The excited Azi abruptly kicked off from his spot and stood up. I opened the door leading outside and stepped onto the deck.
The wind swept past fiercely. The Golden Ship moved just as it did before, decomposing everything beneath it. Because it was decomposition rather than pulverization, the Golden Ship's movement was utterly silent.
Could this ship even go to the sea...? No, that's impossible. The sea is the sea. Ships are meant for lakes and rivers.
"Woof..."
Azi had already placed his front paws on the side of the deck and was staring blankly at the scenery outside. If he was just going to stare blankly, I don't know why he dragged me along instead of staying by himself.
Or rather, whenever this guy gets on a vehicle, he always rests his front paws on the window and sticks his head out. Is that a habit of his?
While I was grumbling inwardly, Azi spoke up in a daze.
"Humans, fight each other."
"It's because there's no opponent to fight other than other humans."
"Woof, right. Beasts, are enemies. So humans, fight each other."
The moment the Military Nation organized its Military Department, it launched an operation to eradicate harmful beasts. Many lives were lost in the process, but it yielded significant results, to the point that there were virtually no dangerous beasts left in the inhabited regions of the Military Nation.
The Open Nation was a bizarre country haunted by the Demon God, the Golden Mirror, causing beasts to lose their habitats. Except for a few beasts favorable for livestock, like horses and sheep, they had all left the land.
Azi said weakly.
"...So, woof. I, can't help. Because I'm human."
However, that was only true for certain parts. In the southern reaches of the Military Nation, or in vast lands like this Mist Mountain Range, beasts still roamed. More importantly.
"That's not necessarily true. There are wolves, you know."
"Woof..."
Perhaps it was comforting, as Azi turned his head back to gaze into the distance. I don't know what's so fascinating that he keeps staring. Let me see too.
Resting my hand on the edge of the deck and casting my gaze into the distance, I finally realized what Azi had been looking at.
"It's Claudia, right? We're almost there."
Certainly, with a scenery like that, it would be hard to look away.
Clouds were cascading down from the sky like a waterfall. Falling from the lofty heights of the heavens, the clouds shattered and scattered as they approached the ground, spreading out fully like the hem of a country girl's skirt.
Clouds are water, yet they block the sunlight. Thanks to that ambiguous grace, only short grasses grew lushly along the mountain ridges where the cloud waterfall touched. Such grasses become a feast for sheep and goats. The white flocks wandering over the green dining table were indistinguishable from the shattered fragments of clouds.
A landscape that made one feel as if gods truly existed, inspiring awe simply by looking at it.
The ancients had witnessed that sight and named it the Heavenly Path or the Stairway to Heaven, but that cloud waterfall was born purely from topographical conditions.
Beyond the Mist Mountain Range lay the Sea of Haehyung. Haehyung lived there.
A primeval sea that humans dared not even approach. Humans, who could only see the surface covered by a single layer, could not dare to fathom the deep and abyssal depths where monsters swam.
Haehyung. The reason why humans, who called themselves the rulers of the earth, could never advance into the sea.
The King of Beasts in the sea did not take human form. Humans are the dominant species on land, but they cannot exert any influence on the abyssal deep sea. Haehyung—those colossal beasts drifting through the boundless sea live proudly within its depths.
However, in the relatively shallow waters of the Sea of Haehyung, the Haehyung often reveal themselves. Tsunamis created by the Haehyung frequently rolled in, and the shadows of the Haehyung could be seen rippling in the distance.
Treating such a vast sea as their bathtub and splashing around, there was rarely a day without sea mist.
The rising sea mist had two possible futures. Sink back down and become part of the sea, or continue rising and become clouds. Although most took the former path, the remainder alone was enough to spawn clouds.
Though it didn't reach the domain of the high heavens, the low clouds darkening the sky overhead rode the wind straight toward the continent. The wind bearing the clouds crashed into the mountainous barrier of the earth and stagnated briefly, before eventually flowing down through the gap in its very center.
