Royal Meeting

Josh had no idea that casually exchanging a few words with Dumbledore had brought him benefits he had never anticipated. It had never even crossed his mind, so it could only be considered an unexpected gain.

Josh returned to his previous routine of attending classes, training, and sparring with Garen. Though monotonous, he did not find it too boring. At the very least, he could tease Natasha and Garen when he had nothing to do, and sometimes bully Harry and Malfoy when they came to clean his office.

For some reason, Josh noticed that Malfoy seemed to have become a completely different person after listening in on his conversation with Dumbledore—not that he had not changed before, but this time, the change seemed far more thorough.

For example, while maintaining the bearing of an aristocrat, he had also formed friendships with Muggle-born young wizards from every House. If Josh had not known him, he would have thought this was simply Malfoy’s personality. After all, this guy had once openly called Hermione a Mudblood.

In this world, that word was an extremely vicious insult, used specifically by aristocratic wizards to mock wizards born to Muggle families. It was easy to imagine just how arrogant and vile he had been before. Josh had been young back then, but seeing it had made him furious enough to want to go over and beat Malfoy senseless. But now…

"Looks like my influence is a little too great."

Josh stroked his chin. Although he found it somewhat strange, he found it even more interesting. Besides, he thought there was nothing wrong with changing this world. Whether they feared him or genuinely respected him, Josh was perfectly satisfied.

"Anyway, this is exactly the effect I wanted. Having one’s own ideas is a good thing. But the interest groups in this world seem to have been suppressed by Voldemort until they can barely breathe."

Josh truly did not care about their attitudes, nor did he care whether they listened to him. What he wanted to be was the maker of rules, not a manager who managed people. As long as they stayed within the bounds of his rules, Josh would not interfere. If they dared overstep or violate them, Dumbledore and the others would probably crush them before Josh even had to act.

But now, it seemed these people were easier to conquer than Josh had imagined. For that, he really had to thank Voldemort. Of course, the meditation method Josh had given them was simply too important. If they disobeyed him, they would have no way to obtain it, so they could only submit.

"Should I thank Voldemort somehow? Put up a tombstone for him after he dies, perhaps?"

Josh thought about it idly, but he soon stopped paying attention to such matters. He was preparing to take Howard to Buckingham Palace. Dumbledore and several Ministry of Magic members would be accompanying them as well. These people had apparently heard that Josh was going and had voluntarily offered to act as intermediaries.

Josh did not understand how they had learned of his plans, but he had not exactly kept it secret, so it was no surprise that they knew. Dumbledore was a little embarrassed as well, but when he thought about how Josh had never cared to hide anything, he let it go.

Though Dumbledore had the final say at the school, many of the governors and students came from aristocratic families. Once he thought about it, it all made sense. Dumbledore even knew right away who had probably passed on the news. Still, considering Draco’s recent behavior, he was quite pleased.

After all, they were all his students and all people of the same world. He did not want them to appear stiff, humble, and divided before Josh. He might not have felt this way in the past, when it had merely been a matter between nations, but now it had gone beyond the question of worlds.

"So, we’re going to meet the Queen of the United Kingdom now?"

"Yes. Why?"

"No, it’s just that I didn’t expect the United Kingdom to have another Queen. Then again, George VI probably did not have much choice. She’s only a little older than the one I remember."

"It’s not exactly unusual."

Howard was still somewhat excited. After all, Europeans had a certain sentiment about such things. When Westerners faced royalty, especially royal families with long histories, they always felt something difficult to describe. In a sense, they had once been one family. Historically speaking.

Josh understood Howard’s feelings, but he truly could not relate to them. Then again, he had been Asian in his previous life and had never been interested in learning about this sort of thing. Even after arriving in another world, he had become a prince directly, so he had even less reason to feel that way.

You’re royalty? Sorry, you’re just a mascot preserved by certain traditions after the Glorious Revolution. You don’t possess even the slightest political power. Josh had no regard for them. Though he had not exactly done well on the Muya Continent, he was still a prince—a prince of an empire with real power, and a lord with real authority.

Thus, Josh was far calmer than Howard. And it was not just him; even Dumbledore was extremely composed. So what if they were royalty? They were merely people, albeit people deserving a little more respect. The Ministry of Magic personnel cared even less.

"All right, Howard. Once you become a mage, you won’t feel so strongly about these so-called royals. Even if you only become a wizard, you’ll already be an existence far beyond them. There’s no need to get so excited."

