Patiently, Apolo waited for a few minutes on the couch for the Minister of Magic's final verdict. On the other hand, Finz remained in an uncomfortable silence as he reread the letters on his desk tirelessly, pretending to work to distance himself from this awkward moment. From another perspective, the guard who had stayed to watch over Apolo nervously awaited his colleagues to return with the minister's response.
Finally, what seemed like an eternity passed before a scroll emerged from one of the tubes on Finz's desk. Seeing the new message appear, the employee didn't hesitate and opened it to review its contents. Finz read the message, trying not to show any emotion, but he failed in that task, and Apolo noticed that the man seemed quite displeased with what he was reading. Despite this, Finz didn't dare to display that displeasure in front of Apolo, so his face remained frozen in an attempt to hide the emotions he was experiencing at this moment.
After finishing reading the letter and contemplating the matter in his head, Finz forced a smile and, looking at Apolo, commented with a well-simulated cheerfulness:
—It seems that the two "incidents" you were involved in have been resolved, and the minister has revealed the truth of the matter. However, the minister also reminds you to please try not to get involved in such accidents... for a while.
—I assure you the minister won't hear anything more from me once I finish my business at the ministry—Apolo replied with an ironic smile.
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—...—Finz didn't respond and tried to avoid looking at the smile on the young man's face. Instead, he got up to retrieve a package that one of his employees had for him. After retrieving it, Finz returned and, with the same smile as before, said:
—Here is your annual sponsorship, exactly the same as last year: 3000 crystals for your noble blood and 3000 crystals for being a wizard. In addition, you've been fined twice, once 1000 crystals for breaking things in the ministry and 4000 crystals for interfering in a magical investigation. Let me clarify that interfering is not the same as destroying. If by "chance" you had destroyed another wizard's investigation, your fine would be several years without sponsorship, even though a common person would be sentenced to death.
—But I am not a common person, am I?—Apolo said with a mocking smile, completely uninterested in the received crystals that were now of no use to him. Besides, it was a good excuse to come to the ministry and try his luck in fulfilling the last advice left by his ancestor.
—No, you are not...—Finz replied with an even broader smile as he handed a black card to Apolo—Furthermore, if you have no other business, I invite you to leave.
—Oh, in fact, I had another question: do you know in which castle the Imperial Library for Wizards is located?—Apolo asked, taking the black card and casually throwing it behind his back without worrying about where it landed.
—The library isn't in any castle; it's in the ancient tower: first basement floor—Finz replied, somewhat stunned to see Apolo toss the black card through the air, not understanding why he had bothered to come and collect the crystals if he wasn't interested in them.
Without saying goodbye and completely forgetting about his crystals, Apolo headed towards the great tower located exactly in the middle of the four castles of the Ministry of Magic.