Chapter 91

Chapter 91

#91. The Northern Renaissance (1)

“No matter what… the Emperor himself even swore to it, in front of everyone. If something happens within the Empire, regardless of responsibility, it will significantly affect the Royal Family’s prestige.”

Even after I explained it so politely…

Gard still looked like he didn’t believe me.

“Your assumptions are reasonable, sir, but they’re not certain, are they?”

Mary also seemed relieved that I wasn’t planning to go to the Empire, but she still looked uneasy.

“You should think from the other person’s perspective. Especially from the sleazy and shady Emperor Khanbraman’s point of view.”

I decided to give those two a more detailed explanation.

I recited the scenarios I would have carried out if I were the Emperor.

“It’s embarrassing to say, but from the Empire’s perspective, just eliminating me, Arad, would make it much easier to attack the North. The royal family’s dignity? The order’s disgrace? The Mage Tower’s face? Do those things really matter to them right now? If they can get rid of the northern wizards by sacrificing those, it would be an extremely profitable deal.”

The two listened dumbfounded.

“Besides, if the Empire, the Order, and the Mage Tower collude, they can easily fabricate excuses. What if there’s an epidemic where I stayed or passed through? Or a large-scale riot breaks out? Or there’s a raid conducted by northerners?”

“!!”

“!!”

“If I were the Emperor, or the head of the Mage Tower or the Archbishop, I’d definitely act this way.”

It was a request not only from the Emperor, but also from the Archbishop and the head of the Mage Tower. They even swore an oath.

No matter how hostile our relationship is, it’s hard to ignore…

Not at all.

This is the North.

And I’m Arad Jin, who breaks through clichés like snow in the wilderness!

‘That’s enough meddling! Just connecting Mary and Ariana is enough! Yeah!’

Unlike typical clichés, I won’t start unnecessary adventures or tourism and invite danger.

Absolutely! It’s not because going to the capital is bothersome.

‘Dangerous outside the North for non-combatants!’

What? Now that I’m in this world, aren’t you curious about other towns outside the North?

Right now, what I’m most curious about is the state of my business back on Earth!

“Indeed… if I were the Emperor, I could do plenty of that and more.”

Mary finally seemed convinced, nodding with her deepened gray eyes.

Looks like my recitation of all the negative scenarios finally got through.

Phew…

She already had a pipe cigarette in her mouth.

“Alright. Let’s assume Director Jin’s speculations are mostly correct.”

But Gard still wouldn’t back down.

“The problem is… how do we explain it to the Emperor? He already swore an oath, and if we don’t go, it’ll end the relationship between the Empire and the North.”

To that concern from Gard, I offered a simple solution.

“Just don’t go on the diplomatic mission for a while.”

“Huh…?”

“For now, there’s nothing urgent to settle in the Empire, right? Even if something comes up, let’s just not go. Let’s drag it out as long as possible.”

As I said that, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Could it be that the Emperor arranged this deal knowing this far in advance? Like ‘Please don’t come every time to extort us’?’

That fairly plausible theory… is it a brainwave?

‘Saying sensible things. There’s no way the great Empire would do such a thing just for a few gold coins.’

I shook my head and buried the thought I had just conceived.

“No matter what, eventually we’ll have to go on a diplomatic mission.”

“When that time comes, just ignore it. When the Emperor asks, just say I didn’t want to go and couldn’t bring me.”

“Would that really work?”

“What can they do? They can’t invade High City, can they?”

“Haha!”

Gard burst out laughing at my straightforward words.

It was closer to a laugh of disbelief rather than admiration.

“Then… if you were the Emperor, what would you do in this situation? Excluding military methods, of course.”

At that moment, Mary asked seriously.

“In the case where I ignored the goodwill of the Emperor, the Archbishop, and the head of the Mage Tower?”

“Yes.”

“They would impose economic sanctions.”

“For example…?”

“They would completely ban exchanges between the North and the Empire. Or they might excessively tax all goods coming from the North.”

“!!”

“Of course, the nobles and merchants of the Empire would oppose it. Prices would rise, so the people of the Empire wouldn’t like it either. So it would be a temporary ban. Probably no longer than a year?”

