“No matter what, the Emperor himself swore an oath. And he did so in front of everyone. If something were to happen within the Empire, it would deal a significant blow to the prestige of the Royal Family, regardless of responsibility.”

Despite my explanation, Gard still looked unconvinced.

“Your assumptions are certainly plausible, but they aren’t definitive, are they?”

Mary, too, while relieved that I had no intention of going to the Empire, seemed uneasy.

“In situations like this, you have to think from the other party’s perspective—especially from the perspective of someone as cunning and devious as Emperor Canbraman.”

Deciding to explain things in greater detail, I outlined potential scenarios I could execute if I were the Emperor.

“As embarrassing as it is to say this about myself, from the Empire’s standpoint, simply removing me, Arad, would make it much easier to conquer the North. The Emperor’s prestige? The Church’s reputation? The Tower’s dignity? Do you think any of that matters to them right now? Sacrificing a little to eliminate the Northern Wizard is a trade well worth making.”

The two of them listened to my words in stunned silence.

“Furthermore, if the Empire, the Church, and the Tower were to conspire, they could easily create justifications. What if a plague broke out in places I stayed or passed through? What if large-scale riots occurred? Or what if there were raids carried out by people disguised as Northerners?”

“!!”
“!!”

“If I were the Emperor, or the Lord of the Tower, or the Archbishop, I would absolutely take such actions.”

The Emperor’s request, coupled with the Archbishop and the Tower’s involvement, was hard to ignore—hardly.

This is the North.

And I am Arad Jin, the master of blazing new paths through clichés.

‘I’ve already done enough meddling by bringing Mary and Arina closer together! No need for more!’

Unlike other clichés, I wouldn’t invite danger by recklessly seeking adventure or sightseeing.

Absolutely not! It has nothing to do with my reluctance to make the tiresome journey to the Imperial Capital.

‘For a non-combatant like me, venturing outside the North is just asking for trouble!’

What’s that? Don’t I feel curious about the other parts of this world since I’ve transmigrated?

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

“It’s certainly possible… The Emperor could very well act that way,” Mary finally conceded, nodding as her storm-gray eyes darkened.

It seemed my relentless recital of worst-case scenarios had finally gotten through.

With a deep sigh, she placed a pipe in her mouth.

“Fine. Let’s assume most of Count Arad’s assumptions are correct.”

But Gard still didn’t back down.

“The real problem is… how we explain this to the Emperor. After all, he went as far as swearing an oath. Refusing to go would sever relations between the Empire and the North.”

To address Gard’s concerns, I proposed a straightforward solution.

“Just stop sending envoys for a while.”

“Pardon…?”

“For now, there’s nothing urgent that requires us to go to the Empire, is there? Even if something comes up, we simply don’t go. Let’s stall for as long as possible.”

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

‘Could it be the Emperor foresaw this and made the deal to keep us away? Are they sick of us coming to the Imperial Palace and extorting them during every envoy mission?’

It seemed like a plausible theory… or was I overthinking it?

‘What nonsense. There’s no way the mighty Empire would stoop so low over a handful of gold coins.’

Shaking my head, I dismissed the notion entirely.

“No matter what, we’ll have to send an envoy eventually,” Gard pointed out.

“When the time comes, just brush it off. If the Emperor asks, tell him I refused to go out of sheer stubbornness and couldn’t be persuaded.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?”

“What could they possibly do? It’s not like they can march up to the Renslet Citadel and invade.”

“Haha!”

Gard let out a laugh at my bold remark, though it seemed more out of exasperation than admiration.

“Then… how would you act if you were the Emperor this time? Excluding military options?”

Mary, with a serious tone, asked the next question.

“You mean if I ignored the goodwill of the Emperor, the Archbishop, and the Lord of the Tower?”

“Yes.”

“I’d impose economic sanctions.”

“For example…?”

“I’d completely ban trade with the North. Or impose heavy taxes on all goods coming from the North.”

“!!”

“Of course, the noble council and the Empire’s merchants would protest. Prices would rise, and the Empire’s citizens wouldn’t be happy about it either. So they’d likely make it temporary, no longer than a year.”

