Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

"Alchemical muskets..."

"Alchemical cannons..."

"Cement..."

The Pope sat upon his Holy See, murmuring to himself.

Suddenly, he asked his attendant, "Which diocese does the Silverclaw Peninsula belong to?"

"Your Holiness, the Silverclaw Peninsula falls under the River Valley Diocese. Its bishop is Victor Corien, whose seat is in River Valley City, adjacent to the Silverclaw Peninsula," the attendant replied smoothly. He was thoroughly familiar with such information.

Seeing the Pope's calm expression, he knew that was not all His Holiness wished to know. After a brief pause, he continued, "The River Valley Diocese belongs to the Bayeux Ecclesiastical Province. The Duchy of Silverbrook and part of the Kingdom of Valeria both fall within the province's jurisdiction. Archbishop Cologne shepherds the Lord's flock throughout these lands, though he primarily operates within the Kingdom of Valeria."

The Pope fell silent for a moment after hearing this before slowly saying, "Inform Archbishop Cologne that he is to travel to the Silverclaw Peninsula. The flock there is in need of the Lord's salvation."

"Pay special attention to that lord, Levi."

"We cannot allow a spokesman of the devil to sit in that position."

"Yes, Your Holiness. I will convey your intentions to Archbishop Cologne." The attendant bowed respectfully.

After another moment of silence, the Pope added, "As for this Levi, have the Inquisition investigate his origins."

Upon hearing that, the attendant recalled a recent matter involving the Inquisition. He hesitated for a second before deciding to report it. Normally, it would not have warranted mention at this level, but the timing happened to be appropriate.

"Your Holiness, regarding the Inquisition, not long ago a high-ranking inquisitor disappeared near the Silverclaw Peninsula."

The Pope's eyes immediately sharpened.

Lowering his gaze from his throne, he looked directly at the attendant.

"You have done well in bringing this matter to my attention."

After saying that, the Pope pondered for a long time before speaking again.

"Have Archbishop Cologne change his permanent residence."

A look of surprise appeared on the attendant's face.

Having an archbishop—also known as a metropolitan archbishop—relocate his permanent seat was no simple matter.

Even the Pope could not decide such a thing with a single word.

He still had to follow Church procedure, and the process was exceedingly complicated.

First, the Pope would have to convene the College of Cardinals and hold formal deliberations, presenting the reasons and preliminary plan for the relocation. Cardinals and canon law scholars would jointly review the proposal and determine whether it complied with Church regulations.

Only after the proposal passed review could the Pope issue a formal written decree specifying the archbishop's new seat, the relocation deadline, the requirements for transferring authority, and the legal basis for the move.

After that came official notifications to the relevant dioceses and clergy.

The ecclesiastical province would then conduct its internal handover procedures while coordinating with secular lords and informing the relevant kings or nobles.

After all, while the Church was powerful, the nature of faith meant that it still required secular support.

Once confirmation had been obtained from the secular authorities, the relocation and resumption of church affairs could officially begin.

Following the deadline established by the papal decree, the archbishop would lead the province's core clergy and church property to the new seat. Papal envoys would supervise the move to ensure everything proceeded smoothly and to prevent losses of property or conflicts among personnel.

Upon arriving at the new seat, an envoy dispatched by the Pope would preside over an enthronement ceremony. The archbishop would formally take his seat in the province's new cathedral, officially establishing his authority over the ecclesiastical province from its new location and declaring the relocation complete.

Finally, the archbishop would submit a written report to the Pope detailing the relocation.

Only then would the entire process of changing an archbishop's permanent seat be considered finished.

It was, without question, an extremely cumbersome and time-consuming undertaking.

Yet the Pope had still decided to do it.

It seemed that this Levi had left a very deep impression on him, the attendant thought silently.

...

The scene shifted back to Coldwind Keep Town.

Not long after Levi returned from the sky, Sky Knight Rune, Yalina, Miss Nightingale Odelle, and the others came to report the gains from the war.

"..."

"On land, we've occupied the former territory of the Silverclaw Viscount. The entire Silverclaw Peninsula has now come under your rule. However, the territory is simply too large. Our original military forces are already showing obvious signs of being insufficient."

Levi nodded.

The Silverclaw Peninsula covered roughly 240 square kilometers, while Hornreach had only a little over 40 square kilometers.

With only a few thousand troops, how could they truly exercise control over the entire peninsula?

That number was only enough to temporarily garrison a few key locations and claim nominal control over the territory.

"Then recruit more soldiers," he said.

This was exactly what Sky Knight Rune had expected.

He nodded before bringing up another matter.

"Lord Levi, within Silverclaw Territory there are two baronial families and more than seventy knightly families that possess manors or village fiefs. Some of them are still fighting against us, while others have offered their submission. Their condition is that we recognize their status and guarantee their interests."