Mary and Gard’s expressions became even stiffer than before.

“But that’s child’s play.”

“Is there more?”

“They might tolerate our sales routes being blocked. But conversely, if food and cotton we import through the Empire are suddenly cut off?”

“…”

“That one year would cause chaos in the North. If the Empire catches a cold, the North would get cancer.”

The more the North depends on the Empire, the greater the impact will be.

The Emperor probably won’t use this card immediately. He’ll unleash it when the Northern economy is completely subordinate to the Empire’s.

‘Hmm, Crown Prince Julian seems to be the scariest?’

I’ve heard almost everything about what happened in the Imperial Palace from Gard.

So I also know about the episode between Julian and myself.

‘Instead of strong winds, he wants to approach the North with sunlight?’

That sounds exactly like the Sunshine Policy, which ended in complete failure in a certain country in the north of Earth.

Ironically, they managed to develop nuclear weapons using rice, leaving a lasting mark on world scientific history.

However, this is only the case when dealing with an abnormal psychopathic leader and government.

The Northern Duchy where I am now is governed by a very normal and rational government and ruler.

“I understand why Count Entaire told me to beware of excessive kindness…”

Gard said this as if he had realized something.

“Then, how should we prepare? Should we start stockpiling food and cotton now?”

“That would be necessary, but we need to find a more fundamental solution.”

No matter how amazing products the North makes, they’re not essential goods.

Arad Salt, Northern Celadon, Northern Artworks, Mary’s Blessings – all these are close to luxury items. And even without the North, the Empire has plenty of countries to trade with.

The domestic market is the strongest on the continent, capable of self-sufficiency.

“A fundamental solution?”

“The trade route, precisely.”

On the contrary, it’s different for the North.

Since the border only connects to the Empire, all trade must go through the Empire.

If trade with the Empire is cut off, the flow of money stops. For the North, where capitalism has just begun, there’s no worse nightmare.

“So, speaking of which, Mary. How about a business trip together sometime?”

“Business trip? Where to?”

“Not yet, right? To the Jin Viscountcy.”

“Surely?! Are you trying to pioneer a new sea route?”

Mary and Gard immediately understood the meaning of my words.

“If you’re thinking of the greenhouse barrier of High City, you might want to reconsider.”

“That’s right. No matter how amazing Director Jin is, that’s impossible. The distance from the frozen sea to unfrozen waters is enormous.”

“It’s not just the cost. There could be unforeseen side effects like the mana force used in the greenhouse farms.”

“The frozen sea is full of formidable Arctic monsters. Even further south along the coast, you’ll encounter the Deep Magic Realm and the Great Forest. We haven’t even mapped out what kind of creatures are there.”

The two alternated strongly opposing the idea.

There were reasons behind their objections.

The North is cold. Thanks to the magic stones buried deep in the inland soil, rivers thaw somewhat during spring and summer, and the ground thaws too. However, the seas without magic stones are relentless.

They were frozen almost all year round, with ships barely able to pass during a short two-week period in summer.

Traditionally, the seas south of Narvik were relatively milder where farming was possible, but the problem is there’s no coastline there. To the east lies the Great Forest and the Magic Realm, and to the west stands the Manus Mountain Range.

“Let’s consider it once we get to the Jin Viscountcy. I’m not planning to recklessly proceed anyway.”

I temporarily put an end to their concerns.

“And there are other methods besides the greenhouse barrier, so don’t worry. If all else fails, we can resort to that.”

“What other method?”

“The sky.”

“The sky…?”

“Just keep that in mind for now, Mary.”

Saying that, I looked up at the sky outside the window.

If the sea route is blocked, we can open a trade route through the sky instead.

‘Airships…’

What I considered as Plan B after the floating harbor was airships.

Specifically, half-airships without magic circuits.

‘When there are no teeth, use the gums. Without magic circuits, maybe steam engines, antigravity, lightweight materials, and subspace enchantments would work?’

My head, which mastered all arcanepunk mage-engineering, didn’t contain anything like these airships.

In other words, I’d have to design and build everything from A to Z.

Just like the greenhouse barrier, it would require massive budgets and time.

‘If I start researching and making prototypes bit by bit from now, it should be doable. It might even be better than the greenhouse barrier?’

