In the end… I can only say… Kasen and Dumbledore made a very dirty deal, and that was how the Headmaster's Tower at Hogwarts was successfully brought back to life.
Rebuilding the Headmaster's office was, frankly, not difficult in the slightest.
After all, Hogwarts mainly used very classic building materials—nothing more than stone bricks, logs, carpets, and furniture. At most, Kasen just added a few artistic windows with small blocks.
As for the glass… of course it was just ordinary glass. Even the alchemy classroom used normal glass, so what kind of glass did the Headmaster's office think it deserved?
…Mosaic?
Don't get the wrong idea, he's talking about mosaic glass.
But the most unbearable part wasn't the reconstruction itself. What really made it unbearable was that Dumbledore, that old man, was actually riding a broom beside Kasen, touching this and poking that, even trying to give instructions.
A complete amateur trying to direct a professional.
Until Dumbledore once again said something that made Kasen lose it: "Could you leave a pipe from the Headmaster's office to the kitchen? I could have the house-elves send sweets up directly through it using magic."
Kasen took a deep breath, suddenly turned around, and stared at Dumbledore. "Headmaster, seriously, if you keep saying this kind of nonsense, I'm throwing you into the Black Lake."
Dumbledore quietly rode his broom away. "Actually, a Honeydukes pipeline wouldn't be bad either…"
With Dumbledore gone, Kasen finally had a quiet construction environment. Gradually, he slipped into that state of flow unique to building.
When he came out of that state again, it was already night, and the Headmaster's Tower had been completely rebuilt. Inside and out, there wasn't even the slightest flaw—not even a gap between bricks.
"Mm… I really am a genius!" Kasen crossed his arms and Ender-teleported back to his office.
...
The next day…
Kasen casually grabbed a cinnamon roll from the Great Hall and headed toward the Headmaster's office.
You could count this as a product follow-up—checking whether Dumbledore was comfortable in the new office, whether it felt right, and if there was anything that needed adjusting.
Then he was a bit surprised to find… the gargoyle statue guarding the office seemed to be out of control.
Dumbledore was standing there, poking and fiddling with the gargoyle using his wand, doing who knows what…
Seeing this, Kasen walked over and patted Dumbledore on the shoulder. "What are you doing?" he asked, puzzled.
"It seems the magical control circuit of the gargoyle has been cut off, or suppressed. I'm trying to find a way to study it," Dumbledore explained.
"Then you should've told me. I'm the professional here," Kasen said, speechless.
"Well, I am the Headmaster, after all. If I have to ask professors for help with everything, what kind of authority would I have left?" Dumbledore shrugged.
"You didn't hide things from Severus in Potions and secretly tinker on your own, so why are you being so awkward about alchemy?" Kasen said, exasperated.
"Severus is different from you." Dumbledore transfigured a chair and sat down. "From the moment he first enrolled, his talent in Potions was already that extraordinary, so I naturally accepted the label of him being a Potions genius."
"But your alchemical talent was suddenly placed on you out of nowhere, and now you're already being mentioned alongside Nicolas Flamel. Perhaps it's because of how we first met, but I still tend to see you as… hmm… a reckless kid who hasn't grown up."
Dumbledore said this softly.
"I get it." Kasen nodded, which made Dumbledore feel a moment of relief, thinking Kasen was about to say something warm.
Then Kasen spoke. "You're embarrassed, right? Feels humiliating that I, an alchemy rookie, suddenly surpassed you in this field. Is that it?"
Dumbledore covered his face helplessly. "Why can't you ever say something nice?"
"I don't know why. Dumbledore, you're someone worthy of great respect, but every time I see you, I just want to find a way to make you suffer a loss. As for why… no idea." Kasen shrugged and walked straight toward the gargoyle.
He placed his hand on it, sensing the flow of magical circuits within, and soon found the problem.
"It's a conflict between the pipeline I designed for you and the gargoyle's control circuit. A slight adjustment will fix it." As he spoke, he got to work.
As for how he started…
It's alchemy—you know how it works.
The power of alchemy seeped into the stone wall, gradually causing subtle deformations, and finally separated the two circuits.
"Done!" Kasen clapped his hands.
Dumbledore slowly stood up and waved his wand, resetting a password for the gargoyle.
"Hmm… cinnamon roll," Dumbledore said, then looked at Kasen. "Give it a try."
Kasen nodded. "Cinnamon roll."
The gargoyle slowly moved aside, opening the way.
"So it wasn't stopping you from entering the office—it just wouldn't let you change the password?" Kasen said, suddenly understanding as he watched.
"Quite obviously… that's the case." Dumbledore nodded. "Although the chances of the password being leaked are low, using the same one all the time is rather boring, isn't it?"
Kasen stood there, rubbing his chin. "Whether it's boring or not, I don't know… but honestly… Dumbledore… you're pretty boring."
"Think whatever you like… care to come in for a drink?" Dumbledore walked up the stairs and invited him.
"Let's go!"
____
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: Dragonel