"Hey, Dumbledore, do you recognize this kind of magic?" Kasenhis suddenly remembered something and handed both the trident in his hand and the monocle perched above his eye socket to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore took the monocle in one hand, glanced at the trident, and shook his head. "You can't expect an old man to know every kind of magic in the world."

"Tch, so useless.. and here I was hoping to take a shortcut." Kasen sighed helplessly, put the monocle back on, and stored away the trident again. His upgrade plan would have to wait until the current mess was over—at least until after they returned from Romania.

After pulling Harry aside for a brief private conversation, Dumbledore headed back to Hogwarts. With the adults gone, the day once again belonged to the young.

"…I still want to go to the beach," Sirius suggested.

"No problem—on the condition you don't drag Harry into anything questionable," Lupin said sternly.

"Oh, of course, of course. Honestly, what kind of person do you all take me for?" Sirius said as he pushed Harry by the shoulder and steered him out of the room.

"And you?" With the other two gone, Lupin turned to Kasen.

"If I remember right, this hotel has a bar, yeah?" Kasen suggested.

"Mm… let's go!" Lupin was silent for a moment, then agreed without hesitation.

.......

The next morning…

All four of them got up early. After checking out, they walked into a remote little forest on Sicily.

"Do we really have to take that wooden toy plane again? I think a broomstick or the flying train would be better—at least they wouldn't get struck by lightning," Harry said, still a little shaken.

"But facts prove my plane only lost two propellers, which is already very safe. And these days, security checks are a problem—you really don't want to explain to airport staff how that complicated contraption inside your wrist got there," Kasen replied.

"Ugh, fine…" Harry muttered, plopping down on a tree stump with zero enthusiasm. But soon, his eyes widened again—because he saw, clear as day, Kasen assembling a twin-propeller plane out of a pile of completely unrelated materials, like he was snapping together LEGO bricks.

The plane had a frustratingly cute look to it… and a huge, mismatched wing for one of the propellers.

"Relax. If the propeller really does break again this time, we can still use these wings to glide all the way to Romania," Kasen said, making a joke that wasn't particularly funny.

"Want me to lend you my coat?" Sirius asked Harry.

"I'm used to it," Harry replied.

"..."

Soon enough, the four of them were back on the plane.

Since there was no runway available, this time they opted for helicopter mode.

Sitting in the back seat, Harry once again asked a question. "Professor, where's the power source for this plane of yours?"

"You're all the same—it absorbs the magic that leaks out from wizards' bodies as energy. Clean and environmentally friendly," Kasen explained.

"Huh? Doesn't a machine like this get disrupted by magic like regular machinery does? Ordinary alchemy devices can't operate in places with dense magic—it increases the failure rate."

"What do you take me for, some third-rate alchemist? You think I'd make such a rookie mistake? This kind of traditional machinery can handle intense contact with magic—maybe it could even fill the gap left by the wizarding world's complete lack of mechanisation!" Kasen retorted.

"But does the wizarding world even need automation? The entire magical population of England isn't even five figures," Sirius said, not quite understanding the point.

"It's absolutely necessary. For example, someone like Severus, a master potioneer, would need half a year to brew a single batch of Felix Felicis. But if we used mechanical automation—infusing the production line with the magic of potioneers—we could massively increase potion output. Even potion ingredient processing could be entirely handled by machines."

"That's way more efficient than having a wizard cast skinning charms over and over on tiny ingredients."

"Or we could mass-produce alchemy equipment—like broomsticks, or all kinds of defensive gear. That way, freed-up wizards could actually enjoy the benefits of developed productivity—do what they truly want, research magic, explore the world, pursue love and poetry…"

"Wow… I feel like I just heard something dangerous… But wait—wouldn't that mean pure-blood families couldn't make money anymore? They'd never agree to it," Sirius said, promptly pouring a bucket of cold water on the idea.

"At that point, there might not even be a handful of pure-blood families left. Our final task would just be to prevent any new ones from forming. I think that's doable—at least for Dumbledore," Kasen explained.

"Oh… Well, I wish you luck, that's all I can say… But stopping new pure-blood families from emerging is the hardest part. A million times harder than so-called magical automation," Sirius said.

"Why?"

"Because you can't stop people from longing for what they see as a good life—even if, to others, that so-called good life isn't all that good."

"Maybe. In the savage ages, everyone was equal—equally starving and equally used as chew toys by tigers and lions. Now, in modern wage-slavery, people are ranked by class, but at least you can get food delivered with a phone call… Which life is better? That's a philosophical question."

"At least I hope you succeed."

"Same here—just a hope."

........

Italy and Romania aren't especially far apart—at least not for a plane. For this DIY little plane, though, it wasn't exactly close either.

Still, after landing in a secluded spot, they managed to find a small restaurant to enjoy lunch before taking off again.

Following the address Dumbledore had given them, they flew along, sightseeing as they went, until the little plane slowly passed through a thin magical barrier—suddenly, it was as if they'd entered another world.

Kasen ignored the twisted, sprawled-out dragons lying all over the ground. Instead, his eyes went to the tiny black dots of people below, each holding a glowing wand and waving it toward them.

"Professor? Is this Romania's dragon reserve?" Harry asked, looking at the dragons lying belly-up everywhere.

"Obviously, yes."

_________

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