Inside the second-floor dining hall of the Holy Seat Mansion, people came and went; it was the busiest time of the day.

The conversations rose and fell, serving as a backdrop to the clinking of plates, occasionally interrupted by bursts of hearty laughter.

The senior monks of the Holy Alliance were generally quite young, with even the oldest being no more than fifty years old.

Perhaps due to the brutality of the past wars, they all loved to laugh heartily in these relatively peaceful times.

The senior monks from various departments sat around small round tables, chatting leisurely while waiting for the waiters to serve the dishes.

Although the Holy Seat Mansion originally had dining facilities, it was only in the past two years that they were properly installed.

After all, in these two years, as the grace market was promoted, the ingredients at the Holy Machinery Court, the central hub of the Holy Alliance, gradually became abundant.

Considering the health of the cardinals and the morale boost brought by delicious food, Horn agreed to let Qianqian allocate a budget for the construction of a dining hall and a cafeteria.

Catherine specially leveraged her connections to hire a Falan chef to create a dining room specifically for senior monks.

Only those above the rank of Gatekeeper Monk could dine inside the Holy Seat Mansion, amounting to less than fifty people.

Yet, the stingy Pope wouldn’t let you have the luxury of choosing your dishes.

One set meal for breakfast, and three options for lunch and dinner; eat or leave it.

The food wasn’t the extravagant Falan palace cuisine, but rather a downgraded version for the middle class.

For example, the set meal Todd was currently eating.

The appetizer of red sauce stewed river clams was a downgraded version of the Falan iced crystal fish roll.

The first course, pepper-fried North black pork leg, was the downgraded version of the Falan court delicacy, smoked berry venison shank.

The soup was cheese onion soup, and the dessert was honey roasted apple.

The main course was a choice between the most ordinary rice and wheat rice or bread.

Overall, the preparation could mimic the originals, but the ingredients shouldn’t be too high-end, just fresh and easily obtainable.

To prevent situations like "His Majesty Saint Sun loves venison, yet there’s no young deer in the Holy Alliance."

However, compared to the current living standards of the citizens, the meals that senior monks eat daily are only something that citizens can barely afford to eat once every half a month.

Citizens usually ate the improved version of hometown fried dishes Horn brought.

Horn, having nothing to do after work every day, would spend time in the kitchen fiddling with the Chinese food flavors he was most familiar with.

It’s called an improved version because this world lacks some seasonings, and there are taste differences even between similar crops.

For instance, Horn had to use brown sauce instead of soy sauce and red sauce instead of sweet and sour sauce.

Things like red sauce tenderloin and brown sauce roast meat could mimic about seventy to eighty percent of the flavor (Thousand River Valley Mountain County is rich in black pigs).

The benefit is simplicity in preparation—the dish can be ready in minutes, quick, easy, and tasty.

Ordinary Holy Alliance workers, notary officials, and low-ranking monks ate at the first-floor fry-food cafeteria.

Some senior monks who didn’t like improved Falan cuisine would instead go downstairs to eat.

With abundant cheap peat as a heat source, this method of cooking with overflowing firepower was favored by the citizens.

Moreover, this fry cooking wasn’t limited to commoners.

Elevate the ingredients a bit, and it becomes a set meal in the Holy Seat dining room.

Horn called this style of cuisine the El Revival Cuisine, asserting it was authentic food for the El people.

It must be eaten with two thin wooden sticks with rice and wheat, quite particular.

The downgraded versions of Falan court dishes also had further downgraded versions among the populace.

Thus, among the people, this Falan cuisine and the El Revival Cuisine were continuously blending.

Horn himself did not notice that, unconsciously, with the continuous improvement of the economic level and the gradual faster circulation of goods, the Holy Alliance was gradually beginning to develop its unique cuisine.

However, facing this table of sumptuous dishes, Todd’s fork was hovering over the pork leg but found it difficult to take a bite.

Sitting beside him, Secret Monk Lysandre raised his head. Seeing that the Reverend wasn’t eating, he elegantly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and curiously asked, "Your Excellency, is there something I can help relieve your worries with?"

Todd glanced up at this young monk, hesitating.

This Lysandre monk was a mountain dweller, once a notary, later entered the Holy Alliance government via Hylviss.

Thereafter he went to further his studies at the Holy Machinery Court University, and after the end of the second Thousand River Valley War, he followed Todd to South Mangde County.

He handled simple and complex, big and small affairs all in an orderly manner for four years.

So far, Lysandre had been his most capable assistant, so telling him should be no problem.

Lysandre scooted his chair over next to Todd and lowered his voice, saying, "Excellency Todd, I am your Secret Monk; you can tell me anything."

Fiddling with the handle of the fork in his fingers, Todd slightly lowered his head: "In the meeting just concluded, Her Highness Jeanne asked me to see her after lunch."

"Are you sure about her intention?" Being summoned by the Saintess is no small matter; Lysandre immediately pursued.

Todd shook his head: "I’m not sure, but I’m afraid. Could it be that landslide issue? It unsettles me."

"Oh no." Lysandre became anxious, "Is it something you’re at fault for? You didn’t do anything wrong."

"If you’re not wrong, then why conceal it?"

"Because it was inherently unreasonable, let me put it this way." Lysandre licked his lips, "If you report the landslide issue, will you get reprimanded?"

"Yes."

"The opposition to road repair was huge; if it’s reported and spreads, will it affect continuing the mountain road repairs?"

"It will."

"You say you are at fault, but who can predict a landslide? You say you are not at fault, but report it and you’ll be punished." Glancing back at the clock, Lysandre clapped his hands, "You see, caught between a rock and a hard place, aren’t you?"

Todd stared at the pepper sauce on the plate, silent.

"I know His Majesty Saint Sun is benevolent, but these are accidental events; is anyone ever demoted over accidents?

The rules were set, but obviously flawed and should be adjusted; since they haven’t been adjusted, should we just suffer this silently?"

"Should we hide it from the Holy Machinery Court? On the battlefield, you would handle it thoroughly." Todd glared sternly at Lysandre.

"My dear Excellency, this isn’t a battlefield. If you report this issue, the monks below working, whether small or large, are doing excellent, yet they would be implicated; is that fair?"

Seeing Todd suddenly straighten up and start gulping down the meat, Lysandre knew he had understood.

He knew this Reverend Todd too well, recognizing his hesitation.

Indeed, one shouldn’t just accept this silent loss.

Reverend Todd’s position was at its peak.

He, however, was still young, and if they left him in South Mangde County another four years because of this, when would he ever become an Imperial Priest?

Striking straight to the heart, Lysandre pressed on, "This central meeting, after all, was about reallocating resources.

If you report, during the conference, whatever benefits come down, other Reverends could use this against you; is that fair?

If other counties also had issues but hid them, maybe they didn’t even handle as well as you, yet they would remain unaffected, and you’d suffer. How is that fair?

We have done our work and reported; why be tangled in the process?"

"I must say a word to you." Todd swallowed the bread in his mouth, "In the next few days, attend the Holy Path theology lectures more, you’re full of cunning ideas.

... I’ll bear it for now, but not for you all, but for South Mangde County.

After the meeting, when everything is settled, we’ll proactively report, and if there’s punishment, we’ll all take it."

"Of course." Lysandre revealed a row of pristine white teeth.