"Is that food?"
Musa's words were like a sharp sword, piercing Pachakutke's heart.
The Inca king was speechless for a moment, as if his throat was being choked, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Musa tilted his head and looked at Pachakutk with a strange expression, his dark brown eyes full of curiosity and suspicion.
"How strange, King Pachakutek."
"Why would you secretly move grain in the middle of the night?"
"And there are quite a few of them?"
"Strange, very strange."
As Musa spoke, he slowly paced around the edge of the dock.
"Moreover, as far as I know, it is impossible to buy any food on Delos."
"All food on the island was distributed and managed by the Greeks, and there were no large merchant ships engaged in trade."
"Hiss... That's strange."
"Where did you get so much grain? Did someone sell it to you privately?"
Upon hearing this, Pachakutek immediately broke out in a sweat.
A cool sea breeze blew by, and he felt a burning sting.
His tongue was stiff, but his brain was working at high speed, searching for a reasonable explanation.
That is, just one reason.
"Well...actually..."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and then forced a "natural" smile onto his face.
"I managed to buy it from some merchants nearby."
“You know, they do business at sea all year round, and occasionally they also carry some food to sell at sea.”
"So I had my attendants..."
His explanation sounded so weak that even he himself couldn't believe it.
Musa's face wore a half-smile, like a cheetah eyeing a wounded antelope.
"A merchant at sea?"
“Interesting! I’ve never heard of a merchant who could bypass the World Conference’s material controls and smuggle large quantities of grain to Delos Island.”
"Looks like they're someone important, aren't they?"
Silence spread between the two, and the sound of waves crashing against the pier seemed exceptionally clear at that moment.
Pachakutek felt as if he were nailed to the wall, as if he were naked and receiving the other person's gaze.
However, Musa did not press the matter further, but instead leisurely walked to the other end of the dock.
"The night view is so beautiful, don't you think?"
He spoke casually, his tone devoid of any hostility.
Pachakutek hesitated for a moment and did not stop him in time.
By the time he realized what was happening, Musa had already quickened his pace and arrived at the dock area where the grain was stored.
"that!"
Pachakutek was about to call out to the other person, but found it was too late.
Several Inca soldiers who were carrying grain stopped what they were doing when they saw their king suddenly appear, and stood there frozen in bewilderment.
Musa bent down to examine an open box of flour and several baskets of bread beside it. After gently crushing the bread with his hands, an involuntary and genuine expression of admiration appeared on his face.
"What excellent quality grain!"
"These grains are of excellent quality, Your Majesty Pachakutk!"
"This fine flour, this perfect bread... these are all foods of extremely high quality!"
"I can't believe a maritime merchant would sell you something like this!"
Musa's tone naturally carried a hint of doubt, but his expression was surprisingly calm, even showing a touch of curiosity.
This contradictory attitude made it even more difficult for Pachakutk to grasp the other party's true intentions.
"I...I was just lucky, I happened to run into..."
Pachakutek stammered as he explained, increasingly unsure of the other party's true intentions.
However, the other party was the leader of a civilization, the monarch of a kingdom.
He couldn't just chase the other person away, so he could only let them put their hands into the grain and listen to their exclamations of surprise.
"Oh! King Pachakutek! No wonder you had to transport them away so late at night!"
"These are all treasures, haha!"
Musa picked up a piece of bread and weighed it in his hand.
"Hmm! This bread has a very special texture; it's soft yet keeps well, and the production process is quite sophisticated."
"However, rather than the production process, it's more accurate to say that the wheat used to make the bread is of excellent quality!"
"Such food is extremely rare!"
"King Pachakutek, you don't mind me..."
As Musa spoke, he showed a hint of excitement, indicating to Pachakutk that he wanted to eat the bread.
Pachakutk simply smiled, indicating that the other party could eat it.
Although Pachakutek wanted to get rid of the other party immediately, he could not do so because of his status as the leader of the Malian civilization.
After all, there are quite a few kingdoms that have friendly relations with Mali, including Persia and Greece, which have many mutually beneficial trade routes with Mali.
Therefore, Pachakutek could only watch and comply with the other party's wishes, hoping that Musa would leave as soon as possible.
At this point, Musa broke open the bread, revealing its evenly spaced air pockets.
Upon seeing this, Musa's expression turned to surprise.
"Oh! Look! I dare say this bread is top-notch throughout the entire Mediterranean region!"
"Mmm—delicious! Delicious! King Pachakutek, that's not fair of you!"
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