Conveniently, there was a square room set into the wall of the Lightning Rod Tower. Sealed with iron from ceiling to floor, that room looked just like a steel box. It seemed like it would remain intact whether thunderbolts struck outside or carriages crashed into it.
Aji and I walked ahead, and Tir followed behind us. When Tir, the last to enter, stepped into the box, the Thunder Lord, who had been guiding the others, finally found the leisure to look us over.
"Wait. That is—"
‘It's an elevator heading to the top of the Lightning Rod Tower.’
Huh? Elevator? What's that supposed to mean?
"Woof?"
Just inside the entrance, a red button was visible. Aji, who had been watching it intently, pressed the button as if possessed.
At that moment, the steel door slammed shut. While Aji stopped in surprise, the steel box suddenly shook greatly and began to rise.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Waaah! I'm being kidnapped!"
Like that, Aji, Tir, and I shot up inside the elevator. Leaving the ground far below, quite quickly.
After soaring for a while, the box bumped softly against something with a thud. After the elevator completely stopped and the doors opened, we ran out of it as if fleeing.
Tir looked at the elevator with a gaze full of curiosity.
"It seems to be a device that moves without exerting force. Does it use magic? Or does a person move it directly by hand?"
"No. It seems to use the power of the rotating Thunder Mill."
As if responding to my words, the tip of the Thunder Mill rotated, grazing the top floor of the Lightning Rod Tower.
The giant Thunder Mill, turning as it leaned against the Cloud Falls, had intricate grooves engraved on it. There, gears much smaller compared to the Thunder Mill were densely interlocked and connected. The gear turning the elevator pulley was one of them.
"When the Cloud Falls turns the Thunder Mill, the parts connected to it seem to rotate and provide power. Not only the elevator, but it seems to be utilized in other parts as well."
By the looks of it, the gears weren't just connected to the elevator. Seeing as the Thunder Mill pierced through the Lightning Rod Tower, there were likely more mechanical devices deep inside. The Lightning Rod Tower was not simply a structure to avoid lightning, but a device that converted lightning into power.
"Hmm. It's similar to the clockwork toy I saw in the Military Nation."
"Maximilian, who designed the Military Nation, is from the Heat Nation, right? He must have gotten the inspiration from here too."
The city of Claudia, powered by the unceasing Thunder Wheel with a diameter of over 100 meters. It was obvious without even looking where his imagery, back when he once stayed in Claudia, originated from. He must have wanted to create a city where everything was made of gears, going beyond simply providing power. Even humans.
...Well, if that had worked, he wouldn't have come to the Military Nation.
Walking with clicking footsteps, Aji looked around the top floor of the Lightning Rod Tower. Shaking himself off once, patting his head with his front paw, and jumping once. Then, he spoke as if he found something strange.
"Woof? Here, it's fine."
"Right? Normally, higher places become more vulnerable to lightning."
It's fascinating. When I was at the bottom earlier, my skin tingled as if lightning would strike at any moment. But even though I stepped onto the higher Lightning Rod Tower, I don't feel that sensation at all. Is this the power of the Lightning Rod Tower?
It was when I was looking around out of curiosity. Over there, a few children at the part where the Thunder Mill touched discovered us and opened their eyes wide.
"Eh? You shouldn't come here!"
They were children wearing outfits similar to the Thunder Lord's. The children, whose entire bodies were tightly wrapped in thick cloth like priestly robes, started running toward me in surprise.
"This is a place where only Thunder practitioners can come!"
"Those without the Thunder Lord's permission are forbidden to approach!"
The children were quite desperate, but their chattering appearance only looked cute. Seeing the children running busily, Aji barked in a friendly manner.
"Woof woof! Let's play!"
The eyes of the two children who approached first went wide.
"Huh? A beastman!"
"First time seeing one! Should we play?"
"Is this the time for that?!"
One girl scolded the other children with an angry face. Not only the two children but even Aji became intimidated and drooped his ears. The girl, who let out a sigh, spoke in a clear, stern voice.
"I don't know who you are, but the Thunder Mill is the most important facility in Claudia. It's the place the Thunder God attacks first! So ordinary people must not approach!"
