WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 374: Who Gives Us Our Daily Bread

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The terrified jackals protested.

"K-Kill us? We're only asking for what we're owed!"

"It was a contract!"

Ignoring them, I spoke to Perru.

"Did they do anything useful? Are they even strong? The only thing they could rely on was the Suppression Lord's promise, but the Suppression Lord is dead. Whether they get paid or not is their problem. What business is it of ours? Why did they follow us all the way here just to cause trouble?"

I brushed my hair back as though annoyed, and the jackals all flinched at that small gesture.

Of course, I only possessed an ordinary level of strength. There was no way I could kill them all at once. Still, life was all about borrowing a tiger's might. Since I had been with the regressor and Tyr, those jackals saw me as a monster on their level.

Putting on a grand show, I looked down at the jackals with contempt.

"We haven't even told the Thunder Lord what happened yet, but you're acting as though the money is already yours. Are you still going to hand over the Suppression Lord's property to people like them? Haven't you changed your mind?"

This was the good cop, bad cop routine. I would play the villain who wanted to kill them all, while Perru pretended to stop me. That way, they would feel grateful to Perru. It was fine. I was used to being the bad guy.

Perru belatedly understood what I meant and played along.

"...It was a contract."

"Well, if that's what Perru wants, we can't help it. But if they interfere with our work, we'll deal with them ourselves. I don't care what happens to the Suppression Lord's property, but if they delay us, I might feel like killing every last one of them."

"...Then I'll handle it."

"True. It would be more effective if Perru did it than if I did. With Perru's ability, there wouldn't even be a fragment of bone left."

I kept threatening to slaughter everything in the world with nothing but words, and the frightened jackals scrambled to flee. It took less than a minute for all of them to run away. I waited until the last one vanished from sight before speaking.

"You're grateful, right?"

"...Yes."

Freed from her predicament, Perru gave a small nod. Honestly. If something was going to be troublesome, she shouldn't have taken it on in the first place.

"Why did you take on the Suppression Lord's last request anyway? You could have just pretended not to know and left."

"...Because it was a contract."

"If it isn't a contract with me, ignore it sometimes. Do you really need to appoint yourself its guardian? What a hassle."

Perru glanced at the Golden Bell hanging from her waist.

"...The Lord of Gold entrusted it to me. If I don't protect it, who will?"

What a patriot.

With the Lord of Gold gone and the Suppression Lord dead, the Lesser States would soon fall into tremendous chaos. The Lord of Gold's absence was not obvious yet, but that was only because a nation was fluid, like water. Once water started leaking through a hole, the whole country would eventually run dry. When that happened, everyone would realize it, whether they wanted to or not.

The Lesser States would be finished.

Still, it wasn't completely over yet. The Lord of Gold was gone, but his legacy remained.

"By the way, what exactly can that bell do? It's a relic of the Lord of Gold, but I have no idea what its ability is."

"...I don't know. It repairs broken things, though."

Perru fiddled with the Golden Bell. Repairing broken things was certainly useful, but compared to the Lord of Gold's power to create a nation, it was pitifully weak. I gave her some sincere advice.

"You should find out soon. For the sake of peace, at least."

"He's right."

At that moment, lightning flashed. Before I knew it, the Thunder Lord stood beside us, her long hair fluttering in the air. Lingering light flashed around her as she came to a halt, and she looked down at Perru haughtily.

"...Thunder Lord."

"Regardless of the Lord of Gold's character, his power was that of a god, capable of changing the world. You must draw out the relic's power, and you must grow stronger to protect it as well."

"...Yes."

"And to do that, you cannot show weakness like this."

Perru, who had been shrinking in on herself, flinched at the Thunder Lord's sharp criticism. The Thunder Lord continued without giving her a chance to recover.

"Someone seeking rest lies beneath the shade of a great tree, not in a field of reeds. They threatened you earlier because you seemed unreliable. They thought you might waver, so they wanted to grab hold of you and shake you. To overcome that, you must show firm resolve, even if you have to use force."

