Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 105 The banquet begins

"Each group should report their status."

"One group is in place on the top balcony of the manor."

"Team Two is in place in the chemistry lab in the garden."

"Group three is in place, on the west side of the second floor."

"Team three is in place in the study, right behind you, Sister Ash."

"Team 4 hasn't arrived yet. Miss Zoe just came over and said the room over there isn't finished yet, so we'll have to wait a little longer."

Ash nodded and divided the Banshees into small groups, hiding them in various locations throughout the manor.

This time, the cultists from Fire Moth came to the dinner, so the banshees decided to be careful and send more people. Who knows what the extraordinary people in that group can do.

After all, this was their first contact, and although the lord said they had a high probability of cooperation, Ash still felt that he shouldn't trust this group of people.

They even dare to summon evil gods, so what else are they afraid of doing?
Next room.

Hughes was changing clothes, doing his hair and makeup with the help of his servants.

Yes, makeup. In this era, it was considered indecent for male nobles to appear in public without makeup.

On the bright side, at least wearing wigs is no longer popular. Hughes sighed in his heart while letting Miss Zoe pat white powder on his face.

"You know, this stuff is lead. Long-term exposure can cause poisoning."

"Then you should shut your mouth quickly to avoid eating it. You don't attend banquets every day, so I'll put less on you."

Zeus sighed inwardly. He had originally thought that by informing people of the dangers of these things, they would stay away from cosmetics, but the result was not what he expected.

The maids only slightly restrained their usage and did not abandon them.

Come to think of it, tobacco and alcohol have long been publicly listed as a type of carcinogen on Blue Planet, but there are still people who keep drinking at the table.

It seems that no matter what era people are in, they all have a desperate attitude towards socializing.

I heard that recently in the upper circles of the empire, there are even noble ladies who voluntarily contracted tuberculosis in order to give themselves an image of sickly beauty.

Although this kind of thing is too crazy and rare, it is almost always praised every time it happens and is an act of romance to death.

——It is really fatal. Tuberculosis is a terminal illness in this era. People will not live for more than a few years after contracting it.

So Hughes had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and let Miss Zoe apply lead powder. At least even if someone was poisoned, they could still live a long time.

"The banshees were seen by the people in the manor, right? What did they say?"

"There wasn't much of a reaction. We had already informed them in advance, and this group of people had already been screened by us, so they were quite receptive."

Since the recent pollution incidents, Zeus gradually discovered that the existence of the banshees was difficult to conceal for a long time.

Especially in the manor, the servants responsible for miscellaneous tasks would always find something wrong through various clues.

After the last pollution accident, Zeus made up his mind to let the Banshee appear in the manor.

He conducted a background check on all the servants and guards in the manor. Since most of these people came from the Duke's territory, the investigation was ultimately led by Old Connor.

Anyone who can be trusted will stay in the manor, sign an agreement and be asked to keep confidentiality after being tested. Of course, an additional confidentiality allowance will be added to the salary.

Those who are not reliable or who voluntarily ask to leave will be given a severance pay.

Many servants had long wanted to leave. Initially, Hughes had offered them decent salaries, but after the factories outside opened, some began to resent him, as Hughes's factories offered equally high salaries. Why should those artisans outside earn more? Aren't we closer to the lord?

So even though the wages and jobs haven't changed, the mentality of many people has changed.

Hughes' strategy was supported by almost everyone, and everyone felt they had made a profit.

But not all those who left did so out of resentment. For example, Zoe in front of us also chose to leave after hesitating for a long time.

She had been teaching at the school recently, and she gradually found that she preferred spending time with the students rather than doing chores at the manor. Hughes respected her choice and wrote a letter of recommendation for her, enabling her to find a formal job at the school.

——Now the school is nominally run by the city hall, but in fact no one cares about it. The city hall is not nominally under the management of Hughes.

There are fewer servants in the manor now, but it is much easier to manage. Many rooms have been converted into lounges and duty rooms for the banshees. In every sense, this place has become the banshees' home.

This is also an attempt. If the banshees and humans can get along normally, then Zeus may open more places on the island in the future until one day they are completely integrated here.

This may involve various troubles, obstacles, and dilemmas, but it is a step that must be taken.

"Okay, the makeup is done." Zoe stepped back and looked at Hughes' face carefully. "You look very presentable, Master Hughes."

"Thank you. You can go down and rest first. I will tell Alexi that you came to help at the manor today. I will count it as overtime for you."

Hughes walked out of the room.

In the next room, the banshees were whispering with Connor.

"Are you in any trouble?"

"Master."

"Lord Lord."

"Is it okay for you to show up in the manor like this? I remember Beatrice is in the room upstairs, right?"

"Don't worry, Lord. There are two teams keeping a close eye on her. If she makes any move—"

"They will all communicate through the mind link."

Listening to the words coming from his mind, Xius nodded.

"Those followers of the Fire Moth are nominally members of the Candlelight Society. As expected, there won't be many people joining. We also need to keep an eye on the periphery and make sure they don't cause trouble on the island while we're gathered here."

"Don't worry, everything's been arranged. In fact, I think Ash is making a big deal out of nothing, but it's not a bad thing to be cautious."

Hughes nodded and said, "Connor, have you notified Miss Beatrice?"

"I've already notified her, including the specific time. The surveillance team just reported that she's ready for the banquet. You know, ladies always have a very complicated preparation process."

"Okay, then go ahead and get busy. When exactly will it start?"

Connor smiled slightly: "It's about to start, but it's not time for you to enter yet."

So that's how it is? Zeus recalled the social habits of the nobles and nodded.

"Then I'll go to the door to greet the guests. Please feel free to make yourself at your leisure."

"Do I need to come along?"

"No need. There are no guests of similar status to you invited. You just need to go directly to the banquet hall later."

(End of this chapter)