"My goodness! Vid, you finally made it!"
Machioni took a big step forward, grabbing Vid by the arm and urgently saying, "The presentation is about to start, hurry up and come with me!"
"We won't be late, there's still twenty minutes," Vid calmly replied.
"—It's only twenty minutes! And I can't let you go on stage like this."
Machioni spoke in rapid-fire fashion:
"Proper attire is the armor of the marketplace! You dress lavishly enough, and anyone will see you as remarkable—ugh, I knew you wouldn't be ready, just casually coming over like this—Remus, I'm taking him away now!"
Lupin didn't even have a chance to interject before Machioni Apparated with Vid right on the spot.
With a loud "pop," Vid hadn't regained his balance yet when Machioni pointed at him and shouted, "Quick! In fifteen minutes, I want to see a completely new Vid Gray!"
Three or four people in eccentric outfits, indistinguishable in gender, surrounded him, holding measuring tapes, scissors, and glittering gemstone pendants.
"Wait a minute!" Vid immediately took a step back, blocking them with a defensive gesture, saying, "I don't want to dress like a peacock."
"Don't worry, I know what style suits you!" Machioni said confidently.
In fact, when Vid took off his cloak, his inner robes weren't inappropriate either; a black wizard's robe with blue trims that wouldn't look out of place either in a classroom or at the future Triwizard Tournament ball.
But in Machioni's eyes, it looked too ordinary, lost in a crowd.
So, at his command, three stylists surrounded him and began, with Vid nervously swallowing.
The peaked wizard hat was adorned with gemstones, woven with intricate mysterious patterns of gold threads; the robe had matching gold patterns, and besides gemstones, the belt held some small exquisite magic items, some rotating slowly, some emitting a soft glow, and others ticking.
In addition to that, gloves, a pocket watch, boots, pendants... each item carried the essence of money and mystery, with an aura of enchantment and splendor combined, dazzlingly brilliant.
"The epitome of walking aesthetics, extraordinary poise and elegance! Three-dimensional! Perfect! Flawless! My goodness, I am swooning over you, please accept my praises and my love..."
The mirror in front of him babbled endlessly with compliments nonstop for five minutes, making Vid wonder if it had gone mad.
Professor Morry came in just in time to hear the latter part, looking Vid up and down, nodding with a smile: "Hmm, very fitting."
Vid said helplessly, "Professor, I'm almost forgetting how to walk."
Professor Morry chuckled: "If you had brought your cloak, you wouldn't need these extra decorations."
Thinking about the metal-thread cloak, Vid said with a headache, "That thing might want to sweep away all the gems here."
That thing didn't know what was going on, but it liked shiny objects like a legendary dragon. Vid tried several times to make its appearance more ordinary, but the cloak was unwilling.
Such alchemy works, when resisting wholeheartedly, could slowly wear down any spells applied, so Vid simply let it be.
An employee from the magic workshop ran in, shouting, "Boss, time's running out."
"Hmm." Machioni checked everyone's clothes one last time and said, "Let's go... Vid, don't forget—this is also a battlefield!"
Vid nodded earnestly.
...
Harry and Michael followed Lupin and managed to blend into the venue.
The hall looked like it was already filled with a hundred or two hundred people, all dressed lavishly and exuding a formidable aura, including many foreign wizards. Their humble attire blended in like ugly ducklings among the swans.
"Look, Malfoy!" Michael nudged Harry's arm.
At a table towards the front sat the Malfoy family.
Their pale blonde hair and fair complexion seemed to glow under the lights. On the same table, there was the Minister of Ministry of Magic, Fudge, smiling as he conversed with Mr. Malfoy Senior.
It went without saying, the Minister was likely conquered by the Malfoy family's wealth.
Harry thought to himself, and then he heard someone beside him say, "Il y a longtemps que je ne t'ai vu, mon cher ami."
The peculiar pronunciation made Harry glance over curiously, seeing two tall wizards enthusiastically shaking hands.
"What are they saying?" He asked Michael softly.
"Seems like French," Michael didn't quite understand either, paying little attention as he popped a grape from the table into his mouth.
"Remus, haven't the communication headphones started selling in other countries already?" Harry asked, puzzled, "Why are there still so many foreign wizards coming to the United Kingdom?"
"Probably because the presentation is only in the United Kingdom," Lupin said.
"So..." Harry vaguely understood: "These people are all here specifically for Vid?"
He suddenly felt a particularly surreal sensation, as if he had just realized that his friend he did homework with every day was actually standing in another world.
This feeling became more distinct when the trio appeared together—the gemstones shone brightly, and the people on stage appeared noble and handsome, like a living painting.
Machioni introduced the remarkable achievements of Aslan Workshop in recent years... Terence Moray introduced his proud student...
Then Vid, who introduced the features of communication headphones, the design concept, and the prospects for future development...
The young wizard spoke eloquently, words flowing smoothly and engagingly, transforming complex alchemy into plain language, vividly allowing everyone to understand what kind of invention it was;
Speaking on specific alchemy techniques, he was profound and succinct, citing extensively, logically rigorous, causing some alchemists to repeatedly nod in agreement.
When Vid finished speaking and paused briefly, the venue erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Draco Malfoy glanced left and right, to avoid appearing foolish, he hesitated and joined in the applause, then quietly asked his mother:
"Mom, what exactly is he talking about? I almost thought he was speaking in secret codes... It sounds like English, but then again, it doesn't..."
Narcissa Malfoy smiled and said, "The content on alchemy is a tower only understood by professionals."
"Oh..." Draco Malfoy replied, confused, then asked, "Do you all understand it?"
Narcissa Malfoy maintained her smile: "I'm not an alchemist."
Draco wanted to say something else, but then heard his father say quietly, "Shut up, Draco."
After listening to the speech, Harry wasn't troubled; he generously forgave his ignorance of alchemy, simply feeling happy for his friend successfully completing the speech.
Vid's words were like precision machinery; although most of the people present did not understand, it did not prevent them from appreciating the professionalism and depth, with applause sounding genuinely enthusiastic.
Earlier there were some vague rumors—such as Terence Moray using his own works to pave the way for his student, or Vid Gray actually being Moray's illegitimate child, etc.—but they all vanished in the face of genuine strength.
In the corner diagonally opposite Harry, there were also several wizards in exotic attire, and one man with dark circles comparable to a panda was trembling with excitement.
"Are you having a fit?" Byrd asked cautiously.
"I understand it, I think I understand!" Illari said excitedly, "So this is how the spell fits in! Ah... I've finally seen the light from the lighthouse! I've captured the most important note! I've found my Venus!"
Byrd frowned at him, seeming ready to jump up and subdue this man who was acting crazily at any moment.
Illari suddenly grabbed his hand and said, "Can you understand, Maye, I finally know how to create that kind of poppet!"
"Really?" Byrd hesitated, surprised and delighted to ask.
"Of course, creating a completely new poppet is still not feasible, but creating replicas is no problem... Hahaha... So simple, I finally understand! Soon we can mass-produce poppets, Maye! This world will fall under the organization's control!"
Abigail sitting beside them silently cast a spell to block the sound near the table. She looked up and glanced at Vid, who was walking off the stage with confusion.
Both she and Byrd used Polyjuice Potion to conceal their true appearances, but for some reason, Abigail felt Vid had looked over several times during the speech...
—Was it an illusion?
She thought uncertainly.