*Knock, knock, knock*...

Dorien raised his head and looked wearily at his door being knocked again. Never since becoming a minister had he had to attend to so many people. But ever since the "incident" during the evaluations for aspiring magicians, the minister had been dealing with countless problems. At first, Dorien had to enroll almost twenty people before realizing that something was wrong with the exam. As a result, he stopped enrolling and focused on trying to figure out what had happened. Obviously, it didn't take much effort for the Minister of Magic to uncover the truth. The people who came to report the culprit weren't exactly few. The major challenge was how to handle the situation to avoid getting entangled in the problem. After all, the main culprit of this scandal was a somewhat "delicate" character.

—Come in!—Dorien exclaimed, rubbing his forehead wearily.

Upon hearing the command, the door opened, revealing a nervous-looking red-haired boy.

—Did something happen, Yovel?—Dorien asked, looking at the boy at the door, although he technically didn't know him. He was a distant relative.

—Yes, yes...—Yovel replied, entering the room hurriedly and closing the door immediately behind him, as if he feared someone else would enter. Without stating the exact reason for his visit, the boy approached the Minister of Magic and stared at him behind his desk.

—Is something the matter, young man? You seem a bit nervous. Don't stress too much. The investigations have just begun—Dorien said, although the truth was that the investigations had already concluded. At this moment, he was more concerned about what punishments to mete out to appease the emperor when he found out about the matter. And the boy before him was a good pawn to mollify the emperor's anger.

—Yes, yes...—Yovel repeated, quite nervously, staring intently at Dorien. In Apolo's mind, using him right now was the best idea because the Minister of Magic would be more lenient with a relative. But the truth was, the boy knew his family had no heart when it came to magic-related matters. So, Apolo's idea was futile. Nevertheless, the boy was desperate, as he knew his family well enough to anticipate how the Minister of Magic would handle this issue.

—If you don't have anything to say, you can leave. Don't be so nervous about the investigation results, lad—Dorien commented with a tired smile, worn out by the day's challenges. Though in his mind, he had already decided whose head he would present to the emperor to quell the matter.

—We...we have a proposition...—the boy stammered nervously. Seeing the smile on the minister's face, he knew that this fake smile was the worst possible sign.

—I don't understand you, kid. You might as well not bother me. I'm a bit tired after dealing with all these problems—Dorien responded, gesturing to the door. He was quite fatigued and really wanted to rest.

Seeing his relative pointing at the door, Yovel suddenly felt like crying. However, he held back his tears, staying strong and sticking to the plan upon which his life depended:

—50% for each magician, the favor of an archmage, and the six responsible for everything going wrong.

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—50% for each magician?—Dorien asked, looking the boy up and down, reassessing his perception of him.

—We'll give you 50% of the annual sponsorship fee from each magician who "didn't" cheat—Yovel responded quickly.

—Oh, I see...—Dorien murmured, completely reevaluating his perception of this boy. Clearly, someone like him was quite useful to his family, especially considering his young age—And how do you plan to convince the rest of the "magicians"?

—I already did. Out of the 89 who passed, nearly 60 agreed...—Yovel answered quickly—I have a list of those who declined. Apparently, they were the ones who cheated and exchanged answers among themselves. Whereas we passed the exam fairly. Do you accept?

—And the favor of the archmage?—Dorien asked, pretending not to care about the boy's idea by playing with his beard, even though he was genuinely intrigued by the conversation.

—Hefesto is to blame for everything, so naturally, he'll owe you a few favors if you let some of his "approved" ones pass—Yovel responded, trying to sound casual, while deeply concealing the nerves he was feeling at the moment—We've identified the four guards who helped him, so we can gather evidence to blackmail him.

—I see, I see...—Dorien murmured, still playing with his beard. While his mind was screaming at him to ask the boy how he figured out that Hefesto was to blame for everything, he himself had taken time to realize why Hefesto wanted this to happen. He wasn't even aware that some guards had helped. Suppressing his doubts about the matter, the Minister of Magic asked the final important question in the deal:

—And the six responsible for everything going wrong?

The boy looked the Minister of Magic straight in the eyes and, with the confidence he had gained as the conversation progressed, said:

—I'll give you six names, and if any of these six names ceases to be a magician or has their sponsorship revoked, our entire deal falls apart, and you're left with nothing but the emperor's anger. Think about it. Do you want all the applicants cheating, showing that your exam was rubbish, or do you want a few cheaters in a strict and noble test? We're in the same boat, Dorien, and if we sink, we sink together.

Immediately, Dorien stopped playing with his beard and looked the boy in the eyes seriously. In his wildest dreams, he couldn't imagine that a youngster who didn't even have a single whisker on his chin could concoct such a bribe. Nevertheless, someone had chosen him to speak, and that someone had to be one of the six names mentioned. Trying to uncover who the mastermind behind this "rescue" was, Dorien commented:

—Alright, I accept. What are the six names?

—Put the list of magicians who cheated in front of me, and I'll read it. If I see any of these six names, I'll cross them out—Yovel responded with more confidence.

—Mmmmmmmmmmm...—Dorien murmured thoughtfully for a few overly long seconds for Yovel. Finally, Dorien grabbed a parchment from one of his desk drawers, took a registry containing the list of magicians' exam registrations. Randomly, the Minister of Magic began to jot down the names from the list onto the blank parchment. When the list of names was long enough to satisfy the Minister of Magic, he handed it to the boy, saying:

—You have a promising future as a magician, Yovel. I hope you'll always remember our family motto, no matter how far you go as a magician.

—"Don't tarnish the town"—Yovel murmured reflectively as he took the parchment and began to read it carefully, noting that around 70 people were listed on it —Alright, the six important ones will remain magicians.

—Oh, fortune seems to be smiling upon you...—Dorien commented with a rather broad smile, looking at the boy—Alright, we have a deal. Go and get my crystals. I'll send the guards to fetch our "culprits". It's better if they don't talk too much, or they might "tarnish" us.

Upon hearing that everything was settled, the boy's eyes lit up, and a triumphant smile formed on his face as he headed for the door to leave. Meanwhile, Dorien looked contemplatively as the boy's back left his office, while in his mind, he hoped against all odds that those six mysterious names didn't actually exist and that the boy was indeed the sole mastermind behind this rescue operation.