Chapter 348: An Unrefusable Friend

Josh had been quite busy lately.

Blood Harbor had been in turmoil for a while due to the rebellion of the Life Mother Church.

Josh was self-aware—he was just an ordinary person.

Trying to protect the group of refugees from the Northlanders in a Blood Harbor teeming with cultists required extra caution and care.

Though Castel had sent out some positive signals toward him, it was still better to remain cautious before the dust settled.

Fortunately, the cultists seemed completely uninterested in their Mystics group.

They had not been harassed in any way.

Still, many starving people kept coming to seek help.

At first, Josh was troubled by this, but he couldn't just ignore them entirely.

The Mystics’ numbers and territory were expanding, but their food supplies were dwindling.

Luckily, the Life Mother Church had staged a big operation, looting the granary in the upper city and distributing food to the starving people.

That greatly eased the pressure on Josh's side.

He even considered reaching out to them and buying some grain.

He had exchanged the goods borrowed from Castel for a large amount of money, and some remained.

The moment he thought of "Castel", a complicated expression crossed Josh’s face.

That day, the old woman had come to see him, wanting to take them away.

He and his companions refused.

Back then, they had stayed in the chaotic Blood Harbor with a determination to die if needed.

Unexpectedly, the rebellion ended at a shocking speed.

That prince had cut through the mess decisively and ended the rebellion.

Then, without delay, he launched various reforms.

Josh barely had time to react.

Thankfully, everything had gone smoothly.

Lately, even rumors of cultists had decreased.

Moreover—

Josh knocked on the door.

A slightly hoarse voice came from inside the room: "Come in."

Pushing open the door, he saw a plainly dressed elderly woman sitting on the room’s only chair, looking toward him.

"Granny."

Today was the agreed-upon meeting day with her.

After successfully getting in contact with Josh, the old woman would occasionally visit and bring news from Castel.

Josh had been very anxious at first.

But after probing several times, he was surprised to find that Castel's attitude toward him seemed... quite favorable?

But—but he ran a cult!

Was that really not a problem?

Unable to figure it out, Josh asked directly.

The old woman's response was—

"You still owe the Lord a ship’s worth of goods, and the shipping cost to Jeremiah—don’t tell me you plan to default on that?"

Her eyes turned fierce.

"I-I wasn’t, but I guess I’m kind of a cultist now..."

"So cultists can skip their debts?"

Josh was speechless.

Alright then.

Even after becoming a cult leader, he still had to work hard every day to repay his debts.

What a strange feeling.

The old woman looked at Josh, who had spaced out again, and sighed.

Her gaze softened a bit.

News had arrived from Castel—Lord Hughes appreciated him very much and had requested more contact from their side.

The old woman actually liked these young people deep down.

She had joined the Moths Chasing Fire, so she had never been one for a peaceful life.

If she were younger, perhaps she would’ve joined them in doing something big.

And now, she was willing to do what she could to look after them.

These refugees calling themselves the Mystics were indeed united, but lacking supernatural strength meant they were still vulnerable.

However, to be honest, their base was in a surprisingly peaceful area.

Not just no supernaturals—even cultists were few.

"I just got the news—Galahad is coming back.

The Lord has sent a ship for him."

Josh nodded.

He remembered Galahad—he was the knight beside that prince.

Come to think of it, he had once met the prince in person, back when he was still posing as a merchant.

But then Blood Harbor fell into chaos, and there was no more contact.

"A squad of Holy Guard is coming from the island as well."

"I see... wait, what are the Holy Guard coming for?"

Josh already knew that the island had formed the Holy Guard and about the Church of Imperial Truth.

The old woman had even brought him a copy of the Holy Scripture.

Josh liked it very much.

Though someone in their group gave rotating lectures, due to manpower limits, they had no ability to compile a proper textbook.

This Holy Scripture was perfect for use as a textbook.

As for whether the Holy Scripture would contradict the doctrines he had made up on the spot...

Not a problem for now.

Josh had skimmed through it and hadn’t found any written doctrines—just various knowledge points.

Perfectly usable as a textbook.

"We’re here to discuss cooperation," the old woman said matter-of-factly.

"Castel needs to have some influence on the mainland."

Josh was startled.

"B-But this is the prince’s territory.

Would he really allow Castel to station troops here?"

"First of all, we’re not stationing troops.

We’re protecting our diplomatic personnel—Zoe is now Castel’s resident civil envoy in Blood Harbor.

Military envoys will rotate.

This time, it’s Erwin."

"As for whether the prince will agree—I don’t know either."

Josh's eyes widened. "Then what if he doesn’t agree?"

"Well, do you agree?"

"Agree to what?"

"To Castel establishing an embassy in Blood Harbor."

"I agree! But what’s the point of me agreeing?"

The old woman didn’t speak.

She just looked silently at Josh.

After a moment, Josh froze, then gasped.

"If you don’t agree, I’ll ask Mira.

If Mira doesn’t agree either, then perhaps Miss Zoe will have to sign it on your behalf," she said slowly.

Her meaning was crystal clear—

Castel needed friendship from Blood Harbor.

It didn’t matter who controlled the place.

As long as someone could offer friendship to Castel, that was enough.

Castel wasn’t Blood Harbor’s enemy.

It was merely an unrefusable friend.

Josh swallowed hard.

He knew Hughes wanted to expand his external influence, but he hadn’t expected him to be so decisive.

He had been away from Castel too long.

His image of Castel was still stuck on soap and explosives.

As for the Holy Guard—

He heard they had new weapons.

But how effective could new weapons be?

He had some doubts.

Could explosives alone handle Blood Harbor?

Probably, but it might face many obstacles.

Looking at the old woman before him, Josh suddenly wore a look of epiphany.

So that’s how it was.

No wonder she had come to see him personally.

The Lord wanted him to cooperate and help expand influence in Blood Harbor, right?

Josh had grown up in Castel.

He loved that land.

And the Lord...

If Hughes hadn’t given him that batch of goods on credit, he never could’ve saved so many refugees on his own.

Without Hughes, he wouldn’t be where he was now.

And Castel now needed his strength!

Josh made up his mind.

He nodded solemnly.

"Granny, I understand. Don’t worry. Leave this matter to me!"

A rare trace of confusion appeared in the old woman’s eyes.

It was good that he understood her meaning.

But what exactly was he going to take over...?

"Forget it. Let’s not talk about that. There’s one more thing I wanted to ask this time..."

"Can you get in contact with the Life Mother Church?" she asked solemnly.