If Perru used her power, the jackals could certainly be driven away. The problem was that Perru's power was solely related to destruction. One wrong move, and parts of those jackals' bodies could be reduced to dust.

That was why Perru had never even considered using that power on people. She murmured weakly.

"...But my ability..."

"It's Verdigris's power, isn't it? Why are you acting so helpless? In these Lesser States, where the Lord of Gold's poison has spread through everyone's body, your ability is more powerful and frightening than anyone else's. Why not use it?"

It seemed the great Thunder Lord thought differently. Perru was greatly shocked by the suggestion that she should reduce even people to dust if necessary.

"...I can't use Verdigris's power on people."

Perru asked again, wondering if she had misunderstood the Thunder Lord, but the Thunder Lord tilted her head.

"The Lord of Gold used the people of the Lesser States as materials, as though harvesting grain. Whether that was right or wrong, it made them revere the Lord of Gold. If you intend to become the Golden Lord of the Lesser States without the Lord of Gold, you need to show that much power for your authority to stand."

"...Didn't you hate filling your body with the Lord of Gold's crops? Why would you say that?"

Perru respected the Thunder Lord, so she doubted her true intent.

Claudia was the largest farming region in the Lesser States, a city that raised children born in the Lesser States on that foundation. The person who created that system was none other than the Thunder Lord. For the children of the Lesser States who still had to live on, she had created "normal" food untainted by the Lord of Gold's alchemy.

It was also common knowledge that the Thunder Lord hated the Lord of Gold. Perru had believed she produced food to escape the Lord of Gold's rule.

Yet the Thunder Lord's attitude differed from Perru's expectations.

"That's right. I hate the Lord of Gold. But that's because he abused his power without rules or laws, not because I deny his power and achievements. My own body is made from the Lord of Gold's power, after all."

"...Your body?"

"Yes. From the tips of my toes to the end of every strand of hair. My entire body is made of alchemical substance. That's why I can contain the power of thunder within myself without harm."

Well, an ordinary person couldn't be struck by lightning and remain unharmed. The Thunder Lord's durability came from her entire body being made of alchemical substance.

All the crops created by the Lord of Gold were alchemical substances, and bodies formed after digesting them possessed alchemical traits. The defining trait of alchemical substance was its high reactivity. It barely resisted outside interference. That was why homunculi had been vulnerable to Tyr and Perru's abilities, though they called themselves "perfect."

The Thunder Lord was not a homunculus, though. Like everyone else, she had been conceived in her mother's womb, but she had grown up eating the Lord of Gold's crops. Before she was born and after. She had been supplied with nothing but pure crops of the Lord of Gold.

The reason there were so many disabilities in the Lesser States was because highly reactive alchemical substances mixed into people's bodies caused rejection. Yet a person filled with pure alchemical substance possessed a perfect body. No disabilities, no minor illnesses, and a chosen body that could even turn lightning strikes into its own strength.

That also meant she was extremely vulnerable to Perru and the Lord of Gold's abilities.

Startled, Perru stepped away from the Thunder Lord. It wasn't because Perru feared her. She was afraid she might accidentally hurt the Thunder Lord with an ability she used unintentionally. Perru couldn't reduce the Thunder Lord she respected to dust with Verdigris's power.

The Thunder Lord immediately noticed that reaction, and lightning flashed in her eyes.

'How dare you worry about me?'

She was an interesting person. She had calmly let it go after having her lightning stolen, yet she got angry because someone worried about her safety?

Put kindly, she was interesting. Put bluntly, she was abnormal. I should keep some distance.

"If you're worrying about me right now, you need to remember who stands before you. I am the Thunder Lord. Do you think you can harm me, when I have mastered the Heaven and Earth branches of qi art and wield the power of thunder?"

"...Ah. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize so easily! Haa. What are you going to do with so little confidence? I wish you had even a quarter of that boy's spirit."

