He must have nursed me all night and left at dawn.

Looking at the pile of papers on the desk, it seemed like he had brought books and notes left in the library as well.

I quietly held the wet towel. Although he used to be the younger sibling that needed taking care of, I felt strange as I kept receiving from Kirian lately.

“There was no need to do this much…”

I mumbled while rummaging through the neatly organized materials on the desk.

But unknowingly, a smile crept onto my face.

Kirian had always been annoyed preparing for the state council, but it seemed he secretly wanted to help.

The paper on top was crumpled, with only a few hastily scribbled words.

When I opened it, it was a hunting method that Kirian had figured out.

Before the lightning strikes. I glanced once more at the ridiculous hunting method.

“It would be nice if that could really happen. Stand with a harpoon.”

Just as I was about to crumple the paper and throw it in the trash, a thought crossed my mind.

“Kirian was right.”

(This is a time divider.)

When we entered the state council chamber with His, all eyes were fixed on us at once.

His still hadn’t fully recovered but ignored my words to rest and laboriously got up.

Even now, his face was flushed with fever, and his upper body was so tightly bandaged that it didn’t move well.

Yet, noticing my stiff, tense legs, he gently grabbed my hand and whispered,

“Don’t worry. It will be okay.”

I nodded with a smile, but still creaked like a broken wooden doll.

Whether it was the dress coming up to my neck for the state council or the persistent glances that followed, I suddenly felt suffocated.

One fortunate thing was that Prince Jerald did not look well either.

Jerald’s grey shirt was so soaked with sweat that white salt stains appeared, and it even seemed to emit a faint sewage smell.

The king, seated at the head of the negotiation table, looked down at us with an impassive gaze. As always, his expression was unreadable.

“Are you ready?”

The king gestured to His.

“Let the first prince present.”

His’s warm palm, which gave me a firm squeeze for a moment, reassured me as I stood in front of the negotiating table with His’s escort.

“We have found a way to protect the village from the Elding attack without forming a punitive force.”

His smoothly unfolded the blueprint. The nobles squinted at the unknown design object, then began to murmur at His’s word.

“It’s a lightningcatching spear, a lightning rod.”

Except for a few noble residences, most houses were low, and it seemed there were no lightning rods in this world due to a lack of knowledge about electricity.

As expected, the nobles started to murmur.

“Catch lightning, what do you mean?”

“Do you intend to use magic? Wizards are rarer than a punitive force.”
I shook my head.

“It’s not magic.”

I had to explain as simply as possible. This was the most challenging part.

“Lightning is more likely to strike the pointed ends of tall and isolated places. It’s just a device that utilizes that characteristic.”

The nobles seemed skeptical, exchanging glances with each other.

But I continued steadfastly.

“If you think about the places where lightning strikes most frequently, it’s likely to be the tallest building in the village or a place with no other buildings around.”

The boathouse was like that too. Surrounded only by the lake and yard, the highest point was naturally the boathouse.

The representatives began to waver as expected.

“It does seem like that’s what happened.”

“There are villages in my domain where the clock tower is always struck.”

“I also feel like it’s always coming down the tower.”

The possibility of success was apparent. I cleared my throat and opened my mouth again.

“If we install lightning rods at the highest places in every village, lightning won’t be able to descend recklessly.”

His was pointing at a part of the blueprint. His fingertips trembled slightly, perhaps from moving his arm in a way that opened a wound, but his expression was as calm as ever.

“As you can see, we can make the lightning rods out of copper. If it’s copper, we can install them in every village at a low cost.”

As the real talk of money began, the nobles slowly seemed to agree.

“This lightning rod could be a revolutionary item if it’s effective.”

“Copper is also easy to obtain.”

“The cost of operating a suppression team isn’t trivial, but with the lightning rod, there wouldn’t be any additional costs besides the initial installation.”

The king also seemed satisfied, closely examining the blueprint.

“If you’re unsure about the effectiveness of the lightning rods, we could install a few in areas severely affected by lightning and then judge from there.”

At His’s words, the king nodded.

“It’s certainly a business worth trying.”

I barely held back a sigh of relief.

“Thank you.”

It was a word clearly addressed to the king, but His, who replied briefly, was smiling at me.

For a moment, the king’s gaze lingered on His, but it soon moved to Jerald.

“Well, I’ve heard enough from the first prince, what about the second prince? Do you have a better plan?”

Jerald, already pale, became even paler.

“Pl, plan.”

Stammering, he began to speak, then swallowed. I sneaked a glance, and he was trembling.

“Plan! I have a, a better plan!”

As Jerald struggled to continue, the representatives’ interest quickly cooled.

“He’s shaking like that just to say one word.”

“He’s clearly flustered because he’s unprepared.”

“I don’t think it’s worth listening to.”

At the representatives’ whispers, Jerald frowned. A determination that had not been there before flared in his eyes.

“I have discovered a surefire way to eradicate the lightning beasts.”

Jerald’s voice, clutching his fist, no longer trembled.

When Jerald snapped his fingers, the doors of the conference room opened, and two servants pulled in a trolley covered with cloth.

At Jerald’s signal, the servants pulled off the cloth. In an instant, the meeting room was filled with the stench of a sewer.

Jerald, wearing a forced smile, placed one hand on the corpse of the lightning beast.

“This is a lightning beast that I personally hunted.”