Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Hughes lifted his head from the throne, glanced around to confirm nothing was out of the ordinary, and finally gave a bitter smile.

He had truly been overwhelmingly busy lately—so much so that even his return from the Descent had to be rushed.

Castel was in a state of utter rebuilding, with a mountain of affairs waiting to be handled. On one hand, the workload was naturally heavy. On the other, those who had helped share his administrative duties were no longer present.

Chloe, who had been responsible for scientific research, had sacrificed herself. Although her replacement, Richard, was even more proficient in biology and medicine, he lacked the same fanaticism for research. He always gave Hughes the impression of a man simply clocking in for a nine-to-five. Though he completed all assigned tasks properly, his efficiency was far below Chloe’s.

Why had none of the current employees taken the initiative lately? Even after becoming cultists, they still aimed for a stable nine-to-five. Wasn’t that kind of shameful?

On the other side, Alexei, who had originally helped handle administrative matters, was now fully focused on restructuring the Holy Guard. He also took over the Church-related affairs of the *Imperial Truth*, which were particularly important. As a result, all the state affairs had fallen onto Hughes’ shoulders.

To make things worse, his reliable old butler, Connor—known for silently handling everything at Hughes’ side—had also gone missing with the airship. Hughes was deeply bitter. He wanted someone to take over the government duties, but no one suitable could be found!

As for the island’s original civil service team, they were mostly a bunch of useless drunks. Though Hughes had given them a harsh round of reforms and even enrolled them in the island’s advancement classes, their capabilities were already at their ceiling—utterly unreliable.

The commoners who graduated from those advancement classes were fine with scientific research or engineering, since that was the direction of their education. But to handle governance?

One had to admit, this line of work came with a high threshold. Though the islanders were capable learners, it was difficult for them to step up in a short period. Even Alexei, who had fought his way to prominence, needed years of elite education and a long apprenticeship under Hughes before he could be entrusted with the duties of chief clerk.After all, Castel was no ordinary fief. Its administrative tasks went far beyond collecting taxes. Coordinating construction projects, tracking progress, allocating personnel, distributing factory production, and ensuring the implementation of various scientific initiatives—these far surpassed the expectations placed on ordinary officials.

It was, frankly, too much to ask of anyone. Hughes needed a true polymath—someone almost inhuman.

Wait a minute—*inhuman*.

A light sparked in Hughes’ eyes. Humans had limited stamina, but Banshees were different.

Most Banshees could multitask across several threads of action—like using six hands to simultaneously tighten screws on three production lines.

Such a gift was a waste in pure manufacturing. Handling complex administrative affairs would suit them far better.

Not to mention, Banshees were exceptionally efficient at communication. Interdepartmental cooperation among humans often devolved into endless squabbling, while Banshees could settle all disputes through a single synchronized *soul resonance*. They were practically born to make executive decisions.

Hughes had considered letting the Banshees assist in government matters before, but after careful thought, he gave up. Banshees were still not human. At the time, their identities had only just been revealed, and there was little mutual understanding between them and humans. In such a situation, placing Banshees in high positions might have caused rifts between the two groups.

Just imagine: one day, you discover that a completely foreign species vastly different from humans suddenly took over high-ranking government roles. Wouldn’t you suspect some conspiracy?

Hughes believed *he* would—so it made sense that others might as well. Something like this needed a good opportunity.

And now was that opportunity.

The Banshees’ performance in the war had earned them great renown. The islanders had truly come to see them as companions. Bringing Banshees into every facet of the Castel system at this time could not be more fitting. This way, the Banshees could genuinely integrate into Castel, instead of becoming revered but distant figures.

Hughes made a mental note of this. Next, he would begin assigning Banshees to various positions.

The war was over. There was no longer a need to gather them for special missions. It was time to let them play to their strengths.

As for who among them would be best suited to help him handle administrative matters, one face quickly came to mind.

On a sheet of floating ice, a worker with a gaping hole in his chest opened his eyes.

He glanced around and checked his surroundings. After confirming he was still frozen within the ice and completely immobile, he couldn’t help but sigh.

Who knew where this body had drifted to? It had clearly been afternoon when he returned, yet now the sky was nearly dark. Had he ended up in a different time zone?

High latitudes would also cause earlier sunsets… hmm, that was certainly possible.

It felt like all hope of recovering this body was slim. He really shouldn’t have been so reckless back then, tossing it into the sea just because it couldn’t die a second time.

As Hughes let his mind wander aimlessly, he reached out and tugged a few threads—linking several people into the *Mind Link*.

The moment the link was complete, he received inquiries from the others.

**Gwen:** 『Ah, it’s connected again. Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Gwen.』

**Fries:** 『!!!』

**Fries:** 『Wow, you’re still alive!』

**Fries:** 『Uh—I mean, it’s great that you’re alive… Uh, I mean, it’s great to see you again.』

**Captain:** 『.』

**Scepter:** 『Miss Gwen, it’s wonderful to see you again. You hadn’t said a word these past months—we thought something had happened to you.』

Everyone greeted Gwen happily, glad to see their companion return.

But Hughes couldn’t feel happy at all. His scalp tingled, and he could almost feel cold sweat running down his back.

Because he could feel it—Gwen had just greeted *him*.

It was an instinctive, inexplicable sensation, as if someone on the other end of the thread had also tugged it, gently pulling on Hughes’ fingers.

*She… she can sense my existence?*

That was impossible. She was just a mortal girl. Even Beatrice, a powerful supernatural being, had only ever suspected the *link* itself—never the hidden figure behind it, who had connected them all.

**[Latest novel chapter released first on 69Shuba!]**

Hughes was momentarily overwhelmed and didn’t respond to Gwen’s greeting.

But the others in the link had all noticed.

**Captain:** 『You just said “nice to meet you”—did you sense someone new joining the link?』

**Fries:** 『Oh yeah! Why would it be “nice to meet you”? Is someone new joining?!』

**Gwen:** 『Well… I’m not exactly sure. When the link connected just now, I seemed to sense a presence… a presence I’ve never encountered before. So I said hello to it.』

**Fries:** 『!!!』

**Scepter:** 『Can you still sense that presence? Maybe it’s a newcomer, or maybe…』

**Fries:** 『Maybe what?』

**Gwen:** 『I—I’m really not sure. It was just a vague impression…』

Hughes’ eye twitched. Gwen was far too perceptive. He needed to come up with a way to cover this up.

Maybe… he could just bring in a real newcomer?