Chapter 161: My Mysterious Nursing Home

"Could those 'vices' from the mystical retirement home possibly be my peerless strategists?"

"That can't be true! Impossible! Those guys even look down on the street thugs working under Lilith!"

"Sir Louis, back in the day, President Trief was quite a renowned figure in the circle of wild wizards," Sakura Rin said with a giggle, gently waving her small fan. "I heard he stood on equal footing with the Minister of Magic!"

"False, false, please don't make fun of me. Nothing like that ever happened—and please, make sure outsiders don't hear such talk."

Director Trief wiped away a cold sweat and forced a smile, nervously clutching his hat with both hands as he explained to Louis:

"Back then, to comply with His Majesty Francesco's policies, the Ministry of Magic deliberately picked a bunch of good-for-nothings—the five of us were simply the leaders of those good-for-nothings. Our magical power was low and our abilities were poor; we were originally just low-level clerks in the Ministry, muddling along day by day waiting to die. So we gladly agreed to go to the Muggle world, which was practically like going to enjoy a comfortable retirement."

"You see," Director Trief continued cautiously, "wild wizards aren't particularly skilled at magic, so among them, the five of us wild wizards stood out like cranes among chickens. Later, we led the wild wizards to help the Muggles accomplish a few trivial matters, and we ended up earning a few medals."

Sakura Rin quietly leaned into Louis's ear and whispered, "My lord, these five colleagues of yours are all quite atrocious. Each of them is greedy, lustful, and riddled with flaws, basically making up a complete set of 'vices, gambling, wine, tobacco, and corruption.' I've heard they committed quite a few offenses in the past, yet they weren't fired; instead, they were arranged for retirement. They don't have any powerful backers in the Ministry, but the Magic Council seems to take special care of these veteran investigators who once rendered meritorious service in the Association of Magicians..."

"These investigators have now been assigned to the 'Mystical Retirement Home.' Because of the Ministry's ostracism, many of them couldn't even secure an official investigator position after returning to the wizarding circle, remaining mere freelance contract workers..."

After Sakura Rin finished speaking, Louis was able to confirm it.

He remembered Stuart mentioning that the official investigators of the Mystical Retirement Office were all holders of the 'Flower Card 2'—the lowest rank. They were also the most looked down upon.

Yet it seemed this Flower Card 2 still held a certain mystery and uniqueness.

As for the trivial matters Trief claimed to have accomplished alongside the wild wizards, they were probably earth-shattering events.

Regardless of whether these selected 'good-for-nothings' were forced by circumstances to shoulder that heavy responsibility in that chaotic era, or whether they underwent a complete transformation after experiencing everything, pulling off one earth-shattering feat after another, these people were the true heroes of the past era!

The current Ministry of Magic had long since replaced the old guard with newcomers—high-ranking officials who knew of these people utterly despised them, while those officials who knew nothing of them regarded them as idle good-for-nothings muddling through life.

With the curtain falling on the Francesco era, Trief and the others had long since lost the drive and passion of their youth. Having lost their direction, they were buried in the dust of history.

Some of them had struggled—much like Harold.

Others had given up on their past, losing their ideals and goals, and become the idle loafers seen by everyone.

Yet since these people had already abandoned their ideals, why did they still linger in the Ministry of Magic? Even if it was just staying in such a retirement department?

Perhaps, deep in their hearts, there still lingered a trace of hope, one even they themselves couldn't clearly define.

Hoping for that blueprint Francesco had once painted for them.

Louis suddenly felt a sense of absurdity.

Sakura Rin had always suspected that the Ministry of Magic harbored 'super bigshots, super investigators, and great heroes,' yet now these very bigshots stood right before her, and she remained completely oblivious.

And no one else knew either.

"Lord Trief," Louis said solemnly as he reached out and shook Trief's hand. "Let me reintroduce myself—Louis, graduate of Holy Oak Academy, having just joined the Ministry of Magic and the Association of Magicians this year. I happen to be the deputy director you mentioned who will be taking office soon. From now on, we are colleagues, and I ask for your continued guidance."

Director Trief's jaw dropped, his expression turning quite colorful.

*What the hell! There's an eight-in-ten chance I won't be able to dodge the mess in Silent Port this time!*

...

This was Louis's second time visiting the Filthy Mud District, and it was as chaotic and squalid as before.

However, the Association of Magicians seemed much livelier than it had been a while ago. It looked as though it had undergone some repairs, and even the signboard was brand new. It seemed the funds from Solondo had indeed arrived. Compared to the surrounding buildings, this 'Magicians' Monastery' actually looked the part now—resembling a core structure among various adventurer guilds.

The only out-of-place thing was that, in broad daylight, a drunkard was lying right at the entrance. He was caked in mud from head to toe, and passersby had even stripped off his clothes; if not for the footprints covering his body and his exceptionally pale backside, Louis would have almost stepped right on him.

With a splat, a bucket of urine and excrement was poured down from the upper floor, dousing the drunkard. The drunkard mumbled a few words, scratched his buttocks, shifted into a bizarre, spread-eagled posture, and continued sleeping.

Louis and the others felt a chill run down their spines and pinched their noses as they stepped past him.

"This Filthy Mud District is still the same old self. Truly, all sorts of people are here," Director Trief muttered, shaking his head as she looked at the drunkard with a hint of emotional resonance.

Yet, why did he look somewhat familiar...

Feeling puzzled and shaking her head, Trief followed Louis up the steps and into the hall.

Seeing Sakura Rin wrap her arms around Louis's arm, Helen hurriedly rushed forward to latch onto his other arm, while the white fox lady carefully trailed close behind 'Mommy Sakura Rin.'

Upon entering, they were greeted by a chaotic din, resembling a tavern and a gambling den combined. The air was thick with smoke and haze, almost choking Louis backward; if not for the nun he saw sweeping up a massive pile of cigarette butts right before him, Louis would have thought a fire had broken out.

It was exceptionally lively inside, as if a film crew had moved in over the past few days. People were filming, others were reviewing scripts, and still others were operating cameras and projecting films. It was busy and noisy.

Many idlers from around the neighborhood had also gathered here to watch the commotion. No wonder it was such a mess—not a single person was here to handle legitimate business.

Seeing members of the film crew waving at Director Trief and the white fox lady, someone even jogged over holding a script. Louis stared blankly at the crew members—he guessed it, these were all his colleagues. The investigators of his new 'Special Mystical Affairs Handling Office.'

Isn't this just a bit too unserious?!

What happened to fighting hard and making a big splash?

It turned out they had simply relocated their old 'movie studio' directly inside the Association of Magicians!

They were planning to open a company here from now on!

What made Louis's eyelids twitch even more wildly was that, in just a few days, these fellows had already corrupted the magicians!

Those who smoked were smoking, those who drank were drinking, and some were even gambling over there!

They were basically split into several factions. One faction was discussing various scripts and pieces of literature, each acting as if they were high on marijuana. Leading them was a 'Fox old gentleman' as thin as a monkey, who was puffing clouds of smoke while expounding grandly on various theories regarding his grand prophecy arts and literary works. It was dripping with the style of a wild wizard.

The surrounding magicians listened with rapt attention, some holding notebooks to record inspirations, while others used crystal balls with dead seriousness to search for inspiration within divination arts.

Not to mention, these grand literati all carried quite an aura, with cigarette butts littering the floor. Stray sirens from the nearby guilds and taverns had gathered on both sides, and even the nuns from upstairs had come down, their eyes glowing with intense adoration as they listened with utmost earnestness.

Louis looked somewhat blank. He finally knew who his fellow 'wild wizards' had learned their habit of grandiose pontificating from.

...