That place was the Village of Clouds. Claudia.
A village where humans hid themselves amidst the cascading clouds... or so it should have been.
"But Azi. What is that?"
"Woof?"
"There's something attached to the waterfall. What is that?"
There was something on the cloud waterfall. I frowned, re-examining the moving colossal structure.
"...A waterwheel?"
It looked like a giant waterwheel. Someone had apparently put the reckless idea of installing a waterwheel on a waterfall instead of a flowing river into practice. If it were actual water, the waterwheel would have been shattered by the sheer weight of the downpour, but fortunately, the water of that waterfall was in the form of clouds. The waterwheel was unscathed.
In other words, there was a lack of force to turn the waterwheel. Clouds must have some weight, but it couldn't compare to water. A waterwheel that large shouldn't be able to turn.
However, the waterwheel was turning.
Lightning struck from the clouds. Crackling bolts of lightning erupted at the contact point between the waterwheel and the waterfall. Even though they weren't thick, layered clouds, an ominous energy surged threateningly and then subsided.
It looked just like static electricity, but on that scale, it was no different from thunder. Every time the light flashed, something other than clouds flowed along the waterwheel. It must not be the clouds turning that wheel, but the lightning lying dormant within them.
Although it was my first time seeing such a thing... I had read the memories of Maximilian and Peru. Thus, I easily guessed its true identity.
"So that's the Thunderwheel."
The Thunderwheel that Maximilian had introduced to the Open Nation. The original, and the colossal power source that drove Claudia.
The Village of Clouds, which used to hide in the clouds and simply raise sheep in the past... seemed to have obtained immense power after overcoming some challenge.
As I admired the sight for a moment, I spotted a group approaching. They were closer to us than to Claudia, and at their current speed, it looked like they would arrive in a matter of minutes.
"No time to stand around admiring. Looks like someone's come to welcome us."
"Woof! Here, here!"
"They could be enemies, why are you so excited?"
Then again, if it were Azi, all humans were friends, so it probably didn't matter to him.
The forces from Claudia were unlike what one would expect of the Open Nation. In other words, they were organized and well-commanded. A number of troops large enough to be called an army raced across the plains before Claudia in perfect formation.
Among them, only the self-propelled carriage leading the vanguard was different. On a chassis several times larger than the other carriages, a lightning-infused Thunderwheel spun furiously. It spun so fast that its spokes were invisible to the naked eye.
A single figure stood tall atop that carriage, glaring precisely in our direction.
The most striking feature was her bright yellow hair. The long hair falling to her waist was tied back in a single strand. Hair has weight, so it should naturally sink with gravity, but for some reason, her fluffy, floating hair drifted on the wind. If her hair had simply been long, it wouldn't have left much of an impression. However, the truly bizarre thing lay at the tips of her hair.
Between the strands of her wind-tossed hair... tiny sparks were flickering.
Once the distance closed to a certain point, she abruptly kicked off the carriage and leaped.
Due to the immense gravitational pull of this land, any object separated from the ground moved in a parabolic trajectory. Unless one could ride the wind and fly, the nature of that curve would never change.
However, the Thunder Lord's movements were different.
As she ascended, she sharply pulled her arm back in mid-air. Then, as if she had attached a thread to the Golden Ship and yanked it, her figure shot forward. Soaring in a curve that was nearly a straight line, she landed on the deck of the Golden Ship in a single bound.
*Thump*, the deck shook. Static electricity crackled the moment the soles of her feet touched the deck. The Thunder Lord, lightly patting down her dry, floating hair, asked the only human on the deck.
"This ship belongs to the Verdant Lord. Are you a guest of the Verdant Lord?"
That was me.
With the ruler of Claudia and the strongest of the Open Nation standing right before me, I swallowed hard and answered.
"Yes. She's collapsed in the cabin."
