Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

『Are you... Captain, sir? There is a type of grass with heart-shaped leaves. Its flowers are white, very small, and it grows in large patches, reaching about half a person’s height.』

『Gwen, sit up now and eat that grass. You can eat it raw.』

『Huh?』

Gwen opened her eyes in confusion.

Ken, hearing this, jumped up excitedly from his chair. ”Mr. Jeremiah, is that some kind of medicinal herb? Can it cure the little girl’s illness?”

Jeremiah glanced at him and snorted. ”What a coincidence that would be. It’s just an ordinary wild vegetable. Eating it can fill the stomach a bit, preventing immediate starvation.”

After a pause, he lowered his voice and continued, ”That little girl might not actually be sick. She’s just been starving for too long. When a person is weakened, they are prone to all sorts of illnesses. A few full meals, or even just a bowl of hot soup, could save her. But...”

He suddenly stopped speaking and glared at Ken. ”Don’t you have some kind of manual? Go get it now.”

Ken’s eyes lit up. Hughes had once written down some basic disease treatment methods and mentioned them during lessons. He had brought them along while organizing his materials and had even used them to treat sailors before.

”I’ll go find it right now!”Gwen struggled to sit up. She felt dizzy, her vision darkened, and she was weak.

Someone had just spoken to her in her mind, but she wasn’t too surprised. She often imagined herself surrounded by many friends—friends who cared for her, helped her find food. Though she had never actually seen them, they were what kept her going.

Now, she had just gained a few more new friends.

People often had hallucinations before they died. Gwen knew that. She had seen many people die before her eyes.

It was a pity she hadn’t seen her mother. That was a small regret.

But having new friends was nice, too.

She reached out with difficulty and took the plate of wild grass. The heart-shaped leaves were beautiful—she especially liked them and had picked many to bring back.

Friends’ words should be followed.

Even though the wild grass tasted terrible, she chewed and swallowed it with effort. After adjusting her clothes, she lay back down on the bed.

Drowsiness came swiftly.

This time, she was probably really going to die.

Dying was a terrible thing.

But having met new friends made it not so bad.

Gwen thought vaguely.

『Gwen, are you still there? Do you feel pain anywhere? I have a way to treat you!』

『Gwen?』

Ken kept calling Gwen’s name, but he was destined not to receive a response.

Hughes looked at the severed thread and sighed inwardly.

He could sense that the little girl wasn’t dead yet, only unconscious.

But given her current state, she was bound to die.

Wild vegetables could provide emergency sustenance, but she couldn’t survive on them alone.

And in the place she was in, filled with war and refugees, with the Church, the Royal Family, and the lords tangled in chaos, saving her wasn’t going to be easy.

Hughes had initially intended to use this descent to explore the capabilities of long-distance connection.

Now, he had lost the mood for it.

Seeing Gwen’s thread cut off, he disconnected the others as well and chose to return.

Soon, he lifted his head from his long desk, sighed, and stepped out towards the Eastern Test Site.

He planned to ask Chloe about common wild vegetables.

The Moths Chasing Fire were constantly on the move and passionate about pursuing knowledge—surely, they would know such basic survival skills.

When he arrived at the test site, Hughes was surprised to find that Chloe was... in the sky?

In just one day, a much larger, improved version of the airship had taken flight.

Seeing the people in the sky waving at him, Hughes felt his heavy mood lighten a little.

The airship slowly descended.

Unlike the previous hastily built small airship, this large airship was well-constructed, and its engine had been upgraded from hand-cranked to steam-powered.

A steam engine on an airship... It seemed odd.

But airships thrived on brute force—so long as they were large enough and had sufficient lift, carrying a heavy steam engine was simple.

After all, they didn’t need to consider aerodynamics.

Besides, in this world, who could say for sure what structures were truly suitable for flight?

Perhaps the Mechanical Sanctum already had steam-powered airplanes.

Steam engines had many drawbacks, but their efficiency was not bad.

On Blue Star, many ships used steam turbines. Humanity’s reliance on boiling water for energy was no joke.

Moreover, steam engines could burn contamination.

Entity pollution was both dangerous and difficult to harness, but its energy density was absurdly high.

A single canister of pollution could power a steam engine for an entire day.

On the ground, this wasn’t very noticeable, but in the air, the effect became exaggerated.

Hughes had chosen airships over hot air balloons for a very important reason—hot air balloons required constant fuel consumption, whereas an airship could float in the air with almost no energy cost.

If Hughes had only planned to use it on the battlefield, a hot air balloon would have sufficed.

But this airship had a far greater purpose.

Hughes needed to explore the secrets hidden deep in the ocean.

He had to uncover the truth behind Castel’s severed connection with the outside world.

For that, he needed a long-endurance aerial vehicle.

And this airship was the final solution he had devised.

The massive airship in the sky slowly descended.

The Clamorer roared, driving the propellers.

Soon, the airship landed on an open field.

Several Banshees threw ropes with hooks, securing them into the pre-set slots around the balloon.

The airship was steadily anchored.

Chloe and Nini stepped down from the cabin below the airship.

This time, the airship was much more refined than before.

The balloon no longer had an open-air gondola beneath it.

The steam engine and various transmission systems were housed in an enclosed cabin below.

”Look! What do you think?” Chloe asked excitedly.

”This big guy can carry several tons of supplies.

As long as there’s no storm, crossing the ocean is absolutely no problem!”

Hughes’ face stiffened.

Indeed, airships had long endurance and high payload capacity.

But as Chloe pointed out, their ability to withstand harsh weather was... mediocre at best.

No storms meant no problem.

But this was the Storm Ocean.

Hughes pondered for a moment before asking, ”How strong is the covering you made? Do you have a way to repair it?”

”The strength is decent, but whether it can withstand a storm... I’m not sure.”

Chloe shrugged.

”But I can quickly repair any damage to the outer shell.

So for safety reasons, if you want to investigate, it’s best to bring me along.”

She flashed a mischievous smile.

Researching new weapons was fun.

But nothing compared to flying an airship.

Not to mention, investigating what was happening in the sea was even more exciting.

She had been waiting for a chance to take the airship out for an adventure!