"I think Muggle food is pretty good," Kaisen said, looking out the door at the end of the Great Hall. Unconsciously, it had already grown dark.
"In fact, I recently found a few potential locations that might be the Chamber of Secrets' entrance. I still need you to accompany me to investigate," Dumbledore said.
"Uh… alright," Kaisen said, feeling a bit sorry for his tongue and stomach. He had no choice but to put another bite of fried fish into his mouth.
After all, it was the only protein on the table.
Soon, Dumbledore pulled Kaisen, who had only eaten half his fill, out of the Great Hall.
The latter could anticipate how hungry he would be after a half-night marathon with Dumbledore in the Castle.
He hoped there would still be restaurants open in the Muggle world by then.
Of course, if not, it wouldn't be a problem. He could always go to a country in the other hemisphere where it was daytime and get something to eat. That would be much better than sneaking into the Hogwarts kitchens to eat grass.
"The place I'm taking you to is what I believe to be the most magical room in Hogwarts. Perhaps we can use this room to directly find Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, locate the Basilisk, and Tom," Dumbledore said, walking ahead in the stairwell.
"I understand all that, but what I'm more curious about is how much longer we have to walk," Kaisen said, panting behind Dumbledore.
"Oh, a young man's body shouldn't be so weak. You built your office so large, didn't you jog around it in the morning?" Dumbledore quipped.
"That's for my Alchemy machines, not for torturing me," Kaisen replied.
"But I remember you seemed quite happy watching Harry and Neville run a marathon in your office," Dumbledore said faintly.
"I said I wouldn't torture *me*, not that I wouldn't torture *them*. It's good for young people to exercise, but I... I'm not a young person anymore. Our ages can no longer be considered a friendship despite a great age difference," Kaisen said, leaning on the handrail.
"Yes, one over a hundred years old, one twenty-six years old. Not a friendship despite a great age difference?" Dumbledore said with a laugh.
"That's a good sarcastic remark. I'm not walking around with you anymore. Just tell me the exact location," Kaisen said.
".... Hmm ... No."
"Ah, you scoundrel!"
"Just consider it me taking you to exercise, isn't that nice?"
"I hope next time you have a sudden idea, you'll let me eat a full meal first... Seriously, if we go fight a Basilisk like this, I'm truly afraid I'll become a starving ghost," Kaisen complained.
"Trust your magic power."
"Compared to that, I trust my blood sugar level more. If I collapse from low blood sugar in the Chamber of Secrets, will you bring me back?"
"Hmm... depends on my mood."
"Dumbledore, you know, I'm a very polite person. I would never curse unless it's a special circumstance, but you... you've already gone beyond the scope of ordinary people. You're a bit too personified now."
"Alright, we're here."
The two of them walked all the way from the Great Hall on the first floor to the eighth floor before Dumbledore finally uttered that sensible remark.
"Follow me."
Dumbledore said, leading Kaisen to a corridor. They walked until they reached a tapestry.
"Has this tapestry been here since the time of the Four Founders?"
"It should be."
"...I've been reading these past few days, and it says Hogwarts Castle is Salazar Slytherin's property?" Kaisen asked.
"That's right."
"I think Slytherin's house crest is quite well-designed. Why is this tapestry so abstract? Why would Slytherin allow such an ugly... to be hung in his Castle?"
"If it knew your thoughts, it might get angry," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Oh, so now you have no respect for the Four Founders at all," Kaisen quipped.
Dumbledore shook his head: "I wasn't talking about Slytherin, but it."
"So? You're saying this tapestry is conscious?"
"I don't know yet. This is a magical room that can make wishes come true," Dumbledore explained.
"Oh, so you brought me here just to wish for this room to conjure up a room that leads directly to the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Why not? Give it a try. You just need to walk back and forth three times here, thinking about the room you need."
"For example, you can think, 'I need a room that leads directly to Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets'," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"I get it. You have the strength to climb from the first floor to the eighth floor in one go, but you don't have the strength to walk three round trips in front of this tapestry?"
"Don't be so aggressive," Dumbledore comforted.
"I'm sorry, my aggressiveness is directly proportional to my hunger level. If you want to experience the gentle version of Professor Kaisen, I suggest you let me eat my fill."
Kaisen complained while circling in front of the tapestry.
One round trip, two round trips, three round trips.
.....
...
....
"Did you also buy a fake unofficial history of Hogwarts? Have you actually tested this thing?" Kaisen asked.
"Think of a different room," Dumbledore said.
Kaisen reluctantly turned three more times, and this time, the Room of Requirement's door truly appeared.
Dumbledore curiously pushed the door open and walked in, as he was genuinely curious about what kind of room Professor Kaisen wanted.
...
After a long silence, Dumbledore turned back and asked, "So, the room you wanted was an empty, unfurnished room for you to decorate?"
"...Hmm, is there a problem?" Kaisen said, deadpan.
"No, not at all." Dumbledore shook his head and stepped back out.
Kaisen, meanwhile, leaned against the corridor wall. He had no intention of entering the 'renovation' room, especially since he was still hungry.
He was just pondering why, if this Room of Requirement was truly as magical as Dumbledore claimed, it couldn't generate a room leading to Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.
And this question was actually quite easy to answer.
According to Dumbledore, this tapestry and even the Room of Requirement were rooms from the time of the Four Founders. As the owner of Hogwarts Castle, Slytherin himself must have known about the existence of this magical room.
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