"I received word from a messenger sent by the Suppression Lord that the Golden Mirror was heading for Claudia. Where is the Golden Mirror?"
"Right here."
"What do you mean?"
In response to the Thunder Lord's question, I pointed below the deck and answered.
"It's a long story, but the Verdant Lord stopped the Golden Mirror. However, during that process, the Suppression Lord died, and some complications arose regarding the peace treaty, so we're heading to Claudia to resolve it."
"Is that true?"
"If it were a lie, you would be welcoming the Golden Mirror right now instead of us."
'The estimated arrival time has passed, yet there is no sign of the Golden Mirror nearby. The terrain remains as it was... In that case. It must be true.'
The Thunder Lord, the ruler of a city, demonstrated her capabilities without hesitation. After a quick sweep of her surroundings, she instantly reached a conclusion and spoke.
"Good riddance. That phantom."
"...Pardon?"
"So what if he was the God of Alchemy. He was nothing but a wraith who couldn't even die properly, roaming the nation. Hmph, now that he's gone, this country might finally look like one."
Deeming that there was no threat of an attack from the Golden Mirror, the Thunder Lord relaxed and poured out her true feelings, which she had kept buried deep within her heart. As I stood there, unsure of how to react, the Thunder Lord raised her right hand. Pressing her index finger and thumb together, she raised her hand and muttered.
"Thundercatcher."
The moment she snapped her fingers with a sharp *tap*.
*Flash*—lightning struck in the palm of her hand. It was as if two house-sized flints had collided. As if she held thunder in her very hand, a branching bolt of lightning surged above the Thunder Lord.
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"
"Uwaaaah!"
While the two beasts scrambled in sheer panic, the Thunder Lord shook off the lightning she held and spoke.
"There's no need to be startled. It's just a signal to my subordinates."
"Signal or not, it's scary because that was lightning!"
"Then it can't be helped. Just endure it. I can't exactly not use my abilities, can I?"
Below the deck, I could see the Thunder Lord's soldiers spreading out in all directions. Having received the signal, they abandoned their combat readiness and transitioned into a search formation. It was a disciplined orderliness quite unlike the Open Nation.
Having finished giving orders to her subordinates, the Thunder Lord reached out her hand. Even though she didn't physically push it, the iron door leading to the cabin swung wide open as if repelled by her hand. With the path cleared, she strode down into the cabin without hesitation.
"Azi. Let's go down too."
However, Azi didn't follow. I turned around to see why, only to find Azi's fur floating up from the static electricity. In the literal sense of being a dog's coat, it was already dog fur, but right now it was sticking out in all directions—utterly frizzed out.
"Woof woof. My fur! My fur!"
"It's the static electricity. It'll get better if you wash it."
"Woof! No time! Let's hurry, woof!"
"You're not even a cat, so why do you hate washing so much?"
Smacking Azi's fur with my hand to smooth it down, I followed the Thunder Lord down into the cabin.
Upon descending into the cabin, the Thunder Lord checked the Verdant Lord's face and woke her. Although Peru had not yet fully recovered, the Thunder Lord judged it more important to hear the truth straight from the person involved.
Peru felt the same. Even in pain, Peru explained everything she knew to the best of her ability.
"...With their help, I stopped the Golden Mirror from going berserk."
Having heard the gist of the story, the Thunder Lord nodded.
"You've worked hard, Verdant Lord. Or should I say, the next Golden Lord? All the citizens of Claudia will revere your courage. Even if we had used the full power of the Thunderwheel, victory wouldn't have been guaranteed, but thanks to you, we haven't lost our home."
"...And."
"A truce agreement? Well, it doesn't matter. The Abyssal Plain, on the exact opposite side of Claudia, is none of my concern... I will abide by the Golden Lord's judgment. However."
The Thunder Lord glared sharply at the regressor and Hilde as she spoke.
