Fortunately, the young man had to take a good walk before reaching the office of the Minister of Magic. However, his mood was rock bottom, and when he arrived at the office, he found a wizard waiting at the door. Absolutely refusing to wait in line at this moment, Apolo walked up to the office door and shouted without any scruples:

—Is the Minister in the office?!

—Yes... I've been waiting for 20 minutes... but I hear him eating... so...—The wizard said, taking several pauses as he spoke. Strangely, the wizard didn't seem to be so upset about the sudden shout, and in fact, he was abnormally calm despite how intimidating Apolo's presence was for most people.

—That's good!—Interrupted Apolo, pushing the wizard aside, entering the Minister's office to find Dorien eating a salad at his desk.

—You come just when I'm enjoying my lunch, kid!—Dorien shouted, pointing to the door, indicating to Apolo that he should leave— I have an important meeting in a few minutes, so you better get out of my office: believe me when I say, you don't want to keep the person I have to talk to waiting!

*Bumm*...Apolo ignored the shout and slammed the door shut so forcefully that it caused some books on the shelves to fall to the floor. This scene made Dorien look with fear as the giant approached him and sat in the guest chair. Strangely, the young man remained silent and stared as the minister removed his fork from his mouth.

Noticing that the minister wasn't speaking either, Apolo settled into the rather large chair. He watched as Dorien slowly resumed his lunch in silence, until the minister felt so uncomfortable that he eventually asked:

—Excuse me, did something happen between you and me?

—You told me to come here—Apolo reluctantly replied.

—Me? Did I tell you to come?—Dorien asked, astonished, not recognizing Apolo—Would you mind telling me who you are?

—Apolo from the Black Forest.

—Apolo? Oh, you've grown a little, kid...—Dorien said, curiously looking Apolo up and down, noticing that miraculously the bronze ring that had "worried" him so much was not on any of his fingers—It seems your magical investigation bore fruit, quite impressive. How did you manage it?

—Furnishing my house...—Apolo replied, not fully understanding what exactly the minister was referring to.

—Furnishing your house?—Dorien repeated, bewildered.

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—Yes, furnishing my house—Apolo gruffly answered.

—I see you're somewhat upset. Did you just find out about the budget change?—Dorien asked, intelligently getting to the heart of the matter.

—Yes, why did you think it was a good idea to approve such nonsense?—Apolo asked, annoyed.

—Huh? ... No, you're mistaken, I don't vote in the council—the wizard minister replied, embarrassed—My only role is to press the council to ensure that the Ministry of Magic meets the Emperor's expectations. But I can't vote directly, nor can the Emperor.

—How is it possible that the Emperor and his minister can't make decisions in the council?—Apolo asked incredulously at the absurdity he was hearing—You're the ones who provide the crystals, how can't you control who uses them?

—That's the mistake you're making: we don't provide the crystals...—Dorien commented calmly, as he continued to eat his salad—Or at least, not all of them.

—Who else pays for the sponsorships?—Apolo asked with great curiosity.

—Your sponsorship is only paid for by the Emperor, but you can also get private sponsors, like merchants and noble families—Dorien explained calmly while trying to reassure the boy—So, the Council of Wizards is accountable to the Empire's wizards, who, in turn, answer to their sponsors: one of them being the Emperor, but the reality is that most investments are private. So, the Emperor can't meddle too much in the council, or many noble families and important people could be harmed.

—And did these important people passively accept that the council demolished the funding?—Apolo asked, not quite grasping the idea Dorien was conveying.

Dorien finished his salad and placed the plate on the floor, not wanting to argue with a plate of food on the table. Meanwhile, he said:

—Of course, they accepted it. What was discussed and changed only affects the Emperor's funding, and it actually increased: there are more wizards in the Empire now, and the vast majority of "useful" wizards saw their budgets increase. It was a great decision by our Emperor to withdraw the subsidy from the useless nobles. Anyway, the reason I called you to my office is because I've received repeated complaints from the Ministry of Urban Affairs about your magical research.

—How long ago was that? If I'm not mistaken, I already resolved the issue with that minister—Apolo replied, incredulous that the minister, who was knee-deep in trouble, dared to expose him and thought he could get away with it.

—A few months ago. I'm not Finz: I don't remember everything like a lunatic...—Dorien complained as he searched his desk for a letter, but apparently, he couldn't find it anywhere—Well, the point is, you should be careful with these things, Apolo. Remember that you're not at home; people here can take your nonsense the wrong way, and that causes problems for me: and I don't like problems!

—I understand what you're saying. In fact, I already solved it, and I even worked with the minister—Apolo explained, somewhat relieved that the problem wasn't too big—Our relationship is quite good, so I doubt I'll receive more letters about it.

—I'm glad to hear that. Since the problem is resolved, it's not that important for me to give you the complaint letters: I'll just file them away!—Exclaimed Dorien, closing his drawers with a slam, still not finding where he had put the received complaints, already tired of searching in vain.

—Can I go now, then?—Apolo asked, still eager to continue with his plans.

—Yes, just remember not to get into trouble again: I don't want to receive any more complaints!—Dorien replied, pointing to the door of his office.