After leaving the station, Lewis and Shirella activated [Mansion Spell] and returned to their familiar home.
Gianna, Tonks, Onyxia, and the others had already arrived at the tower and carefully prepared a table filled with mouthwatering delicacies.
After obtaining the Mark of Intelligence, Lewis's tower had become a shared residence for everyone.
Whenever they were not working, most of them spent their time here, treating it as their new home.
Perhaps because they often gathered at the tower, when everyone came together again, there was none of the excitement or joy one would expect from a long-awaited reunion. Instead, there was an added warmth that felt more like a family coming together.
At the dining table, Lewis proposed the idea of holding a summer gathering for the Knowledge Society, and Gianna immediately gave her enthusiastic support.
"We can use Onyxia's manor. It's spacious, there's plenty of room, and the scenery is beautiful. More importantly, banquets are held there frequently. There couldn't be a more suitable place."
Gianna helped Lewis come up with a plan.
"How did this end up becoming my problem again?" Onyxia complained, then reluctantly said, "Fine, fine. If you say we're using it, then we'll use it… I knew you were going to fleece me."
"Your manor was built entirely with my money!" Lewis pointed out bluntly.
"But I invested a huge amount of Galleons myself!" Onyxia protested indignantly.
"Really?" Lewis asked Gianna doubtfully. "This spendthrift dragon actually managed to make some money back?"
The Black Dragon Princess immediately became displeased.
"What kind of look is that? What do you mean, 'spendthrift dragon'?!"
But Lewis ignored her and simply looked toward Gianna.
"Um, haha, she's telling the truth," the Princess of Kul Tiras gently spoke up for her. "Onyxia really has earned quite a lot of Galleons recently."
"Don't tell me she's selling her blood," Lewis said suspiciously. "Her private property is practically my private property."
"How is my blood your property?!" The female black dragon became both angry and flustered. "I'm not Aiwu!"
"Aiwu is a good little dragon. Stinky Onyxia is a bad big dragon. Royal Onyxia would never be Aiwu!" the little dragon huffed angrily. "The bigger the dragon, the worse the big dragon!"
"Aiwu, we don't play with bad big dragons."
Lewis casually pulled Aiwu into his arms and rubbed her for a while before turning toward Onyxia.
"And you too. Don't say your blood belongs to me. Your entire dragon body is my property!"
Unexpectedly, after hearing those words, Onyxia did not argue back.
Instead, she turned her head away, not letting anyone see her flushed face.
She did not understand why someone who could manipulate countless nobles and politicians as easily as she pleased would become so emotionally flustered when facing this young man, revealing such a pure and innocent side of herself.
At this moment, Tonks also spoke up for her.
"Don't be too biased against her either, Little Brother Lewis. Onyxia really has been working much harder lately. She's been running around dragon-breeding farms all over the world, and she's earned quite a bit of extra money by showing off her firsthand dragon-taming skills."
Then she quietly revealed another piece of information.
"You know, just from that match between you and the Irish team, Onyxia earned four thousand Galleons from the mascot performance alone."
"Four thousand Galleons?!" Shirella exclaimed in surprise.
She had not expected the pre-match mascot performance by their England team to be worth so much.
The knockout stage of the Quidditch World Cup used a single-elimination format. There were sixteen teams in total, so if England managed to reach the final, they would theoretically have to play three more matches.
The further they advanced toward the final, the greater the attention surrounding each match would become.
"How did you negotiate it? Are you paid per match?" she asked curiously.
Everyone else also looked toward Onyxia, wanting to know how much she could earn going forward.
"How could that be?" Onyxia said proudly. "I signed a progressive contract. The more important the match, the higher the price. In the World Cup knockout stage, every time you advance another round, the fee doubles."
As she spoke, she looked toward Lewis and Shirella with the greed characteristic of a giant dragon.
"So you two better work hard and make it to the final. That way, I can get sixty-three thousand Galleons!"
"So after all that, I've become the one making money for you."
Lewis was both exasperated and amused. After a pause, he still acknowledged Onyxia's efforts.
"You did a good job this time."
Hearing her master's praise, the Black Dragon Princess did not look happy at all. Instead, she became wary.
"What are you doing? You don't think praising me once means you can take all the money, do you?! I'm telling you, forget it!"
Looking at Lewis's calm, unruffled eyes and remembering her experience of being turned into a cat, Onyxia shrank her neck and became much less assertive.
"At… at most a quarter… No, wait, half. I'll give you half at most! I can't give you any more!"
"You actually have another half? What a pleasant surprise."
Lewis smiled.
"..."
"Damn it!"
Onyxia dejectedly slapped her thigh, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
"In any case, the Knowledge Society's gathering will be held at your manor," Lewis decided at last. He then looked around at everyone present. "All of you have to attend the gathering. Consider it a way to increase your presence among them. It will also let you get to know your future subordinates in advance."
"Little Brother Lewis's suggestion is excellent, but I won't stay there the entire time," Gianna added. "I'm much older than all of you. Not everyone is as… precocious as you."
When she said the last word, Gianna's cheeks flushed.
"If I stay there, they'll feel restrained, so I'll just go around and have a look."
Then she turned toward Tonks.
"Nymphadora, you're closer to their age. I'll leave the task of identifying promising talents to you."
"Yes, Director Proudmoore."
The female Auror gave an exaggeratedly formal salute, once again provoking a burst of laughter.
"Oh, right. From now on, whenever the Knowledge Society holds gatherings, we can choose to hold them at my manor as well."
Onyxia thought about it before taking the initiative to offer.
"But I get to have a say in choosing who attends."
Next, Lewis, Gianna, and Onyxia spent a long time discussing the details of the banquet.
Then they immediately began preparing the invitations and dispatched the family owls to deliver the letters.
Lewis also activated his communication badge and sent everyone the exact time and location.
Lewis's life during the holiday was not as leisurely and carefree as that of the other young wizards. Not only did he need to continue completing the Book of Ten Thousand Spells, but he also had to participate in Quidditch training.
Fortunately, the Book of Ten Thousand Spells had now been completed through the fourth circle, which was already sufficient for most people who needed to learn the magic within it.
As for the fifth and sixth circles, he planned to update them at a leisurely pace.
As for the seventh circle…
He could currently only use seventh-circle spells at most. He had to keep something in reserve, after all.
All of this remained the same even after his wizarding level broke through.
Now, he had begun turning his attention toward another type of magical creation.
Golems.
This idea had emerged after he finished designing the Auror uniforms.
Since manpower in the wizarding world was so precious, why not make extensive use of golems to assist with various tasks?
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