"If the Military Nation makes excessive demands during this process, I will stop them immediately. The Open Nation has not been defeated, and even if it were, Claudia will never be attacked. Whatever you are plotting. As long as I am here, I will not yield easily."
As if responding to the Thunder Lord's words, an intense aura swirled around her arms and legs. The remnants of lightning arcing out in all directions indirectly displayed the power she possessed.
The greatest of the Lords, and the ruler of Claudia, the Thunder Lord Elkid.
The successor to the first Thunder Lord, who returned the lightning stolen by the Lightning Thief back to the heavens.
Steel possesses the potential to become a conduit for lightning. The purer the alchemically forged steel, the more exceptional this property becomes; it is said that an alchemist who has reached the pinnacle can constantly harbor lightning within them.
However, since a force as immense as lightning can harm its wielder, they rarely do so... save for a chosen few. Those endowed with special properties and their own inherent magic can harbor lightning, reincarnating as the strongest of humans.
The Thunder Lord Elkid was a human chosen by lightning. The strongest Lord of the Open Nation, and within the confines of Claudia, where lightning storms raged constantly, she was a being capable of wielding power akin to a god's.
Faced with such a Thunder Lord, the regressor...
"It's a misunderstanding! I'm not particularly on the Military Nation's side, and I have no intention of being hostile to you! In fact, I'll even give you a gift!"
He displayed a remarkably friendly attitude, as if he wanted to get close to her.
As a result, it was the Thunder Lord who had released her aura for nothing. With no one stepping up to challenge her, her hair, which had been crackling in vain, gradually settled down.
'What is this? I released my aura so they wouldn't look down on me. If they were envoys from the Military Nation, they would have tried not to lose the battle of intimidation, wouldn't they?'
The Thunder Lord, having calmed her aura along with her hair, asked suspiciously.
"...A gift? There is nothing impossible for Claudia. I don't know what you intend to propose, but I hardly consider it necessary."
The Thunder Lord still hadn't dropped her guard. However, the regressor, who was more paranoid than anyone else among us, had unexpectedly opened his heart completely to the Thunder Lord.
I felt a bit indignant. Refusing to bow to anyone was supposed to be his charm. Why wasn't he trying to cut off his right arm for the Thunder Lord?
'Elkid. This is the first time I've encountered you this early. Until now, I only came looking for you to host the Thunder God after obtaining the Earth Seal. So this is what Elkid looks like when she's a few years younger.'
Tch. As if school ties, regional ties, and blood ties weren't enough, now it's bonds from a past life? How are people with no connections supposed to live with this unfairness? Thinking back to the old days when my right arm was nearly severed makes me feel even more pathetic.
The regressor spoke with absolute certainty.
"No. You will need it."
"Putting aside what that is, what is it that you want?"
"Nothing in particular. It's a token of goodwill. If I had to name one thing, it would just be that I hope the truce agreement goes smoothly."
"A gift given without a price only makes it more suspicious. What on earth could it be that makes you so confident?"
The Thunder Lord was still suspicious, but the regressor, who had forged a close relationship with her in the erased future, had already built up an emotional bond with her. Having been an ally in every previous iteration, the Thunder Lord was no longer an enemy to the regressor.
'She still hasn't let her guard down. But that's fine. As the Thunder Lord, she won't be able to ignore this condition. Since we've dealt with the Golden Mirror, if we just eliminate the Thunder God, she'll become my steadfast ally in this iteration too. And I can be of help to Elkid as well.'
Even though the memories of that time lay in a future that hadn't happened yet, the regressor spoke to win her favor once more.
"Claudia is the city where the Lightning Thief hid the lightning he stole, isn't it?"
"I am not so uneducated that I need to hear Claudia's history from an outsider."
"Hear me out. The first Thunder Lord caught the Lightning Thief and returned the lightning to the heavens, but the Thunder God, whose existence was nearly erased, periodically rides the clouds down and attacks Claudia to vent his anger. Isn't that right?"