Mary and Gard’s expressions grew even grimmer.

“But that would just be the mild version.”

“There’s more?”

“If they cut off our imports of essentials like food and cotton, which we rely on from the Empire?”

“…”

“In that year, the North would descend into chaos. If the Empire gets a cold, the North catches cancer.”

The more the North depends on the Empire, the harder the blow.

The Emperor likely won’t play this card immediately but will wait until the North’s economy is fully dependent before striking.

‘Honestly, Crown Prince Julian is the scariest of them all.’

Gard had told me nearly everything about what happened in the Imperial Palace.

That included the episodes involving Julian.

‘He wants to approach the North with gentle sunlight instead of a strong wind?’

The conversation between Julian and Gard felt more threatening to me than the Emperor’s summons.

‘That’s basically the “Sunshine Policy,” isn’t it?’

It was a policy that ended in utter failure on Earth, especially with a certain Northern regime that used the rice aid to build nuclear weapons, leaving a permanent mark on history.

But here, the Northern Grand Duchy is governed by rational leaders and a sound administration.

“Beware of kindness… Now I understand why Lord Entir told me that,” Gard said with a look of realization.

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

“That’s part of it, but we need a more fundamental solution.”

No matter how excellent the North’s goods are, they aren’t essentials.

Northern salt, celadon, art, and even Mary’s blessings are ultimately luxury goods. Besides, the Empire has plenty of other trading partners.

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

“A fundamental solution?”

“Trade routes.”

The North, on the other hand, isn’t self-sufficient.

Its only border is with the Empire, meaning all trade must go through them.

If trade with the Empire stops, the flow of money halts. For the North, where capitalism is just beginning to take root, that would be an unimaginable nightmare.

“That’s why, Mary, how about going on a business trip with me sometime?”

“A business trip? Where to?”

“You’ve never been there before, have you? I’m talking about Count Jin’s territory.”

“Don’t tell me?! Are you planning to pioneer a new trade route by sea?”

Mary and Gard immediately grasped my meaning.

“If you’re thinking of using the greenhouse barrier technology from the Renslet Citadel’s past, I’d suggest reconsidering.”

“Exactly. Even for you, Sir Arad, that’s too much. The distance from the frozen sea to open waters is immense.”

“Not to mention the costs. And as with the greenhouse farms, unforeseen side effects might occur.”

"The Frozen Sea is filled with formidable Arctic monsters. As you move southward along the coast, you encounter the Abyss of the Demon Realm and the Grand Forest. Who knows what kinds of creatures might lurk there?"

Mary and Gard alternated their protests, both opposing the plan vehemently.

Their opposition was not without reason.

The North is cold. While the inland areas thaw somewhat in spring and summer due to the abundant mana stones buried in the ground, the sea, which lacks such stones, remains unforgiving.

It stays frozen nearly all year round, with ships able to sail only for about two weeks in the summer.

The southern sea, below Narvik, is somewhat less severe, as it has historically been suitable for agriculture. However, the problem is the lack of accessible coastline in that area. To the east lies the Grand Forest and the Abyss, while the western coast is blocked by the Manus Mountain Range.

"For now, let's visit Count Jin’s territory and assess the situation. I’m not planning to charge ahead recklessly."

I sought to quell their concerns for the time being.

"And don’t worry. There are other methods besides the greenhouse barrier. If all else fails, we can always resort to that."

"What other methods are you referring to?"

"The sky."

"The sky…?"

"Let’s leave it at that for now, Mary."

I glanced out the window at the open sky as I spoke.

If the sea route is blocked, we’ll carve a trade route through the skies.

An airship…

What I had in mind as a Plan B to the ice-free port plan was an airship.

Specifically, a half-powered airship without a magic engine.

If I lack one resource, I'll make do with others. If there’s no magic engine, we can use steam engines, anti-gravity mechanisms, lightweight materials, and spatial enchantments.

Even with my mastery of all magical engineering from the arcane-punk era, there were no blueprints for such an airship in my mind.

In other words, I would have to design and build it from scratch.

It would require an enormous budget and time investment, rivaling the greenhouse barrier project.

