Chapter 686: 686: Fired Malfoy, Giddy John

"Fired?"

John saw Malfoy pouring out his grievances through the badge, and his expression immediately turned strange.

"Who had the courage to do that?"

Was the person who fired Malfoy blind?

Had they not known.. His father was Lucius Malfoy, the first chairman of the Quidditch Wizarding League.

Offending him was practically pushing the team straight into a fire pit.

John almost wanted to applaud whoever had made the decision.

Others might not realise it, but John could already guess that the man was probably about to be thoroughly cursed out.

Because...

Lucius, who had just secured the position of chairman, was sitting on the sofa with a cane engraved with three stars in his hand.

He looked curiously at John's strange expression, as though there was something difficult to explain.

But with joy still filling him, Lucius temporarily decided not to dwell on it.

Smiling, he said, "Tonight, I'll be hosting a club reception at Malfoy Manor. If Lord Wick is free, I hope you can honour us with your presence."

A club reception?

The heads of every club in the country would be attending.

John smiled and nodded.

"I'll be there."

"That would be wonderful."

Lucius looked delighted.

Then, remembering his son, he said proudly, "I believe in Draco's ability. By now, he should already be receiving considerable attention from the team."

"Mm-hm."

John nodded.

Yes, considerable attention indeed.

After all, he had been fired in front of everyone.

John could only wonder how Lucius would react once he found out his son had been pushed out.

That evening.

John stood in front of a mirror and used his wand to change the colour of his clothes from purple to green.

Tommy watched the smile on his Lord's face and could not understand why he seemed so pleased.

"My Lord, what are you smiling about?"

"I thought of something amusing."

Tommy: "..."

Do you hear yourself?

After changing into an ornate green robe, John smiled at Tommy.

"There'll be something entertaining to watch tonight."

With that, John left the manor.

A luxurious carriage drawn by Thestrals was waiting outside.

He stepped inside.

After running for a short distance, the Thestrals took to the air.

...

Malfoy Manor.

The already luxurious estate had been made even more magnificent.

A white peacock let out a pleasant cry.

Carriages streamed in and out of the grounds.

One of them belonged to Puddlemere United.

Inside the carriage, the current owner, Harding Puddlemere Jr., was reminding team captain Espen,

"The new chairman is someone who cares greatly about appearances. Make sure you don't offend him."

"I understand, Mr. Puddlemere."

Espen nodded repeatedly.

Anyone with eyes could see the enormous benefits this league system would bring.

And the other man was the first chairman, a position with historic significance.

Offending him would bring nothing good.

Puddlemere United now had little more than its ancient reputation.

In major competitions, its strength had remained awkwardly stuck somewhere in the middle.

Its ranking was only fourth.

If they could not win the match two days from now, they would lose the right to compete for a place in the final.

That had already made Harding Puddlemere Jr. somewhat anxious.

Dressed formally, the club representatives stepped down from their carriages.

Most of them knew one another, and some even had old grudges between them.

But tonight, everyone had to give Lucius face, so no one caused trouble.

After entering Malfoy Manor, Harding could not help sighing.

"As expected of the Malfoys, the foremost ancient family."

"Malfoy?"

Espen froze.

For some reason, an arrogant and infuriating face immediately appeared in his mind.

"Mr. Malfoy."

A voice rang out.

Lucius had appeared.

Dressed magnificently, he swept his gaze across the crowd, searching for someone.

He did not see John.

"Welcome."

Lucius wore his usual proud expression as he slowly approached.

The others immediately began flattering him.

The reception soon got underway.

As time passed, Espen became increasingly uneasy.

The heads of the various clubs discussed their star players, while some subtly sounded out what rival clubs thought of certain players.

Just as Espen finally began to relax and thought nothing was going to happen, Lucius walked over.

He wore a smile, which immediately gave Harding more confidence in his ancient club.

"Mr. Puddlemere, I believe we've met before."

"Haha, yes. We met at the Department of Magical Games and Sports last time."

The two began chatting.

As the conversation continued, Lucius suddenly asked, "By the way, how has Draco been doing in training with your club?"

"Young Mr. Malfoy is extremely talented. Isn't that right, Espen?" Harding said with a smile.

Back then, he had very perceptively recruited the Malfoy heir into the team precisely in the hope that one day it would help him establish a connection with Lucius.

But when Espen was called upon, he looked as though he were sitting on needles.

Cold sweat covered his face.

