Upon hearing what Lakayla Adisa had just revealed, even Wentworth, though he had anticipated something, could not help but be momentarily stunned. That shock was quickly consumed by a surge of fury.
A joke, surely! Someone dared to interfere with the Alliance's business?!
In that instant, the threat level of the Kalembo Tribe in Wentworth's mind skyrocketed. The similarities between the Kalembo Tribe and the Alliance were simply too glaring to ignore.
The same wealth.
The same ambition.
And now, even the notion of forming a wizarding army? Identical!
Beside him, Nala's face went pale as she muttered through clenched teeth:
"The Kalembo Tribe… damn them!"
Hearing Nala's response, Wentworth nodded in firm agreement.
"Indeed. What the Kalembo Tribe has done, and what they intend to do, is unforgivable. They are unworthy of this path."
At their united declaration, Lakayla Adisa gave a bitter smile and shook her head. Then, her voice lowered in a warning tone:
"That's all I know about Uagadou and the Kalembo Tribe. I've told you everything. But you must keep it secret. If the Kalembo Tribe finds out that you've learned of this… your lives may be in danger."
Nala nodded emphatically. She may have been young, even a bit naïve, but she was no fool. She understood the gravity of what Lakayla had said.
But Wentworth merely chuckled softly.
"It's too late," he said calmly. "Juma already knows."
Lakayla Adisa's eyes widened in horror.
"What? How?! How could they possibly know?!"
"Because," Wentworth said without a hint of regret, "I told them."
He proceeded to selectively recount the events of that morning between him and Malika Kalembo to Lakayla.
The more she heard, the more panicked Lakayla became.
"Wentworth! How could you make such a mistake?! I expected more from you!"
Pacing furiously across her office at Uagadou, her head bowed in thought, Lakayla stopped suddenly, her mind clearly made up.
"Wentworth, you must leave! Leave Uagadou now! Return to Hogwarts. Seek out Albus Dumbledore!"
"Whatever happens, you can't stay here any longer. Juma will stop at nothing to find you. He may even… kill you. The Kalembo Tribe's wizards are madmen. There is nothing they won't do!"
But Wentworth only raised an eyebrow and asked, almost casually:
"And what about you, Headmistress Adisa?"
Lakayla gave another bitter smile, collapsing into her seat as though her strength had drained all at once.
"Me? Don't worry about me. At least for now, they won't touch me. I'm still safe… for the time being."
Seeing her like this, Wentworth didn't press further. Instead, he leaned over her desk, fixing her with a steady gaze.
"And what about Uagadou, Headmistress Adisa? Will you really just stand by and watch a thousand-year-old school become a tribal military academy?"
"I can already guess their plan. Even if Uagadou falls under their control, they'll continue to recruit gifted young wizards from across Africa."
"Only, those children, full of dreams and hope, will come to Uagadou and find despair instead."
"The Kalembo Tribe will turn them into soldiers—obedient, mindless tools of war. And any who resist will face merciless suppression."
"It won't stop there. Uagadou will become a bloody factory for the tribe. The herbs cultivated here, the potions brewed by students and professors alike, they'll all be seized without compensation, traded in Europe for piles of Galleons."
"Do you know what the future of Uagadou will look like? The gifted will be molded into weapons. The rest will be reduced to laborers, growing plants or brewing potions. That… is the fate that awaits this school."
As his words sank in, Lakayla Adisa's expression twisted, her composure unraveling before his eyes. Eventually, she murmured in a broken voice:
"Please… stop. No more. Don't say another word…"
Wentworth knew she was at her breaking point, and that was exactly what he had aimed for. He fell silent.
Looking at the woman before him, this once-mysterious and composed Headmistress,now collapsing under the weight of her own regrets, Wentworth felt… underwhelmed. Disappointed, even.
That's it? he thought. Compared to Albus Dumbledore, this feels like child's play. No wonder Uagadou's ended up like this under her leadership.
But Wentworth also understood: this version of Lakayla Adisa, so seemingly resolute, was a façade. Years under crushing pressure had worn her down inside. Her strength had been an illusion all along.
Watching her sink further into despair, he let a moment pass before speaking again, this time with subtle gravity:
"Headmistress Adisa… why don't you ask your stars what you should do next?"
His words gave her pause.
"Stars?" she repeated, dazed. Then her eyes lit up with sudden realization. "The stars! That's right, the stars told me… you would bring both destruction and rebirth to Uagadou! Wentworth, you must have a plan, don't you?!"
"You haven't left yet. You even refused when I begged you to go. That can only mean you've thought of a way forward, right?!"
She gripped his hands tightly, desperation etched across her face. But Wentworth remained composed.
"Of course I have a plan. The question is, are you willing to follow it?"
Lakayla's face transformed with hope. She sprang to her feet, clasping his hands in both of hers.
"I will! I'll do anything, anything, to save Uagadou!"
Meeting her gaze, Wentworth spoke slowly, deliberately:
"Establish a Board of Governors for Uagadou. And I want to be its Chairman."
The words echoed in the headmistress's office like a thunderclap. The room fell deathly silent.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]