krell, and the others had already been waiting nearby.
The moment Link stepped out of the carriage, they all rushed forward and embraced him, greeting him excitedly.
Newland, who was still controlling the carriage, looked somewhat disappointed.
This time, they had crushed the French Ministry of Magic at the International Confederation of Wizards. It could be said that they had achieved an unimaginable victory.
After earning such a huge accomplishment, he had originally thought he would be welcomed home with flowers and applause.
Yet now, aside from the group close to Link, there wasn't any sign of celebration or festive atmosphere in front of Flamel Castle.
"If you think it's too quiet, you can return to the Ministry of Magic right now. They're holding a large celebration there. I heard there are even bonuses being handed out. That should be more in line with what you're hoping for."
As if sensing Newland's thoughts, Link suddenly turned around and spoke after finishing his hug with Emily.
Hearing this, Newland smiled awkwardly and said, "No, that's not necessary. I just mean that we've achieved something so great."
"Maybe we should hold a celebration banquet. Even if it's smaller in scale, even if it's not at the Ministry and is held here instead. It should be a very effective way to boost morale."
As soon as he said that, Percy beside him nodded in agreement.
Just as Link had said, they had already prepared a large banquet at the Ministry of Magic.
Unfortunately, Link didn't want to go.
Percy could understand that. After being away from home for so long, wanting to reunite with family was only natural.
But not holding any kind of celebration or inviting anyone even at home felt a bit unreasonable.
As a result, he had to rush all the way to Flamel Castle on such a happy day just to report on work.
The more he thought about it, the more miserable Percy looked.
At the end of the day, he was still a young man and naturally preferred lively occasions.
Unfortunately, Link merely shook his head and walked into the castle with Mrs. Flamel and Emily.
A small number of familiar people was fine.
But a grand banquet?
Link really couldn't stand that.
It was a habit he had carried over from his previous life.
To him, home was a private space meant for rest. Too many people, especially strangers, entering that space made him uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Percy followed helplessly and asked, "Link, didn't Dumbledore come back with you?"
"He went back to Hogwarts midway. You understand. To him, Hogwarts is home."
"Yes, of course I understand."
Percy visibly relaxed.
Like Old Barty, he had never let down his guard around Dumbledore.
They had always believed that one day Dumbledore might try to force his way into the current ruling structure of the British Ministry of Magic. Given Dumbledore's status and prestige, doing so would be effortless.
And that would dilute the power they currently held.
Now that he knew Dumbledore had gone straight back to Hogwarts and had little desire to interfere politically, he felt somewhat reassured.
Nodding, Percy continued, "Then let me report the current situation. We have already urgently published the results of the International Confederation of Wizards mediation conference and the current chaos in the French magical world through the Daily Prophet."
"According to the latest intelligence, aside from a small number of people who are either stupid or malicious, the vast majority of the public supports what happened."
"As things stand, our Ministry of Magic has become the most beloved administration in the past several hundred years. The public is so excited they can barely contain themselves!"
"Link, honestly, if you announced war on the French Ministry of Magic right now, I doubt there would be much opposition. People would probably be shouting and rushing to join you!"
"At this point, our first objective after the reforms, winning the people's support, can basically be considered a complete success."
"The question now is, what do we do next?"
By the end, Percy's expression had become extremely serious.
Because this question represented not only himself, but also Old Barty and every department-level official in the British Ministry of Magic.
Link's answer would determine whether the Ministry of Magic continued toward strength or suddenly fell into decline.
Link replied calmly, "Then we continue strengthening our military. Increase recruitment, increase training intensity, and improve treatment. Krell, you can handle that, right?"
Krell answered with a fierce grin.
As the veteran leader who had managed the Flamel family's Hunter Corps for decades, he might not be able to indoctrinate Aurors with ideas the way Scrimgeour could, but he definitely knew how to turn Aurors and Hit Wizards into ferocious fighters whose combat effectiveness could skyrocket in a short time.
The Aurors and Hit Wizards trained by Krell were less a regular army and more brutal hunters wearing the uniform of one.
Honestly, such a force would be a source of instability in peacetime.
But right now, it was exactly what Link needed most.
