"I'm very glad to see you all here," the Secretary-General said smoothly in his opening remarks. "To be honest, I would be even happier if you all attended ordinary meetings this completely."
After a brief pause for translation, a few obliging chuckles came from below. As for whether they would actually change, that was something only God and heaven knew.
"Today's topic is rather serious, so I won't waste time with pleasantries."
The moment the Secretary-General's expression turned solemn, the delegations knew the main event was coming. They immediately sat up straight, their faces even more serious than during an ordinary meeting.
"Let us first look back at a matter previously considered by the Security Council…" He paused, giving the representatives time to recall it, and himself a moment to adjust his mood.
"On April 8 of this year, a military conflict broke out between Israel and Lebanon. By the 18th, the Security Council had unanimously adopted Resolution 1052, demanding that both sides cease fire."
"I imagine you are all aware of the certain… magical individuals who triggered that war?"
Everyone here represented the will of their governments, so they naturally had some understanding of the Joint Operations Office, which had been established for more than a year.
Even if those permanently stationed at the United Nations did not know much, before attending the meeting they would certainly have hurriedly reviewed their countries' observation reports on wizards and the magic world.
Moreover, before the meeting began, Tver's speech had already been submitted to these delegations.
If they still did not understand the situation with wizards after all that, then Tver had nothing more to say.
"Yes. According to the investigation report from the Joint Operations Office of Israel and Lebanon, the cause of the war was two Vampires, genuine Vampires, who controlled military personnel from both countries and caused them to carry out acts of war without conscious intent."
"This is closely related to what I am about to mention."
"A month ago, while the leaders of Palestine and Israel were holding peace talks on the war, Lebanon once again launched a military raid under the pretext of Israeli provocation."
"A large-scale war between the two sides was on the verge of breaking out, and even nearby Syria and Jordan were drawn into this simmering Middle East war."
"In just half a month, more than four countries saw civilian casualties numbering in the thousands."
At this point, the Secretary-General gripped the podium with his right hand in indignation, his knuckles turning white from the force.
But when he saw the familiar, indifferent expressions on the representatives below, he could not help losing heart. Even his tone grew somewhat dull.
"Likewise, this war was once again caused by wizards…" He glanced at the emphasized part of the speech. "All right, by evil dark wizards."
"According to… Auror reports, these dark wizards acted under the orders of a leader called… Voldemort, and used a spell called… the Imperius Curse to control the leaders of the four countries, thereby triggering this war."
These awkward terms were very unfamiliar to an old man like the Secretary-General. He had to lower his head again and again to check the script, which greatly reduced his interest in continuing the speech.
He glanced at the still lengthy script, thought about it, and simply skipped to the end.
After all, that young man named Tver Fawley looked especially reliable. Surely it was fine for him to be a little lazy.
"And in order to prevent this war, as well as similar wars that may occur in the future, we must reach a practical resolution as soon as possible, one that can effectively reduce unnecessary and meaningless conflicts."
He put away the speech with inexplicable relief, a comfortable smile on his face.
"I know you are still not very familiar with the magic world, so next, Mr. Tver Fawley, the plenipotentiary representative of the International Confederation of Wizards, will explain the relevant proposals."
Professional matters should be left to professionals. He was definitely not shirking his duties.
As he stepped down, the Secretary-General cheerfully patted Tver on the shoulder as they passed, leaving Tver a little confused.
But once he stood at the podium, he adjusted his mindset.
"I am also very glad to see all of you. Speaking here for the first time, and already seeing such rare attendance among the distinguished representatives before His Excellency the Secretary-General, is truly an honor."
Tver began his humorous opening remarks with practiced ease, without the slightest hint of inexperience the representatives had expected.
So the laughter that came in response carried more curiosity about his performance than anything else.
Tver paused a little longer, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
"I assume you have all read my speech already, perhaps even studied it once through? Or is there anyone who has not seen it yet?"
He said that, but gave them no time to react.
"Then feel free to read it slowly. I won't waste everyone's time. I'll speak directly about things not included in the speech."
The speech itself used official language to describe the wizarding world's response mechanism to this dark wizard crime, as well as the magic world's concrete measures for eliminating the subsequent impact.
Simply put, it explained how the magic world would deal with such behavior.
Tver had no desire to repeat something that dry.
Besides, the speech had been written for him by Cynthia. He was not about to stand here and read from a script.
Tver's refusal to follow the usual pattern immediately drew the attention of the representatives. Some of them had been drowsy before, but now they were all wide awake.
As for the Secretary-General, who had been smiling happily below, the smile vanished from his face.
Such out-of-line behavior had never occurred since the founding of the United Nations.
Sure enough, he should have explained the rules first to these wizards, who were coming into contact with this for the first time.
"First, dark wizards are extremely vicious criminals. Every country has them, but overall, their numbers are not large. Under the management of the Ministry of Magic, it is very difficult for them to cause acts of war on such a wide scale."
"On this point, you may rest assured. The forces of justice in the magic world are absolutely stronger than the forces of evil."
Seeing certain representatives wearing noncommittal expressions as though judging others by themselves, Tver immediately said sarcastically, "At the very least, much better than your world."
"Then how do you explain Israel, and all those previous incidents of dark wizard crimes?"
Although it did not follow the rules, one representative could no longer hold back and asked directly.
"That is exactly what I am about to discuss." Tver nodded approvingly at her. "The Ministries of Magic of every country are doing their utmost to control dark wizard crimes."
"Unfortunately, the magic world is currently facing an extremely evil Dark Lord. Like a certain country that caused the First and Second World Wars, he is attempting to start a Third World War."
The hall immediately erupted.
They only knew there was such a powerful dark wizard, but they did not know his specific goal.
Of course, Tver himself was not entirely clear on it either, but that did not stop him from throwing whatever blame he could onto Voldemort.
"You should understand better than I do that a war of this scale cannot be stopped or controlled by the will of certain individuals."
"So I must remind you that, restricted by the Statute of Secrecy, the magic world will absolutely not participate in your war."
"If Voldemort truly succeeds and the order of the magic world is destroyed, this entire world will be affected by his evil will."
"So," Tver glanced toward the representatives of the great powers who remained arrogant, "I know you may think this meeting is the wizards being helpless against Voldemort and having no choice but to ask you for help."
"But in reality, if you do not save yourselves, the wizards absolutely will not mind watching you slaughter one another."