Two major events had taken place in Castel over the past few days.
First, Isaac, a servant from the manor, had decided to resign from his position and take a considerable number of the manor's guards with him to establish a merchant association independent of Castel—the Ashen Alliance.
Theus personally handled the paperwork for him and offered his blessings.
Second, Josh had been summoned for a talk by Theus. Afterward, he publicly apologized to the partners he had previously recruited, stating that he did not own any goods or ships. He also presented a contract of employment proving that the Steel Federation he and Isaac had founded had jointly hired Jeremiah's ship.
These two events kept the islanders talking for a long time. Regarding Isaac, they unanimously believed it had been the lord's intention. Everyone knew just how popular those soaps were, so it was only natural for the lord to establish a merchant caravan to sell them elsewhere.
As for Josh...
Many people thought he was finished. Having received a warning from the lord, there was surely no place left for him in Castel.
But as time passed, those people gradually changed their minds.
After Josh apologized, the men he had recruited did not leave him after discussing it among themselves. On the contrary, even more people came looking for him.
These people were not fools. When Josh had initially claimed that he had ships and goods, no one had really believed him. They had been willing to work with him mainly because he had genuinely succeeded in selling soap in the Empire once.
Now, although Josh had publicly apologized and admitted that his previous claims were wrong, the contract in his hands was real. People now knew that he truly could obtain goods and borrow ships.
Thus, many