Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

”Two hundred and seventy yards!”

The sailors shouted loudly, then pulled the measuring rope back from the sea.

This was the sea area where Castel originally stood. Several ships were anchored nearby, and the sailors on board were tying stones to ropes and throwing them into the sea to measure the water depth of their location.

This method was suggested by Kenn. Since the ”Prince” had gone to Rhine to receive the Empress’s conferment, the investigation of Castel was handed over to the steward, Johan. Under the guidance of Jeremiah and a few others, he arrived at this sea area.

Two hundred and seventy yards—approximately over two hundred and forty meters. Kenn quickly converted it in his head and recorded it in his notebook.

Castel’s measurement units were somewhat different from the outside world. Hughes seemed particularly fond of meters, kilograms, and liters. Everything industrial-related was uniformly measured using these units.

Naturally, no one had any objections. Although this measurement system was somewhat old, it did not affect usage.

However, once they left the island, they often encountered situations requiring conversion.

”How is it?”

Kenn heard a voice and turned around to see Jeremiah striding over. Without waiting for a response, he directly looked at the notebook in Kenn’s hand.After this period of study, Jeremiah was already literate and had even learned quite a bit of mechanical knowledge. Kenn estimated that he was about ready to graduate from the advanced class.

Advanced class… He wondered where the people of Castel were now and whether they were doing well.

”Two hundred and seventy... Two hundred and sixty-five... Two hundred and eighty-one… So, the seabed here is flat?”

”Yes!” Kenn nodded. ”The surrounding area is all deep sea, but here, there is a rocky protrusion about the same size as Castel. This should be the original location of the island. It seems that Castel was completely excavated, leaving only an empty... foundation.”

It was like a tall tower whose top had been forcibly removed while the base remained—an indescribable eeriness.

”Can we dive down to take a look?”

Kenn hesitated and said.

”Impossible.” Jeremiah shook his head. ”No one can dive to such depths.”

If it were the Banshees, they might be able to, but they had been lingering here for a while now. If there were Banshees in the area, they would have noticed the fleet long ago.

Others were unaware of the Banshees’ existence, but as graduates of the advanced class, they knew. However, none had appeared until now…

Kenn suddenly shivered, feeling an inexplicable chill down his spine.

”Johan brought a trawl net to salvage things. Let’s see if they find anything.” Jeremiah turned his gaze toward another ship.

”Will it be useful?”

”Not likely. The water is too deep, but it’s better than nothing.”

”…”

The two fell into silence again.

The investigation into Castel had hit a dead end right from the start. No matter how they looked, this was just an ordinary stretch of sea—clear skies, calm waters, nothing unusual—except that the island that had once been here was now gone.

Later in the day, the salvage results came in. Johan’s ship had cast the net more than a dozen times at different locations, but found nothing of value.

No strange items were retrieved, and there was no attack—everything was so normal that it felt eerie.

As night fell, Johan led the fleet back. This place wasn’t far from Blood Harbor, while Jeremiah decided to stay behind with the Black Pearl to keep watch.

The refugees on board had been settled in Blood Harbor by the ”Prince.” They had plenty of food and fresh water, and after dropping anchor, the ship quieted down.

There weren’t many sailors left on board. Most of the engineers had stayed at the port. Josh had not come aboard either; instead, he had taken them to deal with business matters.

With so many people needing to eat and sleep daily, and with little hope of finding Castel, they couldn’t afford to starve. They had to leave themselves a way out, and Kenn didn’t blame him.

”Mr. Jeremiah, do you think we can find Castel?”

Lying on a hammock, Kenn gazed at the stars outside, feeling lost.

The sea was calm, and the ship rocked gently with the waves. Kenn had been on board for so long that he was used to the slight swaying.

Jeremiah glanced at him but said nothing.

After a while, Kenn spoke again in a low voice: ”What do you think of the ‘Prince’?”

Without waiting for Jeremiah’s answer, Kenn continued speaking to himself:

”I think he is a very kind person. You might laugh at me for being naive, but that’s really how he feels to me. He helped us investigate Castel and even reached out to Nora. I can tell—it’s kindness from the bottom of his heart, not for personal gain. He is kind, different from other nobles.”

”Do you know how many people his kindness has killed?”

”Yes, he… he betrayed his followers, betrayed the people of Tis…” Kenn’s voice grew quieter. ”Maybe he didn’t want to see war spread?”

Even he didn’t believe this reason.

If the ”Prince” truly loved peace, he could have simply disbanded his men. But instead, he chose to side with the Empress, personally delivering his loyal followers to the guillotine.

Kenn fell silent. The man was too contradictory for him to understand.

”I think he’s a smart man.” Jeremiah sneered. ”Now, he’s become the role model the Empire promotes. From a fallen prince to the lord of Tis, not only does no one dare to touch him, but the royal family even has to protect him.”

Kenn looked confused. Was the ”Prince” really such a person?

”Stop thinking about it. Figuring out what happened to Castel is more important for all of us.”

Jeremiah’s tone was irritated, his eyes bloodshot.

He hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Whenever he drifted into deeper sleep, he dreamed of slowly sinking into the depths of the sea.

What was in the sea, he didn’t know. But he instinctively felt an overwhelming pressure and fear that jolted him awake each time.

He had a vague premonition—falling into that deep-sea dream was not a good thing. Perhaps, like the tattooed man, he would never wake up again.

Kenn also fell into melancholy. Thinking about his sister and father, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, losing the mood to ponder anything else.

Castel had inexplicably vanished. Despite their repeated searches, they had found no clues—nothing at all.

Wait?

Kenn suddenly felt like he had forgotten something—something important.

Frowning, he carefully recalled. After arriving at Castel and discovering the island was gone, they had gone to the Martha Archipelago, only to find that it had disappeared too.

Then they had planned to head to Blood Harbor, but Jeremiah, unwilling to give up, circled Castel one more time. Apart from salvaging a wooden box, they had found nothing.

Kenn suddenly sat up in his hammock!

The wooden box!