Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 312 A Surprise from Castel

Blood Harbor, inside the prince's office.

Galahad stood in the room with a gloomy face and a sharp, murderous look in his eyes.

"So, that maid named Zoe really dragged you around the slums all day?"

Galahad nodded.

"What kind of hobby is this, going to the slums to see people suffer? Hmm, I've heard of people like that before. Or maybe they give money to the poor?"

Galahad's face twitched, and he no longer cared about his image, cursing under his breath: "Damn it, she's not her! That maid actually went around asking those lowly people in the slums about things, and then wrote them down in a notebook saying she'd use them to write a novel!"

"writing a novel?"

The prince paused for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"What kind of novel is she writing? A love story in the slums? Who would read that kind of stuff? Would people who can't even afford to eat pay to read her novel?"

"Besides, who would read those stories about the poor? Hahahahahaha."

After laughing for a while, the prince looked at Galahad, whose face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot, rubbed his stomach, and said softly, "Well, besides this Miss Zoe, what else did you find here?"

Galahad nodded somewhat stiffly:
“Your Highness, I have sent people to inspect those Castel ships under the guise of maintenance. Although they look similar to ordinary ships and appear to be made of wood, the interiors are quite different.”

"How to say?"

"The boat was propelled forward by two external wheels, but unlike known external steamships, there was no visible internal structure for animals or people to propel it."

The prince was taken aback, then blurted out, "A steam engine!?"

"Uh, I think so. They call that kind of mechanical equipment the 'Roarer.' Judging from its structure, it should be similar to a steam engine. You know, I used to have a factory there."

"Go on."

"Yes, although these steam engines and those manufactured by the Mechanical Sanctuary have similar overall structures, they differ greatly in the details and in size. The Navy had previously tried to install steam engines on ships, but failed."

"The priests of the Mechanical Sanctuary refused to go aboard the ship to maintain the steam engine, saying that being too close to the sea would displease the sacred machinery."

"Ha, how come Castells' steam engine got on the ship? I didn't see any mechanical displeasure on it," the prince sneered.

“Yes,” Galahad nodded. “There’s another point: although this ship looks like a wooden ship on the outside, most of the interior deck has actually been replaced with steel.”

"Steel? Ships made of steel? They're that rich? Wait, won't ships made of steel sink?"

"Only a small portion of the inner deck was replaced with steel, and I don't know why they made that choice."

The prince frowned, puzzled. The steam engine was still not widely used; only some factories in the Rhine could afford such expensive and fragile equipment. Iron smelting was still mainly done by manual labor.

This resulted in a relatively low steel production volume and an overall high price. This metal, which could be used to make weapons, was used to build decks.
The prince couldn't understand it at all.

The use of steel to build the deck was actually a last resort.

Hughes only intended to make do with what he had, so the Noisy Ones installed on the ship were not specially designed to fit the factory, but rather the same generic models that were available in the factory.

This makes it difficult to fit into the hull, requiring the removal of a large portion of the original structure for installation.

The securing process after installation was also somewhat troublesome. Processing wood is meticulous work; just securing the steam engine and re-laying the deck would take several carpenters half a month. Therefore, Hughes chose to use steel instead, since there was plenty of that stuff.

Yes, with pollution being used as an energy source, steel is much easier to manufacture than wood. It doesn't require repeated drying in the sun. Nini finished hand-rolling it all by herself in just one morning.

Putting everything else aside, it's perfectly fine for navigating near the coast, and its strength is absolutely guaranteed; it's much sturdier than the outer wooden hull.

Unexpectedly, Castells' makeshift solution only confused the prince.
"Forget it, just make a note of this and investigate it later. The main target right now is still the muskets. We must find a way to get them. I know they'll be very wary of such valuable items. Just tell me what you need, whether it's people or resources, I'll give you anything. I just want the muskets!"

The prince walked up to Galahad and spoke to him earnestly.

Galahad's expression also turned serious. He knew what this weapon meant to the Duchy of Tis. Tis and the Empire were bound to fight one day. The prince had won over almost all potential allies, but whether they could defeat the Empire's army was still an unknown.

Therefore, this improved version of the musket became particularly crucial.

If the army of the Duchy of Tisse could be equipped with such weapons in large numbers.
Galahad swallowed hard.

"Alright, that's enough for today." The prince sat back in his armchair, looking exhausted, and rubbed his temples.

He raised his hand and shook the bell on the table, and soon a maid came into the room to tidy up.

Galahad seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, and took a few steps back, distancing himself considerably from the maid.

"Move these downstairs. Never mind, let's just open them up and take a look."

The prince pointed to several boxes on the table, glanced at Galahad, and said with a smile, "You brought these, Galahad. I almost forgot."

Galahad glanced at it, and after thinking for a moment, it dawned on him: "This is a gift from Castel?"

"Correct."

The prince casually began to dismantle the box. The Duchy of Tiss had many enemies and a lot of trouble to deal with. This was a rare moment of leisure, and he was in a bit of a relaxed mood.

But soon, his hand stopped.

The box was on the table. He glanced at its contents and couldn't look away.

His eyes were wide open, his mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't speak, like a goldfish with swollen eyes.

Galahad looked at the table with some confusion.

It was an exquisite long box, made of fine olive wood and lined with dark red velvet.

But inside the box was just an ordinary, mass-produced cigarette—

Bolt-action rifle.

Castel had given them this bolt-action rifle, which the prince and Galahad had sought with great difficulty but could not obtain, in the very beginning, as a gift.

While they plotted, while they argued, and when they were at their wits' end, the gun lay quietly on the desk, a few steps away from the two men.

With trembling hands, the prince took out the card from the box and softly read the words on it.

“A gift to Prince Tiss – Castells is always generous to his friends.”

(End of this chapter)