Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Chloe lowered her head and pushed Hughes out of the room, too embarrassed to look up.

It was indeed her recklessness that led to the mishap. When the two of them attempted the experiment, at the very least, she should have called someone else over.

As a Moth Chasing Fire, she naturally understood how dangerous these things were. Thinking back now, she still felt a lingering fear.

If she had died due to her own stupidity, there would be nothing to say, but she had almost caused Hughes’ death.

The Moths Chasing Fire had now formed a collaboration with Castel, but it was an extremely fragile one.

If Hughes had died in her place, there would be no need for an explanation, an enraged group of Sirens would tear their entire church apart.

And in fact, they were already here.

Hughes opened the trapdoor and climbed up the ladder, only to be immediately pulled behind Feniel.

The Sirens stood in the church, armed with weapons, pressing several Moths Chasing Fire believers to the ground.

Chloe took a deep breath, braced herself, and climbed up the ladder.

Hiding underground was indeed safe. The trapdoor completely divided the space into two sections, making it impossible for the Sirens to break in.

But this whole situation had been caused by her recklessness, she couldn’t just run away from it.

As soon as she emerged, the Sirens’ stares became even more hostile.

Her entire body was covered in Hughes’ blood, especially her hands and face. The Sirens could smell it.

Yet, she had no wounds at all.

No matter how one looked at it, it seemed as if she had harmed Hughes.

The Sirens were tall. Though the church’s vaulted ceiling was quite high, their presence made it feel somewhat cramped.

With weapons in hand, their bodies, covered in hard, scaled tails and steel-like, muscular physiques, made them resemble killing machines.

For a brief moment, Chloe felt as if she were standing before a group of war chariots ready to charge.

Chloe was already short, and now, surrounded by these towering Sirens, their weapon-clad bodies cast shadows over her as they stared down with icy eyes.

Like giant statues.

Chloe stood still, silent.

The church was completely quiet.

『Lord, what happened? We couldn’t reach you earlier, and then suddenly, your life force started depleting rapidly. I contacted Ash right away and brought the others over.』

Hughes glanced around.

There were fewer than a hundred Sirens present. Ash and Nini had each brought two squads, leaving only about twenty on the island.

Aside from Monica, everyone had come.

『Waaah! Lord, are you okay!? They locked me in a room and wouldn’t let me come! Hurry up and tell them to let me out!』

In the group chat, Monica was making a loud commotion.

Hughes reassured her with a few words before turning to Finiel.

『I’m fine. It was just a misunderstanding. It seems the Moths Chasing Fire’s gathering place has some sort of interference that blocked my communication with you all. Let Ash know, she doesn’t need to come back.』

Ash: 『Lord, Nini and I have already completed our scouting and are on our way back. It’s good to hear that you’re safe.』

Hughes had spoken in the group chat, yet Ash had responded directly through the Mind Link.

Hughes: 『That fast? I thought you were still at sea. So you can already connect via the Mind Link. In any case, there’s nothing to worry about. Chloe and I ran into some unexpected issues during an experiment, but everything’s fine now.』

After finishing his message, Hughes looked up at those around him.

Chloe was still surrounded, being glared at by several people, not daring to make a sound.

"Alright, it’s fine. Just a misunderstanding. By the way, your underground shielding setup is quite impressive, I completely lost contact with the Sirens."

"This was achieved using the Candlelight Church’s technology. It can indeed block many forms of detection inside."

Chloe answered cautiously.

"Then maybe we should station some people inside."

Feniel’s voice was devoid of emotion.

She was quite angry.

Who knew what kind of trouble this nun had caused?

Judging by Chloe’s guilty expression and their lord’s condition, it was clear something had gone wrong.

There was no need to explain what Hughes meant to the Sirens.

And yet, he had nearly gotten into an accident in Castel.

Feniel had no interest in experiments.

She also had no interest in fighting.

Yet, without hesitation, she had taken up her weapon and brought all her clansmen here.

It was her duty.

But what about Chloe?

It seemed that this nun had failed in her duties.

Hughes pondered for a moment before saying, "This accident wasn’t her fault. In fact, she took on more risk than I did. I was actually the safer one. But things developed in an entirely unexpected direction, there was no way to predict it."

"Lord."

Feniel turned to Hughes, her tone carrying a hint of frustration.

She didn’t say much, simply asking, "What do we do next?"

"Let’s go back. This accident was strange, I need to investigate it thoroughly. Release them all."

Several Moths Chasing Fire believers were still restrained by the Sirens.

Though they hadn’t been harmed, they had certainly been treated with hostility.

Soon, the Sirens let them go, their tails swaying as they silently left the church.

Hughes sighed.

He might need to comfort the Sirens later.

He could feel their emotions, they had been genuinely worried.

After all, they had no idea that their lord, Hughes, was merely a vessel.

Perhaps he needed to be even more cautious in the future.

He wasn’t just carrying his own life now, he bore the expectations of too many people.

Chloe, too.

Once everyone had left, she spoke softly, "I’m sorry. I wasn’t well prepared."

"Next time, let’s go to the test site. There are more people there."

Chloe quickly nodded.

That was usually the way the Moths Chasing Fire operated.

Their experiments always carried great risks, so they were typically cautious.

But today, every test she had conducted with Hughes had gone too smoothly.

Whether it was explaining secret knowledge or spreading information through conjecture, everything had worked perfectly.

It had made her so excited that she lost herself.

Besides, she had never expected to be harmed by Hughes, a mere mortal.

She had thought she was in control.

That was the real issue, she had inexplicably lost control.

Hughes realized this as well.

Rubbing his chin, he asked, "Does your extraordinary path have cases of sudden loss of control or amnesia?"

"No. At least, I’ve never heard of such cases."

Chloe frowned.

Losing control was terrifying for the Extraordinary.

If it led to exposure to pollution, one might never wake up again.

"You’ve never experienced it before either?"

"Never."

Hughes thought for a moment and hesitated before asking,

"Do you feel like… there’s some sort of connection between you and me?"