"Espen?" Harding looked at him strangely. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, no. Well... maybe a little."

Espen began speaking incoherently, unsure what to say.

Harding looked confused.

Lucius, however, magnanimously said, "It's fine. I imagine he's simply a little nervous."

"No need to worry. You're Draco's captain. Just think of me as an elder."

Lucius looked extremely amiable.

"By the way, how has Draco been performing at the club?" Lucius asked gently. "I've already acquired three clubs, yet he still insisted on developing on his own."

He looked helpless, though the pride on his face was impossible to hide.

After all, no parent wanted their child to live entirely off the family, even if the family had more than enough wealth for it.

Draco had been training desperately, but as his father, Lucius knew nothing about it.

So he hoped someone could tell him.

But the more kindly Lucius spoke, the more violently Espen began trembling.

Eventually, his reaction became so obvious that even Lucius noticed something was wrong.

Lucius's expression turned cold.

"Mr. Puddlemere, your captain doesn't seem to be in very good condition."

Harding opened his mouth and was just about to speak when someone walked in from outside.

"Lord Wick."

Lucius's attention immediately shifted away.

Espen was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when everyone in the room turned their attention toward the absurdly young man who had just entered.

The club owners who were usually so high and mighty now hesitated, some of them not quite daring to approach.

John walked over to Lucius and smiled.

"I haven't congratulated you yet, Lucius."

"Lord Wick, your presence alone is enough to satisfy me."

A smile had just appeared on Lucius's lips when John's next words froze it in place.

"Hm? I was congratulating you because those clubs you bought finally have a use."

John smiled wickedly, then looked toward the confused Harding.

"Draco happens to be without a team now. You can let him choose one."

"W-Without a team?"

Lucius froze.

So did Harding.

John deliberately looked puzzled.

"Why do you look so surprised, Puddlemere? Wasn't Draco fired by you?"

"Fired?"

A chill appeared in Lucius's eyes.

"Wait! I didn't know anything about this!"

Harding hurriedly distanced himself from the matter, then turned toward Espen and roared,

"What did you do behind my back?!"

At this point, Harding was just like Espen, his back drenched in cold sweat.

Are you trying to get me killed?

I went through all that trouble to recruit Draco Malfoy ahead of everyone else, and now the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards is telling me he was fired?

Under the gazes of the three powerful men, Espen collapsed onto the floor.

He could not hold it together any longer.

"I... I didn't know he actually had the backing to be that arrogant."

Espen hurriedly explained everything that had happened that day.

Harding practically wanted to pull out his wand and hit him with the Killing Curse.

Draco won, and because the starting Seeker got angry, you fired him?

Are you trying to give me a heart attack?

"Forget the backing; he also has the skills to be that arrogant." John fanned the fire from the sidelines while suppressing his laugh.

"Very good. Very good indeed."

Lucius slowly clapped his hands with a cold smile.

"I must say, Puddlemere United is truly impressive."

He turned to leave.

"Wait, Mr. Malfoy!"

Harding hurried after him.

"Dismissal requires the owner's signature. I didn't know anything about this, so technically, he was never actually fired!"

"No need. My son clearly has difficulty fitting into the ancient Puddlemere United," Lucius said with a sneer. "The Malfoy family has not fallen so far that we need to depend on others."

Harding's face turned pale.

"Lucius."

John spoke at that moment.

Lucius stopped.

John said calmly, "Since Mr. Puddlemere didn't know about it, let's leave it at that. Draco has already put a great deal of effort into preparing for the league."

His generous response immediately filled Harding with relief.

Lucius thought about it as well.

His son had trained so hard. He could not let all that effort go to waste because of this incident.

John added meaningfully, "But Draco really shouldn't have to suffer under someone else's control."

Harding understood immediately.

Without hesitation, he spun around and roared at Espen, "You're fired!"

"From this moment onward, Draco Malfoy is the starting Seeker."

He gave a bitter smile.

"I truly didn't know, Lord Wick, Mr. Malfoy."

Lucius stared at him for a moment before turning to John.

"May I invite you to have a drink with me, Lord Wick?"

"Of course."

John smiled.

The two of them left together, neither paying any further attention to Harding.

Harding stood there and muttered to himself, "All that effort... ruined."

He genuinely wanted to execute Rush and Espen.

The connection he had worked so hard to establish was completely gone.

And now he still had to treat Draco Malfoy like a treasure.

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