Chapter 35: Yor and the Thunder Question

“Is it possible to leave the clouds but stop just the rain?”

“LF!”

Unlike the time it took to form the clouds and bring down the rain, stopping it was instant.

The moment I finished speaking, the downpour abruptly ceased.

The ceiling of thick clouds remained unchanged.

“It’s too gloomy like this. Could you maybe shift the clouds blocking the lighting just a little?”

“Myaang~!”

Once again, Yor flawlessly executed my command.

The spotlight-like beams of light poured through the gaps in the dark clouds.

I basked in that light and drifted into thought for a moment.

‘Pre-delay. In other words, the drawback is that it takes too long for the ability to manifest. But!

There’s still an alternative.

It looks like maintaining just the clouds is possible.

So I could create clouds in advance, floating naturally in the sky.

Then, when the moment calls for it, unleash the rain suddenly—making the pre-delay virtually nonexistent.

Besides, Yor is just newly born, right?

As he grows and becomes stronger, the time required could be shortened.

‘The real challenge is how to utilize this ability in battle…

Calling rain would be a great help against fire-attribute users or monsters.

Especially in the Demon Realm’s lava fields or desert environments.

But that’s only a supportive role.

It can’t be considered a direct attack method.’

“Is it possible to summon lightning? Ah! If it is, don’t execute it right away—just answer me.”

The ground was already puddled with rainwater, and I was soaking wet.

If lightning were to strike now, I wouldn’t be able to avoid being electrocuted.

I realized that mid-sentence and quickly added a condition, but apparently, it wasn’t necessary.

“Myo…”

If it were possible, Yor would have confidently replied with a ‘Mya!’ but his answer was disappointing.

‘Had I expected too much?’

I wouldn’t say I wasn’t a little disappointed, but more than anything, I thought, ‘Guess it can’t be helped?’

“After all, in this world, thunder-type abilities are set to be extremely rare, so it makes sense that it’s impossible.”

“Myao-myaong, mya-mya-mya, myaeng-myao-myang!!!”

“You’re not to be underestimated. The main ability of Reysir, the protagonist of 《Nas-e》, was thunder.

So the author Senna probably gave that ability its rarity to highlight the protagonist’s uniqueness.

Because of that, among the original characters, only Reysir used thunder…”

“Mya-mya-mya-mya-myat!!!!”

Yor interrupted me, furious.

If my familiar wasn’t a dragon but a cat, I wonder if it would have scratched me with its front paws.

I had no idea why he was acting like this, so I just stared blankly at the baby dragon.

Yor clenched his fists—not exactly paws, but something closer to hands—and tapped the front of his body.

It looked like a person hitting their chest out of frustration.

“Did I misinterpret your answer? Can you summon lightning?”

“Myo….”

“Does that mean you can’t?”

“Mya-mya.”

When I asked if it was possible, he gave a lukewarm answer, but when I asked if it was impossible, he shook his head.

It felt like playing a game of twenty questions.

But no one seemed to be enjoying it—just frustrated.

“So does that mean you’re not sure if you can or can’t and you need to test it out?”

“Myao.”

“That’s not it either? Then, you can’t do it now, but you’ll be able to as you grow?”

“Nya-nya-nya-nya-nyat! Nya-nya-nyang, mya-yat!!”

That seemed to be the correct answer.

Yor excitedly flew around me, spinning and flipping his body noisily to express his joy.

I felt joy too, though I was a bit more reserved than Yor’s boisterous display.

‘So, I can’t use it right now, but at least I’ll get an attack skill someday! That’s something!’

Besides, as I mentioned earlier, thunder was the original protagonist’s main ability, and it’s rare.

‘Wasn’t the protagonist modeled after Odin from Nordic mythology?’

‘The god of thunder would be Zeus in Greek mythology, though?’

That question lingered, but anyway, it was the original protagonist’s power.

‘That means, within the world setting, thunder-type abilities boast immense destructive power.’

Though the sky-blue Aether doesn’t directly manipulate thunder but creates it through rain clouds.

Unlike Reysir, who could channel thunder’s power into his weapons to attack, that wouldn’t be possible.

If the opponent is clever enough to direct the current through lightning rods or such, it becomes useless.

Still, just knowing I’ll get a proper attack skill later is a huge relief…

“To form the cumulonimbus clouds that generate lightning, water droplets and ice particles inside the clouds have to collide, right?

And for that, wind is necessary… Yor, can you control wind as well?”

“Myo….”

Again, Yor gave a disappointing answer.

Still, I wasn’t discouraged.

I had learned that Yor shows ambiguous responses when asked questions that can’t be answered with a simple yes or no.

“I’ll ask a few more questions. If you can do it right now, answer ‘Nya.’

If it’ll be possible later, answer ‘Nyaang.’

