Dumbledore followed Azazel into the newly renovated manor.
However, the sight of the magnificent and orderly scene before him made the anger in Azazel's chest surge wildly.
Perfectly manicured lawns, solemn statues, and a straight tree-lined avenue leading to the grand main house.
Dumbledore's gaze did not linger too long on this abrupt splendor.
His eyes were always fixed on the peculiar creature flapping its pink wings ahead.
The man and the demon remained silent, subconsciously quickening their pace.
It wasn't until they reached the main entrance that Azazel could no longer hold back, suddenly turning and stiffly throwing a remark at Dumbledore.
"I'm going ahead, you follow!"
Before he finished speaking, with a "whoosh," he rushed into the open doorway.
Immediately after, deafening roars and crashing sounds exploded from within the mansion.
"Nios! You bastard! Since you can do something like this! Then what was my month of labor for?!"
The pavilion next to the main house.
Inside the pavilion, Dumbledore and Nios sat opposite each other, with exquisite tea sets laid out before them.
The curling tea fragrance seemed out of place with the smashing sounds coming from afar.
Nios wore a strange cartoon eye mask on his face.
The eye pattern on the mask was still moving flexibly, just like real eyes.
"Aren't you going to stop him?"
Dumbledore picked up his bone china teacup, his gaze passing through the rising steam and falling on Nios.
"It's fine."
Nios waved his hand casually, then refilled Dumbledore's teacup with black tea.
"He'll have to fix it himself after he's done smashing."
He put down the teapot, and the eyes on his black eye mask turned to Dumbledore, his tone calm and unruffled.
"Well then, esteemed guest, aren't you going to introduce yourself and the purpose of this visit? You seem to have been just enjoying tea since you arrived."
"Oh dear."
Dumbledore revealed a slightly apologetic smile.
"When one gets old, one's memory is always a bit poor."
He took out a parchment envelope from the inner pocket of his gray overcoat and gently placed it on the table between them.
Hogwarts's crest was clearly visible on the envelope.
"I am Albus Dumbledore, the Principal of Hogwarts School of magic."
As he spoke, he picked up the sugar bowl and began pouring sparkling white sugar into his cup of black tea.
"This visit is to give you this."
Nios picked up the envelope, his fingertips brushing over the unique wax seal.
He didn't look for a tool, but simply slapped his palm on the corner of the table.
"Crack!" A tiny electric arc flashed.
A piece was missing from the corner of the table, and a small letter opener appeared in Nios's hand.
He leisurely slit open the envelope and pulled out the letter inside.
Seeing this, Dumbledore's hand, which was adding sugar to his tea, paused for an almost imperceptible moment, then regained its steadiness.
Nios unfolded the letter, his gaze sweeping over its contents.
After reading the letter and the accompanying list, Nios did not immediately respond.
He first placed the letter back on the table, then picked up his teacup and took a small sip of black tea.
Putting down the teacup, he then raised his face, wearing the cartoon eye mask, to look at Dumbledore, whose sugar bowl beside him was already more than half empty.
"So."
Nios's voice carried a hint of playfulness.
"A school of magic intends to invite me to attend? And, it's personally delivered by a Principal with such... weighty titles?"
"Yes." Dumbledore picked up his astonishingly sweet tea and took a sip, his expression composed.
"I must refuse."
Nios replied crisply and without hesitation.
"Why?"
A hint of confusion flickered in Dumbledore's clear blue eyes.
The maturity displayed by this boy far surpassed his appearance; his intuition told him that this was by no means a child content with mediocrity.
"Why?"
Nios spread his hands, his tone carrying a naturally rhetorical question.
"A school that has fallen to the point of needing its Principal to personally recruit students, dare I go? And that long string of titles in your letter, although I'm not entirely sure what they specifically mean, but to be solemnly written in a letter to a student, each must represent unimaginable power and influence."
He tilted his head slightly, and the cartoon eyes on his eye mask blinked in sync.
"To have such a big shot make a personal trip, either the school is about to go bankrupt and desperately needs students, or... there's something about me that makes you feel 'you must see it in person,' whichever it is, it sounds quite troublesome, doesn't it?"
He paused, then added.
"Although I don't know how you discovered me, I must clarify one thing: I am not a Wizard."
This answer made Dumbledore's embarrassment a bit more real; he cleared his throat.
"The main purpose of my trip is precisely to confirm your identity, and the condition of this land. As for how I knew about you... Hogwarts possesses two powerful magic artifacts that can automatically detect and record all children with magic talent within Britain."
Nios fell into a brief silence.
The Soul Sea favored the old man before him; he could sense that this old man carried an item with an aura of origin, and if he wasn't mistaken, it should be his wand. If he could study it up close... this thought was extremely tempting.
He wasn't entirely ignorant of Wizards; while drifting in the Soul Sea, and when "stealing" things in various countries, he had glimpsed their existence, which was why he could remain so calm in front of Dumbledore.