"All right. I’m still only at the stage of being enlightened by you people, so it’s perfectly normal for me to keep thinking this way."

"So what? It’s not as if she’ll knight you."

"Maybe she would in my world."

"Who the hell knows."

After casually teasing Howard for a few moments, Josh saw that everyone had arrived and directly opened a portal. As his mastery of Spatial magic grew more proficient, combined with Akathosh’s guidance, he no longer needed to imitate the structure of a Void Gate to cast a portal.

With a casual wave of his hand, something resembling a vortex appeared before them. Though perhaps Silver Hole was a more fitting name—it somewhat resembled a black hole, yet it was formed from silver energy.

Josh was quite satisfied with this simplified spell. First, it consumed far less energy than before. Second, it was incredibly convenient to cast. It required no chanting or casting time at all. As before, it still required advance positioning, but when he had a target, Josh only needed to lock onto it.

None of them wanted to use Floo Powder. Setting aside how undignified it was to emerge from someone else’s fireplace, they were not ordinary wizards. Put bluntly, they were all people of standing in the magical world—except Howard. Even the attendants sent by the Ministry of Magic belonged to the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

One by one, they passed through the portal. The people sent by the Ministry of Magic hesitated slightly, but soon walked through as well. The scene shifted, and Josh’s group quickly found themselves in a magnificently decorated palace. Not far ahead sat a woman who appeared to be in her fifties and a middle-aged man.

Everyone, Josh included, recognized the two immediately. They were the Queen and her son, Charles. Though they differed somewhat from the people in Josh’s memories, they were still easy enough to recognize. In particular, Josh looked at Charles with a touch of sympathy.

To be honest, this guy really had it rough. Leaving aside the truth of what had happened with Princess Diana, she had certainly caused him no end of trouble. Then there was the issue of raising their children. Because she had broken with tradition, she had faced endless criticism, and he had also had an affair.

Josh did not think Princess Diana had done anything wrong in that regard. Though she had broken with tradition when it came to education, Josh thought it had allowed her children to live better lives and make more friends. She had also acted rationally regarding the affair, but unfortunately, she died in a car accident.

Though it was unclear whether the British royal family had been involved, intelligent people knew that doing something like that would have been a devastating blow to the royal family. Royal family members generally received excellent educations and would not do something so idiotic.

Understanding was one thing, but public opinion always followed whatever drew the most attention. So Prince Charles was unfortunate enough to suffer greatly from it. Even before Josh transmigrated, those conspiracy theories had never stopped. And that was not even the unluckiest part. The unluckiest thing was his mother.

He was already seventy, yet his mother was still alive and well, with no intention of abdicating. This was not the Muya Continent; their lifespans were not that long. Josh had wondered more than once whether this guy would even live to see the day.

But none of that was Josh’s concern. Back then, he had merely been a spectator who enjoyed the drama.

"Welcome, friends from the other side of the world."

The Queen rose with a smile. She was astonished by the manner of their arrival—though the wizards assigned to protect her had already told her about it, seeing it for the first time still filled her with heartfelt amazement. However, she suppressed that emotion and spoke with poised courtesy.

"Thank you very much for welcoming us, Your Majesty."

Dumbledore and the others immediately bent slightly in a bow to show their respect. Though they were wizards and mages, they still had to show respect before a monarch. However, one person did not follow their example: Josh. He had no particular reverence to offer, merely giving a slight nod before leaving it at that.

This made Dumbledore feel a little awkward, but when he considered Josh’s identity, he accepted it. He completely understood why Josh did not think much of the royal family, and he even agreed with Josh’s manner of showing acknowledgement. But this was someone else’s palace. There was nothing technically wrong with it, but it was still awkward.

"You must be the long-renowned Augustus, am I right? It is a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for coming to our world."

The Queen quickly noticed Josh’s bearing. She had been deeply concerned with what lay on the other side of this world. Since childhood, her parents had told her that the world was not so simple.

Now that someone from another world—or rather, a visitor from another planet—had appeared, she was naturally very curious. Furthermore, every wizard assigned to protect her had spoken in awe of this young man’s wonders. He had especially dealt with the most terrifying person in the British magical world and brought even more astonishing changes. This made the Queen even more interested.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. Just call me Josh."

PS1: Thank you to reader Huang Xiyun for the donation~ Thank you!

PS: Holy shit, Rang rammed into Ruler with his car and sent him flying, and the match was over? Incredible, incredible!