Chapter 80

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The International Confederation of Wizards was the most important institution within the wizarding world, and was basically the magical equivalent of the United Nations, but even that was selling short as they had more influence than the UN did.

They were also the greatest adversaries of Ethan's grandfather as they were the ones responsible for upholding the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, which was the international law that ensured the magical and non-magical worlds would not mix.

As for the man who had come to pick them up, he was the Chief Enforcer of the ICW, Liam Deime. The man had led them to the local base of the ICW, where they were to be interrogated regarding the incident.

And this time, Ethan did not get to skip on those, considering the heavy role he had played.

After about an hour of waiting inside an interrogation room with Miyuki, Ethan expected to feel tired, with the battles and heavy stress he had been put under, but he was actually in great shape. He summed it up to his strengthened spirit.

After all, his physical strain had remained relatively minor since most of the battles had been mental, those that mattered at least. The only real strain on his body had come from the rapid regeneration of magic.

But the real battles had all been in the spirit, and Ethan figured he had recuperated all the mental energy he had spent and more through his absorption of Ramesses' mindscape.

Still, while he was not tired, that did not stop Ethan from feeling bored. Fortunately, they did not prolong for much longer when a pair of enforcers entered the room.

They were a man and a woman, and both looked just a bit older than Bill. It could be quite hard to estimate wizards' ages because while they grew relatively normally through their first 17 years, if not a little faster, from there a wizard's ageing would drastically slow down for many years.

Adding in genetics, a 40 years old wizard could actually look younger than an 18 years old, and that without any magical modifications. Once those were added, guessing a wizard's true age was next to impossible with the naked eye.

For example, Ethan's own parents looked like they were in their late twenties, or early thirties at best, but they were actually both nearing 60 years old.

Still, considering the jobs of his two interrogators, Ethan estimated they should be both within their early thirties. Most Enforcers were recruited from Aurors' offices around the world, and they only took the very best, those with exceptional records.

The woman was Asian, and the moment she entered, she stared at Miyuki. As for the man, he trained his gaze on Ethan, giving him a quick once over before apologizing, "Sorry for the wait, we are a bit understaffed. We just interrogated Miss Rakepick. She had a lot of things to say. Especially about you."

Ethan could recognize an intimidation technique when he saw one. By saying they had just interrogated his enemy, they were implying they knew all the sensitive information, and thus that hiding anything from them.

Fortunately, the only thing Ethan intended to hide, he knew for a fact that Rakepick did not know. And even if she somehow had an inkling about it, no one other than Ethan could prove it, because it was his vision.

Ethan was lying back in his chair, his back straight as he replied impassively, "I understand."

If they wanted to make him speak, they would have to do better though. He saw the man's eye twitch a little at his response, and turned to look at his companion, only to see she was still staring at Miyuki.

He issued a deep sigh, before taking a seat. Ethan could tell the both of them were Enforcers by their coats and the medal on their chest. The medal was made of metal and depicted an opened hand. All Enforcers wore it.

The only one who had a slightly different one was the Chief Enforcer, Liam Deime, whose medal had a clenched fist instead.

The man rubbed his temples and said, "Himura, focus."

The woman, Himura, finally tore her eyes away from Miyuki, looking at Ethan with appreciative eyes as she explained, "It's not every day you see a mythical creature, and even more so one that does not try to maul you to death. I had heard rumours about you, but seeing it by my own eyes, I have to say, I am impressed. And if what Rakepick told us was true, I can see how you managed to get a Kitsune as a companion."

Finally someone who understood that one did not get magical beasts, especially mythical ones like Kitsunes, as pets.

While he appreciated that Humira was at least polite, he still remained impassive as he asked, "So, what do you want to know? And what were you told?"

Himura smiled kindly, as if she was about to reassure him, while the man grunted, clearly annoyed by the whole affair, "How about we start from the beginning. I was told you managed to open the way into the hidden part of the temple, despite it being protected by a spell similar to the Fidelius Charm."

So they had really spoken to Rakepick. Ethan nodded, and explained, "My mother did most of the job, but yes, I participated in opening the seal."

The man narrowed his eyes, and asked a question that did not sound like much of a question, "You are British, right?"

Ethan acquiesced silently, and Himura slid a piece of paper over the metallic table. Ethan slightly leaned forward to grab it. As he read it, she explained, "Rakepick graduated from Hogwarts with an Outstanding in her Ancient Runes NEWT, and later acquired a professional licence for it. Reports say she was close to the level of a master, but you have shown to be vastly superior to her."

The piece of paper was nothing special, just a list of names. Although he was curious about it, he first corrected her, "The seal was not purely Runic Magic, it also incorporated other kinds of magic."

They did not reply immediately, preferring to keep silent. This was a common technique to keep someone talking, mostly used in interviews. When asked a question, if the person who asked did not say anything after one's answer, most people would keep talking.

Ethan only stared at them.

Once they understood he would not elaborate, Himura said, "The reason I am saying this is that we are finding it a little difficult to believe you are a Master of Runic Magic, despite being so young. This list," she pointed at the paper she had passed over, "contains the names of all the Masters of Runic Magic in the world. It's a short list."

The man picked up there, "Even if you are the son of Loki, and you were taught your entire childhood, it is still hard to believe someone so young could be this good."

Ethan said nothing for a moment, replicating what they had done just before. Their faces did not change, both staying in character.

Finally, he said, "You would be right not to believe it, because it is not true."

The man inched forward, pressing, "Does that mean you did not participate in opening the seal?"

Ethan shook his head, "You do not understand much about Runic Magic, do you?"

The man looked like he was loosing patience.