Ivan took no notice of Pierce's flattery. The plan was perfect, but it would only fool outsiders.
For example, the Dark Lord would definitely notice that something was wrong, and the Nort, who had mysteriously disappeared before the war, would be a huge threat…
Fortunately, the worst was over, and he had the entire Ministry under his control.
Add to that the fact that the newspaper's outlets had been controlled in advance, and even if someone did see something, they would not be able to do anything about it.
Ivan's tense expression relaxed a little at the thought. He shook his head and interrupted Pierce, who was still trying to suck up to him.
"Never mind the useless stuff. What about casualties and losses? Have you tallied everything? I want all the data…"
"As I've asked, there were approximately six hundred wizards and witches involved in the battle, of which one hundred and twenty-seven were lightly injured, ninety-four were seriously injured, and two hundred and forty-five were killed. In addition, some of the ruins are still being cleared, so it's possible that there were some omissions…"
Pierce's face grew grave. The sheer number of casualties was a major headache for him as Minister for Magic.
"So many dead?" Yvonne was more or less surprised. He had taken steps to reduce casualties before the war.
For example, the protective ring that had been sold to the Aurors, or the order for the Death Eaters to stop fighting and to go straight to Fudge and behead him.
As for himself, although he released a lot of powerful magic during the battle, it was all for show. He was actually holding back when he saw the grand scene. He was only focused on killing traitors and destroying buildings.
Seeing Ivan's confusion, Pierce quickly explained.
Most of the two hundred and forty-five wizards who died were Azkaban prisoners, with Aurors and Ministry of Magic clerks making up only a small portion of the total, sixty-seven of whom died fighting the Death Eaters.
Ivan then realised that he had personally given the order to kill the Death Eaters in order to prevent Lord Voldemort from breaking them out of prison again, thereby ruining the operation and saving the Ministry a lot of money.
As for the loss of more than eighty friendly wizards, Ivan was heartbroken, but barely able to accept it.
Although he was kind-hearted, he was not an indecisive person!
Some sacrifices were necessary to defeat Lord Voldemort and turn the tables on him, and this plan was the least costly of the many he could think of!
Ivan knew very well that if he continued to be as negative as he had been in previous years, Lord Voldemort would increase his infiltration of the Ministry and use official power against him, and unless he disowned the Regulators and proved his innocence, there would be a hundred percent chance of a new conflict breaking out over time.
When that happened, it would not be a matter of one or two hundred wizards dying. The Second British Wizarding War would immediately break out and the wizarding community would be plunged into misery and suffering…
Ivan could not accept the fact that Lord Voldemort, the main culprit, was able to hide in the shadows and reap the benefits of the battle. Therefore, he decided to make the first move and trick the other party!
Ivan sighed at the thought, then continued. "All those who died in the battle were heroes of the wizarding community, and were paid triple their pensions, as well as an additional three months' pay as a reward for those who were injured or involved in the battle."
Ivan could not bring the dead back to life, but an extra pension would give the families of the dead a guarantee.
Pierce was, of course, fine with the idea. With the Ministry in such a state of panic following the Great War, a bit more welfare could help rally the population.
Even if Ivan hadn't ordered it, he would have, except…
Pierce couldn't help but think of the news he had received from the logistics department, and his face darkened.
"What is it?" Ivan asked, sensing the change in Pierce's expression.
"Sir Harls, the Ministry of Magic was badly damaged in the war, and with the pensions, I'm afraid it will cost around 600,000 Galleons, but…" Pierce hesitated for a long time until Ivan's face showed obvious impatience, then continued in a low voice.
"But there are less than three hundred thousand Galleons in the Ministry vault…"
What? Is the Ministry that poor? Ivan looked at Pierce strangely. He could not imagine the Ministry, as the official body of the wizarding community, having so little money in their vaults…
In response to Ivan's questioning look, Pearce immediately turned bitter, berating the former Minister for Fudge for going against the grain and not saving money.
Although the Ministry collects a large amount of tax each year, its expenses are staggering, especially in recent years, when it is forced to borrow money from goblins in Gringotts!
This was presumably why Fudge insisted that You-Know-Who did not exist, as the Ministry of Magic was too poor to fight a war.
"Sir Harls, I can afford a hundred thousand Galleons, but it's still a lot short…" Pierce gritted his teeth and took out all his savings. Thicknesse was not a pure-blood family with a long heritage, and he had worked hard to save this hundred thousand Galleons.
"I'll give you four hundred thousand Galleons in reserve. There's a lot of money at the Ministry these days…" Ivan readily agreed to Piers's request. This was no time to be thrifty. He had to take control of the wizarding community, and there were plenty of Galleons available.
"By the way, I seem to recall that some of the Death Eaters who died were members of pure-blood families?" Yvonne suggested, suddenly thinking of this, and realizing that she might be able to make a fortune without having to pay for it. "You might consider confiscating their possessions to make up for the lack of funds…"
He didn't know about the others, but Bella's vault was filled with good stuff, and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, was the head of an ancient pure-blood family, which was equally wealthy.
"I'm afraid that will be very difficult, Sir Harls," said Pierce. "Most of their property and deeds are kept in Gringotts, and the goblins only work by contract. Even if I became Minister for Magic, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to take them by force."
"Gringotts again?!" Ivan exclaimed, clearly annoyed. He could not understand why the wizarding community, which dominated the wizarding world, would tolerate handing over an important part of the bank to a bunch of greedy goblins.
One had to know that financial power was the lifeblood of the country, and it was not too much to be cautious…