"W-Wait!", Percy shook his head anxiously.
"Link, are you saying we're going to expand the military further?"
"Of course. Didn't you say the public is highly motivated right now and would support me even if I declared war on the French Ministry of Magic? This is the perfect time to expand."
"That was just a metaphor! A metaphor, do you understand?" Percy became even more flustered, waving his hands around.
"I really don't understand. Honestly, Voldemort has already been driven out of Britain, and we've beaten France too."
"At the very least, they won't have the energy to compete with us again for the next twenty years. That means we've already won! So why do we still need more recruitment?"
"In my opinion, even our current Auror and Hit Wizard forces should be reduced to cut costs and fill gaps in other areas. After all, the victories we've achieved weren't won by them, were they?"
Link stopped walking and turned to look at Percy in surprise.
After a long moment, he let out a cold laugh.
"Who told you we've already won? Voldemort isn't even completely dead yet, and you're saying there's no need to develop our military? What exactly are you thinking?"
"B-But..."
"No buts. You have to pull out the roots after cutting the grass. That's basic common sense."
"The hatred between us and Voldemort, as well as the French Ministry of Magic, can no longer be reconciled. Since that's the case, we should keep advancing while they're weak."
Link said coldly, "And who exactly do you think you are? You've only been a committee member for a few days. Don't tell me you actually think you've made it?"
Hearing that, Percy lowered his head deeply.
Cold sweat dripped continuously from his chin, and his body trembled uncontrollably from fear.
This wasn't only because of Link's warning.
It was also because Link's words made him realize something.
The mediation conference that had just ended at the International Confederation of Wizards was not the end of this conflict.
It was the beginning of a new one.
The reason Link wanted to expand the military was because, in the near future, these Aurors and Hit Wizards would be put to use!
"Alright, that's enough. Stop making things difficult for Percy. He's a good boy. Besides, I have something I want to discuss with you too. Something very important. Come with me."
Mrs. Flamel let out a long breath, pulled Link away, and waved at Percy, telling him to leave quickly.
Percy felt as if he had been pardoned.
Still keeping his head down, he backed out through the castle gates, boarded a flying carriage at random, and sped toward the Ministry of Magic.
The purpose of his visit had been to report and hand over work-related matters.
Now that the work was finished and he had offended Link, the big boss, all he could do was rush back and carry out orders.
If he failed to complete this military expansion task properly as well, there would be no reason for him to stay at the Ministry of Magic.
Percy understood that very clearly.
Meanwhile, Link and Emily had already been led into a small room by Mrs. Flamel.
Newland and Skyefen had been left outside by Krell to act as guards. Seeing that, Link immediately realized that whatever Mrs. Flamel wanted to discuss must be highly private.
Still, the atmosphere in the room was rather awkward.
Because after the door closed, the expected conversation did not begin.
Mrs. Flamel simply stood there with a mysterious smile, quietly looking at Link.
Emily hid behind her with her head lowered, looking embarrassed.
The smile on Link's face gradually disappeared.
His breathing became heavier, and a possibility began forming in his mind.
"D-Don't tell me... she's pregnant?"
After a long time, Link finally couldn't hold back and asked.
He even rubbed his hands together while speaking because he was so excited.
In Link's view, it was entirely possible.
After all, he and Emily were young, and neither of them had ever exercised much restraint in that area. During the past half month, no matter how busy work had been, they hadn't neglected those activities.
At such a high frequency, even though wizards, being powerful individuals, had lower fertility than ordinary Muggles, the chances were still significant.
Unfortunately, Link got excited too early.
Because the moment he said that, Mrs. Flamel froze.
Emily also suddenly raised her head and stared at Link with wide eyes.
"Link, although I also hope Emily can have children soon, unfortunately that's not what I wanted to discuss."
Mrs. Flamel shook her head as she spoke.
Link could only smile awkwardly.
"Actually, what I wanted to discuss is your wedding with Emily," Mrs. Flamel continued. "You've been engaged for some time now. Perhaps it's time to consider it."
Link didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he glanced at Emily.
She secretly rolled her eyes at him in response to his pregnancy comment earlier, then lowered her head shyly again.
