Chapter 63

Chapter 63

#63. The Mirror Treatment Project (4)

Of course, Entaire must not have expected us to transfer technology to him.

It’s just a probe. It doesn’t cost anything to try.

“I have no intention of sharing the technology. Even if I allow it, High City won’t approve.”

“Is that so? What a shame.”

Entaire and I spoke politely to each other.

I am the hereditary baron of the Northern Region, and Entaire is the husband of a countess and the head of the empire’s giant trading company.

“So, why did you ask to see me?”

“The relationship between the Northern Region and the Empire isn’t good.”

“That’s true.”

“You and the royal family don’t get along either.”

“……”

My words made Entaire realize everything.

“What do you plan to give me?”

“Everything except the technology.”

“Could you be more specific?”

“Unlike Arad salt, Mary’s Blessing and Northern Region porcelain are exclusively distributed by Rune Trading Company.”

Lenslet has two royal trading companies. One is Arad Company, and the other is Rune Trading Company, which has been operating since before Arad Company.

“The problem is that Rune Trading Company is too small in scale. Currently, it’s impossible for Rune Trading Company to meet the ever-increasing demand.”

“So!?”

“Arad Company will sell Mary’s Blessing and Northern Region porcelain only to Bishop Company along with Rune Trading Company.”

“!!”

Entaire’s eyes lit up with joy.

“And another thing.”

“Is there more?”

When ‘more’ came out of my mouth, his eyes now sparkled with madness from joy.

“With the increase in porcelain production, various problems are occurring.”

“Problems?”

“There are only a few artisans and small workshops in the Northern Region, not even a proper guild. Therefore, it’s difficult to secure raw materials.”

“What do you need immediately?”

“Food, cloth, bricks, wood, ingots, glass. That’s about it for now.”

“Aren’t the empire’s merchants already supplying these to the Northern Region?”

“We need more, and cheaper.”

“Cheaper and more…”

Entaire repeated my last words with a deep gaze.

“While passing by, you briefly saw our factory-style division of labor production. I’ll teach you this. Then, even with low-skilled workers, it will be possible to produce cheaply and in large quantities.”

“You really plan to provide everything except the technology, huh?”

“That’s right. If you wish, we can also provide prosthetic arms and legs.”

“Really?”

“However, you must send patients here.”

In a world where hunting, war, and duels are everyday occurrences, both the empire and the kingdom have quite a few disabled nobles.

Even high-ranking adventurers, mercenaries, and knights have issues somewhere on their bodies.

To such people, talk of black magic or whatever is merely the barking of dogs.

If given the chance, they would carry loads of gold and silver coins to High City.

“Use this to expand your influence in the empire.”

At the proposal generous like a giving tree, Entaire looked at me with more doubt than joy.

“But do you trust me?”

Why didn’t he say it sooner?

“I trust your situation.”

“Perfect.”

Entaire extended his right hand first.

Entaire and I shook hands for a long time.

“Uh, but I have one favor to ask.”

While shaking hands, Entaire confidently requested.

“My personal safety is precarious. After all, my enemies are formidable.”

His gaze turned toward Sir Valkyrie standing beside him.

“……”

Though brazen, it was a request that was understandable enough.

Declaring the Crown Prince of the Empire and Sword Master wife as enemies would indeed make anyone nervous.

To protect oneself from them, one would need to hire someone with skills comparable to a Sword Master at the very least.

But even the richest merchant in the empire couldn’t easily hire someone of Sword Master level.

Because top-tier experts don’t move just for money wherever they go.

“That’s problematic. I can’t keep Sir Valkyrie stationed in the empire indefinitely. It could cause bigger problems.”

But it was a difficult request.

Valkyrie of the Frost Sword is the Sword Master of the Northern Region.

If such an existence were present in the empire, the empire would likely consider it tantamount to a declaration of war from the Northern Region.

“Then, please lend me some of the high knights from the Northern Region. No matter how much money I have or how much influence I gain among the imperial nobility, it’s all over if I die.”

Entaire’s voice was genuinely desperate.

“I fully understand.”

In fact, in the original history, he was killed after having his trading company and entire fortune stolen by his wife, so I couldn’t ignore his desperation.

