Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“Yeah, but we have to wait until we get out of here—mm. You seem to have no major issues anymore. I should still stay a few more days.”

“What happened to you? Were you injured fighting on the front line?”

A few traces of embarrassment appeared on Yami’s face.

“No, no… I ate some mushrooms a friend stewed. Food poisoning. They sent me in. Lord Hughes just happened to assign you to my room.”

Yami spoke weakly.

Hunter looked him up and down a few times and slightly frowned.

Making friends was one thing, but working together was another. No matter how he looked at it, this man didn’t look like someone who possessed great knowledge. After thinking for a moment, Hunter asked:

“You’re also a scholar?”

“No, I’m from a snack stall… uh, I’m in charge of collecting money? I guess I’m not really the owner, since the money was pooled together.”

“What’s a snack stall? Some kind of academic organization?”

“Uh… just a normal food stall. We sell fried fish and fries. My fried fish tastes amazing—though I don’t fry it. I only collect the money.”

“Then are we going to sell fried fish in the future?”

“No, Lord Hughes said we’re going to do research and development.”

Hunter took a deep breath to calm himself. “I understand. Since it is Lord Hughes’ order, he must have his reasons. What’s your name? What are your strengths?”

“My name is Yami. My specialty is… counting? Uh, I mean, I’m pretty fast at calculating money.”

“Counting? That… works. I’ll find suitable tasks for you. What direction does Lord Hughes want us to conduct research in? Has the requirement report been issued? Where is my workshop?”

Yami hesitated for a moment before cautiously saying, “Well… Lord Hughes said I’ll be leading the research. And you… uh… you need to pass the Advanced Class assessment first.”

The ward fell silent.

Sensing the increasingly suffocating atmosphere, Yami hurried to comfort him: “Don’t worry, the Advanced Class exam is really easy. The courses inside are simple. Just study casually and you’ll pass. I read the materials while collecting money at the stall.”

The expression on Hunter’s face was spectacular—shifting from shock, to bewilderment, to anger, to disappointment, and finally to numbness, like a full theatrical performance.

“Lord Hughes must have his reasons for doing this—cough. Looks like I’ll have to demonstrate my abilities!”

“And learning is what I’m best at!”

Confidence gradually returned to Hunter’s face.

Although he was a noble, he was almost completely clueless about social interactions. His only true strength was learning.

Within the Dawn Society, he was recognized as a genius. Every achievement he produced would trigger waves of admiration. His advancement into the upper echelons of the Allied Forces and following closely beside Viscount Frey day and night was not solely because of his family background.

As for the young man before him—

To be honest, Hunter did not regard him as competition.

Though they would be colleagues, the gap between the two was simply too large.

Scientific research had real thresholds: either one understood it or one didn’t. Since Lord Hughes entrusted R&D to him, it must be a test. Figuring out how to conduct research while dragging along Yami—who knew nothing about technology—was the first major challenge placed before him.

The so-called Advanced Class courses were probably just something to say. Since even Yami said they weren’t difficult, the real test must lie ahead.

With this thought, Hunter felt filled with determination.

“Are there textbooks for the Advanced Class? I’ll take a look first.”

“There are.” Yami pointed at the cabinet in the corner. “Right there. And there are some miscellaneous books about functions and geometry. Super simple. You’re so smart—just skim them and you’ll pass.”

“Of course.” Hunter lifted his chin and walked over.

“This Hunter person really has quite the experience.” Hughes put down the report in his hand and looked at Richard opposite his desk with interest.

“He can’t help it. He’s a scholar.”

“Scholars—especially those who have studied industrial knowledge—have a very high probability of developing Castel Syndrome. Once they come to the island and see everything with their own eyes, they are extremely prone to cognitive collapse. Hunter’s condition is already considered mild.”

Richard sighed.

“Every time he faints from overstimulation, he manages to stabilize his cognition on his own. I don’t even need to dive into the Sea of Unawareness to drag him back. In fact, even if he didn’t receive treatment, he could mostly recover by himself.”

Hughes narrowed his eyes and tapped the desk with his finger. “Could there be a problem? Something supernatural…?”

“No, Lord Hughes.”

Richard shook his head.

“The Reality Wall around Castel is much more stable than elsewhere—well, more stable in random directions.”

“Wait… what does ‘random directions’ mean?”

“It means some specific directions are less stable. For example… explosions tend to have greater power here.”

“…I see. Continue.” Hughes’ eye twitched. Was the Holy Guard’s obsession with explosive yield already so ridiculous that they were affecting the stability of the Reality Wall?

“Ahem. In short, it’s harder for cognitive shifts to occur in Castel. That’s why Castel Syndrome rarely causes major trouble. A bit of rest usually fixes it. I think Hunter might just be affected by this phenomenon.”

“Also, Castel has other wills present—like the Machine Souls of each steam engine. Even the Stellar Furnace has a Machine Soul. I suspect one day the entire Castel may develop a Soul. Anyway, Machine Souls seldom respond, but they’re extremely sensitive.”

“If Hunter had any other issues, they would never acknowledge him. But I sensed that Hunter successfully resonated with the island’s Machine Souls.”

“These Machine Souls won’t betray Castel, right?”

“Of course not. Machine Souls are like steel—eternally loyal. If they acknowledge Hunter, it means Hunter is definitely fine.”

Hughes scratched his head.

Why did everything feel a bit off?

But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed… fine?

“Forget it. Not important. Who’s in charge of the Northlands’ support for the Resistance Army? Call him in.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Under Hughes’ confused gaze, Richard walked directly to the window, leaned out, and shouted toward the chapel below: “Nini! Get up here! Lord Hughes wants you!”

The next moment, he was crushed flat on the floor, scattering into a pile of threads.

Nini flicked her serpent tail, scraping the threads onto the office carpet with disgust.

“Lord Hughes, you called?”

Hughes looked at Nini in heavy armor, then glanced at the window frame—which had lost an entire ring of bricks. He sighed.

“You’re paying for the window repair.”

“Sure.” Nini used her tail to sweep the broken bricks into a pile, reached out her hand, activated Fossil to Mud, and casually smeared the resulting sludge back onto the wall.