Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 132: Storm Heavy Industries

However, as time passed, opinions gradually changed.

After Josh’s apology, his recruited followers discussed the situation among themselves and ultimately did not abandon him.

On the contrary, more people came to seek him out.

These people were not fools. From the very beginning, they hadn’t fully believed Josh when he claimed to have ships and goods.

The real reason they were willing to work with him was that he had actually succeeded in taking soap to the Empire for trade.

Now, even though he had publicly apologized and admitted that his previous claims were false, the hiring contract in his hands was real.

People now knew that he truly had access to goods and could borrow ships.

As a result, many adventure-seekers came to him, hoping to carve out a new opportunity for themselves.

Meanwhile, another trading group, the Ashes Alliance, had a name that didn’t quite sound like a merchant guild.

Although people were interested in joining, Isaac made it clear that he was not recruiting on the island.

His priority was to establish a foothold in the Empire’s market before considering expansion.

This left many people disappointed, and they eventually turned to Josh instead.

Thus, to Josh’s surprise, despite being summoned for questioning and forced to apologize publicly, he found himself gaining more and more support.

"So why are you coming to me?" Ken sighed. "There are so many people willing to follow you on an adventure."

The two of them were sitting in Ken’s home. Josh had brought some fried fish, as he hadn’t spent all of the money he earned from selling soap last time.

Looking at his friend across from him, Josh grinned.

"Hey, Ken, you’re really thick-headed."

He pointed at Ken with a grilled fish in hand. "You saw the announcement, right? Lord Hughes is offering extra subsidies for advanced class students going on voyages. And he specifically highlighted those enrolled in mechanical courses."

Ken nodded. He had indeed seen such an announcement but hadn’t thought much of it.

What did sailing have to do with ships and mechanics?

Besides, voyages usually lasted ten days to half a month.

Though Ken had already learned most of the advanced mechanical knowledge, he still wanted to stay at the testing grounds.

A new group of knowledgeable people had recently arrived, and he had been learning a lot from them.

"It’s simple. The lord needs a batch of ship engineers."

"Ship engineers?" Ken frowned. He had studied mechanical engineering, but what mechanical structures existed on ships?

Josh smirked smugly.

"You know about the Ashes Alliance, right? The lord told me something interesting, he’s actually setting up two merchant guilds. The Ashes Alliance is just a small operation, and it’s not officially associated with Castel. The real one hasn’t been revealed yet."

This revelation was shocking. The lord was forming his own merchant guild?

"Are you sure you should be telling me this?"

"I’m not spreading rumors, just telling you. The lord never told me to keep it a secret... and I have a theory."

Josh leaned in mysteriously and whispered in Ken’s ear, "I think he wants me to tell you this."

Ken blinked, looking a bit confused.

"Why would he want me to know?"

"He specifically asked about our relationship before telling me. And do you know the name of the new merchant guild? Take a guess."

"Uh... Castel Merchant Guild?"

"No, it’s called Storm Heavy Industries."

"Storm Heavy Industries? That doesn’t sound like a merchant guild at all."

"The lord said this would be, uh... what’s the word? A corporation?"

"Basically, Storm Heavy Industries is a conglomerate of all the factories on the island. The merchant guild is just one of its subsidiaries, now do you get it? The lord is planning to consolidate all of Castel’s industries and establish a merchant guild to sell its products externally!"

"That does sound impressive... but what does it have to do with me?"

Ken scratched his head. He was just an ordinary engineer.

In fact, he had only recently learned the word "engineer" from the lord. It was difficult for him to see how he fit into all of this.

"The lord never does anything without purpose, right? Back when you first started learning mechanical principles, there weren’t even any machines on the island. But now, a whole batch of machines has been built, hasn’t it?"

"So, tell me, why do you think the lord suddenly wants ship engineers?"

Josh raised an eyebrow at Ken.

Ken wasn’t stupid, in fact, he was smarter than most people. He had the best grades in the advanced class. He just hadn’t given this much thought.

But now, after Josh’s explanation, he started piecing things together.

As an advanced class student, Ken had access to more information.

He knew, for example, that the lord was designing a new type of steam engine, one that needed to be compact.

Why would a steam engine need to be compact?

Ken hadn’t considered this question before, but now he had a vague guess.

Could it be... to be placed on a ship?

How would a steam engine function on a ship? He didn’t know. But as a mechanical engineer, he instinctively started thinking.

If a steam engine powered paddles to row the ship... no, maybe a giant wheel churning the water instead?

It might be a bit complicated, but it didn’t seem impossible.

If it were Lord Hughes, he would surely figure it out.

Hughes’s vast knowledge had impressed every student, even the newcomers.

For example, Sister Chloe was full of praise for him, perhaps even more fanatical than the older students.

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Ken understood why. The more he studied, the more he realized how terrifyingly vast Lord Hughes’s knowledge was.

Those new students, who came in with more prior knowledge, could see his brilliance even more clearly.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps the lord really could install a steam engine on a ship.