How do you fool a group of people?
It’s simple. Make them see their own insignificance, then show them others enjoying privileges far beyond their reach.
Jealousy.
It can drive people to abandon all reason.
A hero?
A thief who stole from others had somehow become a hero who robbed the rich to help the poor?
There was no evidence, only testimony of uncertain truth.
Yet they dared attack Silver Hand Johnny simply because they saw themselves as the weak who had received help.
Why?
Because we’re the weak!
We deserve to be helped!
You’re Silver Hand. You’re capital!
You possess wealth we don’t have, so you should give us your money.
He only took a few insignificant things from you. How could you be so cruel?
We represent justice.
Others may fear your wealth and power, but we don’t!
There was one thing even more satisfying than committing evil.
Doing it in the name of justice.
They vented their anger, and the thrill of challenging authority made them feel like heroes themselves.
By the time John received the letter, the incident at Silver Hand Johnny had already made the newspapers.
The True Face of Silver Hand: Hero Who Helped Civilians Murdered!
Silver Hand Meets Its Waterloo: Capital Expansion Fails as Polish Public Protests
Poland Repays Kindness with Betrayal!
Silver Hand Johnny Attacked, and the Culprit Is...
The Tragedy of Barty Crouch Sr.: Silver Hand Should Never Have Been Allowed into Poland
John’s expression darkened.
"Looks like this holiday won’t be a peaceful one."
He narrowed his eyes, his fingers rubbing against the slightly rough surface of the newspaper.
This appeared to be a counterattack.
Just as John had once used money to pry open a crack in the door, the other side was now using this incident to tell him that ideals could drive people mad as well.
This was a battle between capital and ideals.
They had elevated the issue into something greater, making Silver Hand seem utterly wicked.
"A thief. A very clever move."
John smiled.
It seemed no one remembered that this so-called hero had been a thief who broke into someone else’s shop to steal.
Simply because he had taken food while stealing, people conveniently ignored the fact that he had also stolen products from the ’Zhi’ series.
People only wanted to see what they wanted to see.
The incident affected Barty Crouch Sr. as well, and public opinion began to surge once more.
The Polish Ministry of Magic stepped in and brought this so-called righteous punishment to a halt.
Minister for Magic Ing personally appeared and said sorrowfully, "I believe in Silver Hand, and I believe in Mr Crouch. The Ministry will do everything in its power to uncover the truth behind Diwala’s death."
Only this heroic Minister could make the people of Poland listen.
Even so, Silver Hand found itself unable to make any progress.
It should have been stimulating Poland’s economy, but now its operations had been forced into stagnation.
Silver Hand had never encountered anything like this before.
The Minister kept saying that he trusted them, yet his expression was one of silent endurance.
It made people begin to wonder whether Silver Hand’s control over the countries it entered had already reached such a level.
Now it was John’s turn to respond.
...
On the third day after the attack, Silver Hand reopened.
The Polish wizards sneered, mocking Silver Hand for its wishful thinking.
Then a newspaper fell from the sky.
A wizard picked it up and began to read.
...
A Closer Look at the Silver Hand Incident in Poland: The Young Wizards Foundation
Silver Hand may not be a particularly familiar name abroad, but in our country, it is known as a great benefactor.
From the very beginning of Silver Hand’s establishment, there has been a fund known as the Young Wizards Foundation.
The Young Wizards Foundation was born from John Wick’s concern for those suffering under curses. The foundation he established provides free Wolfsbane Potion to every underage werewolf. As Silver Hand developed, the Young Wizards Foundation gradually became involved in even more causes.
It also provides financial support for magical education at Hogwarts. According to reports, since last year, every new Hogwarts student has been able to purchase school supplies at less than half the normal price.
Not only that, when young wizards face difficulties attending school due to family problems, the Young Wizards Foundation supports them until they complete their education. Because of this foundation, fewer young wizards have suffered persecution as a result of curses.
Silver Hand expresses its regret over everything that has happened in Poland and has mobilised the Young Wizards Foundation to support every young wizard in the country, including funding the construction of student housing.
