Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Hughes stared directly at Chloe, his orange-red eyes deep as an abyss. He exerted slight force in his hand, intending to say something, but was shocked to find that the ”Chloe” he was gripping suddenly deflated.

This... seemed to be her extraordinary ability?

Before Hughes could react, the clear voice of the girl rang in his ears, ”See? What do you think?”

”What do you mean?” Hughes held Chloe’s duplicate, frowned, and was about to speak when he suddenly had a realization.

The duplicate in his hand was as light as a balloon, yet no matter how he pulled at it, it did not tear apart.

”This layer of skin, to be precise, is a ’cocoon.’ What do you think?” Chloe paced slowly by the table with her hands behind her back. ”It’s light, tough, waterproof, and fireproof. More importantly, I can shape it as I wish. After much thought, I found nothing more suitable for making an airship than this.”

Hughes lowered his head to look at the ’cocoon’ in his hand, then raised his gaze to Chloe and said helplessly, ”So this is what you meant... Alright, I misunderstood you.”

Chloe’s eyes carried a hint of mischief. ”Can’t I be inhuman?”

”Of course not,” Hughes replied without hesitation. ”I know you are an extraordinary being. All extraordinary beings undergo a certain degree of distortion. In fact, aside from your appearance, you barely resemble a human anymore. But before you became extraordinary, you were still human, right? Becoming extraordinary was a decision you made as a human. Are you going to betray your past self?”

”I abandoned those things in pursuit of knowledge. To abandon the pursuit of knowledge would be the true betrayal of myself.”Hughes shook his head. ”I heard that before I arrived here, you often handed out candy to children. Was that also in pursuit of knowledge?”

”That... that was just to win people’s hearts! Nuns have to preach, after all!” Chloe widened her eyes in defense.

Hughes recalled the dilapidated and simple church. When he first entered, he almost knocked the door off its hinges, and Chloe had lost her temper at him.

Unfortunately, that church had already been demolished. She personally led the demolition. Heavy steel-reinforced concrete had been rebuilt over the ruins of the church. Now, it only remained in memory.

”Miss Nun, if you were not prepared to abandon your humanity from the beginning, then I advise you to cherish it. Humanity may be an obstacle in your pursuit of knowledge, but you can only discard it once.”

Hughes rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. ”Just a personal thought, that’s all. By the way, does creating this ’cocoon’ require any cost?”

Chloe smacked her lips and unconsciously bit her finger. ”That’s what I find most strange. Usually, when I use ’cocoon’—no, when I use any extraordinary ability—there is always a cost, whether large or small. But recently, this cost seems to have disappeared. I can use extraordinary abilities as I please.”

”All the extraordinary beings on the island no longer need to pay the price for their abilities.”

Her tone carried a trace of anxiety.

For extraordinary beings, any abnormal change in their abilities was extremely dangerous. Extraordinary power always came with a heavy price, so much so that it was often referred to as the ’extraordinary curse.’

But now, these powers required no price?

No, Chloe was more inclined to believe that the cost had changed. She just didn’t know what she was now paying.

Among the nobles of Rhine, there was an old adage: If you sit at the dining table and don’t know where the bill is being paid, then you are the next dish.

Chloe felt as if she were now lying on that table, with unknown diners ready to reach out with their knives and forks at any moment.

Blood Harbor, the ”Prince’s” residence.

In the spacious reception hall, the servants nodded slightly to the three guests before exiting.

Jeremiah, Kenn, and Josh exchanged glances and sat side by side on the sofa.

The ”Prince” would arrive shortly, and they needed to wait for the time being.

Jeremiah’s eyes were bloodshot. He had not dared to sleep all night. Fortunately, years of sailing had accustomed him to staying awake through storms, so he considered staying up an entire night to be no big deal.

However, being without his curved blade and firearm made him feel uncomfortable, not to mention that he had specifically taken a bath, which only made him feel worse.

Kenn cautiously examined the furnishings of the room before leaning toward Josh and whispering, ”Are you sure? The decor here is quite simple, and the servants are very polite. Is the ’Prince’ really that bad?”

”Why would I lie to you?” Josh looked around to make sure no one was nearby before replying in a low voice, ”People have suffered terribly at his hands before. He looks selfless and speaks with righteous words, but when things go south, he runs faster than anyone.”

Kenn frowned, still finding it hard to believe.

It was said that when this ”Prince” had been a real prince, he had many loyal followers. Everyone who met him was captivated by his aura.

Perhaps he had been naive, but he had been a true idealist, striving to uphold fairness and justice. People might have doubted whether he would be a good lord, but they never questioned whether he was a good person.

But soon, everything was exposed.

When the war began, his father, Grand Duke of Tis, was lured to Rhine by the Empress and executed. His followers sought out the prince, the sole remaining bloodline of the Grand Duke, hoping he would lead them in avenging Tis against the Holy Mill Empire.

The power disparity between the two nations was vast. No one believed he could succeed. Even if the prince had abandoned the country on the spot and fled, no one would have blamed him.

In truth, his followers did not genuinely believe in restoring the nation. They merely wanted an excuse to flee abroad. There would always be other countries willing to accept them for political reasons. They would become puppets, but at least the hope of restoration would remain.

But this ”Prince” turned around and betrayed all his followers.

For days, Rhine’s guillotines couldn’t keep up. Heads were hung in a row along the city walls.

The ”Prince” completely surrendered to the Empress, becoming her most loyal royalist. The Empress even handed him control over Tis, which he was soon to formally receive in Rhine—though he would only be its nominal ruler.

The furious populace began calling him ”Prince” with scorn. The former subordinates of the Grand Duke of Tis lost all hope, each returning to their own territories, never speaking of restoration again.

As for the ”Prince” himself, though his reputation was ruined, being the Empress’s lapdog was far more comfortable than living in exile. His life had barely changed from when he was a prince—he had food, clothing, and security, with no more external threats.

Now, he was part of the Empire.