The negotiations with the Ethiopian Ministry of Magic went very smoothly.
Wade and the others only needed to pay the Ethiopian Ministry five thousand Galleons each year in exchange for a large tract of land under their control.
Once the magical contract was signed, the location of that land completely disappeared from maps.
Under the terms of the contract, neither wizards nor Muggles could easily find the place unless the owner of the land allowed them access. Its concealment could be considered extremely effective.
Of course, for a contract like this to be signed, there had been communication between senior officials in the Ministry and the Muggle government. After all, the upper levels of the wizarding and Muggle worlds had always maintained contact.
But none of that was Wade's concern.
All he had to do was pay.
...
Travelling from Britain to Ethiopia was not difficult at all, provided one was willing to use unofficial methods.
Taking the proper legal route, however, was much slower.
This time, Wade and Professor Slughorn had no choice but to travel officially.
The contract they were signing was legal and formal, so the names of the signatories had to appear in the proper immigration records.
Wade could not even remember how many fireplaces and Portkeys he had travelled through before finally reaching his destination.
Even after the contract had been signed, his head was still spinning slightly.
...
Temporary Residence.
After seeing off the Ethiopian Minister for Magic, Professor Slughorn handed Wade a bottle of Invigoration Draught.
"Thank you... Professor, I finally understand how hard you've been working," Wade said with feeling.
Professor Slughorn had spent a long time negotiating with the Ethiopian Ministry of Magic. He must have made journeys like this many times.
Yet he had never once complained to Wade about the hardship or considered giving up.
"No! I don't find it difficult at all! Well... perhaps a little. But it was all worth it!" Professor Slughorn said excitedly. "They said we can conduct any kind of production or research on this land! Their restrictions are extremely loose! That means I can also carry out many potion experiments here that I could only dream about before!"
At first, Professor Slughorn had simply wanted to do his student a major favour.
But after negotiating with officials from the Ethiopian Ministry, he discovered just how poor the Ministry actually was.
During the negotiations, Professor Slughorn had obtained far more than he had originally expected.
By the end, he was no longer doing this entirely for Wade's request. He himself could gain a great deal from the arrangement as well.
"That's great! I was actually feeling a little guilty about all the trouble I'd caused you..." Wade did not stand on ceremony.
"Exactly! So there's absolutely no need for you to feel guilty!" Professor Slughorn smiled and patted Wade on the shoulder.
"When can we go take a look at the land? I brought quite a few house-elves with me. We can set up a base there first," Wade said eagerly.
"Haha, I was thinking the same thing! That place belongs to us now. It'll be much more comfortable once we're on our own land!"
Professor Slughorn seemed even more impatient than Wade. After hurriedly packing his things, he left the accommodation arranged by the Ministry together with Wade.
...
The land granted to them by Ethiopia was a vast plain.
A small river wound through the middle of it. Looking upstream along the river, snow-covered mountains could be seen in the distance.
"This is a good place."
The moment Wade climbed down from his broomstick, he praised it.
Clearly, he was very satisfied.
"Of course it is. I chose this place personally. The river may be small, but this is still its upper course, so the water is clean. Whether for potion research or breeding magical creatures, it offers enormous advantages," Professor Slughorn said with satisfaction.
"All right, Professor. Pick a spot. We'll build your potion laboratory right away," Wade said with a smile.
"What? I didn't prepare anything," Professor Slughorn said in surprise.
He really had not.
He had only intended to come here, sign the contract, and show Wade the land.
"Don't worry. I've already prepared everything..." Wade snapped his fingers.
More than twenty house-elves appeared around him.
Wade himself had needed to enter the country through legal channels, but the house-elves certainly had not.
So while Wade had only just arrived in Ethiopia and was preparing to sign the contract with the Ministry, the house-elves had already reached Africa through other means.
Now, summoned by their master, they all Apparated into place.
Every house-elf carried a backpack enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
"Ha! Now I finally understand why you said you wanted to establish a base here first. I thought you were simply being impatient. I didn't realise you'd already prepared everything!" Professor Slughorn laughed.
"Time is life, Professor. There's no reason to delay. Besides... this journey was troublesome enough. I don't want to go through it again next time." As Wade spoke, he beckoned to one of the nearby house-elves.
The house-elf hurried over, removed the backpack from its back, and opened it.
Pop!
