Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

After breakfast, Ivan originally planned to go to the construction site with Ken, but a commotion outside caught his attention.

“The school established by the lord is about to start classes. Those who want to attend can enroll today!”

Ivan stepped outside to inquire and then returned to call his children before him.

“Today, the school is open for enrollment. Let’s go take a look together.”

Seeing that the two wanted to say something, Ivan waved his hand to cut them off. “We’re just going to gather information first. This free school might not even last long, and we don’t know what they’ll be teaching. We’ll decide after we learn more.”

Ken and Gaia exchanged glances and eventually nodded.

The three of them quickly tidied up. Gaia put on her best dress, the one her mother had made for her. It was a little small now, but at least it had no patches.

Ken and Ivan went to the river to wash up. They were both simple fishermen who had little understanding of schooling.

They only knew that attending school meant learning to read, but that did not lessen their reverence for it.

Every time the tax officer casually scribbled with a charcoal pen, he could calculate the amount they owed. Ken had secretly envied that for a long time. He had to count on his fingers just to tally up the fish he sold.

He wondered if the school would teach bookkeeping.

Probably not.

Old Ivan had once inquired about bookkeeping lessons, but the teacher charged fifty lioz per session and refused to teach commoners like them.

Only wealthy merchants could afford such education.

The three of them dressed in their best clothes and carefully combed their hair before heading out to the school.

The so-called school was merely a few large buildings. Ivan peeked inside and saw only ordinary desks and chairs.

The front wall had been painted black for some unknown reason.

It didn’t seem particularly special.

They walked around to the main entrance and saw a table set up, with a few people sitting behind it.

“That’s the lord!” Gaia whispered excitedly. She had wanted to attend school ever since she heard the lord speak at the harbor while watching the strange fish.

Old Ivan squinted hard to see. Besides the lord and his butler, he didn’t recognize the other people.

Many villagers had gathered there, but no one approached the table. People naturally feared the lord and only dared to watch from a distance.

Hughes was in no hurry. He sat at the table, flipping through a few booklets.

Beside the table stood a strange box with a circular face. Several needle-like hands moved in slow circles. The box’s lid was open, revealing a mass of intricate mechanisms moving inside.

A long pendulum swung rhythmically below, carrying an inexplicable beauty.

“What is that? Why is it moving on its own?” Gaia blurted out unconsciously.

“A clock,” Hughes replied without looking up from his booklets. “It displays time. Its pendulum swings at a fixed interval, and the mechanical structure transmits that motion to the clock face. Do you want to take a closer look?”

Gaia was startled. She hadn’t expected the lord to answer her. She quickly shrank behind Old Ivan, peeking out cautiously.

Hughes paid her no further attention, nor did he scold her.

This emboldened Gaia a little. Her eyes drifted back to the clock, and after a while, she couldn’t help but ask again.

“But why does it move on its own?”

“Strictly speaking, it doesn’t. It moves now because I wound it up.”

“The spring mechanism stores the force I gave it. In reality, I’m the one making it move.”

Gaia nodded, half understanding.

Hughes stood up and addressed the gathered villagers. “This clock was made in Rhine. It is a purely mechanical device and part of my advanced curriculum.”

The lord continued speaking, but Gaia could no longer focus.

She was captivated by the clock, watching the gears turn with precise harmony.

It was beautiful.

When she came back to her senses, she realized she had stepped right up to the clock, bending down to examine it closely.

Startled, she straightened and glanced around. Most of the villagers had already dispersed.

“This clock will be placed in the school. If you like it, you can come see it anytime.”

Gaia’s cheeks flushed. She didn’t know why she had been so mesmerized.

These were just lifeless gears, yet together, they formed something so intricate and wonderful.

“I will be teaching mechanical principles here. Make sure to attend. But before that, you’ll likely need to take literacy lessons with Miss Zoe.”

“Hello, I’m Zoe,” said a young woman in a long dress beside him, greeting her warmly.

“H-hello.” Gaia instinctively shrank back, a far cry from the bold girl who climbed trees to raid bird nests. She felt self-conscious in her slightly too-small dress.

Just as she was about to retreat behind her father, a thought struck her. Curiosity momentarily overcame her embarrassment.

“Lord, does the mechanical principles class… teach us how to make clocks?” she asked eagerly.

Hughes was slightly surprised. He saw a familiar determination in the girl’s eyes and smiled faintly.

“A clock is merely a delicate toy.”

“I will teach you the true principles of mechanics.”

Hughes gently patted the clock.

“If gears can move hands on a dial, they can also power steel hammers in forges. If a spring can provide energy, so can a steam engine.”

“Mechanics can measure time… but it can also change the world.”

He glanced at the enrollment roster.

“Gaia, if you truly like mechanics, then use your own hands to change this decayed and stagnant world.”

Gaia didn’t remember how she got home.

At the dinner table, she kept grinning foolishly, lost in thought.

Old Ivan sighed as he looked at her, then turned to Ken.

Ken seemed equally dazed. Ivan knew he was still thinking about the “chemistry class” he had heard about earlier.

That lord was like a sorcerer from legends, stealing people’s hearts with just a few words.

However, the school’s arrangement was unexpected. Ivan had assumed that studying would mean giving up work at the construction site. But the lord had actually opened night classes.

People could attend after work without disrupting their daytime labor.

There was even a dedicated patrol team for security at night.

Ivan signed up immediately. The pay wasn’t much, but watching over his children with his own eyes gave him peace of mind.

Hmm, perhaps he could listen in on the lessons too.

He glanced at his two foolishly grinning children and snorted. Then, pulling his plate closer, he dug into his meal.