Ch.253253. The Starvation Cult (4)

Dongnae Port, the largest trading harbor in the Kingdom of Core.

Thanks to its exquisite location right beside the circulating ocean currents and a unique coastal structure that seemed divinely ordained for a harbor, this port city has grown to become one of the largest in the Eastern Continent.

However, if there is one difference between this port city and others, it would probably be the weak influence of local noble families, as the city itself doesn’t have a particularly long history.

In a world where most nations maintain feudal societies or state structures, the Kingdom of Core was one of the rare countries where centralized bureaucracy had firmly established itself…

Despite this strong centralization, the influence of local noble families still couldn’t be ignored.

The noble families, who were once lords or rulers of their regions, had lost most of their political power. Nevertheless, they still possessed vast lands in their regions and maintained the authority of being prestigious local families.

Even after efforts to establish a centralized system, including the abolition of private armies, it was nearly impossible to eradicate the natural influence that came from their long history.

Unlike other forms of influence that someone might deliberately acquire or cultivate, this authority stemmed purely from the prestige built up over long periods of living and establishing roots in an area.

Add to this the fact that most industries remained predominantly agricultural despite other developments, and the influence of these landholding noble families was difficult to push aside…

Dongnae Port, the kingdom’s premier trading harbor, was an exception to this trend.

One reason was its trade-focused industrial structure, which meant it had primitive capitalists but no major landowners. Another reason was its relatively short history, which meant there were no local families with enough prestige to be called noble houses.

As a result, although Dongnae Port was somewhat influenced by the opinions of local wealthy classes, most matters were handled by the “Busa” (Magistrate), a provincial official dispatched from the central government.

Naturally, the Busa of Dongnae Port, as the city’s effective leader, held considerable power for a provincial official of this era.

The Busa of Dongnae Port was essentially a high-ranking official just below the ministers of the six departments (equivalent to modern national administrative organizations), and the position was considered so important that it was seen as a mandatory step toward becoming a State Councilor.

And now, the high-ranking Dongnae Busa, Jo Gaphyun, was…

‘…Why, why has it come to this?’

Secluded deep within his home, he was lamenting his fate, sunk in despair.

In truth, it would be no exaggeration to say that Jo Gaphyun had been living a successful life.

Born as the eldest grandson of the prestigious Eunseong Jo clan, he was known as a brilliant prodigy from childhood. Perhaps because of this, he passed the minor state examination with top honors at just 16 and then the main state examination with top honors at 21.

In other words, at 16 he qualified to enter Sungkyunkwan, and at the young age of 21, he ranked first in the examination that qualified him for official positions.

Although he regrettably placed second in the final examination that determined the rankings of the 33 successful candidates and effectively decided their official positions…

With his impressive academic achievements and the power of his family name, advancement wasn’t difficult for someone who possessed both these strengths.

After serving in essential positions for career advancement and working as the magistrate of five counties, earning three merit monuments along the way—

With evaluations suggesting that at this rate, becoming the Chief State Councilor, the highest position under the king, wasn’t just a dream, Jo Gaphyun was appointed as the Busa of Dongnae Port to govern Dongnae Harbor…

From this point on, no one could have predicted how severely his life would become entangled.

Normally, when appointed to a position like Busa, typical scholar-officials would leave their families in Hanyang and take up the post alone. But with the Dongnae Busa uniquely having a term of about eight years, doing so would likely lead to the collapse of one’s family.

Therefore, the man brought his entire family to Dongnae Port, intending to settle there with them for the duration of his term…

“Ah, my son…!”

As fate would have it, his eldest son and grandson—the heir to the Eunseong Jo clan—contracted an unidentified epidemic disease.

In the Western Continent, one couldn’t become part of the ruling class without at least mid-tier abilities, as individual martial prowess was highly valued. But in the bureaucratic societies of the Eastern Continent, especially in the Kingdom of Core, things were different.

Civilian control was firmly established, with clear distinctions between civil officials (bureaucrats) and military officials (warriors), meaning that even those with low-tier abilities could sufficiently become part of the bureaucratic class.

Therefore, unlike the Western Continent where mid-tier abilities were necessarily passed down among children, the Eastern Continent, influenced by the culture of the Yu Empire, had deeply rooted traditions of primogeniture.

For stability in succession, they raised their firstborn child as their heir.

In this context, the fact that Jo Gaphyun’s son—the heir to the Eunseong Jo clan—had contracted an epidemic disease was a devastating and terrible situation.

While most ordinary epidemics could be treated with magical power, this world also had magical diseases originating from magical forces.

Deadly diseases that attacked concepts, thoughts, consciousness, and souls. The epidemic that Jo Gaphyun’s eldest son had contracted fell into this category rather than being an ordinary disease, making it impossible to treat through conventional methods.

How painful must it be to clearly see your child slowly dying day by day, yet be unable to do anything about it?

Setting aside his career and everything else, Jo Gaphyun, simply as a father, could feel his once firm and cold-hearted resolve gradually crumbling…

At this point, Jo Gaphyun, who was not only desperate but also unable to maintain proper rationality, went so far as to make contact with the cult group “Gia Order.”

And this action, stemming from the vague notion that cultists might be more adept in the realm of souls, which magical diseases were likely to affect…

Was, needless to say, an incredibly foolish and pathetic act.

Cultists were indeed skilled at handling souls, but what they meant by “handling souls” was the technique of selling one’s soul to higher beings.

In short, they were far from being able to cure magical diseases, and unfortunately, the Gia Order that he had contacted was a group particularly distant from such spiritual powers.

What could these soul-broken individuals possibly know in the first place?

They, the Gia Order, were a group full of intentions to exploit the situation, so rather than treating Jo Gaphyun’s son, they instead half-transformed him into a ghoul.

And at this point, Jo Gaphyun found himself in a position where he could no longer resist.

Cultists are regarded as public enemies and foes of humanity who should not be associated with anywhere in the world, and this is also true in the Kingdom of Core, where cultists are essentially considered less than human.

So much so that cultists are treated the same as traitors attempting to overthrow the government.

Once discovered to be a cultist, not only would the person and their entire family be exterminated, but anyone associated with cultists would naturally be executed, and even if proven not to be a cultist, they could still be punished under guilt by association.

Of course, this was because rooting out cultists was an incredibly difficult task, and the government, knowing well what could happen if even one cultist escaped, acted paranoidly to prevent future calamities.

There’s a saying about “burning down the house to kill a bedbug,” but in this case, it was more like needing to eradicate cultists even if it meant burning down every thatched house.

Anyway, back to the main point.

In this unprecedented situation where his son had been taken hostage, Jo Gaphyun had no choice but to live a shameful life as a collaborator.

In truth, he never wanted such a disgraceful existence, but the problem was that his wishes alone couldn’t resolve the situation.

The vast majority of those involved with cults would certainly end their lives with the terrible fate of having their entire family exterminated, so if he didn’t want to lead his family to extinction and have his name recorded in history as a cult collaborator, he found himself in a position where he had to cooperate.

Therefore, Jo Gaphyun, as a corrupt official, had to turn a blind eye to the Gia Order’s growing influence and even directly or indirectly help expand the cult.

An elite official once even designated as the next Chief State Councilor couldn’t possibly have no thoughts about such actions, but he also couldn’t stand by and watch his family be exterminated.

And as Jo Gaphyun endured each day, gripped by fear and self-reproach…

“Hello there, collaborator sir?”

“…Who are you?!”

Jo Gaphyun, quite by chance, found an opportunity to completely reverse this trend.