If you can’t, answer ‘Mya.’

If you’re unsure, answer ‘Myaong.’”

“Meow~!”

Yor nodded vigorously, seeming to like this method that avoided frustration.

“All right, here comes another question. Can you control wind?” “Nyaang.”

“Can you make it snow or hail instead of rain?”

“LFOF.”

“Can you stop naturally falling rain or clear the clouds?”

“LF.”

“Can you control puddled rainwater on the ground?”

“Ok.”

“Then…”

Through this series of questions, I grasped what Yor’s abilities were and what could be done with the sky-blue Aether.

Suddenly, a chill ran through me, and I sneezed.

“It’s still early evening, but I guess training here is out for today. Better wash up and head back to my room…”

“Yaoong, yaoong! Nyan-nyanya-nyat!”

‘Was Yor worried I might catch a cold?’

He cried loudly and even nudged my back.

Reluctantly, I entered the shower room.

On the floor lay my bag, the one I had thrown down right before the rain started.

Fortunately, it was dry and unharmed.

I praised my excellent judgment and quick reflexes, then took a warm shower and changed clothes.

I had to wear Balmoral Shoes—also called Oxford shoes—with my uniform.

According to Valhalla Academy’s rules, thigh-high thigh boots were mandatory with training clothes.

Usually, I thought this rule was pointless, but not now.

Thankfully, I had brought extra shoes, so I didn’t have to wear the soggy ones.

On the first floor of the Tower of Training, I handed over my soaked clothes and shoes for laundry and even requested the personal training ground cleaning service.

The staff would have to work hard to remove the pooled water, but there was nothing I could do myself.

I was just grateful such a service existed.

‘Once I’m back in my room, I’ll wrap myself in a blanket and study the book on epistemology I borrowed from the library yesterday.

After that, I’ll eat dinner…

Since the unexpected rain ruined training, I needed to revise today’s plan.’

With these thoughts, I stepped into the dormitory lobby.

To explain briefly, the dorm consists of two buildings—one for boys and one for girls—but they share the lobby.

***

After entering the lobby, the boys’ dorm is to the left, and the girls’ dorm is to the right.

So the lobby is a place where students of all genders and grades naturally gather.

Tables and chairs were arranged as if encouraging free and open interaction.

Today, too, many students gathered there, chatting.

That was fine, but…

“Did you all see? The youngest prince of House Austri’s familiar!”

The conversation had just turned to Yor and me.

I reflexively hid behind a pillar.

“Isn’t it dangerous to talk about that carelessly?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I don’t know what’s gotten into people, but Karbaldr has been holed up in the personal training ground after afternoon classes recently. Or he goes to the research building. So he’ll probably come here only after dinner today. Or he’ll just stay in the personal training ground even after eating.”

Two voices responded, different from the first speaker.

One seemed cautious with words, but the other was very blunt, even referring to this host body as ‘that guy.’

‘Should I stop hiding and come out boldly? To make the students stop gossiping and disperse…

If it were about this host body, it wouldn’t matter, but it’s different when it concerns Yor.

I can’t allow a young, innocent baby dragon to be exposed to people’s malice and get hurt.

But this is also an opportunity to see how others naturally perceive Yor’s appearance.’

Besides, even if they dispersed now, they would surely gather elsewhere and gossip about Yor and me.

If I leave it unchecked, more people will belittle me, and then it will spiral out of control.

They’d laugh behind my back, mocking Yor and me, even knowing I could hear them.

And it wouldn’t be just one or two—many would do it.

If things get that bad, there’s only one solution.

‘Just like the original Karbaldr did, publicly punish the most conspicuous student in front of many as a warning!’

I absolutely couldn’t do that.

So, I have to handle it verbally while everyone’s still wary of me like now—and for that, I need to catch them in the act.

But they haven’t insulted Yor or the host body yet.

It would be the worst move to suddenly confront them now.

Others would just see it as jealousy and inferiority complex, making me a laughingstock.

‘I wish they’d just talk about Yor’s appearance and then start insulting this host body instead… as long as they don’t disrespect Yor.’

‘Did my wish come true?’

Someone mentioned one of Yor’s visible traits.

“Anyway, isn’t that familiar ridiculously long?! I didn’t even know such a feline creature existed.”

That got my attention.

Maybe Yor really didn’t look like an ordinary cat to others.

“But aren’t cats naturally long?”

What was that supposed to mean?

I peeked slightly from behind the pillar to see who had just spoken.

“From raising one myself, I know cats can stretch more than you’d think. If you pick them up by the armpits, they stretch out and you can see it with your own eyes.”

Judging by the tie color, he was a third-year student.

Most first-years had seen Yor in the cafeteria, but upperclassmen used other floors, so they hadn’t witnessed just how long Yor really was.