Tver stared blankly at the fiercely imposing Salazar Slytherin.
To be honest, he felt a little moved by Salazar.
Wait—he was actually being moved by Slytherin's ideology?
If Marvolio ever found out what he was thinking, he definitely wouldn't spare him the ridicule.
Tver shook his head helplessly.
But after giving it some thought, he could understand it.
Because magical communication was so scarce in ancient times, the strength of early wizards varied wildly, and their magical knowledge was often uneven. As a result, some wizards—especially children—were easily harmed by Muggles simply because they revealed magic.
That was precisely why Hogwarts had been founded in the first place.
As one of Hogwarts' founders, no matter how shrewd or cunning Salazar Slytherin might have been, he must have carried a genuine desire to protect young wizards deep in his heart. Otherwise, the other three founders would never have accepted him. It couldn't possibly have been just because they coveted his family castle.
Compared to the others, Salazar's ideas had grown somewhat extreme, shaped by his personality.
Still, they weren't exactly wrong. In fact, his concerns aligned closely with Tver's own.
Because of this shared fear, Salazar founded Slytherin House, hoping to pass down vigilance toward Muggles. Frankly speaking, that was a mistake born of historical limitations. Over time, those ideas had been misunderstood and twisted—by many people, even by Slytherin students themselves.
Yet for someone who lived a thousand years ago, such thinking was undeniably forward-looking.
It was just that Tver himself had developed a better, more nuanced philosophy for protecting wizards from Muggle harm.
"I think I should thank you on behalf of the students you've protected," Tver said sincerely, bowing to him.
Salazar waved his hand dismissively.
"Everything I did was for my own convictions. It has nothing to do with you."
"As for your gratitude, I'd much rather see people stop misunderstanding the original intent of Slytherin House."
"Especially that child named Tom Riddle…" He sighed, his expression complicated.
"If possible, let the Slytherin bloodline end with him…"
"But he's the last heir of the Slytherin bloodline in this world. You'd still kill him?" Tver asked curiously.
"It doesn't matter." Salazar laughed lightly.
"Slytherin has never been inherited through blood, but through ideals."
"As long as someone is willing to stand up and protect wizards, that person is my successor."
"Even if they're not from Slytherin House, or even from Hogwarts?" Tver pressed.
"…"
He had hit exactly the sore spot. Salazar was speechless for a moment.
"…It would be better if they were from Slytherin House. At the very least, they must not be a Gryffindor!"
Tver chuckled softly, then brought up the matter of Marvolio—one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
When Salazar learned that he could still have a successor with a sound mind, a look of genuine relief finally appeared on his face. If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to helplessly watch his last bloodline disappear.
He immediately began talking to Tver about Horcruxes.
"I've heard of that magic. To be honest, despite studying so many souls, I never once considered researching Horcruxes."
"That's because the spell touches the boundary between life and death—a realm where even Death itself cannot interfere."
"Once someone dares to create a Horcrux, their life becomes tainted with Death's curse. Even if they don't die right away, they will remain under Death's constant gaze."
"As far as I know, even Herpo the Foul, the creator of Horcrux magic, failed to achieve true immortality."
"He didn't even live as long as I did!"
He snorted, clearly holding the magic in utter contempt.
"So if that Marvolio wants to live a normal life, he'd better absorb or destroy all of his Horcruxes."
"His lifespan alone is more than enough for him to live a very long time."
"But aren't you immortal? If I completely free your soul from the castle, you could walk the world again."
Every founder had left behind their own imprint, but Salazar was the only one who had preserved his soul itself.
Truly worthy of Slytherin—his understanding of souls had reached a depth no less profound than Tver's own.
Tver sighed inwardly.
Salazar, however, shook his head firmly.
"What's the point of living?"
"As you've already guessed, my way of thinking really is outdated."
"In that case, I might as well remain in the castle and serve as Hogwarts' final line of defense."
But Tver caught the phrase "as you've guessed."
"You were reading my mind again?!" His expression darkened as he turned away, Occlumency surging to life.
Salazar blinked at him playfully and even gave him a wink.
"I forgot to mention—Legilimency has always been my strongest ability. Especially inside the castle, it provides the school with excellent early warnings and protection."
Tver planted his hands on his hips in resignation. Salazar couldn't spread his thoughts anyway, so knowing them didn't really matter.
"Don't worry," Salazar said reassuringly, patting Tver on the shoulder. "I can tell your ideas are far better than mine."
"And better than Godric's," he added pointedly.
Honestly, watching him do this with such a youthful face always felt strangely out of place to Tver.
"Have you ever considered that Lady Rowena and the others actually understood your ideas? They even agreed with some of them."
"That's why, even after you became part of the castle, they still insisted on building and maintaining Slytherin House."
Indeed, Slytherin and Gryffindor represented the carrot and the stick in attitudes toward Muggles. As the embodiment of wisdom, Lady Rowena couldn't possibly have overlooked that.
After all, in that chaotic era, Salazar's cunning and ruthlessness had been indispensable to Hogwarts' successful founding.
Salazar was visibly shaken by Tver's words. He froze in place, his hand still resting on Tver's shoulder, for a long while.
"You're right…"
"Rowena always said that only by standing together could Hogwarts be at its strongest."
"So what she meant wasn't that we should all stay within the school, but that our ideas should be combined—that's the philosophy best suited to guiding wizards into the future…"
"I misunderstood her…"
He muttered to himself, regret written clearly across his face.
"Then maybe I can help you reconcile with Mr. Gryffindor?" Tver suggested.
If he could drag Gryffindor out into the open, he'd be able to find the last two founders in one go.
"Impossible!" Salazar suddenly roared.
"I made my mistakes, but Godric wasn't any better! I would rather die than reconcile with him!"
"But you're already dead."
"…"
"Dead or not, I still won't reconcile!" Salazar lifted his chin proudly.