Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

After weighing the situation for a moment, Hughes’s gaze became resolute. He quickly sorted out the general direction of the threads in his hand, selected the densest cluster, randomly pulled out one strand, and tied it together with several others.

This direction of threads had appeared recently, and it was densely packed—clearly pointing toward Castel Island.

Pulling someone from Castel into the link was something Hughes had planned for a while. He needed someone to share updates about Castel and find out what was really happening outside.

Castel was isolated in the middle of the sea, with very little contact with the outside world. Hughes lacked even the most basic information—he couldn’t possibly go out asking around himself.

As for who this person would be, Hughes assumed it was most likely one of the Banshees. They were all Extraordinary beings, had a stronger connection with him, and there were quite a few of them, so the odds of randomly selecting one were pretty good.

But when he sensed the aura coming from the other end of the link, Hughes realized he had guessed wrong.

Zoe was absentmindedly flipping through a novel in her hand. Although she was staring at the book, her thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

Eventually, she let out a long sigh, set the book aside, and slumped onto the table.

She didn’t know why, but no matter how hard she tried recently, she just couldn’t get into those knight novels anymore.

They had always been her favorite genre, the stories she had once loved the most—but now, they couldn’t stir her emotions in the slightest.Looking at the plotlines in those books, Zoe felt as if she were watching a stage play. The actors above performed a meticulously crafted narrative—elegant, clever, awe-inspiring—but utterly disconnected from reality.

Reality… reality... as dull as it was, after witnessing so much suffering and happiness in others, Zoe couldn’t help but feel that those stories existed in a completely different world from her own.

She was no longer the protagonist, swept along by the ups and downs of the plot, experiencing a brand-new life. Instead, she had become a cold, detached audience member, sitting below the stage—no matter how dazzling the set was above, it could no longer move her heart.

What’s happening to me?

Zoe had no answer. Recently, many of the Banshees had taken an interest in her novels, so she had simply brought them all out and set up a small reading corner, letting the others borrow them freely.

In the past, she would never have shared these novels. They were her treasures.

She had originally been a maid in the manor, then went on to teach literacy classes. Now that most of the islanders were literate, and she wasn’t qualified to teach the advanced classes, the school had temporarily closed. She had returned to Hughes’s side to help with miscellaneous chores.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was a useless person—going in circles, only to end up doing maid work again. Every day had become a dull routine, and even her one passion—reading—had lost its spark.

Zoe sighed again.

『If only life could change a little.』

Scepter: 『.』

Fries: 『.』

Fries: 『Wait, there’s really a newcomer?!』

Zoe suddenly looked up from the table. Her movement was too abrupt, and she knocked over the novel she had set aside earlier. Clutching her head, she bent over again.

『Ouch, ouch, ouch!』

Fries: 『Uh, a-are you okay?』

Fries: 『Sorry I can’t help with the pain, but maybe talking about it will make it better?』

Fries: 『Let me introduce myself. I’m Fries. This is some kind of link—we don’t really understand how it works, we just use it. Besides me, there’s also Lady Scepter, Mr. Captain, and little Gwen. Everyone except Gwen uses a codename. You can come up with one too.』

Fries: 『Speaking of which, Gwen, don’t you want a codename too?』

Zoe rubbed her slightly swollen forehead, filled with shock.

Link… a link?

What was this? Was it dangerous? Could someone on the other end use the link to grab her?

Stay calm, Zoe. Think! Think!

Panic began to well up inside her, and she instinctively looked around. Soon, her eyes landed on the novel sitting on the table.

The book that had just smacked her forehead lay open, revealing its contents.

Suddenly, Zoe’s eyes lit up. This situation—it felt just like something out of a novel!

A good-for-nothing protagonist, suddenly gaining a golden finger, then soaring to success…

Oh no, she was getting too immersed.

After a few deep breaths to suppress her frantic thoughts, Zoe tried to psych herself up. She felt she had a big advantage—years of reading novels had made her familiar with this kind of setup. What would the protagonist in a novel do?

Hmm, first, stay calm and collected. That way, others would subconsciously assume you were strong and might even imagine all sorts of background details. All she needed to do was gradually reinforce that impression.

You’ve got this, Zoe!

Zoe: 『A link? How interesting. Then I’ll give myself a codename too. You may call me Writer.』

Fries: 『Writer? That sounds amazing! You must’ve published lots of books and written tons of stories, right?』

Writer: 『Ah? N-no, not really… I’ve only written a little… well, not really even that!』

Writer: 『Ahem… J-just a few insignificant little works.』

Fries: 『Wow, that’s really impressive!』

Captain: 『.』

Scepter: 『.』

Zoe felt her face burning. She instinctively curled her toes against the ground. She hadn’t published anything—not even a complete story. Her only experience was writing promotional materials for the Lord.

But to maintain her calm and powerful persona, she had to endure the shame and go along with it. She didn’t expect it to be this hard—she almost lost to the sheer embarrassment.

Still, she had successfully fooled the others in the link. It really worked!

With her rich (novel-derived) experience, she was confident she could make full use of this golden finger!

Now that she thought about it, maybe her true talent lay in this very field. She might be useless in other areas, but here, she could shine. She had applied a scene from a novel to real life on her first try and succeeded.

I’m a genius.

Zoe thought to herself.

It really worked!

Hughes let out a breath of relief.

Even though he hadn’t pulled in a Banshee, but Zoe instead, he had still successfully diverted the others’ attention—mission accomplished.

Now it was time to guide Zoe to inquire about the outside world. That wouldn’t be difficult—Hughes already had a plan.

Wasn’t he just about to send a ship to Blood Harbor to contact the Prince?

The team leader would be Zoe.

Once she learned she would be leading a group, she would surely ask the others about the outside world. All Hughes had to do was listen in. Perfect!

At the same time, she would naturally relay some information in return. And the only information she had was the current situation on Castel. That would be enough for Kenn and Jeremiah to return.

Hughes wouldn’t even have to send anyone out to look for them.

I’m a genius.

Hughes thought to himself.