Turning back the clock to this morning.

Guided by military boats, the flat deck of a large cargo ship slowly navigated through the Four Bu Reefs waterway, arriving at the pier located in the bay within the Gusborg Peninsula.

This area was mostly used as a military port, under the jurisdiction of a small fleet directly responsible for guarding the coastal line of the capital city. However, after the New Year's coup d'état seized control of the capital, Brad ordered the expansion of the military port to maximize the receipt of material support from Maston.

After the negotiations were completed, Granzon returned to the city that had been distant for over half a year. The remaining city guards inside the city did not resist any further. After all, for most of them, the outcome of resistance was already doomed to be destruction. Brad's reforms, after being implemented for so long, had not effectively addressed the various existing issues in the city.

Running out of ammunition and food was not the most fatal blow, but after losing faith and support, this revolution finally reached its end. Since it was a peaceful takeover, the city did not experience another wave of war, and there were no major issues with the city's infrastructure. However, the administrative problems arising from the dismantling of the original ruling class and various official positions by Brad would certainly become more apparent over time.

What was more urgent than management to solve was the food situation in the city. If emergency food supplies were not brought in from various places, there might have soon been cases of people starving.

"Is this also all food? Quite a lot in quantity."

At the pier, the official in charge of tallying incoming and outgoing goods began recording the information of the merchant ship on the form in his hands.

"Haha, this is not much. After all, the city has almost consumed all the food, scarcity is severe. Just this ship... it's not even enough for one week's rations for the residents on a street."

A man, likely the ship captain, descended from the ship. His short-sleeved shirt revealed his strong arms, sun-kissed skin indicating he was the type accustomed to the wind and sun year-round.

Behind him, equally robust crew members assisted the dockworkers in unloading bags of grains.

"Let's stack them here first, I need to inspect."

The official, registering the cargo, took out a hollow steel awl from the leather sheath hanging on his side.

"Oh, there is still this procedure? I thought it had been omitted considering how busy the dock is," the ship captain expressed surprise.

"I would like to skip it if possible too, but manpower is lacking. The personnel dedicated to inspection have been reassigned, leaving only me to handle this as an added duty. It's quite troublesome even with a thirty percent increase in pay," the official complained while walking over to a pile of grain bags already placed on a cart, casually puncturing one of the bags and pulling out some grains.

Golden wheat grains spilled out, quickly forming a small pile on the ground.

"The quality is very good, and there are no inconsistent parts in quality. These supplies are not cheap, right?"

The official couldn't help but admire as he quickly scanned the grains from the tip to the end of the awl now coated with grains.

Due to the emergency drawing of grains from all over the country, quality had not been strictly enforced under such urgent circumstances. It was reasonable for some places to bring out stored old grains from the warehouses, better than facing food shortages. The official had already seen questionable quality grains in his recent work, instances where bags containing new grains externally had old grains inside. As long as it wasn't too outrageous, they would let it slide. Encountering grains of such high quality suddenly made him react, as these grains would probably only be affordable for upper-middle-class families in the city, or perhaps directly supplied to the nobles.

"Haha, not really. According to the orders of His Majesty War King, all urgently transported grains are purchased at a unified price and then put into the market in Gusborg. The price is uniform with no exceptions."

"Let's just leave it at that."

Shrugging, the official didn't believe this story at all. Knowing how the nobles in the city behaved, expecting them to consume the same food as the commoners was worse than killing them. Who would believe they wouldn't exploit their privileges to get better quality food? If such a scenario had really occurred, even the Silver War Maiden would be taken by dragons.

After five minutes of randomly sampling and inspecting the grains on the ship, the official issued a permit and proceeded to register the next vessel at the berth. The ship captain, having delegated the task of unloading the cargo to his crew, disappeared into the bustling crowd at the pier.

...

Palace of Milanía, Granzon's study.

This was where Granzon usually handled official affairs, but occasionally, it was used to meet visitors, possibly close friends or guests with matters not to be made public.

"I didn't expect you to come in person, Lady Cevita."

"You're too kind, after all, you are the renowned War King. The Holiness is unwell and couldn't come in person. If I hadn't come either, it would have been very disrespectful to you."

Seated in front of Granzon was a woman dressed in a red holy robe.

The attire of Temple Church priests did not have detailed distinctions; even the Archbishop Heinrich, who usually wore robes not much different from common priests, wore white or silver. But there was only one person in the Holy See who could wear a red robe, just like the Pope - the Cardinal, wearing red as the future Pope.

Nobody knew Lady Cevita's true age, as she showed very few signs of aging on the surface, looking like she was just in her early thirties. Her face was not stunningly beautiful, but her features were extremely soft and harmonious, coupled with an intangible air of holiness that easily evoked admiration.

"Your Mr. Heinrich didn't consider the issue of respect when summoning Angels in my city, did he?" Granzon lifted a cup of tea and blew on the steaming coffee.

Of course, it didn't matter to a king.

"Uh..."

Lady Cevita, who had intended to set the stage, was caught off guard by Granzon's direct approach. However, it made sense. As the representative of the Holy See, visiting at this point in time after the end of the war in Milanía would easily suggest the purpose.

Adjusting her approach, Lady Cevita looked earnestly into Granzon's eyes and continued:

"Alright, King Granzon, I won't beat around the bush. We have come this time for Bishop Heinrich's matter, and... the miracle."

"Heinrich?". Granzon's gaze carried a hint of amusement as he repeated Lady Cevita's words softly, emphasizing the last two words.

Judging by the brutal trials internal to the Temple Church for heretics, it seemed to fit the Temple Church's style, but...

Interesting. Even though Heinrich had committed the heinous act of breaking away the Milanía diocese from the control of the Holy See, Lady Cevita still referred to him as a "bishop." Could it be that within the Holy See, there was still recognition of Heinrich's status?