Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 54: Going to School

Ivan opened the door and hung his coat on the hook behind it.He sniffed and, despite his slightly tired face, smiled.

"What delicious food did you make?"

In the kitchen, a girl poked her head out. Her face had a smudge of ash, and her hair was messily tied back. When she saw Ivan, she smiled.

"Father, you’re back. Where’s Ken?"

"He went to pick some fruit on the way back." Ivan glanced into the kitchen, where a pot was bubbling with fish stew.

"Where did the fish come from? Haven’t they forbidden fishing recently?"

"I picked it up by the shore this morning. There were also a lot of clams, so I made soup. Oh, right!"

She turned around and brought out a wooden bowl from the room, inside which were four round eggs.

Ivan glanced at the bowl. "Gaia, you climbed a tree to steal bird eggs again."

The girl widened her eyes. "How could I! I picked these up from the shore!"

Ivan let out a dramatic sigh. "You’re not young anymore. Who would want to marry a girl who climbs trees all day?"

"I’m only fifteen!" The girl put her hands on her hips and loudly retorted. Just as she was about to say more, she noticed the smile at the corner of Ivan’s mouth.

Feeling annoyed, she stomped her foot and ran back into the kitchen.

The door to the house opened again. Ivan turned to look and saw a young boy squeezing through the door sideways, holding his coat in his hands, which was bulging with a heap of fruit.

"Dad, look how much I picked!"

Ivan noticed the leaves in the boy’s hair.

He wanted to put on a stern face and say something, but he couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.

Looking at these two children, Ivan felt that no matter how tiring life was, it wasn’t so bad.

He took the coat from the boy, carried it to the kitchen, and scooped out some clean water to wash the fruit.

"How’s work been lately?" Gaia glanced at him.

"Pretty good. The new lord must have gone mad, tearing down all the old distilleries and building new ones. I went to do some odd jobs and earned two Lio a day."

"Two Lio..." Gaia sighed longingly.

Old Ivan used to be a fisherman. The fish he caught were either for their own meals or sold at the market, but he could hardly save a few Lio a week.

Now that he and Ken were both working at the construction site, they could earn four Lio a day together.

That was a great job. According to the site supervisor, even workers in Rhine only earned about the same wage, and that was a big city.

A few days ago, the lord had forbidden the fishermen from going out to sea, which initially worried Ivan.

But if he could make two Lio a day, fishing didn’t matter anymore.

Ivan tossed the fruit into the pot. This was a traditional Castel way of cooking, the sweetness of the fruit mixed with the freshness of the fish would wash away the day’s fatigue.

"Father, is the workshop almost finished? I heard they’re not hiring new workers anymore."

"Don’t worry. There will always be work."

Ivan was confident in his judgment. Back when they lived on the mainland, rumors of famine had started spreading.

Although their family still had some food, Ivan didn’t hesitate to bring them to Castel Island.

Sure enough, after the famine came plagues, one after another.

Few households from their old village survived, but Ivan managed to raise his two children by fishing and foraging in the mountains.

Now, many workers on the construction site worried about being dismissed once the workshops were completed.

But Ivan had no such concern. He had already figured it out—

The lord had built so many workshops, yet there were so few craftsmen.

He would definitely need more workers in the future.

Being a craftsman was a profitable trade, whether in brewing or blacksmithing.

Both were far better than fishing.

Ivan was always good with his hands but had never had a chance to learn a craft.

This time, he was determined to sign up for training. Ken could also become an apprentice, he was getting to the age where he needed to find a wife, and having a trade was always a good thing.

As for Gaia...

Ivan hesitated.

He knew Gaia wanted to go to school.

A few days ago, Chief Scribe had gone door to door announcing that the newly established school was about to open.

All workers employed by the lord, along with their families, could attend for free.

Free education sounded great, but he had asked around and learned that students had to buy their own paper, pens, and textbooks.

Though not entirely unaffordable, still...

He had never heard of a girl going to school before.

Girls were meant to be married off. If they didn’t save up for a dowry in time, they might struggle to find a good husband.

If they waited too long, they might end up marrying an old man.

Rather than spending money on school, wouldn’t it be better to save it for her dowry? That way, her future might be happier.

Besides, he also had a son—Ken.

The three of them sat at the table and finished dinner.

Ken and Gaia joked and played around, but somehow, Ivan had lost his appetite.

"...The olive trees aren’t very tall, but most of the fruit can be reached by hand. If not, a stick is enough to knock them down."

"What do they do with the olives? Eat them?"

"I tried one. It’s much worse than sweet fruit. They say it’s for making oil."

"Wow..." Gaia marveled. "I wish I could see it."

"I’ll bring some for you tomorrow. The whole valley is full of them, and pressing oil doesn’t seem too complicated. We could make some to fry fish with."

"Then I’ll go to the shore again tomorrow and gather more fish!"

"..."

"..."

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

The room suddenly fell silent. The previous liveliness seemed to have slipped away like smoke from the chimney.

Gaia looked around, unsure of what had just happened.

"Gaia, you should go to school."

Ken spoke in a muffled voice, his head lowered.

Ivan glanced at him.

"Father and I will keep working at the construction site. We earn four Lio a day, get lunch there, and I’ll pick fruit in the evening. We’ll have enough for breakfast the next day."

Gaia opened her mouth and gripped the hem of her frayed skirt, standing up in a panic.

"No, it’s not necessary. I was just talking. I thought about it—there aren’t many jobs in Castel for someone who knows how to read. I mean, I don’t really want to go to school that much..."

She looked at Ivan. "Maybe..."

"Gaia, you’re smarter than me. School wouldn’t help me much. I’d rather learn a craft—I’ll never starve that way." Ken forced a smile.

"Maybe one day, you’ll need my help instead."

Gaia grew flustered, her face turning red as she tried to argue.

But Ken stiffened his neck and refused to back down.

Ivan felt dazed. He suddenly remembered the time he had decided to move to Castel.

Back then, the children’s mother was still alive, and they had argued just like this.

That was many years ago.

Coming back to his senses, Ivan looked at his two children and at the empty seat across the table. He sighed.

"Enough. Both of you—go to school."