“Then, are you going to give me high knights from the Northern Region?”

“When you return, a few high knights from Frosthaven will enter Bishop… Company as employees to maintain smooth communication with High City.”

“At least that gives me some peace of mind. The knights of the Northern Region are known to be the strongest on the continent.”

Recalling the moment he first met Valkyrie, Entaire nodded.

And now it was my turn to say something contrary to him.

“No, I’m still uneasy. Regardless of being high knights from the Northern Region, Sword Masters belong to a different category.”

The words I just said weren’t mine but rather Entaire’s.

“……?”

To Entaire tilting his head in confusion, I continued speaking.

“So, I’ve thought of something else. By the way, I heard Valkyrie has ties with her.”

“Her…?”

Entaire turned his gaze toward Valkyrie.

“She should have arrived by now.”

Valkyrie, receiving looks from me and Entaire, smiled and said.

* * *

On the continent, there are official Sword Masters and unofficial ones.

Officially, Duke Doom and Habana of Corruption reside in the Empire, and Frost Blade Valkyrie resides in Lenslet of the Northern Region.

In the Kingdom Alliance, Crown Prince Karun of Gar Ganto Kingdom is known as an official Sword Master.

On the other hand, unofficial Sword Masters are those who are either unknown or possess sword skills equivalent to Sword Masters.

In the Empire, there are Archbishop Theresa, Rune Tower Master Yulkaneis, and Lord Richard, the Emperor’s Champion.

Theresa is a cleric, Yulkaneis is a magician, and Richard is a sword-mage, so they aren’t classified as Sword Masters.

Similarly, in the Kingdom Alliance, there’s Falcon of Feise Republic and Inquisitor Longos of the Theocratic Church.

In the Northern Region of Lenslet, Sun of the Northern Ice Wall is well-known, and there’s also Spring Great Witch Isabel.

Incidentally, Duchess Ariana of the Northern Region is a Sword Master, but she deliberately keeps it hidden.

By now, one can understand why the Empire fears and guards against the Northern Region so much.

In that harsh land, with its sparse population, there are no fewer than three Sword Master-level monsters.

Some scholars speculate that it’s due to the harsh environment and the presence of magic stones in the Northern Region.

But the miracles of the Northern Region don’t end here.

There’s one more superhuman, nearly equivalent to a Sword Master, who is from the Northern Region but doesn’t belong to Lenslet.

Peeeeeee-

“Hmm?”

Carpe stopped what he was doing upon hearing a sound he hadn’t heard in a very long time and looked up at the sky.

“Winter Hawk?”

It had been so long since he’d heard it that it sounded like a hallucination.

That sound came from the sky.

Peeeeeee!!

It grew closer and closer.

Through years of mercenary work, his body bore countless small scars.

His red hair was tied up carelessly in a ponytail, and his blue eyes gleamed.

His bronze skin made it hard for anyone to think he was from the Northern Region.

His towering height and bulky muscles made it hard to imagine him as female.

He appeared to be in his 30s, but he was likely much older.

“……”

Mercenary King Carpe absentmindedly stretched out his hand toward the white hawk descending from the sky.

There was no doubt. It was the Winter Hawk, known as the spiritual creature of the Northern Region.

“How did the Winter Hawk get here!?”

On one hand, he was curious. The activity range of the Northern Region’s Winter Hawks barely extends to the central part of the empire.

But this place is the eastern part of the empire.

This land borders the Eastern Ruins, divided by civilization and barbarism, and is marked by the massive wall of Ragolte.

In other words, the fact that this hawk has come here means someone must have sent it deliberately from the mid-north part of the empire.

“Is Frost Haven nearby?”

Furthermore, although the Winter Hawks of the Northern Region are considered spiritual creatures, it’s impossible for them to find someone so specifically like this.

This meant that witches had used spells.

A strand of hair he left behind in the Northern Region long ago would have been sufficient.

“Ugh…?”

The fleeting joy of catching a whiff of his hometown quickly passed.

Memories he had buried deep within the tomb of recollections resurfaced without warning. Along with it came debts he thought he wouldn’t have to repay.

