Milan Claremont carefully restored the darkroom to its original state, hiding all traces of what had just happened, then returned to his main office. There, he worked diligently for the next stretch of the day, taking care of both his official responsibilities and keeping his eyes on the less public matters.
On the surface, Claremont remained a trusted park director. But behind the scenes, he was also running operations on the black market, helped by a secretary who seemed to know far more secrets than anyone ought to.
Meanwhile, in Dudden Tower, Alex and Fang stood silently in front of a glowing monitor, staring at the screen in disbelief. Their eyes met, both of them confused.
"Master… do you understand what's going on?" Fang asked cautiously, still trying to piece things together.
Alex shook his head slowly. "I honestly don't. This whole thing is just… strange.
But did you notice? That voice, it's exactly the same as the Golden Snidget's from the other day."
Fang nodded, his brows furrowed in thought. "Yeah, even though his tone was a bit different, he sounded more commanding when he was dealing with the Fire Ash Snake compared to how he spoke to Claremont, it's definitely the same guy. His speech patterns, his habits… it all lines up."
Alex crossed his arms and stared at the screen again. "But Claremont clearly said I wanted to meet with him. That means Claremont's convinced the person he was talking to is Minister Eisenberg, the one we've been hearing about all this time."
"Exactly," Fang added. "And from how the Silver Wand responded, there's no doubt he was acting like Eisenberg too. That confirms it, doesn't it?"
Alex let out a quiet breath. "So that means Minister Eisenberg is actually the Golden Snidget. He's the one who's been pulling the strings this whole time."
But just as that conclusion seemed to settle, more questions started to flood in.
"The problem is," Alex continued, frowning, "Eisenberg has an official position at the Ministry of Magic. He's a high-ranking public figure, not some underground broker. How can he be both?"
"Could it be…" Fang began, then hesitated. "Could he have used a Time-Turner? You mentioned that possibility before."
He glanced between the monitor and the parchment map in his hands, clearly overwhelmed by what they were seeing.
"No," Alex said firmly, shaking his head. "No one can use a Time-Turner that often or for such long periods. It's too risky, and unstable.
And something else doesn't add up. If you watch closely, you can tell that the man pretending to be Eisenberg was doing it before he ever entered the Ministry."
He leaned closer to the screen, his eyes narrowing. "There's more going on here, something we haven't uncovered yet. Someone's playing a very dangerous game."
"I'm starting to find this whole Golden Snidget situation more and more confusing," Fang admitted with a sigh.
"But at least we've figured out one thing, Director Andre from the Department of Legal Enforcement isn't working with the Silver Wand.
Also, what do you think about that fireplace in the darkroom? Could it be a secret passage to the breeding zone?"
Alex nodded thoughtfully, but warned against jumping to conclusions. "It's possible, but we need to be careful. Don't make assumptions too quickly. Just keep watching Sir Claremont closely. I'm sure he'll eventually show us how he gets in and out of the breeding zone."
Then he smirked slightly. "Besides, that badge I gave you hasn't even revealed its full abilities yet."
"Understood, Master," Fang replied, feeling a flicker of hope. "From what I saw earlier, it seems like the Silver Wand is having trouble restocking their magical creatures. If we can stir things up in their parks, that might really mess with their plans."
He paused for a moment, thinking, then added, "By the way, master, what's your take on those folk associations they mentioned earlier?
Sounds like there's another group trying to push back against them. Should we get involved?"
Alex shook his head calmly. "No. That's not our business. We're here to deal with the Silver Wand, not to get tangled up in Germany's internal politics."
"So the so-called 'Berlin United Front' might be on their own then," Fang said, his tone turning a bit darker. "Their efforts might all go to waste."
"That depends on whether the people backing the Berlin United Front actually have the courage to push back," Alex replied, keeping his expression unreadable.
"Oh? You think they might still make a move?" Fang asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"In a way, yes," Alex said, his voice thoughtful. "These civil movements all aim to win over public opinion. That's why Claremont and his lot are so pleased. The easiest way to divide people is by fueling hatred."
He leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing. "The Silver Wand already has a hand in several folk associations on both sides of the border.
If these groups have nothing better to do, they'll stir up conflict, split into factions, and rally others to join them. Eventually, even innocent people get caught up in it, and the hatred just keeps spreading."
"When that happens, public support shifts quickly. People tend to side with whoever's closest to them, East Germans support East German groups, and West Germans stick with their own.
It's just basic psychology. And that's exactly the effect the Silver Wand is going for."
Rather than answering Fang's question directly, Alex explained the behavior of these associations, laying out how their manipulations worked.
"So, the more they stir up conflict, the wider the gap between East and West becomes," Fang said, quickly catching on.
"Eventually, people start turning on each other just out of habit, like that group we bumped into earlier. That's what you're getting at, right?"
"Exactly," Alex said with a small nod.
"Then what makes this time different?" Fang asked, frowning. "It doesn't seem any different from what's happened before."
"Because before, the people fighting were often part of the same group," Alex explained. "A lot of those conflicts were more like staged performances, just enough tension to make noise, but nothing too serious. It was all easy to manage."
"But this time's different," he went on. "Now you've got completely separate folk associations from East and West Germany going at each other, and none of them are being coordinated behind the scenes.
That makes the whole situation way more unstable. Don't assume these fights will just flare up and fade like before. If someone decides to take advantage of the chaos, things could spiral out of control."
Alex's expression turned sharp, and he added with a hint of a smirk, "And if someone is pulling strings behind the scenes… then this mess might be far from accidental. It might be exactly what they want."
"Oh? And how exactly would they pull that off?" Fang asked, still trying to wrap his head around the political side of things.