At noon, Wayne had lunch at Ilvermorny.
Naturally, he chose to sit with Cassandra.
However, his lips twitched when he saw the food on his plate, already regretting his decision to stay.
The whole world mocks Britain as a culinary wasteland, full of bizarre dishes, but in this land of freedom... It's practically a kingdom of fast food.
Fried chicken and chips, pizza and salad – Wayne stared blankly at them, feeling full before he'd even taken a bite.
"Do you usually eat this?" he asked Cassandra incredulously, turning to look at her.
"Barbecued ribs, burritos, Brazilian grilled meat – that's basically it," Cassandra shrugged, helping herself to a pile of bland-looking food. "Want to try some? Our vegetables are very fresh."
"No, thank you," Wayne forced a smile, taking only some of the fried croutons.
These were probably the only things in the Caesar salad he could accept; the rest wasn't much different from munching on roadside shrubs.
Cassandra rolled her eyes. Of course, she noticed Wayne's disdain, but if it weren't for maintaining her figure, she wouldn't want to eat like this either.
While eating, Cassandra kept stealing glances at Grace, her sense of crisis skyrocketing.
She was just too perfect.
As a girl who considered herself quite pretty, Cassandra found herself feeling inferior in Grace's presence.
It wasn't just about facial features and looks – it was more about her aura.
Although Grace kept chatting and laughing with Wayne, Cassandra could sense a mysterious witch's charm and scholarly intellect unique to her.
If she were a man, she'd definitely be smitten by a woman like Grace, too.
She was just too perfect.
Grace naturally noticed her odd behaviour and subtly nudged Wayne.
Wayne was startled, only then remembering he hadn't made introductions.
"This is my fiancée, Emelia Grace. She'd already graduated last year when you visited, so you never had the chance to meet."
Cassandra looked at him with an expression reserved for scumbags. "Isn't your fiancée Astoria?"
"Both are," Wayne said sincerely. "I'm settling one per year. By the time I'm of marriageable age, it should be about right."
Grace and Cassandra's eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets, but Wayne was long immune to such mental attacks.
If he couldn't endure this level of blame, how could he enjoy the benefits of having multiple partners?
After this shared moment of indignation, Cassandra's attitude towards Grace improved considerably. After the meal, she began showing her around the school's unique features and recommending some nice tourist spots in the country.
Grace listened quietly, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"You didn't come here just for a visit, did you?"
It wasn't until most of the lunch break had passed and the Great Hall had emptied considerably that Cassandra finally turned to Wayne with her question.
She'd invited him countless times before, but this guy had always played dead.
Cassandra had already planned to head straight to Britain to find him after graduation, never expecting Wayne would deliver himself to her doorstep – especially during this critical time right after Grindelwald had just robbed a school.
If he said he had no other purpose, she'd sooner believe a Kneazle could turn into a Wampus than believe Wayne had come here just for fun.
"Do you have classes this afternoon?" Wayne first looked around before speaking.
"I have one Care of Magical Creatures class, but it doesn't matter whether I attend - it won't affect my grades."
Wayne thought to himself, 'Hmph.'
'If your father wasn't the professor and the school's Deputy Headmaster, I doubt you'd dare say that.'
After a brief rest at noon, Lafferty prepared a luxurious suite for Wayne and Grace, which Wayne didn't refuse.
Although he planned to return to Britain soon, it wouldn't be possible to settle everything within just a day or two.
Around three o'clock, the three of them arrived at the small pavilion on the mountain peak.
As the highest peak in Massachusetts, Mount Greylock's summit only reaches just over a thousand meters. Looking eastward, they could vaguely make out the Atlantic Ocean's horizon through the misty haze.
"Cassandra, you'll be graduating after this semester, right? Any specific plans?"
After admiring the view for a while, Wayne turned and asked.
"I'll probably join the Ministry of Magic," Cassandra had already considered this carefully. "Entering the Department of International Magical Cooperation to visit other countries and experience different wizarding cultures."
Though she said this, the young woman's eyes never left Wayne.
"You want to come to Britain?" Wayne met her gaze directly, making Cassandra look away guiltily as she muttered, "Who said I necessarily have to go to Britain?"
Then she hurriedly changed the subject, "Let's not talk about this. Why did you ask me to come here?"
"I want you to work for me," Wayne came straight to the point, speaking sincerely.
"Work for you?"
"That's right." Wayne sat down beside the young woman. "I need to establish Celia Stores in various wizarding schools to promote games and other products."
Cassandra slightly furrowed her brows but didn't immediately refuse.
"Why me?"
To be honest, compared to a Ministry position, this job was absolutely not presentable—one might even say there was no comparison at all.
But Cassandra was just curious why Wayne had chosen her.
"Simple - Ilvermorny is your home base, you have good relations with Castelobruxo and frequently exchange visits. I believe you know them quite well, too."
