Minister Fawley stared at the parchment in front of him, his brow deeply furrowed.

He could already sense how tricky this was going to be.

Because Grindelwald, in his capacity as Senior Advisor, had submitted a proposal.

He suggested revising the Ministry's recruitment standards…

For instance, the Auror recruitment requirements—which currently demanded at least five "Outstanding" scores on the N.E.W.T.s to even qualify for consideration.

But now, Grindelwald was proposing the removal of that restriction, suggesting instead that a designated group of officials create an independent exam. As long as one passed the assessment, they could become an Auror.

Grindelwald's reasoning was compelling. He stated that while it's true joining the Aurors without sufficient skill would be a death sentence, people continue to grow. Graduating from school doesn't mean one stops learning or improving.

Therefore, if someone is denied future advancement solely because of poor academic performance in school, it's fundamentally unfair.

Grindelwald argued that graduates, if they later develop the required skills, should be given a chance—regardless of their previous grades. If they can pass the necessary job assessments, then they're clearly qualified, and their past school records shouldn't matter.

Moreover, the original recruitment standards were also unfair to some of the more traditional wizarding families who chose to homeschool their children instead of sending them to Hogwarts.

On the surface, this proposal looked like a well-meaning reform for the public good, offering everyone a chance to change their destiny.

But… Minister Fawley saw the danger behind it.

Because if the Ministry changed its recruitment policy, then new hires would no longer necessarily be Hogwarts graduates.

And in that case, Grindelwald could begin planting his own people directly into the Ministry.

Fawley had no doubt that Grindelwald's followers included plenty of highly capable individuals.

Thus, Minister Fawley found himself caught in a dilemma.

If he agreed to the reform, then the British Ministry of Magic would become the second magical government—after the American MACUSA—to be infiltrated.

But if he rejected it… the public would be dissatisfied.

After all, there were far too many people who wanted to change their fate, who wanted a chance to advance.

At first, Minister Fawley considered keeping the proposal under wraps for the time being.

However, upon seeing The Global Observer—the newspaper founded by Grindelwald—he immediately realized there was no hiding it.

The proposal had already been published in the paper, and the contents were identical to what was written on the parchment in his hands.

Judging by the timing of when he received the proposal and when the newspaper was released… Sigh..

It was likely that the public had learned of it even before he, the Minister of Magic, had.

After much deliberation, Minister Fawley decided to stall for time.

He had someone inform Grindelwald that he needed to discuss it thoroughly with his subordinates before making a decision.

Fortunately, Grindelwald didn't press the matter and expressed his understanding.

Then, Minister Fawley immediately wrote a letter to Dumbledore...

At this point, he needed more advice!

…

Safehouse.

Tom was engrossed in reading The Global Observer in his hands.

"I say, you're not seriously thinking about becoming a Grindelwald supporter, are you?" Wade suddenly teased.

"Hard to say… Grindelwald really knows how to spin a grand vision. I'm almost convinced," Tom replied, glancing up at Wade.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Tom had the distinct feeling that something about Wade's presence had changed over the past few days.

It felt like… the aura shift caused by a denser magical power.

But he didn't dare ask.

Tom's instincts weren't wrong—Wade had already begun absorbing the "residue" that his Senior had converted.

The "residue" had a dramatic effect on boosting his strength.

Previously, Wade's magical strength had been far below someone like Snape's—only on the level of an average adult wizard.

If it weren't for his flashy spellwork, he wouldn't have been able to last even three seconds in front of Grindelwald…

But now, his magical power had increased dramatically—at least to the level of one and a half Snapes!

And let's not forget, Snape's skill level was already extremely high!

Tom withdrew his gaze, then handed over the newspaper. "Take a look at this. Grindelwald made a proposal to the Ministry… looks like it could be very beneficial to the public. Hmm, everything seems to be going just the way you predicted…"

"Really? That guy's finally doing something good?" Wade cheerfully took the newspaper. "Hmm… what a bountiful day!"

As long as Grindelwald started doing 'good' deeds, no matter what his true intentions were, Wade—as the one who pushed the first domino—would earn a massive amount of merit points.

How could he not be thrilled?

"..."

Wade looked at the newspaper, then immediately checked his merit point balance.

Unfortunately, his merit points hadn't moved at all. There was no sudden spike like he had imagined.

After a moment of thought, Wade understood why.

Grindelwald's proposal hadn't been accepted yet, so there hadn't been any change to his merit points.

Once the proposal was officially adopted, the points would probably go up.

After all, on the surface at least, Grindelwald's suggestion didn't seem to have any major issues.

At the beginning stages of doing real work, Grindelwald couldn't afford to slip in any hidden agendas.

Right now, what he needed most was to rehabilitate his public image.

Besides, the system had never deducted merit points for doing something bad before.

Tom, noticing Wade deep in thought after reading the paper, couldn't help but ask, "Do you think the Ministry will adopt his suggestion? Dumbledore's definitely going to stop him, right?"

Wade smiled. "It doesn't matter whether the Ministry accepts it or not. Even if Dumbledore blocks the proposal, it won't change a thing… The moment we saw that suggestion in the newspaper, Grindelwald had already achieved his goal."

"Why do you say that?" Tom asked.

"Grindelwald's goal was never really to make the Ministry adopt his proposal—it was to make sure the public saw that he was making the proposal in the first place," Wade said with a smile.

"In other words… whether it goes through or not, Grindelwald's image will improve. And if the Ministry rejects it, the public's attention, which was originally on Grindelwald, will shift to the Ministry instead. When it comes to something like this, whoever steps out to block it will be the first to face public outrage."

Hearing this, Tom thought it over and quickly understood the implications.

"Damn.. Then it looks like Grindelwald's really put the British Ministry and Dumbledore in a tough spot… It seems like the only option is to accept the proposal."

Wade sighed. "If they accept it and revise the recruitment policy, it'll make it much easier for the Alliance members to infiltrate the British Ministry…"

"Doesn't that mean the British Ministry will soon end up like the MACUSA?" Tom asked in surprise.

"To be honest, I don't think Grindelwald necessarily intends to use this as an opportunity to infiltrate. Because whether or not the Ministry accepts his proposal, it's only a matter of time before they come under his influence…"

Wade spread his hands, "Even you said his newspaper articles make a lot of sense, and you almost feel like joining the Alliance. So what about those who work around him every day? It wouldn't be surprising if they're already being swayed without even realizing it. He doesn't need to infiltrate at all."

"Woah… If Grindelwald keeps playing it this way, isn't he basically guaranteed to win?" Tom looked at Wade with a complicated expression.

If he remembered correctly, the idea for Grindelwald's change in tactics had originally come from Wade!

Wade replied, "Guaranteed win? Maybe not, but doing this gives him a solid base to stand on. He's earning public support…"

Tom fell silent.

________

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