The Thunder Lord shook her head, and the gesture made Perru shrink even further. After steadying her breath, the Thunder Lord said,

"If people look down on you, you won't be able to do anything. Set rules and show them what is right. Make them always remember that possibility. Punish them if they take the wrong path. That is the duty of someone who stands above others. Chosen people like you and me need to do that."

"..."

Perru couldn't answer easily because she couldn't agree in her heart.

The Thunder Lord's power was the thunder that made Claudia prosper. No matter how much she used it, it never ran dry, and in most cases, it benefited the city.

Perru's power, on the other hand, destroyed alchemical value. No matter how it was dressed up, the more Perru used that ability, the more the value of the Lesser States would fall.

Maybe the day they understood each other would never come. Their positions were too different.

Silence fell. It felt like things would grow more uncomfortable if I stayed involved for no reason, so I raised my hand.

"Anyway, if we're done talking, can I get going now?"

The Thunder Lord looked away from Perru and asked,

"Where are you going?"

"I wanted to look around inside the Lightning Rod Tower."

"The power of thunder is always flowing through the Lightning Rod Tower. If you wander around without a guide, you'll be electrocuted every single time."

...What a relief. I had originally intended to sneak in alone, look around, and take anything worth picking up. I had nearly been electrocuted alone somewhere no one could see me.

As I breathed a sigh of relief, the Thunder Lord checked the time and nodded.

"I have time for a little while. I will show you around myself."

"What? You personally, Thunder Lord? You don't need to..."

Without answering, the Thunder Lord strode ahead. She didn't doubt that I would follow.

Tch. If the Thunder Lord watched me herself, I wouldn't be able to take anything. I really would have to just look around. What a failure.

Nursing my bitter feelings, I followed behind the Thunder Lord.

"This is the Lightning Rod Tower, a structure unique to Claudia. It channels the lightning falling from Cloud Waterfall while using that power at the same time."

Operating the elevator herself, the Thunder Lord began explaining without being asked.

"In the early days, Claudia carved mountains apart to make farmland. The power of thunder came from the sky. Land blessed by it was fertile, so anything grew well there. But as the city gradually expanded, a problem arose. To expand the farmland, they had to go deeper into the mountains, and as you know, tigers live in the mountains."

Ugh. Of all beasts, that one had to be mentioned. I unconsciously tensed up.

Claudia was unusual, with clouds and lightning flowing down all year round. Humans couldn't normally live in mountains. What beast could sleep with both legs stretched out while tigers stared with their eyes wide open? Unless they had lived alongside nature for a long time and built a relationship with it, the moment they cut trees and tilled fields, they would become prey. Tigers didn't eat grain, after all.

"So instead of widening the fields, we built them upward."

The Thunder Lord stopped the elevator and flung open the doors. The inside of the Lightning Rod Tower unfolded before us at a glance.

There were no walls or pillars visible inside the tower. All I could see was soil spread across an enormous area. Crops grew so densely that there was barely room to step.

Water gathered at Cloud Waterfall flowed through channels and soaked the earth. The blessing of the land raised its head from the moist soil. Grass and trees were said to be the fruits of the Celestial God and Mother Earth becoming one. The Bible said that people who placed that blessing in their mouths should always give thanks for their daily bread...

Could this truly be called the blessing of the Celestial God and Mother Earth, though?

They brought in soil and spread only enough to cover the roots. They peeled away a single layer of Mother Earth's skin and laid it across every floor of the towering Lightning Rod Tower.

The sky couldn't be seen because the ceiling blocked it. Yet in Claudia, where clouds and thunder came directly down to the ground, they had even captured the sky in glass spheres and hung it from the ceiling. They extracted only the light of lightning and trapped it in those glass spheres, letting it shine on crops in place of the sun.

An artificial field, built floor upon floor from pieces of sky and earth. If the author of the Bible saw this sight, would they be horrified, or impressed?

"This is why Claudia prospered."

The Thunder Lord spoke without concealing her pride.

Footnotes:

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