Cassandra nodded, "Fairly familiar. We basically have exchange programs every two or three years."
"There are only eleven major official wizarding schools worldwide, and you're already familiar with more than half of them. Plus, you've shown business talent during our previous conversations."
Finally, Wayne added, "Besides you, I really can't find anyone else I can trust who's also suitable."
Cassandra's eyes unconsciously curved into a smile before quickly returning to her young lady's haughty demeanour. "Can you afford my salary? My standards are quite high."
"If you perform well, I could always offer myself as payment." Wayne put on an expression of having suffered a great loss, making Cassandra so angry that she immediately stood up to leave, only for him to quickly pull her back.
"Joking, just joking! Don't be angry, Cass."
"Of course I won't make you work for free - ten percent of sales revenue. Don't underestimate it. Just Hogwarts alone has nearly ten thousand Galleons in annual turnover."
"That much?" Cassandra was genuinely surprised.
"Right. As long as you can expand to the other schools, you'll definitely earn plenty. And it's only for two years—after that, you can hand over management to others.
Points, points, and more points.
Although Wayne had previously asked Fleur and Cassandra to sell some small items at their schools, he couldn't expect them to devote as much effort as he did.
Even if they were willing, Wayne wouldn't make such a request.
So the points obtained from other schools before could only be described as better than nothing.
With only two years left until graduation, this welfare-oriented task would also come to an end.
Wayne had to take advantage of these two years to ruthlessly scrape a layer of profit from other magic schools. Given his current strength and reputation, anyone who dared refuse would find their school with a new, more compliant Headmaster.
What he needed now was a qualified executor.
Cassandra, who was about to graduate, was the perfect candidate.
In the end, Cassandra agreed to Wayne's request. She would use the remainder of this term to arrange matters at Ilvermorny while contacting Castelobruxo.
Not just due to certain private thoughts she didn't want outsiders to know, Cassandra also found this far more interesting than working at the Ministry of Magic.
If she achieved great success, it would be an alternative way to connect the entire wizarding world, and the sense of accomplishment would be absolutely overwhelming.
Finally, before Wayne and Grace left the school to return to New York, Cassandra asked the question that had been troubling her.
"Who exactly is Celia? Why did you name your shop after her?"
Wayne was taken aback, while Grace looked on with keen interest.
"She's the great Thirteenth Apostle, possessing the ability to make people willingly spend money on her. I used her name for good luck."
"By the way, if you encounter her in the forest, don't be foolish and try to rescue her."
...
After solemnly deceiving Cass, Wayne took Grace's hand and made a quick escape.
Back in New York, Grace was still pondering. "I've never heard of this figure. The Thirteenth Apostle? Does that mean there are at least twelve people like her?"
Wayne didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I was just dealing with Cassandra. Even if Celia exists, she's not from this world, so don't overthink it."
Grace looked at him disdainfully. "That girl treats you with complete sincerity, and you spin her stories."
"It's not something I made up," Wayne shook his head like a rattle-drum. "It's just that she'll never meet Celia. Besides, I'm not getting her help for free - if the Slytherin issue is resolved in two years, I plan to modify a wand and give it to her as payment."
Payment?
More like an engagement gift, isn't it?
Grace saw right through Wayne's intentions. Give a wand, gain a fiancée - both the person and the wand would belong to him.
In Wayne's own words, this was Lawrence-style win-win: he wins twice!
Several days later, Wayne brought Grace back to Britain from Ilvermorny.
Grace didn't plan to go to Hogwarts yet. Until she solved those mysteries, she intended to travel the world searching for any possible ancient ruin sites.
She'd only returned this time to find a quiet place to study the stone tablet, not knowing when she might leave again.
"You must notify me before you leave, and no disappearing for so long this time."
"Understood, I won't do it again." After gently kissing Wayne's lips, Grace gave him a push, sending him directly to the gates of Hogwarts.
Shaking his head, Wayne could do nothing about this female succubus.
Entering the campus, it was currently the Easter holidays, with many people strolling across the grounds, enjoying the early spring sunshine.
Seeing Wayne, who had been absent for over half a month, they cast curious glances his way.
After exchanging a few words with some familiar classmates, just as he was about to return to the Headmaster's Office, he encountered Professor McGonagall in the second-floor corridor.
"Wayne, you've finally appeared." Professor McGonagall looked quite delighted to see him.
"Minerva, has anything happened at school recently?"
"Everything's normal, but after the holidays, Grindelwald is bringing students over for an exchange. Dumbledore approved it - I assume you have no objections?"
"Grindelwald is coming?" Wayne showed slight surprise. "Good, saves me having to invite him myself."
After their brief exchange, Professor McGonagall spotted the Weasley twins setting off magical fireworks in the tower and hurried off, while Wayne returned to the Headmaster's Office.
A mountain of letters was piled on the desk, a headache just to look at.
'No good, I'll have to call old Dumbledore over to help..'