“Unbelievable.”

A gray-bearded, wizened goblin slowly lowered his monocle, a clear sign of fatigue etched on his wrinkled face, and carefully placed the yellowed parchment back in the center of the stone table.

It was a semicircular, ancient stone table. At the curved end sat seven elderly goblins, clearly advanced in years.

The goblin who had spoken raised his head and exchanged glances with the goblins around him. He nodded solemnly. He and the other six elder goblins of the Gringotts Goblin Elder Council had reached the same conclusion.

This was the original property deed, long lost or hidden, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or more precisely, of the Salazar Slytherin family castle.

“Human girl, I do not quite understand your meaning.”

The central goblin, with slender fingers interlaced and resting on the stone table, fixed his deep gaze on the silver-haired girl sitting opposite him. He spoke calmly, with a hint of aloofness, “As you can see, this is a property deed belonging to the Slytherin family. Your surname, however, does not seem to legally entitle you to inherit and dispose of this astonishing treasure.”

“Indeed. But, unfortunately, as far as I know, the only remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin, the last member of the ancient pure-blood Gaunt family, Mr. Morfin Gaunt, has already died in Azkaban while serving his sentence.”

Eileen raised her head, her lake-blue eyes meeting the elderly goblin's gaze calmly, and replied in a flat tone.

“Oh? Is that so? That is indeed regrettable.”

The goblin nodded noncommittally, without a trace of regret on his face, and snapped his fingers lightly.

A few minutes later, a young goblin entered and whispered a few words into his ear. The elderly goblin's brow relaxed, the wrinkles on his face smoothed out considerably, and he looked at Eileen with interest. “It seems Mr. Dumbledore has considered everything. Speak, then?”

Undoubtedly, in the time just passed, the goblins had verified Eileen's words through their special channels. However, they clearly attributed it all to Dumbledore's arrangement. After all, from any perspective, a girl not even ten years old could not possibly know so many secrets.

Hearing the goblins’ words, Eileen neither confirmed nor denied, but instead looked adorably dazed, as if recalling well-rehearsed lines, and slowly said, “According to the rules of the ancient covenant, in this situation, Hogwarts, holding the property deed as a related third party, is deemed to have obtained the right to dispose of the land.”

“Ah, yes, yes. We are all familiar with that rule.”

The goblin nodded approvingly and shrugged. “If Mr. Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, were to come in person, there would naturally be no problem. However, as merely a regular student of Hogwarts, there seems to be a slight lack of connection.”

“Not those tedious paper certifications from the Ministry… you know…”

The aged goblin narrowed his eyes, extended his long, gaunt index finger and thumb in the air, and said slowly and deliberately, “I’m referring to things of magic. Hogwarts is not a foolish stone house built by Muggles with bricks.”

(Friendly reminder: if possible, imagine the old goblin speaking in English. It adds to the feeling.)

Finally, the final step in this grand game, destined to shock everyone, to earn their complete trust has arrived. Eileen took a shallow breath, a little nervous, raised the back of her left hand towards the Gringotts Goblin Elder Council, and said with a cold gaze.

“An oath. An Unbreakable Vow, led by Dumbledore, linking me to Hogwarts, with life as collateral. Is that enough? Professor Dumbledore naturally has his reasons for not being here.”

Unlike before, this time only a dazzling trace of the oath lit up on the back of Eileen’s hand. The magical traces entwined upon it were exceptionally clear. The edge of the parchment spread out on the stone table also flowed with a ray of light, just like the slight warmth she felt in her chest each time she activated the “Stigmata.”

Faced with the sudden light, the goblins instinctively raised their hands to shield themselves, then looked at each other, emitting a low murmur of discussion.

The passage of long years allowed them to effortlessly identify the source of those two entangled and restrictive magical forces at the first moment, and to capture the faint connection between the silver-haired girl and Hogwarts.

Ten seconds, twenty seconds…

Or perhaps a minute, five minutes…

In any case, after what felt like a very long time to Eileen, the goblins sitting behind the stone table finally stopped discussing.

“Human girl, oh no, esteemed Ms. Eileen Kaslana.”

The eldest goblin in the center cleared his throat and said respectfully, “Gringotts is happy to be at your service. Now, regarding the mortgage loan for Hogwarts, we need to discuss the specifics. The first point is the type of loan currency…”

As they spoke, the goblins took out their glasses and placed them on their noses, prepared paper and pens, and began drafting and recording the detailed content.

Success!

Seeing the reaction of the Gringotts goblins, Eileen’s tense nerves suddenly relaxed. The right hand stroking the emergency food couldn't help but exert a little force, causing the dozing little owl to chirp.

*Coo!*

"Hmm?"

The old goblin, who was bowing his head to draft the basic terms, raised his head in puzzlement, his sharp gaze sweeping across the girl in front of him through his glasses.

*Coo coo coo~*

At this moment, another series of strange chirps rang out. This time, almost all the goblins stopped and looked curiously at the source of the sound.

“I’m sorry, I was in a bit of a rush on the way, so I haven’t had time to eat dinner… excuse me?”

Eileen held the emergency food in both arms, forcefully suppressing her rumbling stomach, and said softly with a shy expression.

Speaking of which, she had been running around all day and had only eaten one and a quarter ice creams. Ever since she entered Gringotts, she had been constantly tense, and now that she suddenly relaxed, she felt the terrifying hunger in her stomach, as if it was about to melt her stomach lining.

“Oh, I apologize, that was terribly rude of us. Please, enjoy yourself.”

The old goblin in the far right, dressed in a classic gentleman's attire, shook his head elegantly and raised his hand gently.

The next moment, a clean white tablecloth appeared out of thin air in front of Eileen. Exquisite biscuits and cakes were placed on the elaborate plate, and a pot of steaming red tea appeared in the most comfortable position on the girl's right hand. Directly in front of her was a menu written in swirling, curling English script.

"The following request may be a little presumptuous. But, if possible, could we talk while you eat? After all…"

The old goblin rubbed his palms together slightly awkwardly and said tentatively.

"Time is money, my friend. Of course, there's no problem!"

Eileen nodded without hesitation, directly interrupting the old goblin's polite words, and went straight to the point, "Almost every second, I can see lovely Galleons flying away from me. So, what are we waiting for?"

All the chess pieces had fallen. Even if the Soviet Union hadn't collapsed, Eileen, as a reborn soul, would have nothing to fear.

That crumbling bear was just the easiest piece of fat to eat in the great tide of the times. She had countless pNBs to replace it. From the very beginning, all she needed was the power to leverage the world.

The silver-haired little loli forked a piece of mousse cake into her mouth and happily narrowed her eyes.

And now, the feast begins.

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Cute Eileen is asking for everyone's recommendation votes as encouragement. Recently, the collections and recommendations have been so sluggish, *sobs*~~

If you cast a recommendation vote, Eileen will share a small bite of her cake with you!!
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