Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Off the coast of Castel.  

Jeremiah stood at the bow of his ship, holding a small brass telescope in his hand, carefully scanning the surroundings.  

“No matter how I look at it, everything seems normal… but why do I have a bad feeling about this?”  

He had just returned from Gem Bay. The process of obtaining the authorization papers had gone smoothly.

The moment he mentioned it to his superiors, the documents were thrown down to him.

It was said that several factions in the Pirate King’s Court were currently fighting to the death, and a peripheral pirate captain like him would only be sought after.  

Moreover, he had successfully obtained nitroglycerin from Castel. Jeremiah felt that his future was looking bright.  

Perhaps one day, he too could become a great pirate, commanding a fleet of dozens of ships, unlike now, where he only had the Dark Pearl.  

Thinking about this, Jeremiah felt a surge of excitement. He happily patted the mast. “Don’t worry. Even if I become a great pirate, you will still be my flagship.”  

This ship had been sailing the seas for many years. She was an old lady now, but she was sturdy and reliable. Jeremiah had complete confidence in her.  “Captain, Castel Island is just ahead. The weather is nice today. We should arrive in an hour.”  

Jeremiah glanced at the sails.  

Sailing was a skillful trade. It required experienced sailors working together to move a ship.

And if one wanted to cross the vast sea, an experienced captain like him was indispensable.  

This was the value of a captain: A pirate captain didn’t necessarily have to be the strongest fighter, but he had to be capable of bringing the entire ship back through storms and battles.  

Jeremiah smiled in satisfaction. A captain as good as him was rare.  

Before long, Castel came into view. Jeremiah directed his crew to dock the pirate ship directly at the harbor.  

In the past, he had to anchor farther away to avoid the island’s lord suddenly turning against him.

But now that both sides were allied, Jeremiah felt completely at ease.  

Such a big ship, how could it possibly go missing?  

After arriving at the port, he left the registration process to his first mate and swaggered toward Hughes’ manor.  

It was now mid-morning, and the streets were empty. The factories in the distance, however, were bustling with activity.

Jeremiah grabbed a fried fish from a roadside stall, stuffed it into his mouth, tossed a few coins down, and walked away.  

The fried fish on this island was really good. He almost wanted to stay here just to eat it.  

Reaching the manor’s entrance, he wiped the grease off his hands onto his clothes. Connor then led him to the study.  

There were quite a few people waiting in line, but Jeremiah was taken in directly.  

As soon as he stepped inside, Hughes walked up to him and handed him a cup of tea.  

“Jeremiah, you came at just the right time.”  

A moment later, Jeremiah’s face had turned slightly pale, while Hughes, sitting behind his desk, smiled at him.  

“You’re saying… you want my ship?”  

“No, no, just borrowing it.”  

Borrowing? That sounded like another word for robbery.  

Jeremiah was a pirate. He wouldn’t fall for that nonsense.  

He slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.  

“Do you know how important the Dark Pearl is to me? She is everything to me! Look at her,she’s barely been at sea for a few days, a brand-new ship! And you want to take her away from me? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! No amount of money will change my mind!”  

“I even went through all that trouble to get you five authorization papers! Do you know how much effort that took? The Pirate King’s Court nearly skinned me alive! I already handed over all the benefits you gave me!”  

“And now you’re coming after my ship? This is truly disappointing!”  

Jeremiah snorted coldly, staring at Hughes, but he didn’t take a single step back.  

He wasn’t lying.  

For a pirate captain, nothing was more important than his ship.  

As long as he had a ship, he could gather a crew. No matter what losses he suffered, he could always make a comeback.  

But without a ship, climbing back up would depend on luck. Not everyone had the good fortune of stumbling upon an abandoned vessel.  

—That was in the past.  

Now, the Storm Ocean had very few fat targets left to plunder. Ever since the coastal Principality of Tis was destroyed by the Empire, the Empress had almost completely abandoned maritime trade in order to blockade Gem Bay.

The pirates still roamed freely across the Storm Ocean, but they barely survived by collecting sea taxes.  

If it were the old Jeremiah, he wouldn’t have accepted this.  

But now, Jeremiah had been appointed as the Pirate King’s representative in Castel.  

He barely had time to set sail for plundering anymore, let alone make any real money.  

Maintaining a ship cost money. Keeping a crew required even more money.  

No profits? The pirates would split up and leave on the spot.  

Countless pirate crews had disappeared this way, leaving behind nothing but increasingly dilapidated, abandoned ships.  

The golden age of piracy was long over.  

Gem Bay itself was merely struggling to survive.  

Now, as long as there was money, there would be ships, men, everything.  

The problem was, there was no money.  

Jeremiah was a pirate captain.  

At first, he felt lost.  

But recently, he had come to understand something—  

The Dark Pearl could no longer carry him forward.  

He needed to board a bigger ship.  

Even if it meant letting go of the past, he had to do it.  

Castel was that bigger ship.  

Jeremiah’s tone softened.  

His sharp gaze eased, and he removed his hand from the scimitar at his waist.  

“But then again… we’re friends, aren’t we?”  

He sat back down, his voice low.  

“I’m always willing to help a friend.”  

“I think you misunderstand.”  

Hughes pulled out a document but didn’t hand it over.  

—Not that it would have mattered, since Jeremiah couldn’t read.  

“I intend to hire your ship. You can choose between a profit share or a fixed salary. Either way, you’re free to leave whenever you want. You can even sail with the ship, I don’t have any new crew members capable of being captain yet.”  

Leave anytime? Still get to sail with the ship?  

Jeremiah blinked.  

Did he hear that right?  

How was this different from just hauling cargo for him?  

Pirate ships were built differently from cargo ships, but they still had sizable cargo holds, they needed space for loot, after all.  

If that was the case, this contract was incredibly lenient.  

Jeremiah narrowed his eyes.  

Hughes, of course, knew exactly what he was thinking.  

He pressed the contract onto the table.  

“There are a few other conditions, of course. You’ll need to train the sailors accompanying the ship, teach them how to navigate, read sea charts, and use a sextant.   Aside from that, you’ll also be responsible for protecting the cargo, though I doubt anyone in the Storm Ocean would be foolish enough to cross a pirate ship.”  

“I don’t quite understand. If you need sailors, why not just hire them directly? If you want, I can help you find some experienced seamen. They won’t cost much.”