If I start researching and prototyping now, it might just be feasible. It could even turn out better than the greenhouse barrier.

But navigating the seas while battling sea monsters seemed far riskier than constructing a semi-powered airship.

The simplest solution would be developing gunpowder-based weapons like steam engines and distributing them to the army…

Honestly, it would all be unnecessary if brute force sufficed.

With AK-47s, MG42 machine guns, and 155mm howitzers, the North could easily conquer the entire continent.

And yet, this world insists on maintaining balance.

In true arcane-punk fashion, this world’s chemistry had quirks. Niter, a key ingredient in gunpowder, behaved differently here due to mana interference.

Even with my max-level alchemy skills, there’s no information about creating gunpowder.

While I barely managed to create steam engines using basic natural principles, gunpowder was another story entirely.

"Alright! Let’s end the discussion here. Talking endlessly about vague futures will only make us depressed."

Having sorted my thoughts, I decided to shift the conversation’s topic and tone.

Planning for the future is important, but getting too fixated on it risks neglecting the present.

"Count Arad Jin is absolutely right. I think I’ll take my leave as well."

Gard stood up, ready to depart, his previously worried expression significantly lighter after our conversation. My confidence seemed to have reassured him.

"Yes, Lord Gard. Get some rest; you must be tired from the long envoy mission."

I personally saw him off at the door.

After Gard left, only Mary, Jarvis, the building’s caretaker, and I remained in the company headquarters.

"Mary, aren’t you leaving?"

"Are you that eager to send me away?"

Mary pouted and asked in return.

"I know I’ve been a bit busy lately, but I’m still your personal secretary, Sir."

"Oh… Right, you are."

"Right?"

Mary furrowed her brows, looking exasperated at my reaction.

Meanwhile, Jarvis watched us from the corner with amused curiosity.

"By the way, Sir, shouldn’t you be heading to the industrial complex? Come to think of it…! Lately, you’ve been working more here at headquarters than at the complex. What are you up to?"

Recently—or rather, for a while now—I’ve felt like Mary’s nagging has increased.

It almost felt like dealing with a girlfriend or, worse, a wife complaining about her husband’s habits.

"Well, I’ve been working on something personal lately."

Half ignoring Mary’s complaints, I replied.

"Something personal?"

Mary’s eyes lit up with curiosity and interest, her earlier irritation forgotten.

"Follow me. You’ll be the first to see it."

"Really?!"

"…Actually, Jarvis already knows about it."

"…"

"And for the record, it’s also a wedding gift for Chief Tay."

"Ah, so it’s a household invention, then."

"Exactly. It’s something that will revolutionize daily life."

"Tay’s been overwhelmed with wedding preparations lately. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to hear this."

I led Mary to the second floor, and she followed behind me like a duckling trailing its mother.

Once there, I unveiled one of the creations I’d been working on recently.

"Take a look. This is what I’ve been making instead of going to the industrial complex. The magicians at the Arcane Society were a great help."

"What is this? I’ve never seen anything like it before."

What I showed her was a long, paddle-shaped device made of celadon, coated with mana stones.

"Watch."

Sometimes, showing is better than explaining.

Click.

I pressed a button on the device in my hand.

Whoosh!

Water sprayed out forcefully, like a sudden downpour.

"!!"

"This, this is!!"

As water streamed out of the device, Mary’s eyes widened in shock.

"And look, you can even adjust the water temperature."

I pressed the red button, made from fire-attribute mana stones, and warm water began flowing.

After a while, I pressed the blue button, made from ice-attribute mana stones, and the water turned cold.

"What do you think?"

"This is incredible…!"

Yes, it was a showerhead.

But not just any showerhead—one fundamentally different from those on Earth.

I can confidently say that even Earthlings would be astounded by its functionality.

"How is water coming out of such a small device?!"

That was precisely Mary’s question.

The showerhead, a meme-worthy invention hailed as a product of humanities majors on Earth, had been reinvented in this magical world.

"Ah, this is what I call a Bluetooth Showerhead."

No hoses, no plumbing—just a dream invention made possible in a world where magic reigns supreme.