Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 446 Gwen, are you aware that you share a name with someone in the North?

It is said that this High Priest Josh led a few men and robbed a ship of goods from Castells before venturing to Bloodharbor. He did everything from being the president of a merchant guild to a cult leader. During the two rebellions of the Church of Mother Goddess, he sheltered many people and somehow escaped the reckoning after the war.

Now he is even more popular among the lower classes. In the slums, even the prince's decrees cannot be issued. Josh only needs to give a few words and there are plenty of people eager to do it.

Logically speaking, a powerful figure like him who has connections in both the legal and illegal worlds should only inspire fear, but surprisingly, he has a pretty good reputation among the lower classes.

Even the poorest people who have nowhere else to turn will have porridge to drink. Recently, he has even donated many houses to be used as classrooms for literacy classes. Most importantly, he is willing to uphold fairness for the poor.

Yami often heard people in the slums say that when the law can't protect you, there's still Lord Josh.

But how could such a powerful figure with such influence be involved with this little girl? Is she perhaps something special?

Yami scrutinized her carefully from head to toe, making Gwen's gaze even more wary.

Hmm, it doesn't seem like it. It's probably just that Lord Josh is kind-hearted.

"Oh, don't worry about that! So, Brother Yami, are you coming or not? If not, we'll go find someone else!"

"I come!"

"Okay, so do you know how to fry fish?"

"No, I can only eat. I can also do accounting! I'm no problem with purchasing and sorting goods either!" Ami noticed the hostility in their eyes and quickly bent her thin arms, trying to squeeze out some muscle.

The next day, people on their way to class at the dock were surprised to find a small stall set up by the roadside.

A simple sign stood above the stall: [Yami Fish & Chips]

If this were in the old Blood Harbor, this sign would most likely have depicted pictures of fries and fish and chips, but now many people have learned to read and write and can stumble over the meaning of the words on it.

A slightly thin man was in charge of moving goods and keeping accounts—in fact, he only moved goods. You just had to tell him what you bought, and he could instantly calculate the expenses without even lifting his eyelids.

An old woman sat on a worn-out chair nearby, cutting potatoes into strips and marinating fish in a basin.

Two little girls were frying food in front of the oil pan. One of them clearly looked like a Northerner, with long white hair and white eyes. The other girl had her flaxen hair braided into pigtails and always had a smile on her face.

The two of them each stood on a stone, and sometimes they had to stand on tiptoe to finish frying, which was a bit worrying.

But the two looked very serious, and people didn't have the heart to disturb them.

At first, not many people paid attention to this simple stall, but the moment the fries and fried fish hit the oil, the sizzling sound and the aroma filled the air, and people's feet involuntarily turned in a different direction.

The golden and crispy fries start to bubble as soon as they hit the pan. Wait a little while until the tips of the fries start to brown slightly, then take them out, wrap them in newspaper, and hand them to you while they're still hot. They'll also come with a small packet of sauce made from sweet fruit.

The sweet fruit wasn't fully ripe, so it was sweet and sour. Dipping it in fries and putting it in your mouth, the crispy outer layer made a satisfying crunch, while underneath was soft and tender potato. The sweet and sour flavor of the sweet fruit jam made you forget all your troubles.

A big bag of fries like this only costs one-fifth of a lio. If you're willing to spend a little more, you can add a few fried fish, which will also cost less than a lio, and you can enjoy a delicious meal for half a day.

Even after you've finished eating, you can lick your fingers while flipping open the newspaper that wrapped the food. However, it's best not to drink water while doing this, because to save costs, Yami's stall uses newspapers privately printed by Nini, and the articles on them can easily make you choke.

The stall was quickly surrounded by a steady stream of people. It was close to the literacy class classroom, so many familiar faces came. The socially awkward Amy simply lowered her head and left everything to Betty and Gwen.

This kind of escapism is shameful, but it is indeed effective.

Most of the people buying food were Castel people. This was in the lower city, where the big shots of Bloodharbor wouldn't come, and there weren't many Leos around in the lower city. Ami saw Zoe buy a few bags of fries, saying she was going to share them with her colleagues. Watching her stuff fried fish into her mouth while getting burned, Ami was a little confused—was it really that delicious?
So Gwen and Bettis had another task: to chase away Yami, who was trying to steal food.

Betty was one thing, but she got dizzy and easily fooled when she was busy. Gwen, however, kept a close eye on him and only managed to get a small half-bag of fries to try after much persuasion.

—Their stall was set up so hastily; not only was the signboard hastily written, but they also sold the prepared fries without even tasting them. It can only be said that these people, who were trying to start a business for the first time, were really bold.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly.

After a while of this busy activity, the number of customers around the stall decreased, but there were quite a few more people around who were blowing on the fried fish while trying to put it into their mouths.

Yami finally calmed down a bit. He rubbed his aching back. Although he hadn't done anything particularly heavy, he had still managed to tire himself out.

"One order of fried fish, one order of fries, and extra ketchup."

"Guests, we don't have ketchup, only sweet jam, and the amount of fries served is fixed for each order!" Betty said earnestly.

"Then I'll have two orders of fries, and that will come with two servings of sauce."

"can."

Bettis skillfully put the fries into the pan, but noticed that Gwen next to her wasn't moving. She nudged Gwen with her elbow, and the white-haired girl finally moved.

"A new friend?"

The newcomer struck up a conversation with Gwen as if they were old friends. Bettis looked up and saw a dark-haired young man she didn't recognize.

“This is it.” Gwen pointed at Betty with the fish tongs, then swung the tongs down sharply, hitting the hand that was trying to steal the fries. “This isn’t it.”

Yami covered his hand, grimaced, and took two steps back, then widened his eyes in surprise.

Hughes waved his finger at him, and Amy quickly covered his mouth, looked around, and carefully sat back down.

Hughes chuckled, looking at the French fries in the pan with a nostalgic gaze, and continued chatting with Gwen.

"I've heard Josh talk about you. Which town in the North are you from? Do you remember?"

Gwen shook her head: "I don't remember. After my parents left, I stayed there alone for a long time. When I finally left, there was no one left in the whole village."

Betty glanced at her friend with some concern, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her friend didn't seem too sad. Then she glared at the young man who had come to buy things.

“Okay. I have a small question.” Hughes watched the two pack up the fries. “Are there many people in the North named Gwen?”

Gwen suddenly raised her head, her white eyes meeting Hughes's gaze, and time seemed to stand still for a moment.

"Not many, I've never heard of anyone else named Gwen."

“I see.” Hughes skillfully took jam from the two bags of fries, poured it on one bag of fries, and then handed the other bag of fries without jam to Betty.

"Here, have this bag of fries!"

"Huh?" Betty was stunned.

(End of this chapter)