He needed to confirm whether this body truly possessed magic talent.
"May I borrow your wand?"
Nios extended his hand.
Dumbledore gazed at him, his eyes sharp.
After a brief deliberation, he handed over the slightly curved black ebony wand.
The moment Nios took the wand, through his eye mask, what he saw was not ebony, but an elder wood shaft! A Thestral tail-hair core!
The Soul Sea aura, so dense it almost solidified, lingered upon it—this was a dead object forged from an incomplete concept of origin!
If he could analyze its mysteries, strip away its concept...
Dumbledore keenly caught the fleeting greed in Nios's grip on the wand; his aura instantly became like a drawn sword.
Nios felt the invisible pressure, but he didn't mind it.
He picked up the wand and casually waved it in the air.
No reaction.
The wand in his hand was as silent as an ordinary stick.
This result stunned Dumbledore.
Wands choose the Wizard, and the Elder Wand even more so.
But even if it wasn't its master, a wand would still react when held by a Wizard.
Moreover, he had just witnessed Nios casting magic silently and without a wand.
Although there was still a curse on this land, Nios's Muggle-like behavior completely exceeded his expectations.
"You see."
Nios handed the wand back to Dumbledore, his tone flat.
"I am not a Wizard. Therefore, I am sorry, I cannot attend your school."
Despite his immense reluctance to part with that wand, he wasn't crazy enough to try and snatch it from this old Wizard whose titles could serve as a shield.
"Then what are you?"
Dumbledore took the Elder Wand, his brows tightly furrowed as he stared at Nios.
"Uh..."
Nios scratched his head, and the cartoon eyes on his eye mask rotated along with the movement.
"Roughly... I suppose I'm an Alchemist?"
"Alchemy is a branch of magic."
Dumbledore immediately pointed out Nios's misconception, and at the same time, he made a decision: no matter what this child was, he had to be brought to Hogwarts, to be observed or monitored under his watchful eye.
"Moreover, I am also an Alchemist."
"Oh?"
Nios's tone took on a hint of interest.
"Then, do you mean... an Alchemist like me can also attend Hogwarts?"
Although he had little interest in attending school itself, the value of Dumbledore himself and his wand was enough to make Nios change his mind.
"Of course."
Dumbledore's gentle smile reappeared on his face as he extended his hand to Nios.
"Hogwarts welcomes every talented young person. Welcome to our school, Mr. Nios Chaos."
"Thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Nios also extended his hand, a smile befitting his age, with a touch of innocence, appearing on his face.
The moment the large and small hands were about to clasp together.
"Boom!"
The main house's window glass shattered with a crash! A yellow figure, filled with rage, charged towards the pavilion!
"Nios! You bastard, you're hiding here!"
Azazel's dog-like face was contorted in a snarl, but when his gaze swept over the exquisite black tea and tempting pastries on the table, his mouth instantly watered uncontrollably.
"You're eating without calling me?!"
Nios didn't even turn his head, as if he had expected it.
He casually picked up a piece of cream cake from the plate and, without looking, threw it hard towards the distance in the garden.
"Off you go!"
Whoosh!
Azazel's gaze and body were instantly locked onto the flying cake; all his anger vanished into thin air, leaving only a craving for delicious food.
He transformed into a yellow streak of light and chased after the cake in the direction it disappeared, moving even faster than when he arrived.
A brief tranquility returned to the pavilion.
Dumbledore gazed in the direction Azazel had disappeared, his blue eyes behind his spectacles filled with unprecedented curiosity and a desire to investigate.
"What... what kind of creature is he? I have never seen such a... peculiar existence."
Upon hearing this, Nios couldn't help but straighten his small frame, his voice filled with pride.
"Of course! This is my unique masterpiece! A demon created by fusing the two authorities of lust and chastity!"
"This is different from those low-level demons with only a single attribute that you've seen before!" The eyes on his eye mask seemed to curve with smugness.
"Demon?"
Dumbledore was completely stunned; this answer utterly exceeded his imagination, and even his understanding of this world.
Nios smugly gazed in the direction Azazel had flown, completely oblivious to the rare, almost blank expression on the old Principal's face.
He began to muse about the future to himself.
"Amazing, isn't it? I'm not boasting, but in this world, besides me, no one can create such a compound demon!"
"Just think, when I mass-produce these demons and put them on the market, they will severely squeeze the living space of natural demons! At that time, those traditional demons will have to lower the thresholds and requirements for signing contracts in order to compete..."
He excitedly turned to Dumbledore, as if sharing a brilliant business plan.
"At that time, you will also be able to enjoy the demon dividends I bring! How about it? Isn't it a great deal?"
"Huh???"
Dumbledore held his sickeningly sweet black tea, his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles widening for the first time, his brain seemingly entering a brief state of shutdown.