Chapter 682: 682: Reform, Quidditch Committee

Mente Metaxas of the Quidditch Committee was feeling extremely uneasy.

He sat inside the British Ministry of Magic, nervously picking at a hangnail on his right thumb.

The last time Roger Spottiswoode had been summoned for a meeting, he had remained shaken for several days afterward.

As the head of one of the International Confederation of Wizards’ two major institutions, Mente was panicking.

“The Second King wants to keep the International Confederation firmly under his control. What am I supposed to do?”

The Quidditch Committee might not be as important as the Department of Education, but it still concerned every Quidditch fan in the wizarding world.

After learning that John wanted to see him, Mente had hurriedly reviewed everything he had done over the years.

Aside from some trouble during the last Quidditch World Cup, he did not seem to have made any major mistakes.

Could it be because this year’s tournament had been postponed?

But that was because of the Acolytes.

He was innocent!

As Mente’s thoughts ran wild, the black door opened.

He jolted and instinctively stood up.

“Sit.”

“Of course.”

Mente immediately sat down.

He looked anxiously at John as the latter took the seat opposite him.

“Lord Wick, I haven’t had any contact with that man, and I absolutely do not belong to his faction!”

He hurriedly declared his loyalty.

He was not even familiar with Dumbledore. The two of them had almost no connection at all.

Mente had graduated from Durmstrang, and he was not even from the same generation as Dumbledore.

John smiled and waved a hand.

“Relax. I’m not here to cause you trouble.”

“I see.”

Mente let out a sigh of relief.

He genuinely loved Quidditch.

He himself had once been a professional Quidditch player before retiring.

John asked, “What do you think of Quidditch in its current state?”

“What do I think?” Mente asked in confusion. “Do you mean the World Cup? This year’s World Cup was postponed because of the Acolytes.”

“No. The World Cup still needs to be held,” John said seriously. “The more chaotic the times become, the more important it is to show every wizard that peace still exists.”

“I’m talking about the Quidditch competition system itself.”

John snapped his fingers.

A stack of parchment flew toward Mente.

“The current Quidditch competition system is too limited. Everyone focuses entirely on preparing for the World Cup, and as a result, the sport itself has lost far too much.”

Mente picked up one of the sheets of parchment and looked it over.

It contained a plan for a new competition structure.

“It’s already been implemented in Britain for some time,” John said. “During that period, several British Quidditch clubs have already demonstrated the value they can contribute.”

“Premier Wizard League, Senior Wizard League, Junior Wizard League?”

“Two promoted, two relegated?”

Mente went from confused at first to completely absorbed.

Excitement appeared in his eyes.

Because he could already see a future in which Quidditch flourished.

Because Quidditch required such a large field, along with enough players to form complete teams, the sport was usually something people only played while they were still at school.

Once ordinary wizards graduated, the only way to keep playing was to join a club.

But clubs had very high requirements for talent, and their players spent almost every day training.

It simply was not something ordinary people could casually participate in.

For most wizards, Quidditch was a sport they could only enjoy as spectators during matches.

And more often than not, they only had the chance to attend in person during the World Cup.

But with this reform, even if there were not matches every day, Quidditch would at least appear far more frequently in the public eye.

The three-tier league system would also increase competition and pressure between clubs.

John had even included suggestions for club operations, such as selling team robes and other merchandise to generate revenue.

Rather than continuing to operate behind closed doors and simply bearing their own profits and losses.

That old model was unfriendly to clubs and equally unfriendly to spectators.

There would also be exhibition matches and friendly matches.

Mente could barely keep up with everything he was seeing.

“Genius. This is a genius idea!” Mente said excitedly.

“I merely learned it from the Muggles,” John said calmly. “Besides, if we want to promote this system, we’ll need to build a large number of venues.”

Mente calmed down as well. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “That would be difficult. Most wizarding settlements are located within Muggle cities, Lord Wick.”

They could naturally use Portkeys, but that would create many problems, such as Portkeys being tampered with or modified.

And Portkeys had limits on how many people they could transport at once, making them both time-consuming and troublesome.

“It seems Mr. Metaxas hasn’t been paying much attention to Silverhand.”

John looked at him with a faintly amused smile.

Mente looked somewhat embarrassed.

He cared far more about Quidditch.

John waved a hand, and the proposal flipped to the third page from the end.

An image of a doorway appeared on it.

“This is a portal system already adopted by Silverhand Amusement Park,” John said. “It provides stable transportation by fixing spatial coordinates in place. As long as the energy supply is maintained…”

John snapped his fingers.

The doorway floated out from the parchment.

Mente noticed nine crystal-like objects embedded around it.

The crystals emitted a purple glow, and a passageway seemed to split open within the centre of the door.

“For the use and maintenance of magic crystals, I suggest you read the final two pages.”

Mente stared in astonishment.

“Then this solves both the venue and transportation problems.”

With a portal like this, they would not need to build Quidditch stadiums inside cities at all.

They could simply place them in remote areas.

It could be said that the plan lacked only implementation.

This was a reform of Quidditch itself, completely changing the previous competition structure by introducing clear divisions and levels.

Just like the philosophy upheld by the Second King.

Strength above all.

The strong rise.

The weak fall.

John looked at Mente and smiled calmly.

“The Quidditch leagues can help settle the anxiety of the wizarding world.”

“We need to help them regain their confidence.” John snapped his fingers, and the doorway vanished. “Their fear of Muggles, and their fear of the Acolytes.”

“We need to make them understand that Muggles aren’t as terrifying as they imagine.”

“And the Acolytes…” John said disdainfully. “They’re nothing more than thugs hiding behind the name of purification. There’s nothing to fear.”

Mente’s heart trembled.

The contempt John showed toward the Acolytes inevitably reminded him of the attitude John had once shown toward the Death Eaters.

Yes.

There was nothing to fear.

Because I am here.

The Second King of the wizarding world.

John Wick.

You can keep enjoying yourselves.

You can keep watching Quidditch.

Because I am here.

The Second King conquered everything within his sight, including people’s hearts.

Mente returned home in a daze.

He sat down on the sofa, and his son ran over excitedly.

“Father, you met Lord Wick?”

His son, Karon Metaxas.

A graduate of Durmstrang, yet also a fanatical supporter of the Second King.

More than winning the Quidditch championship at Durmstrang, what made him proud was the fact that his father had met the Second King.

Karon asked excitedly, “What kind of person is he?”

Mente let out a long breath.

Looking at his son, he said, “He showed me what it means to be a king.”

Mente admitted that he had felt an urge to submit at John’s feet.

“No wonder you said he was born to be a king, Ludwig,” Mente said with emotion.