After dinner, Ivan did not leave the North American Congress Building as the rest of the Wizarding delegates had, as there was an internal meeting of the five Members of Parliament that evening.
Aside from the establishment of a new department, the main concern for Connor and the others was undoubtedly the recent exposure of the wizarding community to attacks.
In particular, Ivan and Grindelwald's fight in the New York City area at noon, witnessed by pedestrians on the nearby streets, as well as Muggles inside the Woolworth Building, caused the Magical Exposure Level Clock at the entrance to move a square.
This bodes well for the day when the wizarding community will be exposed to Muggles.
While the Aurors of the Magical Congress of North America were already on the move to get rid of every Muggle who knew the truth, everyone knew that the odds were against them, since they were relying on an alchemical device that could alter the memories of millions of Muggles at once, since the missing key made it unusable.
Even if they survived this crisis, Grindelwald would simply let the Saints continue their mischief in Muggle cities, and all their efforts would be for nothing.
"Can't we just recreate some keys?" Yvonne asked curiously.
Grindelwald had indeed taken four keys from here, but the alchemical device was still there. Now that all the elite wizards and witches of the wizarding world were gathered here, surely he could have copied a few keys?
Connor shook his head with a bitter smile. Hundreds of masters of alchemy had racked their brains to ensure the uniqueness of the key, and none of them had ever considered the possibility of it being lost.
After all, it was kept in the hands of the ministers and was extremely safe. There was almost no possibility of it being lost or stolen.
Also, the one who created the core of the instrument was Nicolas Flamel, a French master alchemist. After his death, the method of making important parts had been lost, which was why they were put in such a difficult position.
After listening to Connor's explanation, Yvonne understood why her knowledge of alchemy had failed her when she examined the key. It was Nicolas Flamel.
The other party had left behind two alchemy books that Ivan had carefully perused. They contained many methods of creating alchemical objects, but they did not include the alchemical device that could wipe memories, so Ivan would not be able to do anything about it for a while.
The President of the Asian Association had an idea and suggested, "Wait a minute… Don't you think you can call back the souls of the dead, Herr Hals? All we have to do is call out Master Nicolas Flamel and question him."
The crowd turned expectantly to Ivan, who shook his head.
"Unfortunately, Mr. President, I'm afraid I can't do that." Ivan shrugged helplessly, then proceeded to recount the fact that the Resurrection Stone could only create virtual illusions.
"So the two ministers we met with were just illusions based on memory?" Bruno asked, aghast.
Connor and the others were also in disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Monsieur Bruno, that I had to resort to this to gain your trust," Yvonne said apologetically.
After much deliberation, Ivan decided to tell the truth.
In any case, there was no need to keep this a secret, and it was impossible to keep it a secret for long. There were so many elites present, and who didn't have one or two people they cherished? What if they all cried and begged for his help after the meeting?
He couldn't just lie his way out of this, could he? It would be bad if the clever wizard caught on.
Moreover, it was inevitable that holding such a treasure would attract attention. Although Ivan was not afraid, he was not prepared to cause trouble. Naturally, he wanted to use this opportunity to explain himself.
After Ivan explained the situation in detail, Bruno and the others realised they had been tricked and smiled wryly, unable to blame Ivan.
It was through such a dirty trick that he was able to identify Grindelwald disguised as President Wilkinson.
"Impressive. If I were in your shoes, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the courage you do…" Connor said with feeling.
Yvonne had sensed that something was wrong with Wilkinson, but she would never have taken such a risk.
Winning the bet was one thing, but if anything went wrong in the process, Ivan would be doomed.
Realizing that the so-called summoning ritual was unreliable, Connor and the others had no choice but to give up on the idea of re-creating the alchemical apparatus and instead contact the Muggle heads of state to ask them for help in covering up the magic exposure.
The meeting lasted the rest of the night, and it was late at night before Ivan returned to the British Ministry of Magic with Pierce and the others.
Percy was finally released after two days of imprisonment.
When he learned that Ivan had caught out Grindelwald disguised as Wilkinson and had defeated him to become Acting President, Percy was so impressed that he thought Dawlish was joking.
However, after receiving Pierce's confirmation, Percy's attitude took a 180-degree turn. He did not care about his reputation at all and very gallantly helped Ivan pick up his luggage.
Ivan was not pleased with Percy's sycophantic behaviour, as he would not have been controlled by Grindelwald if not for Percy's attempts to befriend the powerful.
However, for the sake of his friends, Ivan could not be bothered to argue with Percy. After giving him a few warnings, he opened the system column and checked.
He had specifically sought the position of President of the International Confederation of Wizards not only to deal with Grindelwald, but also to complete the mission issued by the system.
However, Ivan was stunned when he saw the system column.
[Mission Objective: Dominate the Wizarding World
Task Progress: 81%
Task Reward: Legendary Points*5
Task Description: During the World Confederation of Wizards meeting, you treacherously used Grindelwald to get rid of several powerful competitors, thus securing the position of President of the International Confederation of Wizards, nominally gaining control of the wizarding world.
However, no one would have guessed that you would not be content with being a mere puppet master, but would be prepared to purge all opposition and seize the opportunity to take control of the wizarding community.
Remarks: This is only part of your great plan…]