"We aren't ordinary people. The Thunder Lord called us himself."
"Really...?"
"Yeah. If we were intruders, would the Thunder Lord down there have left us alone? That powerful and great Thunder Lord, I mean."
I didn't exactly get permission to come up, but the Thunder Lord didn't take it seriously either, so it should be fine. At my words, the girl shrugged and answered.
"That's right! The Thunder Lord is the most outstanding and powerful among humans!"
"I'm not sure about the 'most', but he certainly looked strong."
"If you exclude the gods, there is no opponent who can stand against the Thunder Lord!"
"Hey, be careful. You shouldn't call upon the gods so carelessly."
The children were saying that with the Thunder God in mind, but watch what you say. The Progenitor of Vampires, who burns with hatred for the Heavenly God, is here... Ah, is it already too late?
Tir, having discovered something, quietly lowered his gaze. On the wrists of the children, who were bundled up in clothes like priestly robes... iron rosaries were sparkling.
Ugh. This is dangerous. For now.
"Does the great and powerful Thunder Lord fight the Thunder God?"
There's no topic that draws children's interest like a versus match. When I brought it up, the children answered excitedly.
"Yes!"
"Who wins?"
"The Thunder Lord wins, but he tells us not to let our guard down just because the Thunder God simply retreats!"
"He says he comes back after disappearing beyond the Cloud Falls!"
"So we have to train more, and later, when the Thunder Lord gets old, we have to face him in his place!"
"Although the Thunder Lord doesn't grow old!"
They're chattering away since it's a story they know, but these guys probably don't realize. The fact that their lives are in imminent danger right now.
Before the conversation ended, I quickly changed the subject.
"But it's strange. Why does the Thunder God attack this place? With a strong human like the Thunder Lord, that shouldn't be easy either."
At the sudden question, the girl asked in a slightly dismissive tone.
"Mister, do you not even know the story of the Lightning Thief?"
"I know roughly. A long time ago, the Lightning Thief rode up the Cloud Falls, stole lightning from the heavenly palace, and ran away, right?"
It's a famous story and I could read it with telepathy, but that's not what I need right now. I have to draw blasphemy from your mouths for you to survive.
"But the one who did wrong is the Lightning Thief, right? You didn't do anything wrong, so why is he throwing a tantrum at you?"
"Why? Because the place where the Lightning Thief hid the lightning is Claudia."
"The First Thunder Lord returned the lightning, but once lightning had inhabited the land, its power remained. The Heavenly God, who considered that insolent, sent the Thunder God to punish this land!"
This is bad. I shouldn't bring up that god. Let me just say it.
"The Heavenly God is quite narrow-minded. He punishes even after the lightning was returned."
Tir's mood improved a little. Separately from that, the children were so startled they covered their mouths.
"Shh!"
"The Heavenly God will hear you!"
"Divine punishment will fall!"
Be quiet. The Progenitor is listening here. You might not know, but the Progenitor who can kill me right now is scarier than the Heavenly God who might kill me at any time.
"So what if he hears? It's the truth."
"But!"
"And for something that happened before you were even born, and they still came relentlessly even after it was returned? Even the worst loan sharks have some limits."
"N-no. We..."
The children, who had seen the Thunder God with their own eyes, couldn't answer easily and hesitated.
Still, the faith here is not as blind as the Seonghwangcheong. There is a country of vampires next door, and the Golden Mirror roams the front yard. In this land where temples cannot exist and priests cannot easily visit, if they are people of the Heat Nation who are astute in calculating profit and loss.
"In the first place, why would your great Thunder Lord fight the Thunder God? Isn't it because the Thunder God is a bad guy?"
Making them weigh it against their faith in the Thunder Lord, the children surprisingly accepted it easily.
"...That's right. The Thunder God is bad. He torments the Thunder Lord."
"But the Thunder Lord also said. That gods are different from humans. That the Golden Mirror and the Thunder God are existences that cannot be resisted, so we must always treat them with awe."
"That can be. Even if a person is bad, if they are strong and reckless, you have to bow your head and follow them for now. Do you avoid them because they're dirty? You avoid them because they're scary."
