Perhaps those dozen thought-provoking audiences had finally paid off, perhaps the overdue wages had finally been fully paid, or perhaps His Highness Tales's speech had touched hearts and inspired deep reflection. Whatever the reason, after noon, the attitudes of the officials from every department who came to report their work—and the news they brought—were completely different.
"Incredible, Your Highness," the port officials reported, beaming. "But just as you said, the situation at the port is improving..."
"Led by the famous Sea Wolf Fleet, quite a few fleets have reopened for business. Some are even offering free escorts and cracking down hard on pirates, saying they must uphold professional ethics. Even if Emerald City sinks, they'll stand at their posts until the very end..."
"With their protection, at least seven cargo ships are entering the harbor today to unload. The captains and owners have all issued statements saying that the waters around Emerald City are very safe and well suited for business. They'll come again in the future, and they wouldn't dare not to... Er, I mean, they'd be sorry not to..."
"Speaking of that, regarding the cases some time ago involving merchant ships being robbed and extorted at sea... well, the city's security forces intervened quickly and have already investigated them all. It seems they were all misunderstandings—misunderstandings, not acts of piracy..."
"Those escort fleets cooperating with the authorities... Oh, no, they should merely be called individual ships from a single fleet. The temporary sailors they recruited were incompetent and got the fee rates wrong, collecting a few extra payments. That made it look like robbery and extortion, leaving the wrong impression and causing unnecessary misunderstandings... But rest assured, the relevant departments acted swiftly and have already compensated the affected merchants with next year's berthing discount coupons..."
"The maritime administration