How Many Years Has It Been? They’re Still Digging?

Adam Apparated to the Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Magic. Seeing Eugene buried in a pile of documents as if everything were perfectly normal, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?"

Since Eugene was fine, Bernard was clearly fine too. There was no need to be so anxious.

"Ah, you got here so quickly."

Eugene froze for a moment, then looked up at Adam. After a few seconds, he finally remembered what this was about. He picked up a document beside him and handed it over.

"Take a look at this. What should we do?"

"Hm? You can decide things like this yourselves. Why show it to me…"

Adam opened the document. The first thing that caught his eye was a picture taking up nearly half the page. The scene in it felt strangely familiar.

"Huh? This pit… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before…"

With Adam’s current abilities, none of his past memories had faded in the slightest with time. Even memories he had once forgotten had become clear again. He quickly found the memory corresponding to the enormous pit.

"The Hanging Gardens Ruins?!"

Adam suddenly understood. He really hadn’t remembered it before…

It was not that he had forgotten, but that he had overlooked it. After all, in his memory, this had happened years ago. It should have been resolved by now, shouldn’t it?

But this document…

"How many years has it been? They’re still excavating those ruins?"

Adam flipped through the document from beginning to end, then closed it with a complicated expression and placed it on the desk.

"So, the Ministry of Magic’s current exploration progress in the ruins is zero, and the people sent in before have been trapped in the Hanging Gardens Ruins for years?"

Seriously… were all the Ministries of Magic around the world this useless?

"Ah, even the last group that entered together with the French and German Ministries of Magic has been out of contact for over two years. None of the earlier groups ever sent back any news either."

Eugene was somewhat helpless as well. Unlike Adam, he had genuinely forgotten about this. Back then, all his attention had been on his parents and Adam.

If the person who had brought him this document had not explained the situation because they had not expected him to know about the Hanging Gardens Ruins, he truly would not have remembered.

"…So what do they want now? Are they asking you to rescue them?"

Adam’s mouth twitched. So many years had passed without a single message, and it was such a dangerous place. Rescue them? Rescue what?

"Not exactly. The Ministry of Magic has long since presumed that everyone who entered the Hanging Gardens Ruins is dead."

Eugene shook his head. He would not have held out hope even if his own parents had been trapped inside for two years, much less when those people were merely colleagues and subordinates to the Ministry of Magic.

"Then why did they bring this document to you…"

"They want me to decide the Ministry of Magic’s future stance toward the Hanging Gardens Ruins."

Eugene spread his hands.

"Although the Hanging Gardens Ruins have now become a treasure that only devours people in the eyes of the Ministries of Magic, and no one has gotten any benefit from them…"

As Eugene spoke, he swallowed. That oarfish from the Hanging Gardens Ruins tasted surprisingly good when deep-fried and then dry-fried, and it was huge, too.

"Let’s have dry-fried oarfish tonight."

"Sure."

Eugene answered instinctively, then froze. How did Adam know what he had been thinking?

But Adam always seemed able to tell what they wanted to eat, so it was fine.

Without dwelling on it further, Eugene continued.

"Although people generally believe no one has gained anything from the ruins, a treasure that devours people is still a treasure. Obviously, no one wants anyone else to benefit from it, so the Ministries of Magic of every country are still stationed near the Hanging Gardens Ruins."

Coming away empty-handed was certainly frustrating, but it would be truly agonizing if another country’s Ministry of Magic found something. With that mindset, the people sent by the various Ministries of Magic had never returned.

The most representative example was probably the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Its president had led elite personnel to station themselves there, keeping watch on who might obtain the treasure within the ruins.

But maintaining a presence there was clearly an expense. Setting aside the supplies consumed by those personnel, they had originally all been official Ministry of Magic employees.

It would have been fine for the previous Ministry of Magic, but after the current Ministry went through a purge, there were massive staffing vacancies. Even after Eugene filled them with his own people, he had only managed to cover roughly thirty to forty percent of the openings. Recalling those stationed there would greatly ease the Ministry’s current staffing pressure.

"Hmm…"

Adam fell into thought. At first, he had wanted to say they should simply call them back. Staying there only cost money and brought no gains. Even if another force really obtained the treasure, so what? Could they possibly be stronger than him?

But after hearing Eugene’s later remarks, he hesitated. Eugene could currently maintain absolute control over the Ministry of Magic because its personnel were mainly made up of members from the camp Eugene had once led, along with the remaining Ministry employees unconnected to Voldemort’s faction.

After being screened by both the Ministry of Magic and the Death Eaters, the former group consisted almost entirely of people who trusted Eugene completely.

The latter group had generally not held high positions within the Ministry of Magic, which was why they had escaped corruption and elimination when the entire Ministry fell under Voldemort’s control. During their previous conflict with Eugene, they had also come to trust him considerably.

But the Ministry employees stationed beside the Hanging Gardens Ruins were different. They might not even know that so many changes had taken place in the Ministry. They had no foundation of trust in Eugene, and bringing them back would likely weaken Eugene’s control over the Ministry.

That would not help Eugene’s plan to establish a new system in the slightest. On the contrary, it would create interference.

Adam could directly crush all opposition and sweep through the world undefeated, but even then, he needed a just cause. At the same time, Eugene needed to maintain a relatively righteous and honorable image. If possible, they should avoid leaving serious stains during the process of governing.

Sure enough, Eugene brought up this very issue next. The preliminary idea he and Bernard had discussed was to call those people back only after everything had settled.

"I called you here partly to tell you about this, and partly because I wanted to know whether recalling them would cause any serious consequences. If it would, then we won’t call them back."

Eugene knew that when Adam had gone to the Hanging Gardens Ruins, it had been about as dangerous for him as visiting his backyard. But he did not know whether Adam had put on a brave face back then just to reassure him. Nor did he know what exactly was inside the Hanging Gardens Ruins, since Adam had not gone there to explore them in the first place.

If there really was something extraordinary within the Hanging Gardens Ruins, then the Ministry’s stationed personnel did not necessarily have to be recalled.

"Hmm… I really don’t know what’s inside the Hanging Gardens Ruins. I’ll go ask about it later."

Adam remembered that Professor Dumbledore seemed to know something about the Hanging Gardens Ruins.

"As for whether it’ll cause serious consequences, don’t worry. No matter what’s inside, or who obtains it, I can handle it."

Adam’s words were certainly arrogant, but Eugene felt nothing but a profound sense of security upon hearing them.

"Then it’s settled."