Just like the Progenitor next to me. You guys almost died just now, you know? Even though his complexion has softened a lot!
‘He is deeply worried about his vacation. As long as they don't express their faith in front of me, I don't care.’
If you offend him, he kills everyone regardless of age or gender!
Anyway, having performed an act of goodwill that no one would understand, I spoke with much relief.
"But don't worry. The bad Thunder God will be taken care of by the great Thunder Lord and our secret weapon..."
It was when I was in the middle of talking.
The Thunder Mill howled ominously. At the same time, electric currents flashed on the surface of the Cloud Falls. As if pulling the surface of the Thunder Mill, the part where the Cloud Falls and the Thunder Mill touched was connected by shining lightning.
And the tingling sensation that followed. A bizarre feeling as if bugs were crawling over the skin and pulling all the hair on the body.
Above all, Aji's fur, who is a lightning detector, fluffed up all at once. The direction the fur bristled was not upward... but toward the Cloud Falls.
Haha. He has no class. Showing up cluelessly when we were just badmouthing him a moment ago. Maybe I should have agreed with the children for now and persuaded Tir later.
The girl shouted, her face turning deathly pale.
"It's the Thunder God!"
Since ancient times, humans have thought that lightning flashes first and then thunder is heard. However, that is a misunderstanding caused by the difference in the speed of light and sound; in fact, thunder and lightning, the children of the bolt, are twins. It is only considered that the light of lightning was born first because it is faster than the sound of thunder.
But now, having experienced thunder and lightning right before my eyes. I involuntarily realized firsthand that the two were twins.
One side of my vision is dyed with lightning. The bright yellow light paints the retina in a single color. For a very brief moment, nothing other than the Thunder God's punishment reflects in my eyes.
At the same time, a thunderous sound that seemed to tear the world apart swirls in the cochlea. The excessively loud sound became pain itself, shaking my head.
If I didn't have telepathy, if I didn't have the power to steal others' subjectivity, I would have been incapacitated for a moment.
"Of all times, now!"
The children were looking above the Cloud Falls and trembling with fear. Having barely recovered my vision, I also stumbled and cast my gaze above the waterfall.
And I saw the Thunder God.
A giant shadow loomed at the top of the Cloud Falls. A giant, who seemed to have been formed by the condensation of lightning and storms, was looking down at us from above the waterfall. In the eyes of the giant, who only exposed his upper body above the clouds, a glare made of lightning was flashing, and his lips looked like an even further condensed thundercloud.
Rain and wind strike. The Cloud Falls, which had been peacefully falling to the ground, is fiercely surging after welcoming the Thunder God. Raindrops hit my face, and the fierce wind is shaking our bodies.
After the Golden Mirror, now the Thunder God? Am I cursed, why is it like this everywhere I visit?
Even Tir, who was always nonchalant, felt an extraordinary power and spoke.
"Is that the Thunder God?"
"This is my first time seeing him too so I'm not sure, but it seems so! If that's not the Thunder God, who is?"
"I have crossed the Cloud Falls several times but I have never seen such a thing..."
"When was the last time you crossed it?"
"I don't remember well... About three hundred years ago?"
"That was a long time ago! If the landscape changes about thirty times, the Thunder God must come visiting too!"
Wait. It's Tir's first time seeing him too? Tir, who passed through the Cloud Village in the distant past and built the Duchy?
Gods exist. The great laws of nature establish themselves independent of humans, and wait there wholly until they are discovered.
But... that's the Thunder God?
While I was lost in thought, the child who called himself a Thunder Guardian shrieked.
"Everyone, bow your heads!"
The moment I instinctively bowed my head, sensing a crisis.
[---!]
When the Thunder God opened his mouth, thunder struck instead of a voice. Even the roar shouted from a height similar to the clouds seemed to vibrate the world. The Thunder God, aiming at the Thunder Mill, raised his arm. In his flashing hand, a spear of lightning, as if pulled from the sky, was held. How he intends to use that... is obvious even without looking.
[---!!!]
Along with thunder, lightning struck once again.
"Yah!"