Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 715 Legendary Visitor

"We're here. This is it." Zoe pointed to a room nearby. "This is the lord's office. We'll be there now."

“Wait a minute!” Beatrice suddenly spoke, and the two of them were taken aback.

"Do I look terrible right now?" Beatrice was visibly flustered, as if she had only just noticed that her appearance was not very elegant.

Generally speaking, it's difficult for anyone to maintain their appearance after disembarking from an airship, speeding around, launching, flying across most of Castel, falling into the sea, and engaging in a chase.
That is to say, Beatrice is a superhuman. If she were an ordinary person, she would probably catch a cold if she climbed out of the sea without changing her clothes.

Zoe and Gaia also planned to have her meet with Hughes first, and then settle her in.

The main reason was her schedule after arriving in Castel, which made the group feel a sense of urgency, as if they would never see her again if they didn't hurry up and meet her.

There's no way around it, Beatrice is now definitely a legendary visitor.

The Pope's daughter was also in a state of shock and fright the whole way, and it wasn't until she reached the door that she remembered she was going to see Hughes.

Her feelings toward Hughes were very complicated.

At their first meeting, she was simply infatuated. After spending some time together and talking a lot, she felt that he had many wonderful ideas. She listened quietly, not understanding much, but she was happy nonetheless.

Later, after returning to the Rhine, I experienced many things and grew a lot. Occasionally, when I recalled many things that Hughes had said, I suddenly understood their true meaning.

Knowing that Hughes wanted the technology of the Mechanical Sanctuary, she specially collected a lot of it and sent over the most practical parts.

Perhaps it was to make amends; she always felt that Hughes had taught her many things, but she had never been able to help him.

He once wanted to sell soap, but in reality, she secretly hid most of those fragrant little squares and couldn't bear to take them out at all.

When she smells the fresh scent of soap, she always thinks back to her days in Castel, which were the happiest time of her life in the past ten years.

Beatrice was very happy to be here.

But along the way, she saw too many of Castel's creations, whether it was airships, trains that crossed half the continent, steam engines that were bad-tempered but kind-hearted, or massive factories and buildings, all of which spoke of the city's greatness.

Castel, this is the true city of miracles, where humans, though mortal, stand shoulder to shoulder with gods.

And she, a dying superhuman, seemed somewhat superfluous.

Beatrice brought a lot of technology and information, which she was very proud of, thinking that these things could help Count Hughes. The thought of this warmed her heart.

She would imagine Hughes's delighted expression when he saw the information, and such a scene would make her happy for a long time.

but.
Beatrice stood at the office door, clutching the hem of her skirt tightly.

The fleeting glimpse she had just seen in the stellar reactor, and the various sights she had witnessed while flying over Castel, had gripped her heart.

Can she really help? Is this information actually useful to Castel?
Unease, anxiety, and hesitation, mixed with an inferiority complex she herself was unaware of, turned into shackles of cowardice, trapping her in place. Even though the office door was right in front of her, she no longer had the courage to push it open.

How about we come back at a different time?
She looks so disheveled and not in good condition right now, she should go back and prepare herself before coming over.
Click.

As Beatrice was lost in thought, the door in front of her was suddenly pushed open, and unexpectedly, she and Hughes met eyes.

Hughes is actually quite nervous right now.

This was his office, and the banshees were always on hand to report any movements of the people outside. He was starting to panic when he heard that Beatrice had been standing there motionless for a long time.

Could this legendary visitor be up to something legendary again?
It wasn't that he was making malicious speculations; Beatrice genuinely frightened him.

Wherever this pope goes, trouble seems to follow. I heard she even encountered a tornado that destroyed a railway line on her journey.

Rumor has it that the investigators have a hidden flaw: they're not very lucky. Hughes didn't really believe it at first.

Unexpectedly, the Pope's daughter directly shared her experience.

It's no wonder Hughes was nervous; seeing Beatrice motionless, he was genuinely worried she'd die right outside his office door.
So Hughes pushed open the door and saw Beatrice looking blank and silly.
Hughes' heart skipped a beat.

Then, as far as the naked eye could see, Miss Beatrice's face quickly turned red.

Oh no, it looks like something really has happened! Hughes's eye twitched. Remembering the pope's nickname "Fountain," he quickly grabbed her arm, gently patted her back, and spoke in a tender tone:
"It's okay, just throw up if you feel like it."

Beatrice: "???"

Beatrice's face turned even redder, but Hughes had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Why did the person opposite her seem to be blushing?

So he quickly retorted, "Don't worry, the pollution won't hurt me, you can vomit without worry."

Beatrice's eyes twitched, she forced a polite smile and declined, then went inside and sat down at her desk.

She sat down without saying a word, sulking and puffing up her cheeks.

Hughes breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she had recovered and returned to his seat.

He still had many questions for this pope.

Of course, the most urgent one is still...
"Miss Beatrice, how are you doing now?"

Upon hearing this question, Beatrice was taken aback. She hadn't really paid much attention to her condition since she was frightened by the evil god in the Stellar Furnace.

She just didn't feel nauseous anymore, so she subconsciously ignored it.

"It seems...not bad? My body is in extremely bad condition right now, but there's absolutely no sign of it getting worse."

"Is it gradually getting better?"

"No, it hasn't gotten worse. To be precise, the pollution in my body doesn't seem to be as active anymore."

Beatrice felt the changes within her body and was momentarily confused.

These pollutants had been running rampant, taking advantage of their presence within her body, which she couldn't control, and causing chaos everywhere.

Beatrice felt as if countless worms were living inside her, each with its own thoughts, making a mess of her body.

Later, with the help of steam engines to suppress it, things got much better. At least the corrosive power of the pollution was much weaker, and there was a strange sense of security lying in the furnace of the steam engine.

And now.
"These pollutants are completely silent, as if they are afraid of something."

(End of this chapter)