But it seemed safer to launch half-airships than to navigate through sea monsters.

‘The easiest option would be developing gunpowder weapons like steam engines and distributing them throughout the army…’

Honestly, none of that is necessary. Conquering through force alone would suffice.

With AK47 rifles, MG42 machine guns, and 155mm towed artillery, the Northerners alone could easily conquer the continent.

‘Why does balance always matter here?’

But in this arcanepunk world, one of the key ingredients of gunpowder, saltpeter, has slightly different properties due to the influence of mana compared to Earth’s.

‘My MAX level alchemy skill didn’t contain any information related to gunpowder.’

Steam engines could barely be made with my MAX level mechanical engineering skill since they utilized basic natural phenomena, but gunpowder was different.

“Alright! Let’s end the conversation here. Discussing vague futures endlessly will only make us depressed.”

Having organized my thoughts, I decided to drastically change the topic of conversation and atmosphere.

Preparing for the future is certainly a good thing, but getting too caught up in it can make you lose sight of the present.

“Director Arad Jin is absolutely right. I shall take my leave now.”

Gard prepared to leave while speaking. His worried expression from the beginning had considerably faded after our discussion. He seemed reassured by seeing my confident demeanor.

“Yes, Lord Gard. Please rest well after your tiring diplomatic journey.”

I personally escorted him to the door.

After Gard left…

Now, only me, Mary, and the building manager Jarvis remained in the main office building.

“Mary, aren’t you going?”

“Do you really want to send me away?”

In response to my question, Mary pouted and countered.

“I’ve been busy lately, so I may have neglected you, but I am still your exclusive secretary.”

“Oh… That’s right.”

“Isn’t it?”

My reaction made Mary furrow her brows in disbelief.

Jarvis was watching us with interest from the corner.

“Speaking of which, Director… Aren’t you skipping work at the workshop? Now that I think about it… You seem to be doing more work here at the main office than at the workshop lately. What are you up to?”

Lately… No, actually, I’ve been feeling that Mary’s nagging has increased.

How should I put it? It feels like a girlfriend, or even more so, a wife scolding me.

“There is something I’m working on privately lately.”

I answered while half-heartedly brushing off Mary’s nagging.

“Something you’re making?”

Then, Mary looked at me with eyes full of curiosity and interest, as if she had forgotten everything until now.

“Follow me. This will be the first unveiling for you.”

“Really?!”

“Oh… Come to think of it, Jarvis probably knows about it.”

“…”

“By the way, this invention is also a wedding gift for Manager Te.”

“So it’s something usable in the household?”

“Exactly. Something that will revolutionize daily life.”

“Te Manager has been very busy preparing for his wedding recently. He’ll be thrilled to hear this news.”

I guided Mary to the second floor, and she followed closely behind me like a little duckling.

As soon as we entered the second floor, I showed her one of the things I’ve been working on lately.

“Take a look at this. It’s the result of slacking off at the workshop lately. I received a lot of help from the Mage Guild magicians.”

“What is this? I’ve never seen anything shaped like this.”

I showed her a long, spatula-like object coated with magic stones, made of celadon.

“Look.”

Showing is better than explaining a hundred times.

Click,

As I operated the button on the device in my hand,

Shhwooosh,

Water gushed out like a heavy rain.

“!!”

“This, THIS!!”

Seeing water gushing out from the arm-sized object, Mary’s eyes widened as if they would split.

“Also, this allows temperature control.”

Then I pressed the red button made from fire-attribute magic stones, and warm water came out.

After a while, pressing the blue button made from ice-attribute magic stones changed the water to cold.

“How about it?”

“My goodness…!”

That’s right. The identity of this invention is a showerhead.

And this showerhead is very different from Earth’s showers.

I assure you that even someone from Earth would faint upon seeing its principle of operation.

“Water, water, how does it come out from such a small place?!”

Mary’s question hits the nail on the head.

The legendary showerhead that became famous as a meme created by a liberal arts person on Earth…

That legendary showerhead has now been invented in this other world.

“This is called a Bluetooth Showerhead.”

A hoseless, plumbing-free…

A dream invention possible only in a world where magic exists.

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