Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

As Castel returned to reality, many memories that had been sealed by the Sea Temple gradually began to surface.

Monica was the first to come to mind, but aside from her, there were many other events that people could recall with just a bit of effort.

For example, Hughes had dispatched three waves of airships to explore the truth. The one sent to Chloe in Gem Bay had been completely wiped out. The one that went to the Eye of the Storm, with Nini and the others, had already returned. So what about the remaining one—the one that had gone to seek help from the Empire?

That airship had been led by the old steward Connor and a team of Holy Guard, yet there had been no word from them to this day. That was highly abnormal.

Hughes speculated that this airship might have indeed succeeded in leaving that space and arrived in the real world. Otherwise, the people on the island should not have forgotten about their existence.

For example, Nini—after passing through the Eye of the Storm, the sea serpent she left behind vanished completely. Considering that Connor and the others were still mortals, they had most likely been forgotten after leaving that space.

The airship had ample resources and its own defensive firepower—how could it have simply disappeared like that?

Hughes recalled what Beatrice had once said during their Mind Link in the worker Hughes's consciousness: If they went to Tis, they would definitely be detained.

Could it be that his airship—the one he had sent for reinforcements—had been detained by Tis?

Had he really detained Connor and the others?

That couldn't be...

Hughes frowned. He had heard many people speak of that prince. Whether it was Beatrice from the Church or Kenn, who was born in Castel, they all held him in high regard. Could there be some misunderstanding? Or perhaps the airship hadn't even landed in Tis?

He had to send someone to check.

Now that he thought about it, most of the pirates on the Storm Ocean had been wiped out. The Pirate King's Court had been blown into a massive crater by him, and who knew what Gem Bay looked like now?

But regardless of the situation over there, in the Storm Ocean, Castel had become the dominant power. Hughes suddenly realized that he now needed to expand outward.

Although this small island had a limited population, its status had been hard-won—it was just that most people didn't know about it yet.

What he needed to do now was let the surrounding regions know.

However, Hughes soon discovered an awkward issue—he didn't have a ship.

Castel, despite being an island, now didn't have a single vessel.

Although there hadn't been many large ships before, there were at least a few seaworthy ones, not to mention a bunch of fishing boats.

But those ships had long since been destroyed by war. At present, Castel truly had not a single ship left.

That was a bit embarrassing.

There were airships, of course, but it wouldn't be appropriate to sail the massive *Celestial Behemoth* straight to Tis. Even putting aside whether it would cause panic, such a strategic-level weapon was fine for deterrence, but using it as a means of transport came with countless inconveniences.

Besides, for an island like Castel, having no ships simply made no sense.

Thus, the shipyard project was immediately put on the agenda. From every perspective, this would be one of Castel's key focuses moving forward.

For now, Hughes planned to place the future shipyard in the southern part of Castel, near the steel mill, which made transportation relatively convenient.

But distant water couldn't quench immediate thirst. Even with the shipyard planned out, Castel still didn't have any ships that could be used right away.

Yet both Tis and Gem Bay needed to be explored as soon as possible.

After thinking for a while, Hughes sighed and activated the Mind Link. Soon, Ash arrived at his office.

『Ash, take a team to Gem Bay. See if there are any surviving ships over there. You know how to sail, right?』

Ash: 『.』

Alright, asking a Banshee to sail was indeed a bit of a stretch.

『I'll find some fishermen who used to sail often and have them write down some simple operation guides. When the time comes, just control the direction out at sea. As long as you can steer it back, it'll do.』

『No need. I know a few people who used to be sailors. I'll go ask them for help.』

Hughes was a little surprised. Ash usually looked so cold and didn't talk much—how had she so quickly found the right people?

That was something Hughes hadn't noticed. After enduring the crucible of war, the Banshees had actually become very popular among the islanders.

They were born to be powerful warriors. In the previous battles against sea monsters, they had often played the role of emergency responders.

Just imagine: the Holy Guard cornered by monsters, running low on ammunition, burdened with wounded, faced with endless enemies, utterly hopeless, thinking they were about to die on the battlefield—

Suddenly, a heavily armored Banshee squad broke through layers of encirclement and arrived by the Holy Guard's side. Their towering forms seemed like gods walking among mortals, their steam rifles and long blades soaked in the blood and flesh of monsters.

That had a better effect than any propaganda. Hughes didn't need to do anything more—any barrier between humans and Banshees melted like snow. These giant foreign women quickly gained the islanders' trust.

And such scenes happened over and over again across the battlefield. The Banshees charged fearlessly until even the Life Pool of their Symbiotic Contracts nearly dried up.

The mighty Banshees eventually fell, but by then, they had already earned everyone's recognition. Humans were strange beings—weak, cowardly, and despicable, yet never lacking in courage or all things noble.

The people of the island had finally come to fully accept the Banshees. They discovered their similarities—they were souls of the same kind, just in different bodies.

After the war ended, the Banshees and the Holy Guard no longer needed to fight side by side, but no new barrier formed between Banshees and islanders. The always noisy Nini found herself surrounded by a new group of equally noisy companions, and the taciturn Ash had also made a few equally quiet friends.

Thinking of those equally aloof people, Ash's cold expression seemed to soften just a little.

Hughes raised his eyebrows, then smiled. "I'll count on you then. If possible, try to bring back a few more ships. We're short on them right now, and using airships for long voyages is still somewhat inconvenient."

Back in that previous space, although monsters kept appearing, the weather had generally been decent.

But now that they were back in reality, Hughes was reminded why this sea was called the Storm Ocean in the first place.

There were almost no sunny days here. Storms and rain ruled most of the calendar.

It wasn't very safe for airships to fly through thunderclouds. The famous Zeppelin Hindenburg had crashed due to severe weather.

Although the *Celestial Behemoth* had been specially optimized in its design and its skin was much stronger than ordinary canvas, there were still risks involved.

Better to check out Gem Bay first. On one hand, they needed ships. On the other…

Surely those pirates had left behind quite a bit of treasure, right?