Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

The Prince sat by the desk, gripping a quill and writing fervently on the paper.

His handwriting was slightly messy, and the formatting didn’t conform to the conventions of a letter, yet he didn’t care in the slightest.

『Galahad, I think the most correct thing I’ve ever done was choosing to maintain friendship with Castel.』

『Do you still remember what you said when that airship landed on our territory?』

『You said it was a creation of miracles and advised me to seize the airship for myself and kill those soldiers.』

『I refused back then. I had a vague thought at the time, but couldn’t quite make it clear.』

『Now I understand.』

『Galahad, creations of miracles can never change everything. If the Empire needs a miracle to be saved, then it no longer deserves to exist.』

『I once intended to use the word “miracle” to describe Castel, but recently my thoughts have shifted. I had a chat with Hughes — he is a learned man, his mind brimming with strange theories and ideas. I truly wish I could pry open that skull of his and see what sort of existence lies inside, capable of such profound thinking.』

『It was precisely through talking with him that I stopped believing the word “miracle,” with its connotations of randomness, could be used to describe Castel’s strength.』

『Yes, strength! My dear knight, Castel is incredibly strong — whether in terms of power or institutional system, it’s nearly flawless!』

『It’s just that many things are hard to notice. Only I can perceive them, touching upon truths hidden behind the curtain.』

『When I first came here, I thought this place was rather ordinary — after all, it didn’t look much different.』

『I originally thought it would be a land full of factories, but all I saw on the outskirts were barren plains.』

At this moment, the Prince’s pen suddenly stopped.

He lifted his head and looked into midair. In his field of vision, a translucent figure was asking:

”But there really is nothing outside the island, Isabella.”

”Heh, you still haven’t noticed by now?”

The Prince’s soul furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment, then shook his head hesitantly.

”That lighthouse — do you remember it?”

”The one by the sea? Isn’t that just a regular—”

”It’s made of steel.”

”Huh?” The Prince’s soul froze.

”Not just the lighthouse. The foundation underneath it is all steel. That’s no lighthouse. If I’m not mistaken, it was probably formed by salvaged shipwrecks piled together, with a light set atop it.”

”And that’s not all.” Isabella tossed the quill aside, watching the stunned Prince with delight across her face.

”Did you notice it seemed to have gotten taller? I suspect that beneath the water, it’s those Banshees. After collecting the shipwreck fragments, they cut and stacked them there — over time, it took the shape of a ‘lighthouse’.”

The Prince’s eyes widened, and his voice trembled: ”That must’ve taken a massive amount of steel—”

Isabella’s gaze turned into the distance: ”Perhaps this is the true power of industry.”

The room fell silent for a moment before the Prince’s soul suddenly jerked his head up: ”You—you must’ve noticed other details, right? You purposely returned to the coast before. It couldn’t have been just to look at those!”

”Indeed. You’re not entirely dull.”

”Do you still remember that tall wall we saw along the way, the one with trees growing on it?”

The Prince’s soul mumbled softly: ”That was weird? Okay, trees growing on a wall is a bit strange…”

”Because that’s not a wall — that’s a limb of a Heretical God!”

”What!?”

”Do you remember what Galahad once said? That the tendrils of the Heretical God spread across the entire island. Did you ever see them?”

The Prince’s soul shook his head.

”If it spreads across the whole island, it couldn’t possibly all be hidden. That wall appeared so abruptly, and with everything considered, there’s only one possibility — it is the Heretical God!”

”But—but it has trees growing on it…”

”Idiot! You’ve got the order reversed. How could ordinary trees grow on the flesh of a Heretical God? Perhaps that ‘wall’ is actually a nursery — built specifically to grow those trees!”

The Prince’s soul froze, thinking carefully for a moment, and drew a sharp breath.

”Aside from that, do you remember how the two Banshees who returned with us suddenly disappeared?”

”That’s true... but maybe they just left?”

”That would be normal, yes, but vanishing without a sound is still a bit strange. When I went to the coast, I took a look. There’s a hole in the slope behind that area.”

”A hole? Like a cave?”

”Not quite. It looks man-made — an excavated tunnel. Do you remember what Hughes said about the Network Path Project? I suspect the entire underground of Castel is threaded with these paths!”

”The entire underground? Isn’t that a bit exaggerated—”

”Perhaps. But there’s definitely a large number of them,” Isabella said with certainty. ”If there aren’t many, they wouldn’t serve any real function. It only works when there are enough of them! And did you notice? It was Banshees going in!”

This time, the Prince’s soul caught on: ”Banshees are big enough that they’d need to move freely. The tunnels must be at least four meters tall, right?”

”Definitely taller. If it were me designing the tunnels, I’d have to account for the size of weapons Banshees carry. Hughes wouldn’t overlook that. So do you realize how massive this project is?”

The Prince didn’t have much experience managing a territory, so he only had a vague idea. Scratching his head, he looked lost, prompting Isabella to sigh.

”Let me put it simply — this is a larger undertaking than building ten Blood Harbors. How could Castel manage it with just this many people? Either they have massive engineering machinery, or they possess some unique method. So... do you understand what I’m saying now?”

The Prince’s soul wanted to ask a question, but hesitated and didn’t speak. Isabella ignored him and picked up the quill again, resuming her writing.

『Galahad, never underestimate anything created by Castel.』

『This island is like an iceberg. All you see is its disguise above the water, but only beneath the surface can you witness its colossal and terrifying body — and the maddening truth.』

『The scariest part is, it’s not even trying to disguise itself.』

『It’s just that our shallow gaze cannot penetrate the surface.』

『It is simply too vast — beyond the limits of our understanding. Like standing before a cliff wall, you can’t see the full picture, nor tell whether you’re facing a small hill or the World Pillar holding up the sky.』

『Never underestimate Castel. It may not even know how immense it truly is — but we must know how tiny we are.』

『One more thing — I’ve decided to increase our cooperation with Castel. Has that letter I sent to the North been dispatched yet? If not, do not send it under any circumstances. If it’s already been sent…』

『Then prepare for war.』