Chapter 543: Rescuing the Dog (Edited)

Tom looked towards the door and saw a middle-aged, well-dressed man carrying a black folder confidently entering.

"Sir Humphrey, the Prime Minister is currently in a meeting with a guest," Bernard said as he entered.

"Oh, Bernard, but this is the time I scheduled with the Prime Minister," Sir Humphrey replied, not paying much attention. As he spoke, he also scrutinized Tom, trying to guess who this individual who had suddenly been received by the Prime Minister was.

Very young, couldn't be more than eighteen, handsome in appearance, and well-mannered and dressed... that was the first impression Tom gave to Sir Humphrey. But what was most unusual was that this person was in the Prime Minister's office.

Being so young and able to see the Prime Minister could only mean that he had a close relationship with him or represented some school. However, there were no scheduled meetings with student representatives in the Prime Minister's agenda for today. Therefore, this young man's relationship with the Prime Minister was out of the ordinary.

Within seconds, Sir Humphrey came to a conclusion.

He had suddenly burst in here for no other reason than to observe this individual who had unexpectedly been received by the Prime Minister. This person who had suddenly appeared was an unexpected factor. As an official seeking stability, Sir Humphrey disliked unexpected factors, so he felt the need to investigate.

"Well... this is my Cabinet Secretary, Sir Humphrey." Humphrey had put forth a good argument, and Hacker had no choice but to accept it and introduce Sir Humphrey to Tom.

So, this is the Prime Minister's Cabinet Secretary? He seems like a crafty and elusive type, thought Tom.

"Well then, I won't disturb you further. Carry on, I can wait," Tom said.

"Ah, do I bother you? You go on, I can wait."

Upon hearing that, both Tom and Hacker couldn't help but think sarcastically: if you can wait, why not wait outside instead of barging in here? Basically, you just want to eavesdrop on our conversation as an intruder. They were both surprised by Sir Humphrey's audacity.

With Sir Humphrey present, Tom couldn't continue the conversation with Hacker, so he chose to leave Hacker's office.

The waiting room wasn't far from the office. Bernard prepared a tray of biscuits and poured a cup of tea for Tom; he wasn't old enough to offer a drink.

However, after doing all that, Bernard showed no signs of leaving. He looked at Tom, wanting to ask something but not daring to.

"Is something the matter? You seem to have something to ask me," Tom had a favorable impression of this younger official. He wasn't as cunning and calculating as Sir Humphrey.

"Well, uh..." Bernard seemed to hesitate, as the question he wanted to ask was difficult to formulate. Finally, he gathered his courage and posed a question that made Tom almost choke on his tea.

"Is Mr. Hacker your father?"

Tom did his best to swallow the tea that had remained in his throat and then looked at Bernard in astonishment. "Of course not! I'm an orphan."

Bernard appeared somewhat embarrassed. "Oh, I see... How can I put it, aren't you really...?"

"I'm not!" Tom didn't expect his meeting with Hacker to lead Bernard to believe he was Hacker's illegitimate child.

Hacker was really falling victim to baseless rumors.

Although it was understandable that Bernard would think that way, given Hacker's special treatment of Tom and considering that politicians must always maintain their personal image, an illegitimate child would be an explosive rumor.

While Tom tried to prove his innocence and Hacker's, the meeting between Sir Humphrey and Hacker was coming to an end.

Sir Humphrey approached with a very valid reason: to persuade Hacker to send troops to rescue the Scottish sheepdog that had ventured into a minefield.

"I think time is running out for Bonnie, we must make a decision as soon as possible."

Sir Humphrey wasn't an advocate for animal rights, but he cared deeply about this sheepdog. His motivation, of course, wasn't kindness but self-interest.

At this moment, Hacker was trying to cut military spending, something Sir Humphrey didn't want to see. Driven by the interests of all parties, he had to convince Hacker to abandon that idea, and this sheepdog was an excellent excuse.

He planned to persuade Hacker to have engineers sent to rescue the sheepdog from the minefield. The benefits for Hacker were evident: he could boost his popularity with this issue, although the downsides... would be spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on it.

If you're willing to spend hundreds of thousands to save a dog, how can you justify cutting military spending?

Once he had Hacker trapped with this, the next time he mentioned budget cuts, Sir Humphrey could say directly, "Prime Minister, I suppose you don't want the public to find out that you spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on saving a dog, do you?" At that point, Hacker would have no choice but to abandon his budget-cutting plans.

"Sometimes one has to act according to their conscience," Sir Humphrey left this phrase before confidently leaving the office.

Then, Tom was called in again.

At that moment, Hacker was in an internal struggle. He felt something was not right, but he couldn't explain it. Rescuing the dog seemed like a decent option, but involving the army and state institutions to save a dog didn't seem justifiable.

Seeing Tom enter, Hacker casually mentioned his concerns.

"Don't you think using the military to rescue a dog would cost a lot of money?" Tom immediately felt that the action was very unreasonable.

"Maybe," Hacker showed a dilemma expression.

"It would definitely cost a lot of money, we're talking about rescuing a living being from a minefield! We would need to involve mine-disposal specialists, veterinarians to sedate the dog, and maybe even a helicopter..." Tom despised the idea; to him, spending so much money to save a dog was simply absurd, something only Western countries like the UK might do.

But... wouldn't it be an issue for wizards? A simple spell could solve the problem. In principle, underage wizards are prohibited from using magic outside of Hogwarts, but Tom had no concerns about that, as he had many ways to circumvent that restriction.

Listening to Tom, Hacker's face grew even more somber. He also knew it was a bad idea, but the votes were tempting! It was real reputation, and besides, if he did nothing, the opposition parties would seize upon it!

Hacker was worried. However, he had a sudden idea.

"Tom, do you think wizards could 'retrieve' it with magic?" Hacker showed an expression of hope and excitement.

"I'm a wizard, this is magic. Are you really asking me to use magic to do this?" Tom pretended to be angry.

Hacker showed an embarrassed smile. "Yes, you're right; it would be excessive to ask a wizard to save a dog."

At that moment, Tom sighed and changed the subject: "But well, we're friends, right? I'm willing to help you to the best of my personal ability, as long as you can keep it a secret."