Upon hearing Headmistress Adisa's words, Nala froze, a trace of confusion flashing across her face. Wentworth, on the other hand, remained calm, as if he had anticipated this revelation.
Then, with a face full of bitterness and fury, Headmistress Adisa continued:
"Years ago, the Kalembo Tribe approached me with a very generous offer. They proposed to purchase herbs and potions from Uagadou at a high price."
"At the time, the Kalembo Tribe told me it was to show their gratitude to Uagadou, for having trained countless witches and wizards for Africa over the years. They claimed they would only take a token fee for their effort, and all other profits would go to Uagadou as a show of support."
"Back then, the stars warned me that Uagadou would soon face the greatest crisis in its history. In order to raise the necessary funds to prepare for this looming threat, I believed them. I handed the entire matter over to the Kalembo Tribe in exchange for Galleons."
"But what I didn't expect… was that the crisis came from the Kalembo Tribe itself."
"In just a few short years, the Kalembo Tribe used Uagadou's high-quality herbs and potions to amass a fortune, effectively monopolizing the trade between Africa and Europe. And it was then that they revealed their true ambition."
"They came to me claiming that Uagadou had withheld the finest batch of herbs for its own use, which allegedly led to a drop in quality and caused them significant losses. On that basis, they demanded to reduce the share of Galleons they were originally supposed to pay us."
"What utter nonsense! Of course Uagadou's best herbs are meant for our students! The Kalembo Tribe has many witches and wizards trained at Uagadou, they couldn't possibly be unaware of this!"
"So I refused them outright! And I decided then and there to shift the trade to other tribes as a punishment for Kalembo."
"But to my dismay, since Kalembo had already monopolized the herb trade between Africa and Europe, not a single other tribe dared to step forward to take over the deal."
"In an instant, Uagadou lost more than half of its funding. But our school runs on a flood of Galleons each day. As I grew increasingly desperate, the Kalembo Tribe came knocking again."
"This time, they proposed even harsher terms, slashing the prices they would pay for herbs. I was furious, but I had no choice. Many herbs are time-sensitive. I couldn't just let them rot in our storerooms while Uagadou's teaching ground to a halt."
"And at the same time, they made another demand: they wanted Uagadou to increase the number of admission slots for their tribe each year. Initially, I refused. But the Kalembo Tribe threatened to cease all purchases of herbs from Uagadou if I didn't agree."
"Of course, they also promised that each admission slot allocated to their tribe would come with a hefty sum of gold Galleons for Uagadou."
"After careful thought and with great reluctance, I gave in."
"And you know the rest. One wrong step led to another, and I dragged Uagadou to the brink of ruin. I cannot deny my responsibility. I… I am the one who has failed Uagadou!"
By the time she reached the end, Headmistress Adisa couldn't help but raise her head and let out a long, bitter sigh, her face full of remorse.
Hearing her words, Wentworth could sense the deep regret in her heart, and he too was quietly moved.
Beside him, Nala stared at Headmistress Adisa in shock, her lips repeating the same words over and over again:
"How could they do this... How could they do this…"
But there was still something Wentworth didn't quite understand. So he asked:
"Headmistress Adisa, I have one more question, if you wouldn't mind helping me understand."
Hearing him speak, Lakayla Adisa took a deep breath to steady herself and then said slowly:
"Ask. At this point, there's nothing I can't say."
Wentworth nodded in thanks and immediately asked:
"According to what you've said, the Kalembo Tribe held the absolute upper hand in its dealings with Uagadou. Logically, they would never disrupt such a profitable balance. So why did they pull that stunt at the International Animagus Symposium, drawing the attention of the entire world?"
Adisa chuckled at the question and, unexpectedly, said:
"Because… I was the one who did it."
Her answer caught Wentworth off guard. He blinked, then fell silent in thought.
Headmistress Adisa then explained:
"It was I who slipped a bit of potion into Luan Kalembo's food, which made his Animagus transformation spiral out of control. And it was I who stirred things up at the International Confederation of Wizards, making sure the whole world paid attention."
Hearing this, Wentworth nodded, admiring her cunning.
"Since the issue couldn't be solved from within, bringing in outside pressure was a clever move. But why didn't you do this earlier? Why let the Kalembo Tribe leech off Uagadou for so long?"
Adisa looked at him with a faint smile, then gestured to the star map behind her and said:
"Because I only recently received a revelation from the stars, that the wizard who could bring new life to Uagadou… was at Hogwarts. I had assumed it would be Albus Dumbledore. But to think… it turned out to be you, little one."
"Of course, the most important reason is that I have always tried to protect Uagadou's reputation. If word of this ever spread, I wouldn't care if my name was ruined. I already see myself as Uagadou's disgrace. But Uagadou's thousand-year legacy must not be tainted by my hand!"
"However, not long ago, the Kalembo Tribe approached me again with a new demand, one that crossed every line I had. It's something I absolutely cannot accept."
At this, Wentworth leaned in with interest. If Adisa had endured Kalembo's exploitation for so long, what demand could finally make her cast aside even Uagadou's reputation and risk everything for a final confrontation?
Adisa spoke in a low, resolute voice:
"The Kalembo Tribe has rallied several of the larger African wizarding tribes… and they want to establish a Board of Governors for Uagadou."
Wentworth nodded, this wasn't surprising. After all, Juma Kalembo had even tried to draw him in.
But then Adisa continued:
"They want to turn Uagadou into a military academy, a training ground for a wizard army."
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]