The house-elf snapped its fingers, and two enormous cabinets flew out of the backpack before gently floating down onto the ground.
"What are those..." Professor Slughorn stared at the two cabinets in surprise. They looked extremely familiar, as though he had seen something like them before.
"These are specially modified, oversized Vanishing Cabinets, Professor. Their transport range is much greater than that of ordinary Vanishing Cabinets. We can travel directly back to Britain through them." Wade turned toward the house-elf again.
The house-elf nodded, opened the door of one of the Vanishing Cabinets, and climbed inside.
A short while later, it stepped back out holding a cup, the very cup Wade had deliberately left in Britain beforehand.
At the same time, another house-elf emerged from the second Vanishing Cabinet.
It was Toby, Wade's chief house-elf.
"Young Master Wade! The Vanishing Cabinets have been set up!" Toby said in his shrill voice.
"That's wonderful," Professor Slughorn said happily. "To tell the truth, I wasn't particularly fond of the way we travelled here either!"
Wade smiled. "Professor, choose a spot. We'll build your laboratory first. Everyone is ready."
"In that case..." Professor Slughorn saw all the house-elves looking at him and found it difficult to refuse.
"Over there, near the upper reaches of the river. My potion research requires clean water," Professor Slughorn said.
Wade clapped his hands. "You all heard him, right? Get to work! Everyone, bring out the materials!"
The house-elves all Apparated to the place Professor Slughorn had pointed out and began taking supplies from their backpacks.
Construction materials, experimental equipment, potion ingredients...
Professor Slughorn stared in astonishment. "Did you bring an entire potions laboratory with you?"
"Yes. I thought you would definitely need one," Wade replied.
"You already knew I would want to set up a laboratory here too?" Professor Slughorn asked in surprise.
"I didn't know. I simply felt that you had put so much effort into securing this place that part of it should belong to you as well. So I wanted to prepare a laboratory for you. That way, once I successfully breed creatures like basilisks, you can immediately begin research here."
"Hahaha! You've thought of everything!" Professor Slughorn burst out laughing.
He had originally been wondering how he should bring the matter up with Wade. He had not expected Wade to have already thought of it and made all the necessary preparations.
Having such a considerate student really made things easy.
Wade inclined his head slightly. "Professor, it's only what I should do. Besides, what I prepared may not fully meet your requirements. If you need anything else, you can simply have the house-elves purchase it. There's no need to worry about Galleons. I've already secured enough sponsorship."
Professor Slughorn thumped Wade on the shoulder, too excited to even speak.
Of course he knew where Wade's funding had come from.
If those pure-blood families did not think highly of Wade, why would they sponsor him with so many Galleons?
Professor Slughorn felt immensely proud to have such an outstanding student.
...
A few minutes later, Professor Slughorn was already standing beside the house-elves, enthusiastically directing their work.
Wade merely stood nearby with a modest smile, taking no part in it.
He was quite satisfied with the sight.
This way, when it came to potion research, he now had another Potions master helping him.
That was not something money alone could buy. It depended entirely on personal connections.
And now, Professor Slughorn would not only work for Wade without payment, but would even feel grateful to him.
In the future, whatever magical creatures were bred here or whatever potion ingredients were produced, Wade could have Professor Slughorn study them and develop new potion formulas.
After all, as his operations expanded, Wade could not personally participate in every research project.
...
The house-elves had prepared a great deal of material. After surveying the area, Wade temporarily divided the land into different sections.
Then the house-elves began working.
With magic, constructing buildings was both fast and simple.
By evening, the once-empty plain already had several respectable-looking structures standing on it.
Wade looked over the vast plain and suddenly felt that twenty-odd house-elves were still far too few.
He would need to find a way to bring more people here.
But there were too few masterless house-elves available, so he would need to supplement them with wizards.
However, any wizards he brought in would have to be completely trustworthy.
The enslaved dark wizards would actually be ideal, but with Professor Slughorn here, using them would be inconvenient.
Enslaved wizards barely spoke. If Professor Slughorn tried talking to them, he would quickly realise something was wrong.
Wade had no intention of letting those enslaved wizards ruin the good impression Professor Slughorn had of him.
For a moment, Wade found himself in a bit of a dilemma.
Still, the only production line currently planned for this place was basilisk breeding, and the house-elves were more than capable of handling that.
So there was no urgent need to increase the workforce just yet.
______
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69