Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 631 Link
Lord Hughes slowly lowered his head in the armchair, while some distance away, another body opened its eyes.

The first thing Hughes saw was the large hole in his chest. He had long since gotten used to the wound that had stopped bleeding, but after talking with the prince, looking at the injury that had killed him, he suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

"If it weren't for the candlelight vigil, and it had been the Queen's people who came to find me, I would have entered the upper echelons' view by improving the bearings, and maybe I would be a civil servant of some rank now, or even Alexei's subordinate."

"Or perhaps if I had successfully organized the workers, established some kind of organization, and come into Isabella's sights, the empress might not have had to stage an assassination."

"Unfortunately, there are no 'what ifs,' and the candlelight has driven me all the way to this point."

The prince wanted to wage war against the Candlelight Church, but even without the prince, Castell would eventually have fought the church anyway.

Hughes's choice to pursue development wasn't out of resistance to war, but simply because it was more cost-effective. As for Hughes's own thoughts—

Hughes stared at the gaping hole in his chest, his gaze growing colder.

Blood debts must be repaid with blood.

After a long while, Hughes looked down at his hands, then at the white mist around him, and took a deep breath.

"Let's contact Miss Beatrice first. Without realizing it, she has become the ruler of the Empire and the Papacy, albeit in name only."

The last time I saw Triss, she was just a young girl who had just become a superhuman, her face still showing signs of naivety.

now
"The white fog hasn't dissipated yet, it seems we still haven't settled things with Little Gwen."

"It's not time yet for my appointment with Gwen, so I won't bother her for now."

"Although I tried before without success, let's try again."

Ever since the body of the worker Hughes inexplicably appeared in the white mist, Hughes has never been able to successfully re-establish the link.

Hughes quickly found the threads belonging to Beatrice, Gwen, Ken, Jeremiah, and Zoe, but after thinking for a moment, he put Gwen's thread back.

Instead of establishing a connection immediately, he first tried to sense Beatrice's presence.

Sensing the other person's state through a thread is very difficult; usually, being able to sense the general direction is already quite good.

But this time, Hughes gradually frowned.

"Why do I feel a bit closer to you? Is it the effect of the white mist?" After thinking for a moment, Hughes pulled Jeremiah's thread and lowered his head to sense it for a while.

“Strange, only Beatrice’s has changed. Perhaps something has indeed changed on her end.”

"Never mind, let's try to establish a link first."

Hughes gathered the silk threads together, then tied a knot in the threads of several people and tried to pull it.

The silk thread drifted far upwards at an angle, its destination unknown.

It still had the same sluggish feel as before, with the threads completely still.

"Looks like it still won't work. Oh well, I guess this won't work." Hughes rested his chin on his hand, frowning as he pondered.

Just as he was about to give up and start his comeback, his hand suddenly trembled.

No, it was the silk threads that trembled and lifted his hand.

Hughes' eyes widened.

fries:"?"

French Fries: "Wait, am I kidding? It's connected again?"

French Fries: "Wow, it really connects!"

captain:"."

French Fries: "Captain! It actually worked!"

French Fries: "Haha, this link hasn't appeared for over a year! I thought I'd never see you guys again!" French Fries: "Gwen? The Scepter? The Writer? Are you all still around?"

Author: "I'm here."

French Fries: "Great, great! Has the writer published a novel yet?"

writer:"."

Author: "No, nothing."

Captain: "Alright, we can talk about this later. Didn't you notice that the Scepter and Gwen aren't here?"

French Fries: "Yes, yes, it's been so long since I've seen Gwen. We didn't seem to speak last time either, but she would answer when I called her. But not this time. The same goes for Miss Wand."

Author: "I remember Miss Scepter mentioning last time that she encountered some trouble and had to take some risks. Could it be...?"

Hughes also remembered this matter.

Previously, unaware of Beatrice's identity, I assumed it was a power struggle among the upper nobility. Now, thinking back, since Beatrice was chosen as Pope, she must be completely controlled by the Church. If she takes any risks...
Hughes remembered the letter that had been sent to him. Beatrice was now the new empress of the empire, so it seemed that whether she chose to resist or run away, she had failed.

Where is Beatrice now? Logically, she should be trapped in the Rhine.

I remember Isaac saying that the Ash Alliance already had some channels in the Empire, and had even infiltrated the Rhine.

Perhaps we could get in touch with Isaac?
However, this matter must be extremely dangerous, after all, Beatrice's identity is what it is. Even if she is just a puppet, she is a puppet standing in the very center of the stage.

And seeing that she hasn't said anything, perhaps she has already...
Scepter: 『.』

writer:"!!!"

fries:"!!!"

captain:"!!!"

French Fries: "I... I can't believe my eyes, can I? That's Miss Wand? Miss Wand, you're here too? How are you?"

Author: "Miss Scepter, I've made contact with some powerful figures who might be able to offer you some assistance. How are you feeling?"

Scepter: '^^'

writer:"?"

Scepter: 『#￥**Ｙ＃＠）＆＠！￥％～＃＃』

Author: "Uh, Miss Scepter?"

Scepter: 『*#&……@*#@&@！ ！ 』

Author: "Is something wrong with me? Why can't I understand what she's saying?"

French Fries: "Uh, I didn't understand either. What is this? Some kind of foreign language? Imperial language?"

Captain: "We're speaking Imperial language now. Actually, the common language is Imperial, but I don't understand a word she's saying. I know most of the languages ​​on the mainland, and I can even speak a few words of that strange-sounding dialect from the southern continent, but none of what she's saying is any of it."

Scepter: 『#&%#*（@……￥&#@……~』

French Fries: "Miss Wand, can you understand us? If you can, just cough once."

Scepter: 『#）*&&#……！@』

The author said, "I feel something's not right. If you listen carefully, the sounds she's making don't seem to be a language. In a normal language, some words are often repeated, but I feel that each tone she makes is subtly different."

French fries: "You mean..."

The author said, "It wasn't as if she was speaking, but rather whispering meaninglessly, or wailing."

(End of this chapter)