Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 757 They are the real humans

"You are a god."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room immediately looked away.

The question of Hughes's identity was like the elephant in the room in Castel; everyone just pretended not to see it.

However, Hughes couldn't really say anything, because no one would admit that there was an elephant in the room.

And now, a child has appeared who can immediately point out the emperor's new clothes!
Instead of getting angry, Hughes' eyes lit up: "Hey, little Bu, you have to remember, I'm not a god."

"Huh? You're not a god? Then are you...?"

Before Xiao Bu could finish speaking, several people next to her immediately pulled her away, some grabbing her clothes, some holding her arms, and some covering her mouth.
Hughes' eyes widened: "What are you doing? Let her speak! What, are you afraid she'll guess wrong?"

“It’s not that I’m afraid she’ll guess wrong,” Nini forced a smile. “It’s mainly that I’m afraid she’ll guess right.”

Hughes: "."

He realized that his subordinates truly didn't care about his existence.

Even if Hughes claims to be an evil god, they would still follow him into hell.

This relieved Hughes somewhat; he really couldn't say for sure what that golden throne was.
After a chaotic scene, Little Bu was taken away, and Hughes took out the letter from the wooden box.

The letter had never been opened; Frey had only seen the signature on the envelope before sending it over, and the sealing wax was still intact.

The people in the room gathered around, and under their gazes, Hughes handed the letter to Beatrice.

Beatrice's eyes widened in surprise, and she pointed to herself: "Should I take it apart?"

"This letter was originally meant for you," Hughes sighed helplessly.

Beatrice then realized that she hadn't noticed at all that people had gathered around so tightly and were taking it so seriously.
Beatrice took the letter, hesitated for a moment, opened her mouth as if to say something in her defense, but then felt it was unnecessary, so she simply tore the letter open.

The letter paper was ordinary. When Beatrice took it out of the envelope, she was momentarily dazed. The familiar feel and the address made her feel as if she had returned to her childhood. At that time, she was a little girl who longed for freedom and dreamed about the future all day long. She often wrote letters to her Uncle Jules, and he always replied patiently.

But this time, the word "Pope" on the signature was somewhat jarring and unfamiliar.

Since it was a letter addressed to Beatrice, the people around him were somewhat hesitant and didn't look at it. Hughes, however, went straight over and openly peeked at it.

Beatrice glanced at him, tilted the letter to the side, and moved it between the two of them.

So the two of them looked at the letter together.

The contents of the letter were somewhat explosive.

Beatrice had only read a few lines when her fingers, gripping the letter, began to tremble.

"Was that ceremony designed by your uncle?" Hughes's eyes immediately filled with pity.

"No wonder, no wonder. I was wondering what a coincidence that I found the detailed steps for promotion in the library!"

"Didn't you have any doubts?"

"Of course! But I just happened to find that book; I only went over to look at that bookshelf on a whim."

"Maybe all the bookshelves inside have been tampered with, so no matter which row you go to on a whim, you'll see them."

Beatrice pursed her lips again and again.

"What grudge do you have against your uncle? Why would he want to kill you?"

Beatrice shook her head without hesitation: "I've always had a very good relationship with my uncle since I was little. He's always been a very kind person. Every time he comes back to the family, he visits me and brings me lots of fun things. I never imagined he would do this." Hughes nodded and didn't ask any more questions. The pain in Beatrice's eyes seemed genuine.

The two continued watching.

The letter was turned over, and Hughes suddenly pointed to a line.

"Did he warn you about inhuman beings before?"

Hughes completely ignored the subsequent accusation that he was not human—everyone knew he couldn't possibly be human.

"Yes, he specifically mentioned this in the letter he sent me before, but I haven't really encountered many non-human beings."

Beatrice turned her head and glanced at Nini; she was the only non-human in the room.

Thinking about it carefully, the non-human beings she encountered probably included the legendary doctor Monica and Nini, who specializes in writing reports.
hiss.

It seems like Uncle Jules's reminder was quite right.
Beatrice instinctively took a half step back to the side, her gaze towards Nini becoming wary.

Nini's eyes widened immediately, and she was so angry that the tip of her tail curled up.

Hughes, however, was oblivious to their subtle interaction; his thoughts were elsewhere.

Beatrice, how much do you know about the Gear Sage?

"Huh?" Beatrice was stunned, somewhat confused by this overly abrupt topic.

"Do you remember, during the battle at the banquet, the Gear Sage suddenly made his move, and at that time it said..."

"The Supreme Protocol, to protect humanity."

The room fell silent.

At that critical moment, the Gear Sage intervened and saved Little Bu after uttering those words.

It is clear that it considers Little Bu to be "human", and some kind of agreement requires it to protect "human".

If that were all, Hughes might have thought the old machine had gone mad, but then Jules added his inexplicable emphasis.
Hughes remembered the little guy he had just seen.

To be honest, Xiao Bu looks quite different from ordinary people.

She was quite short; Hughes estimated she was less than 1.3 meters tall, which was not considered short for her kind.

Her hair was black, messy like a clump of weeds, lacking luster, and covered in dirt.

What makes her most unique are her eyes and ears.

Xiao Bu's eyes are very big; if Hughes were to describe them, they would be closer to the big eyes of an anime character.

Such eyes might not seem out of place in anime, but they look rather eerie in reality. Hughes was certain that her skull was different from that of a normal person.

Her ears, however, were not as unusual in comparison.

Those were pointed ears that stretched out to the sides.

Considering that these untouchables live underground, need dark vision and more sensitive hearing, and have to navigate narrow caves, Hughes actually thought their appearance was quite in line with evolutionary theory.
But it doesn't require any profound anatomical knowledge. No one who sees Xiao Bu would think she's an ordinary human—at least a subspecies, a Neanderthal or something.

The Gear Sage only intervened when she was attacked, saying "Protect humanity," which was the first time it demonstrated its combat capabilities.

Therefore, a question inevitably arose in the minds of the people inside the house:
—If the Gear Sage considers her human, then what are we?
(End of this chapter)