She inspected the hawk’s leg. Sure enough, a small folded note was attached.

Frrrrrrt…

As she pulled the letter from the hawk’s leg, the Winter Hawk flew back up into the sky, relieved to have completed its task.

Without even bidding farewell to the departing Winter Hawk, Carpe read the letter with a serious expression.

“Now what!?”

The frown on Mercenary King Carpe’s brow showed no signs of easing as he read the letter.

“Disciple, it’s time to pay your debt. Come to the Northern Region.”

That was all the letter contained.

“……”

Carpe silently put the paper in his mouth, chewed it thoroughly, and swallowed it before shouting.

“You son of a bitch!!”

After almost 20 years, the contact from his master was the worst possible news.

“Damn it! You’re calling me now!? Loving disciples, huh? Teaching me for a week and claiming to be a master?! And I told you I don’t use swords anymore!”

On Mercenary King Carpe’s back hung a giant battle axe.

“AAAAARRRRGGHHH!! Why the hell did you teach me that useless crap back then!!”

A group of people stood watching Carpe from a distance.

“Captain seems really pissed off, huh?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking?”

“Did His Grace, the Duke of Darkness, assign him something weird again?”

“This time feels different though?”

The renowned Mercenary King naturally had comrades and subordinates who trusted and followed him.

“Shh! Everyone, stay quiet and gather the spoils of war!”

“Man, are these Orc scouts rich or what? They have more stuff to take than most normal people?”

“Yeah, they’re Mongar Orcs, so that’s why. No wonder they moved the Duke of Darkness!”

Around Red Wolf Mercenary Corps led by Mercenary King Carpe lay 20 orc corpses.

They were orcs larger and more muscular than regular ones, with huge tusks.

They were also monsters armed with iron weapons rivaling the elite soldiers of the empire.

Although not as good as Imperial Steel or Northern Cold Iron, orcs themselves have physical abilities far superior to humans.

For them to wield iron weapons was no ordinary threat.

“Shouldn’t we move soon?”

“Yeah… Seeing these spoils, those knight bastards will start complaining again.”

“Don’t stir up trouble. Light some incense.”

The mercenaries of Red Wolf whispered among themselves while keeping an eye on their captain.

Having spent a long time with the Mercenary King, they instinctively knew it was best to just wait quietly during times like this.

Carpe was screaming curses out loud while calculating furiously inside.

‘Ignore! I can ignore it. It’s fine to ignore it!’

No matter how he thought about it, she owed nothing to the Northern Region.

More precisely, she owed nothing to the Northern Region itself but to an old man named Valkyrie.

Long ago…

When she was still a low-level mercenary, she happened to meet Valkyrie, who was working as an enforcer in the Magic Realm.

“Hey! High Knight sir! How do I become a monster like you? Teach me some tricks!”

Thinking she wouldn’t survive long as a low-level mercenary, she boldly asked Valkyrie to teach her how to fight.

“I don’t have anything to offer right now. If you want, I’ll sleep with you! Do whatever you want with me!”

At such words from Carpe, even the elderly Valkyrie back then clicked his tongue.

“Don’t know where you get your confidence from with that ugly face.”

“Nah, screw you! I ain’t pretty! But sometimes people like a change of taste, right? Or… Are you saying it won’t rise?”

But Carpe wasn’t a woman who would be hurt by such words.

“Alright. I’ll teach you anyway. You seem to have potential.”

“Eh? For real!?”

“Might as well. I’m heading back to Haven anyway, right? About a week’s walk? I’ll teach you mana exercises and basic weapon handling. With that alone, you shouldn’t starve wherever you go.”

“Nah, nah! There’s no such thing as freebies in this world! This makes me uncomfortable!”

“Huh, you’re more mature than you look. Fine, give me some hair then.”

“Hair…? You got those kinds of hobbies?”

“Bullshit. Just in case you become famous later, I’ll use it to call on you when needed. I need to know where you are to summon you.”

“Ah! Alright! How much do you need? Might as well shave my head while I’m at it. It’s been bothering me anyway.”

That was the only connection between Valkyrie and Carpe.

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