The two, along with Dobby, returned to Kayson's office at Hogwarts.
"Lupin, you take over for a bit; I'm taking Dobby to Dumbledore's office."
As Kayson left with Dobby, Lupin looked at Bruce, who was drifting on the ice rink.
...
"Dumbledore."
Kayson pushed open the Principal's office door; Dumbledore was studying a strawberry milkshake.
"Oh, Kayson, it seems things went smoothly."
Dumbledore said, sharing half of his milkshake with Kayson, "Try it."
"Uh, I'll pass; I'm here to recommend a House-elf to you this time."
Kayson said, stepping aside to reveal a somewhat embarrassed Dobby.
"Oh, Dobby, I remember you; you are the House-elf of the House of Malfoy."
"Dobby is not the House-elf of the House of Malfoy anymore, Dobby is free now."
Dobby explained.
"Oh... I almost understand; you need a job?"
"And a job with a salary."
Kayson added.
"No problem, what's your expected salary?"
Dumbledore nodded.
"Uh... I don't know, Principal."
"Hmm... how about ten Galleons a month?"
"Ten Galleons! No, that's too much."
Kayson rubbed his ears, somewhat helpless at Dobby's sudden sharp voice.
Dumbledore looked at Kayson, who spread his hands innocently.
"Then... five Galleons?"
Kayson sat on the sofa in the corner, slowly brewing a pot of tea for himself, and by the time the pot of tea was finished, Dumbledore and Dobby's negotiations regarding the salary finally concluded.
In the end, Dobby, happily clutching his four Galleons a month, went to report to the cafeteria, while Dumbledore, with great interest, wrote "-500 Galleons" on Hogwarts' monthly bill.
"Let me guess, this is Harry's rest."
Dumbledore asked.
"Yes, Dumbledore, what do you think of those pure-bloods?"
Kayson nodded and asked in return.
"...Idiots, there are smart people among them, but those smart people don't have good foresight."
Dumbledore said.
"Mind giving a few examples?"
Kayson asked.
"Examples... I'll use the Weasley and the House of Malfoy as examples for you. I'd call the Weasley smart people; they saw that Wizards and Muggles are a common entity, and they are very willing to accept Muggles and Muggle Wizards."
"The idiots are the House of Malfoy; they have a bit of cunning, stirring up trouble in the magical world throughout history, and always escaping being punished. However, this can still only be considered petty cunning. Truly smart people go to great lengths to keep their families from participating in intense power struggles, yet they always get involved, and they enjoy it immensely."
"However, both have a common flaw: arrogance."
After Dumbledore finished speaking, he took a sip of his milkshake and then fell silent.
"....Why aren't you saying anything?"
Kayson asked.
"Why aren't you asking me?"
Dumbledore hummed.
".....Alright, great Headmaster Dumbledore, what then? What exactly is this so-called common flaw of arrogance?"
"I haven't hidden my words; what I said was just superficial arrogance. I won't talk about the House of Malfoy. On the surface, the Weasley are very friendly to Muggles, but they still built The Burrow in the wilderness, far from the Muggle world."
"Without a doubt, they probably couldn't afford a residence in the Muggle world."
Kayson muttered softly.
"Listen to me."
Dumbledore said seriously, "The Weasley are poor now, but when Arthur and Molly first got married, their financial situation wasn't tight, yet they still subconsciously believed that the residences of Wizards and Muggles shouldn't overlap."
"Secondly, Arthur is very fond of Muggles' various mechanical creations, but in reality, this is just a one-sided liking. Arthur uses his magic to disguise some scrap metal as Muggle mechanical creations, yet he is unwilling to personally communicate and learn from Muggles."
"In fact, he has communicated. Ron often tells me that Arthur Weasley gets stuck when he meets Muggles, asking all sorts of questions..."
Kayson once again ruthlessly complained.
Dumbledore took a deep breath: "Are you speaking or am I speaking!"
"You speak, you speak."
"What I mean by communication is systematically learning from Muggle professionals—mechanics, engineers, car repairers—rather than using magic and Alchemy. He naturally assumes that Muggle creations are only good in concept, and their technology is not as powerful as his magic."
Dumbledore re-explained.
"Oh... now I understand."
"You too, Kayson."
Dumbledore continued.
"Huh?"
"I mean, you also have that arrogance of possessing magic."
"Me too?"
"Didn't you research that magic seed before and want to put it into practice? Why do you assume that people with magic must be stronger than ordinary people? Why do you assume everyone will like magic? That's your arrogance."
"Moreover, your arrogance is different from that of the Weasley and the House of Malfoy. Their arrogance is like a stranger's arrogance. The Weasley believe they are stronger than Muggles, so they don't need to learn Muggle technology."
"The House of Malfoy believe they are nobler than Muggles, so they look down on or even belittle Muggles."
"But your arrogance is like a parent's arrogance towards a child. For example, the magic seed, you want everyone to have magic, but are they truly willing? You are making decisions for Muggles."
Kayson nodded in sudden realization: "Understood...."
"In some sense, your arrogance is even more terrifying than theirs, because due to their abilities, at most a few Muggles are looked down upon or pranked."
"But what about you? Honestly, if someone as powerful as you goes astray and no one watches over you, your destruction to the entire world would be something even Tom couldn't compare to."
Dumbledore continued to add insult to injury.
Kayson nodded like a pecking chick: "I know, I know, please stop killing."
"....By the way, why are you asking these questions?"
Dumbledore asked.
Kayson took out a lesson plan from his ring: "A small problem I learned about the first time I participated in an Alchemy exchange."
Saying that, he handed the lesson plan to Dumbledore.
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