Recently, however, Silver Hand in Poland discovered that the Young Wizards Foundation had been repeatedly robbed. After an investigation, the culprit was caught and handed over to the Ministry of Magic.
To avoid causing panic, the losses were kept hidden....
...
The wizard read the article from beginning to end without missing a single word, his eyes fixed on the words Young Wizards Foundation.
He was not the only one. Everyone else who saw the newspaper reacted the same way.
They might be willing to die for their ideals.
But everyone had something they cared about.
Family was the greatest concern of all.
Educational support. Treatment for curses.
The Young Wizards Foundation operated in every region where Silver Hand Johnny had a presence.
But what had they done?
They had smashed up Silver Hand Johnny.
They were ruining the future of Poland’s young wizards!
Some scoffed at the news and refused to believe it, while others remained doubtful.
Until that afternoon.
A young wizard hesitantly entered Silver Hand Johnny.
The insecurity and embarrassment brought by poverty made him too afraid to raise his head and look at the beautiful woman behind the counter.
"I wanted to ask about the Young Wizards Foundation..."
The woman smiled. "For applications related to the Young Wizards Foundation, please go to the service window in the second room."
The boy wandered over in a daze. A young man was waiting there.
When he came back out, he stared at the educational grant in his hands.
It was not much, only one hundred Galleons, along with a Young Wizard Card that could neither be copied nor forged.
Money deposited into the card could be converted into points, allowing him to enjoy a fifty percent discount.
Everything felt like a dream.
As soon as he came back to his senses, he immediately ran to his friend’s house.
Panting heavily, he urged his friend to apply for a Young Wizard Card as well.
The news spread through wizarding families across Poland like a virus.
Who did not want their children to have a better life?
The lingering effects of war made the rich richer and the poor poorer.
No matter the world, the poor always made up the majority.
A fifty percent discount.
Who would not want that?
They all came.
And they all received educational grants.
Only then did everyone finally believe that the Young Wizards Foundation was real.
That very night, people came to the Silver Hand Johnny store and silently cleaned up the rubbish left behind from the damage they had caused.
By the next morning, the area outside Silver Hand Johnny was so clean that it looked completely out of place compared to the surroundings.
The wizards who had originally resisted Silver Hand were left confused.
This was not some empty promise. It was a tangible benefit placed directly in front of them.
As for Diwala’s death, it gradually seemed to fade from people’s minds.
Whenever the subject came up, some people deliberately avoided mentioning the "hero."
This was John’s counterattack.
He wanted those people to understand that Diwala had not been helping them.
He had been harming them.
A little food?
Sorry, but you could receive much more than that.
Money and ideals.
You could believe in the spiritual world built for you by ideals. You could believe that the sacrifices you made now would someday make life better for everyone.
But why wait until the future?
The benefits you could receive right now could fill your stomach.
Ideals?
How many people would starve to death before ever seeing the result?
To make an enemy of Silver Hand was to ruin the future of young wizards.
An adult could endure hunger, grit their teeth, and hold on to the hope that life would improve someday.
But hungry children would cry.
What they understood was that ideals left them hungry, and that Silver Hand, the one thing that could fill their stomachs, had been smashed apart.
...
Back at the Wick residence, John casually set the newspaper aside.
"If you can have fighters for your ideals report distorted facts, then I can spend money to have the correct version written for me."
Money was pouring out like water, but John barely felt it.
If vast sums of money were never spent, they were no different from piles of rubbish.
If a problem could be solved with money, why bother thinking of another method?
Thinking of those fighters who would rather starve for their ideals than miss the chance to curse Silver Hand, John rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Why does this make me feel like the villain?"
The whole situation really did resemble a group of people challenging capital, only for the man behind the capital to buy off the less steadfast among them with tangible benefits.
Even John laughed at himself.
____
o(*￣▽￣*)ブSupport and Read 12 Chapters ahead: Patreon/Dragonel
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter