After coaxing Newt aboard his increasingly sturdy ship, Tver had originally planned to spend a few weeks with him and take a proper look around that vast grassland. In truth, though, Tver was not all that interested in nature reserves.
The right work should be left to the right person!
Tver's main purpose on this trip was to see how large a role the United Nations could play in the project, and how various countries would respond to this demonstration project.
The result, naturally, left him more than satisfied.
To be honest, a nature reserve several times larger than the United Kingdom was unprecedented in this world.
The main reason was that every government wanted to curry favor with wizards. As for the African countries involved, some were looking forward to the new changes magic might bring, while others short-sightedly chose to accept the benefits offered by major powers. Either way, none of them refused to hand over such a vast piece of land.
But this also sent a positive signal. The world's curiosity about magic outweighed its fear.
Although a small number of countries had the mindset of "there are always villains plotting against me," most countries were already eager to seize their share of the gradually opening magical world.
That was simply human nature, seeking benefits and avoiding harm.
Forcibly kidnapping a wizard and dissecting the body that cast magic for thorough research would produce results utterly different from having a wizard willingly demonstrate magic one by one in a scientific research environment.
Likewise, the latter only required paying a certain price in benefits.
The former would require triggering a full-scale war, consuming enormous manpower and resources, with no guarantee of victory. Most importantly, it would completely push that country onto the opposite side of the wizarding world.
So no country would dare be the first bird to stick its head out. At least, before the benefits of launching a war exceeded the benefits of cooperation, no country was foolish enough to do something like that.
After understanding this, the greatest worry in Tver's heart could be set aside for the time being.
In fact, he was not particularly worried about who would win such a war. What he truly did not want to see was the hatred between wizards and muggles caused by war.
Newt did not care about any of this at all. His entire mind and body were immersed in his beautiful fantasy of this nature reserve, which did not yet have the slightest visible foundation.
Of course, a nature reserve did not need excessive human interference to begin with. With the help of magic, technology, and money, there was absolutely no need to worry about the speed or quality of construction here.
So Tver left him, with perfect peace of mind, to the local UN staff and Confederation representatives, then set off alone for another ancient magical city.
Cairo, Egypt.
One of the most famous debates in the wizarding world was whether magic originated in Bhutan or Ancient Egypt.
The currently accepted view was that Bhutan was the birthplace of magic, while Ancient Egypt was the earliest place where magic was studied and recorded.
Even now, however, many Egyptian wizards still insisted that their magic was the oldest in the world.
After comparing it with the knowledge left behind by the four founders in his mind, Tver could tell at a glance that their ancient magic had mostly been lost, just like in the rest of the world.
But one thing was undeniable.
This place had the largest Centre for Alchemical Studies in the world!
"Albus told me his decision to repeal The Statute of Secrecy began with you?"
Nicolas Flamel led Tver through the streets of Cairo. Although he no longer had the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of Life he had kept for himself was still enough to sustain him until now.
This romantic old man planned to take one last look at the world at the turn of the millennium before going to the afterlife with his beloved.
Yet in a way completely at odds with his age, his eyes always sparkled with curiosity, like a child taking in this strange and wonderful world.
"To be precise, it began with Dumbledore's early desire to create a safe world for his sister. I only helped him pick up the idea my teacher had once shattered."
Tver stayed half a step behind him. He still held great respect for this old man, who was even older than The Statute of Secrecy.
More importantly, taking the Philosopher's Stone could be considered the first step of all his plans. Without Nicolas Flamel's permission, everything might have turned out very differently.
Nicolas Flamel chuckled.
"You master and student really are quite… interesting."
Apart from the two people involved, no one in the world understood the old entanglement of love and resentment between Dumbledore and Grindelwald better than he did.
So when he suddenly saw Grindelwald's student once again stirring up the idea Dumbledore had buried long ago, he could not help feeling a strange sense of history repeating itself.
But this time, things were ultimately different.
A trace of emotion appeared in his eyes.
Likewise, no one understood better than he did how desperately Dumbledore had once wanted to protect his sister and family, perhaps even more clearly than Dumbledore himself.
He felt sorrow for Ariana's misfortune, but also relief that Dumbledore had stepped out of the shadow of the past and was ready to devote himself to a greater cause.
Despite Nicolas Flamel's age, as someone who had witnessed the world before and after The Statute of Secrecy was enacted, he understood Dumbledore's current thinking very well.
That was why he had so readily agreed to Tver's request to tour the Egyptian Centre for Alchemical Studies, and had even come in person to show him around.
After all, his reputation here might be far greater than in any other place in the world…
"Mr. Nicolas Flamel!"
A short, stout middle-aged man jogged over, panting. The sweat on his face from the blazing sun did nothing to hide his excitement.
"The Head has gone to Bhutan for Confederation business. He specifically instructed me to take good care of you. To be honest, I never thought such a task would fall to me. This morning, I was still studying your Alchemical Structure, and then I received the Head's letter. From that moment on, I was so excited I couldn't sit still, so I waited at the entrance…"
"All right, all right. I do not even know your name yet."
The man's words came so densely that Nicolas Flamel had no choice but to interrupt him, lest his old bones be left standing under the sun any longer.
"I'm sorry, I'm simply too excited. You may not know this, but half the people in the Research Center are your fans, and the other half are your die-hard fans…"
Seeming to realize he had truly lost his composure, the middle-aged man awkwardly pinched his own thigh.
"My apologies. My name is Mahard Yell, one of the directors of the Centre for Alchemical Studies. You may call me Mahard."
After finally calming down, Mahard seemed to remember something.
"By the way, two Weasley twins named George and Fred said they were invited here. Are they your guests?"
"I specifically asked them to come," Tver said quickly.
Yes, this trip was not only for his own affairs. It was also meant to broaden the Weasley twins' horizons.
Because those two brothers had blown up their own workshop yet again!
Left with no choice, Tver could only ask them to come and observe how professional alchemists worked, preferably improving their own abilities in this field along the way.
At the very least, they should stop blowing up the workshop every few days…