Under normal circumstances, a victor would agree to such terms.

But Levi was not a normal victor.

Having come from a centralized society, Levi could not accept this kind of feudal system where independent power centers existed within the state.

He could not accept having his orders treated as meaningless noise by these so-called vassals.

His gaze turned cold as he said to Sky Knight Rune, "As for those who are still fighting for the Silverclaw Viscount and the Silverclaw family, deal with them as necessary."

"As for the families that wish to surrender, tell them this: their surrender will be accepted. Their property rights will be recognized, and they may keep their status as knights or other nobles. However, their fiefs are gone. All of them will be brought under the direct rule of Hornreach."

"If they refuse, eliminate them," Levi ordered indifferently.

"Yes, sir." Sky Knight Rune nodded before adding, "By the way, Lord Levi, our supplies for muskets and cannons are being consumed at an enormous rate. We need to replenish them as soon as possible."

"I know."

Levi nodded. This was another situation that would require his Synthesis.

It would affect his training plans.

Silently, Levi added the construction of a military factory to his list of priorities.

Seeing this, Sky Knight Rune said nothing more.

At that moment, Yalina, acting as the steward responsible for internal affairs, stepped forward.

"We've now taken control of the entire Silverclaw Territory. According to our preliminary census, the territory currently has a population of roughly thirty thousand people, scattered across four towns and nearly a hundred villages."

"The problem is that the kobold rampage, combined with the war against us and the lord's requisitioning of supplies and grain, has left many people on the brink of starvation."

"Recruit them for public works and pay them in food," Levi instructed. "Build several cement roads and connect the entire Silverclaw Peninsula."

"If we do that, our burden will become extremely heavy. We're not talking about a few thousand people anymore, but more than thirty thousand. We've already been under tremendous strain because of the construction of the new city... and we're running low on gold."

"The Kingdom of Valeria has no intention of paying ransom for its soldiers. We have to feed those soldiers as well," Yalina said.

You never truly understand how expensive things are until you're the one managing the household.

Everything costs money.

And there's never enough of it.

Yalina genuinely missed the days when she had wandered around in a carriage with Levi.

Back then, as long as the two of them had enough to eat, there was nothing else to worry about.

None of these headaches existed.

Pouting slightly, she brought up another issue.

"Our food reserves are running low. The heads of the two merchant guilds have already informed us that grain prices will rise by forty percent. The Kingdom of Valeria has banned grain exports, so their merchant ships have to travel to more distant nations to acquire food. That's driven prices up."

"Even if we ignore the thirty thousand people in Silverclaw Territory, our original subjects plus the prisoners already total more than twenty-five thousand people. The output from the strip fields of Bittervine alone isn't enough anymore," Yalina said.

Why did I ever become a lord?

The thought surfaced in Levi's mind once again.

But he immediately suppressed it.

"I'll solve the food problem," he said.

"How?" Yalina asked. "With your magic?"

Levi had previously used Synthesis to create large amounts of food.

But feeding forty or fifty thousand people was an entirely different matter.

If he actually did that, he wouldn't have time for anything else.

He would spend every day using Synthesis to manufacture food.

Clearly, that wasn't something Levi intended to do.

"Not with magic."

"We'll solve it through farming," Levi said.

"You're planning to promote Bittervine throughout Silverclaw Territory as well? If that's the case, then although it tastes awful, the food problem can be solved." Yalina fell into thought.

Levi shook his head.

Bittervine grew rapidly only in saline-alkali soil.

Most of Silverclaw Territory consisted of fertile, normal farmland.

Using such land to grow Bittervine would be wasteful, and it might not even produce good yields.

As for ordinary crops, even the fastest varieties required months to grow and mature.

Obviously, that wouldn't solve the territory's immediate food crisis.

Could Levi use Synthesis to create a brand-new fast-growing crop?

That wasn't beyond his capabilities.

But if he suddenly introduced such a crop, did people think the Church was stupid?

One Bittervine was already conspicuous enough.

Introduce another miracle crop?

The Inquisition would come knocking.

In fact, they might already be on their way.

A high-ranking inquisitor already possessed combat power comparable to a Third-Ring Wizard.

What about those above them?

Levi was only a humble Third-Ring Wizard himself.

He wasn't reckless enough to take such risks.

Otherwise, he'd be forced into another survival journey.

Of course, the food problem still had to be solved.

After a moment of thought, Levi said to everyone, "Come with me."

That was what he said, but in reality, he immediately used Wizard's Hand to carry everyone into the sky.

"What did you bring us up here for? You're not planning to kill us by dropping us, are you?" Yalina complained, her face turning pale from her fear of heights.

Hearing that, Levi gave her an amused look.

"Exactly."

The moment he finished speaking, he dismissed Wizard's Hand.

Without anything supporting them beneath their feet, everyone was instantly pulled downward by gravity.

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