At that point, Link understood everything.
This was clearly Mrs. Flamel's idea, with Emily agreeing afterward.
Ever since stepping away from managing the Flamel family as a whole, Mrs. Flamel's authority had been limited to Flamel Castle, and she had devoted herself entirely to family life.
But with so few people in the Flamel family, how much could there really be to keep her busy?
So out of boredom, she had started finding things to do.
As for Emily, there was no way she would reject a request from Mrs. Flamel.
But honestly speaking, Link didn't think this was a good time to marry Emily.
He sighed and said, "Does Mr. Victoria agree with this? Or rather... does he know about it?"
"Given the Flamel family's current situation, does he really have any reason or courage to refuse?"
Hearing that, Link sighed inwardly.
'Poor Mr. Victoria probably knew nothing about this.'
But as Mrs. Flamel said, Mr. Victoria no longer had the authority to give any decisive opinion regarding Emily and Link's marriage.
Because after Link officially became a member of the British Ministry of Magic's committee, the gap in status between the two families had become unimaginably vast.
No amount of affection could bridge a divide created by status like this.
The clearest evidence was that Mr. Victoria hadn't even dared visit Flamel Castle to see Emily recently.
Seeing Link remain silent for so long, Mrs. Flamel said, "Link, all you need to do is nod. We'll take care of everything else. Your career has already reached this level. It's time to think about starting a family and relaxing a bit."
"The problem is that now isn't the time to relax."
As he spoke, Link cast a soundproof barrier around the room.
"You heard my conversation with Percy just now. To tell you the truth, we'll probably be going to war again before long. Do you think it's appropriate for me to suddenly hold a wedding and celebrate while everyone is preparing for war?"
As soon as he said that, the smile on Mrs. Flamel's face finally froze.
She frowned at Link for a long time before closing her eyes and shaking her head painfully.
"The enemy is still Voldemort? Why... why is it that this man never seems to stay dead? Link, are you confident you can win?"
"Of course!", Link said firmly.
"If I can kill him once, then I can kill him a second time, a third time... until he is completely destroyed! The final victor will be us!"
Seeing Link's confident bearing, Mrs. Flamel's expression improved somewhat, though deep worry still lingered in her eyes.
This was the concern of the older generation.
Things reverse when they reach an extreme.
Just like Fiendfyre. When its cursed magic was compressed to the limit, it could become incredibly holy.
The same kind of reaction existed when it came to Voldemort.
The damage Voldemort had inflicted on the older generation was simply too great.
Moderate harm might produce hatred.
But when the harm reached an extreme level, what remained was fear and all sorts of complicated emotions.
"My opinion is that our wedding should take place only after everything is completely over and true peace arrives. Of course, this matter must be discussed with Mr. Victoria, and we need his understanding and approval."
"Emily and I truly love each other. We neither need nor can use any form of coercion. You should be the one to talk to Mr. Victoria. If I go, he'll probably get the wrong idea."
Emily nodded lightly.
Link could clearly sense her relief.
Obviously, she felt the same way.
Mrs. Flamel, however, became visibly dejected.
Leaning against the leather sofa, she looked completely discouraged.
Seeing this, Link comforted her, "Mother, there's no need to be too disappointed. The wedding is only postponed, not canceled."
"Besides, Christmas is coming soon. Aren't you planning to prepare properly this year? I was hoping to try your cooking."
"What's there to prepare for Christmas? We don't have many guests to invite. In the end, it'll just be our family eating together. But you do have a point. It's still a holiday, so I suppose some preparations should be made."
As she spoke, Mrs. Flamel left the room.
Both Link and Emily couldn't help laughing.
Despite what Mrs. Flamel had said, her eyes had lit up immediately after hearing Link's suggestion.
She was clearly saying one thing while feeling another.
And Link knew very well that Mrs. Flamel couldn't cook at all.
As a noble lady who had been pampered since childhood, Link seriously doubted she even knew how to hold a kitchen knife properly.
Since Link had expressed a wish to eat her cooking, Mrs. Flamel would definitely do everything she could to make it happen.
But the process would certainly be long and complicated.
It could count as giving Mrs. Flamel something to do.
