HP: The Root of Everything - The Magician

Xia Ke transformed into a dragon and, enveloped by a shielding spell, flew from Oxford to London at an extremely fast speed, taking less than ten minutes.

Karl Castle is brightly lit all night, as the Karl family welcomes a rare family member.

Andri, Yeva, Sibilan, and Qiluoluo arrived at the Karl family's castle early using teleportation, waiting for Teach to arrive after he finished his business.

At first, the servants of ordinary humans were terrified when they saw the four people suddenly appear. They wanted to go out and call the police immediately, but they were stopped by Andri and the others.

After the steward presented the explanation written by Teach, the head of the household, the servants present were skeptical.

The butler was a cautious and capable man. He could tell that the four people were not to be trifled with, so he nodded on the surface, but secretly slipped out of the castle to go to the police station to report the incident.

But the result... was something he never expected and was dumbfounded to happen. The police officers who came to investigate became dazed at Andri's wave, and then left the castle like puppets under the command of Andri and the others.

No matter how the butler shouted or pulled, it was all in vain.

At this point, the servants in the castle truly realized that Andri and the others... were not simple. So, regardless of whether they were members of the Karl family or not, the steward could only treat them well for the time being and wait for Teach to make the final decision.

Seeing that the castle had been reached, Teach, who was on the dragon's back, said to Shake from high above, "Remove the shielding spell. There's no need to worry about being seen by ordinary people in the castle."

As a rumbling sound and the sensation of an earthquake came from the garden lawn, Andrei and his three companions put down their teacups and late-night snacks, and went to the courtyard with their ever-present butler.

Upon seeing Teach fly down from the dragon's back, Andri and the other three knelt on one knee, bowed their heads in greeting, and said in unison, "Welcome back, Master."

With the butler, an outsider, present, and many servants watching intently from the castle windows, Teach accepted Andrei and his companions' kneeling in compliance with these formalities.

"Get up, everyone. We're family. Why be so formal and formal?" Teach raised his hand, saying polite words.

As the butler bowed to Teach, his head remained fixed on Shake's dragon form. Then, as he watched Shake gradually transform back into a female human, he immediately felt that he must be hallucinating.

Humans cannot be dragons that are 'non-existent' in legends.

But reality is often so sudden, just like when 17-year-old Teach Carr saw Hagrid and Harry Potter after leaving the phone booth.

At this moment, the butler's outlook on life, values, and worldview were shattered and overturned when Xia Ke looked at him with disdain: [Who can tell me, after living an ordinary life for most of my life, what... exactly is going on?]

The servants on the windowsill saw Xia Ke transform from a dragon into a human more clearly than the butler.

In a moment of jaw-dropping silence, they suddenly began whispering amongst themselves. Some were afraid, some were skeptical, and some were completely disbelieving. But most of them were excited.

Excitement filled their ordinary lives as they witnessed a dragon that seemed to exist only in mythology.

A mundane life needs excitement, and the mere presence of such excitement can be exhilarating.

For example, these excited servants were so excited that their faces turned red and they couldn't control themselves. They were shaking their friends around them like crazy, talking incoherently and trying to express their excitement about the scene.

Teach was also very understanding. After the servants' excitement subsided, he waved his hand and said, "Everyone, gather in the castle hall. The patriarch has something to announce."

Teach stopped as he passed the butler, who was still staring blankly at Shake, and patted him on the shoulder, praising him, "Mr. Lauter, you did a good job. I just heard about how you handled it from Andrei. Very good."

......

In the hall, Teach Carr sat regally in the main seat on the steps.

Shake sat next to Teach as the hostess, followed by Andri and Yeva.

The sisters, Xi Bilan and Qi Luoluo, sat on the other side.

Tichy looked down at the servants standing below and counted them. Corey Bab had hired 31 maids, 10 male servants, and one butler for him.

Although the number of servants may sound like a lot, cleaning the nearly 1,000 rooms in the Karl family's huge castle, which has been passed down for hundreds of years, is a physically demanding task.

After a short while, Teach, having given a stern look to the servants, began to speak: "...You should all find me, the head of the family, quite unfamiliar. After all, in the past two years, including this time, I've only returned twice."

“However, from this day forward, this castle of my Karl family will no longer stand idle, for before you stand members of my Karl family.”

After Teach introduced Andri and the other four to each of them, he moved on to the main topic of this servants' gathering.

"As the head of the family, I solemnly ask you this question: do you still wish to hold positions within the Karl family?"

"Once you assume your posts, you will be servants of the Karl family, servants for life."

"This question is very important to my Karl family, and even more important to you. So you should think it over carefully. Once you make a decision, you can't go back on it."

Teach did not tell these servants what benefits they would receive after joining, because the benefits had already been given when Shake appeared before them in the form of a dragon.

Any intelligent person with a flexible mindset should be able to imagine the incredible changes that would occur in their life after joining.

A lifelong servant—that's the price these people have to pay.

Those who are unwilling to put in the effort will gain nothing more than the wages they receive upon being laid off. Their lives will continue in the mundane reality of raising children, leading uneventful and unexciting lives.

In the utter silence where you could hear a pin drop.

In the oppressive atmosphere of making difficult choices.

The first person to make a decision was Lauter, the gray-haired butler.

Lauter stepped out from among the servants and addressed the family head, Teach, and the five members of the Carl family on the stage, declaring in a powerful voice, "I, Lauter Kay, am willing to join the Carl family and serve them for life."

Lauter's willingness to join was somewhat unexpected for Teach, as this steward was considered very rational among the servants.

A rational person would generally not gamble away their lifelong freedom for a benefit they only imagine in their mind.

As for the reason, Teach had no interest in knowing, so he smiled and nodded at Lauter, indicating that he should stand aside and wait.

Among the servants torn by their choice, the second person stepped forward, followed by the third, the fourth... the seventh...

Having made his choice, Teach ordered Andrei to cast a forgetting spell on the still hesitant servants, and then dismissed these wavering people who were unwilling to pay the price but greedily sought benefits.

In the castle hall, there are 15 maids and 7 male servants willing to pay the price of their freedom.

These people were all people who showed unusual excitement after seeing Xia Ke's demonic dragon body.

"Very good~, very good, you are all very good," Teach said loudly with satisfaction as he looked at the people below the stage.

"You are willing to pay the price for your choices for the rest of your lives, so as the current head of the Karl family, I promise you here and now that you... will not regret the choices you made tonight."

"You are about to begin a new chapter in your lives."

"Believe me......".