"Ellie, could you come over here for a moment..."

Benitez frowned and called out to the white-haired fluffball not far away, raising his voice slightly.

Perhaps in the eyes of others, this girl had a prominent identity and unlimited potential, but he wouldn't be intimidated or consider those things.

"Hermione, come here too, Daddy wants to ask you something..."

"Hannah? Come here."

At the same time, the other two parents also called out to their daughters.

Xenophilius didn't say anything this time, but Luna looked around at the atmosphere and obediently came over to join her friends.

"What's up, old man? What is this..."

Ellie looked at Benitez, whose expression was a little strange, and subconsciously glared at the "Hermit" Mr. shrinking in the corner.

Her intuition and her past experience told her that this atmosphere and expression were clearly a prelude to a joint interrogation — but why hadn't this Major Arcana given any warning?

You see, although Xenophilius Lovegood wasn't particularly outstanding in terms of magical strength or strategic planning, he was quite talented at avoiding danger and discerning the truth. According to Ellie's original idea, with this fantasist, who was good at rambling on, present, the parents would soon fall into a vortex of strange theories, leaving them no time to make things difficult and question them.

However, on the other hand, even if Xenophilius didn't say a word, as top students in the school, there was nothing they could be questioned or blamed for.

Crap, did that one explanation of how we got there just make things more complicated?!

Xenophilius quickly recovered from his absent-minded state, mumbled, and carefully weighed his words.

"Well, actually, we were just talking about Christmas..."

"Ellie, tell the truth — where exactly did you take a group of classmates during the Christmas holiday?"

Before Xenophilius could think of a way to smooth things over, Benitez asked directly in a deep voice, glancing at the middle-aged wizard with a strange expression.

"Mr. Lovegood, leave the matter of the last holiday to me to inquire about... In any case, Ellie must have done something wrong."

After many years of getting along, Benitez knew very well the communication skills with Ellie. The simplest and most direct way of asking questions could prevent all sorts of roundabout nonsense.

On the other hand, as a clergyman responsible for listening to the lives of believers and solving the daily troubles of those who prayed, Benitez's ability to observe people's expressions was comparable to that of some famous detectives.

Although there was no effective evidence, Benitez was at least 98% sure of one thing:

— Ellie definitely knew Mr. Lovegood beforehand, and there was some kind of connection between the two.

Linking it to the two wizards who chatted with him in front of the castle earlier, a word he had just heard quickly floated into his mind... Major Arcana?

Christmas holiday?

Where did they go?

The little witches were stunned for a second or two, and then immediately reacted.

Crap! The parents must have found out that they were lying and were now here to question them!

"... Um, we weren't... at the orphanage with you during the Christmas holiday..."

Ellie said, biting the bullet, with a cute smile and a faint glow on her delicate face, while quickly winking at Benitez.

I almost forgot that the terrible threats at parent-teacher conferences didn't just come from professors and the school.

In fact, the most deadly danger often wasn't grades or violations, but more often came from other parents, or rather... the unintentional sharing of information between parents.

"Don't make excuses, I'm not trying to accuse or criticize you, I just want to know where you were during that month-long holiday?"

Benitez shook his head, unfazed, not at all deceived by Ellie's cute show of weakness, and said calmly.

"Mr. Granger said that you ladies were in Las Town, but that's clearly not the case, is it?"

"Yes, that's right, Hermione, where did you go?"

Mr. Granger also asked, frowning tightly, looking at his flustered daughter.

Although Mrs. Abbott didn't ask the same question, the look in her eyes as she looked at Hannah was almost the same oppressive inquiry.

"Um, this..."

Ellie stammered a few words, her eyes darting around, inadvertently landing on the "Hermit" Mr. standing on the edge.

The biggest problem now was Xenophilius's previous "testimony." It wasn't difficult to make up a story; the difficulty was making up a story that wouldn't contradict itself in a prisoner's dilemma.

At least in the minds of most parents, Lovegood, as a member of the "parent camp," should be considered trustworthy, which gave Ellie an opportunity to turn the tables.

"Actually..."

Ellie gave Xenophilius a subtle wink, signaling him to be prepared to cooperate later.

After so long of getting along, she knew very well the personality of the editor-in-chief of The Quibbler, and his position in the Major Arcana Council.

Admittedly, Xenophilius found it difficult to make strong, personalized, key proposals on certain major directional decisions, but this was also his greatest advantage:

When no other Major Arcana wizard offered a conflicting idea, Xenophilius would most likely cooperate with her performance unconditionally... as long as it didn't involve endangering Luna.

Um... me? Are you talking about...?

Mr. Lovegood obviously noticed the look Ellie gave him and pointed to himself in surprise.

Then, under Ellie's firm gaze, Mr. Lovegood nodded with a wry face — just as Ellie had judged, in the "post-Dumbledore" era, she was the king.

"Actually, we... last Christmas holiday, we were actually..."

Ellie dragged out her voice, speaking softly and hesitantly, trying to show the apologetic look that a normal little girl should have.

"— At Mr. Lovegood's house..."

"Luna told me that you were secretly hiding in the kitchen, avoiding the inspection of school professors and Ministry of Magic officials."

Before Ellie could finish speaking, Xenophilius suddenly raised his voice and said quickly, instantly drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Miss Kaslana, our agreement is only to photograph first-hand information, but it does not extend to helping you deceive others or make up stories—"

Xenophilius interrupted in a calm voice, looking around. After taking a breath, he continued to explain to Benitez, Mr. Granger, and others.

"Yes, as you think, I also participated in these children's 'Christmas hide-and-seek' plan because I hoped to photograph some exclusive material..."

"How can you—"

"This kind of thing—"

"But! You should notice that The Quibbler did not publish this issue."

Before the other three parents could erupt, Xenophilius said in a deep voice, his previously somewhat absent-minded expression gradually becoming serious.

"This involves another secret identity of mine. I belong to an ancient, secret organization that protects the magical world... We pursue the truth of the world and the continuation of civilization."

"I'm very sorry, but for various reasons, I can't explain too much about my work to you for the time being—because we should be completely hidden in the darkness."

"However, there are some things that I should inform you of in advance—"

"As an ancient organization that has continued for thousands of years, we will regularly look for potential wizards in the magical world to protect the fire."

Mr. Lovegood interlaced his fingers and looked at the other three parents sincerely and earnestly, saying softly.

"And Miss Kaslana, Miss Granger, Miss Abbott... and of course, my lovely little Luna."

"The four of them are now junior investigators for this secret organization."

After glancing at the skeptical parents, Mr. Lovegood thought for a few seconds and added.

"Oh, one thing might prove what I just said..."

"As dark forces become more and more dangerous, various magic governments have united to form an agency called s.h.i.e.L.d."

"And as junior investigators, from the beginning of their employment, they will receive a monthly allowance in their Gringotts accounts — you can go to the Diagon Alley bank to inquire... Due to the relationship between guardians and minors, you should be able to inquire about the details. As for more things..."

Mr. Lovegood coughed lightly and imitated the posture of the "Tower" Mr., saying proudly.

"Unfortunately, you don't have the authority to know for the time being—"

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Hooray!