Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

While Alexei was running back and forth on the construction site, Hughes was busy in his laboratory.

By the way, a few days ago, he officially named this place the Chemistry Laboratory and established various rules, such as prohibiting servants from approaching without reason, procedures for handling fires, and what to do in case of an explosion.

Hearing this, old Connor’s eye twitched involuntarily.

He had tried multiple times to persuade Hughes to abandon this dangerous place, but remembering that this was an alchemist’s workshop, he ultimately kept his mouth shut.

Connor didn’t know much about alchemists, but he understood the most important part: they were extremely profitable.

Every lord’s attitude toward alchemists was the same: revere them.

Even the royal family treated alchemists with higher regard than nobles.

The Empress herself had punished great nobles multiple times, yet she had never made a move against the alchemists.

After all, replacing a noble was easy, but every alchemist was a priceless treasure.

Thus, Connor’s advice changed from ”Don’t do something so dangerous” to ”Can someone else handle the dangerous parts?”As for the answer—

”Of course not. In fact, the most dangerous thing in a chemistry lab is letting someone who knows nothing about it inside.”

However, despite his words, Hughes was somewhat tempted.

Training someone with sufficient chemistry knowledge required a long time, which also meant they needed high loyalty, and chemistry experiments were inherently dangerous.

Considering these conditions together, Hughes suddenly realized he might have a good option.

Sirens.

These Sirens were extremely loyal to him, unafraid of danger, and, even better, they were incredibly strong.

Their physical resilience astounded him.

Impacts that were lethal to humans only barely injured Sirens.

It made sense—such massive bodies required greater physical strength to support them.

A taller stature meant exponentially greater strength, and strength also correlated with agility and durability.

He suspected that the bone density of Sirens was significantly higher than that of humans.

No wonder, despite their small numbers, they could drive the murloc clans into retreat with their desperate attacks.

If this were a computer game, he would immediately assign the Sirens to chemistry courses.

Unfortunately, Sirens were not just cold strings of data.

They were living beings with their own preferences.

They resided in the depths of the ocean and, while nominally his subjects, had little real connection to him.

Well, except for Ash.

She had signed a Symbiotic Contract with Hughes, meaning she had to stay on Castel Island permanently and couldn’t stray too far.

That said, chemistry experiments couldn’t be conducted underwater.

Perhaps Ash would be his only student.

He had no idea whether she was interested in chemistry.

Shaking his head, he put those thoughts aside.

”Connor, since there’s a volcano on the island, get some sulfur ore. This stuff almost always accompanies volcanic activity. We don’t need much; I just need some for experiments.”

Sulfur?

Connor vaguely remembered it.

Small amounts should be purchasable.

He nodded.

”Also, I need a batch of experimental bottles and jars. I’ll draw the designs later, and you can check if craftsmen can make them. It’s fine if they’re expensive.”

After some thought, Hughes added, ”I remember there are quite a few vases in the manor. If necessary, we can use those. I think I also have some glass cups?”

Sighing lightly, Hughes said, ”Melt them down.”

”I... I’ll ask the craftsmen if they can do it,” Connor said, his expression complicated.

Those items were considered artworks, and now they were going to be used as raw materials?

Well, it was a sacrifice for the alchemy workshop.

”How is the olive oil factory coming along?”

”Everything is going smoothly. We already have a batch of finished olive oil.”

Hughes nodded; it was as expected.

The olive oil process used completely traditional methods.

After all, there wasn’t much to improve—just crushing olives with a millstone to extract the oil.

Improve power sources?

Without a foundation in materials science, he couldn’t build a steam engine.

That was one of his biggest dilemmas.

Even though he had countless blueprints in his mind, he couldn’t implement them in this world.

Take the steam engine, for example—how would he handle tolerance issues?

Mechanical structures were highly interconnected.

If the precision wasn’t high enough, forcing assembly would lead to disaster.

Handcrafting a steam engine wasn’t impossible, but it required producing a large number of parts and then selecting those that happened to fit together, slowly piecing together the entire machine.

Back on Blue Star, his home country had used this method during industrial development.

But that required a significant industrial workforce.

Right now, he barely had one or two blacksmiths.

Trying this was pure fantasy.

”A long road ahead.”

”Speaking of which, school construction can’t be delayed either. Alexei has been busy building factories, right? Remind him later.”

Schooling was one of Hughes’ top priorities.

The olive oil factory was just a small endeavor.

True industrial progress couldn’t rely on illiterate craftsmen.

And schools couldn’t just train qualified workers.

Engineers and researchers were also essential.

If there were a gap in talent, future development would stall.

From this perspective, laying the foundation was the most crucial task right now.

”Time is too tight.”

The pirates needed results by next month.

Olive oil alone was definitely not enough.

Even though Hughes had planned ahead, time was still pressing.

Now that the olive oil factory was running, soap production was still stuck in his laboratory.

Laboratory preparation and industrial mass production were completely different.

Next, he needed to train craftsmen to handle each step to ensure smooth factory production.

Unlike olive oil, which was already an established industry, this was a new technology.

He didn’t intend to use soap to deal with the pirates.

It was just a transitional product, but still important.

He was trying to establish an industrial assembly line.

Small workshops and industrialization were worlds apart.

Even if someone could handcraft intricate clocks, the Empire still wouldn’t be considered an industrial nation.

Industrialization and standardization were Hughes’ greatest advantages in this world.

And the soap factory was just the first step toward realizing them.

Once he successfully established an assembly line and standardized processes, everything else would follow smoothly.

”Get the sulfur as soon as possible. Next is nitric acid and sulfuric acid. The wheels of chemical industry must start turning, beginning with this humble laboratory.”

Hughes’ eyes shone with anticipation.

(End of Chapter)