Just as Link was thinking that, Mrs. Flamel's voice could be heard outside calling for the house-elf Little Button. She was clearly heading to the kitchen to start learning right away.
At that point, neither Link nor Emily could hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
As they laughed, they ended up embracing each other again.
A brief separation made reunion feel all the sweeter. Even though they had been together for quite some time, Emily's face turned red all the way to her ears the moment they touched.
Whether it was from laughing too hard or from embarrassment was hard to tell.
Just as Link was about to take things further, Emily suddenly pushed him away and began straightening the clothes he had messed up.
Link frowned.
Before he could ask anything, Emily spoke first, "I'm going to learn from Little Button too."
"There's no need for that. I only suggested it because I wanted Mother to have something to do. Cooking seemed like a good choice."
As he spoke, Link hugged Emily from behind.
His whole body felt hot. There was no way he was willing to let Emily go.
Yet Emily was unexpectedly determined and broke free again.
"You can't say that. Your suggestion reminded me of something. As a wife, occasionally cooking a meal for your husband is a kind of romance too, isn't it?"
This time Link gave up completely.
He sighed and said, "You're going to make Little Button sad. Poor house-elf. The only joy it gets from working is about to be stolen by you two bad women."
Emily couldn't help laughing out loud again.
But seeing Link's disappointed expression, she stepped forward and kissed him.
Then she whispered into his ear, "I'll come find you tonight."
The warm breath from Emily's mouth made Link's ear itch.
That itch seemed to travel through his blood vessels to his heart, making him reach out to grab her.
But Emily had clearly expected that. Laughing, she ran straight out the door.
Watching her figure gradually disappear, Link shook his head with a smile.
The power of Occlumency spread from his mind and quickly extinguished the fire in his heart.
"Looks like everyone has something to do. In that case, I should get busy too."
Muttering to himself, Link gathered his thoughts and headed for the basement.
Putting on the robe specially used for potion-making, Link sat down at the potion table.
Various materials were already spread out before him.
These were all substitute ingredients with similar properties that Link had found after analyzing the formula for the Dawn Potion.
Though they were called "substitute ingredients," that didn't mean they were inferior.
In fact, because the original Dawn Potion ingredients were simply too powerful, Link could only select replacements from among the highest-grade potion ingredients currently available.
As a result, the cost of materials for a single Dawn Potion was almost equal to that of a single Felix Felicis, and many of the ingredients were also rare items that required special channels to obtain.
Link had only given the complete materials list to Krell yesterday.
And Krell had not disappointed him.
In less than a day, every ingredient was already sitting before Link.
"Hoo..."
After taking several deep breaths, Link rubbed his hands together, equipped the title "Integrity, Loyalty, Honesty, Fearless Through Hardship," and threw himself into potion-making.
Compared to gathering the materials, this work wasn't actually difficult at all.
The process for making the Dawn Potion was so simple it bordered on crude.
Slice, boil, squeeze, boil, grind into powder, boil...
It was the most basic processing and mixing method imaginable. Anyone who had achieved a passing grade in N.E.W.T. Potions could do it.
The process was so simple that the master potion makers in the Potioneers' Guild probably wouldn't even bother with it.
Work this simple was beneath their status.
At first, Link had looked down somewhat on the potion-making skills of the Dawn Potion's creator.
But later, he realized something.
Anyone capable of creating the Dawn Potion must have reached an incredible level in pharmacology.
Would someone with such understanding of potion theory really be bad at brewing potions?
Even if they were, wouldn't they be able to find a potion master to work with?
Obviously that was impossible.
Which meant the reason the Dawn Potion's process was so simple became obvious.
The simplicity of the Dawn Potion's production method was the result of optimization pushed to the absolute limit.
Every unnecessary step had been removed, leaving only the simplest, most direct, and most effective actions.
This wasn't because the inventor lacked skill.
It was only possible because the inventor's skill had reached an extraordinary level.
And this simple process allowed Link's brewing speed to reach an unprecedented level.
Less than two hours after sitting down at the potion station, the liquid in the cauldron had already turned into the dark red color described in the formula for the finished product.
At the same time, Link received a system notification.