Ch.286Departure Preparations

I had decided to head north, but that didn’t mean I could just hop on a carriage and depart immediately.

Since I had accepted the professor position, I needed to report to the Remnant Academy about my brief trip north, and I also needed to prepare cold weather gear to withstand the freezing temperatures.

On top of that, I needed to recruit people to accompany me.

—-

After notifying the academy’s administrative staff about my northern journey, I immediately went looking for Lacy.

Finding her wasn’t difficult. Despite having risen to the fairly high position of Archbishop General, she was in her room at the shelter as usual, wrestling with paperwork.

That was fortunate. If she had been at the cathedral, I would have had to personally visit a place crawling with people who would cheer at the sight of me.

But my luck ended there.

“The north… I’m truly, truly sorry, but… I won’t be able to accompany you.”

What?

Wait, the person who dreams day and night about exterminating Werebeasts is refusing to go north?

I couldn’t even imagine Lacy not coming along, yet here it was happening in reality.

“Why not?”

“The Holy State has sent piles of protest letters regarding the establishment of the Archdiocese. They must think this is the perfect timing now that the witch hunt has concluded. The threats range from revoking my candidacy for sainthood or excommunicating me if I don’t dissolve the Archdiocese, to demands that I return to the Holy State to explain myself, to compromise offers suggesting they’ll recommend me as the next Imperial Elector if I give up my position as Archbishop General. Quite diverse, aren’t they?”

Lacy sighed and pointed to the mountain of letters piled up.

From the moment we created this unheard-of organization called the Archdiocese, both Lacy and I had anticipated resistance from the Holy State… but the timing couldn’t have been worse.

“So, are you planning to return to the Holy State?”

“While I’ll eventually need to return since there’s a high probability that the witch’s collaborators are hiding within the Holy State… now is not the time. It’s clear as day that I’d be assassinated or imprisoned.”

Despite her near-fanatical faith, she was subtly—no, openly—expressing distrust toward the Holy State. She had changed somewhat from before.

Well, it wasn’t just anyone but the witch who had access to confidential information that only cardinals should know. It’s natural she’d be greatly disappointed in the Holy State.

“I have no intention of returning to the Holy State or dissolving the Archdiocese, but I can’t simply ignore the situation either… so I won’t be able to move freely for a while. Since I led the establishment of the Archdiocese, it’s only right that I take responsibility for the problems it has caused.”

“I guess it can’t be helped then…”

If she’s this adamant, the conflict with the Holy State must be as serious an issue as the Werebeast attacks.

“But still, it’s truly vexing… to have such a golden opportunity right before my eyes…!”

Yeah, her frustration seems to be reaching the heavens.

Judging by how she’s glaring at those letters as if they were Werebeasts she wanted to kill.

In the end, I had to give up on bringing Lacy along.

Instead, she introduced me to a priest skilled in healing miracles.

What was his name again? Florence?

That does sound like the name of a healing specialist.

—-

Nigel was also out of the question.

While I could heal her injuries along the way, given the unstable situation in the east, I couldn’t arbitrarily take her north with me.

In fact, even my going north at this point probably wasn’t welcome news to Lord Landenburg.

After all, I had said I would fight Orhan, but now I was suddenly disappearing to the north when Orhan could attack at any moment.

Orhan.

He’ll definitely invade, but when is he planning to attack?

The east has been eerily quiet lately, which is suspicious. Even though five thousand troops were utterly destroyed.

Even Hersella said she couldn’t guess what Orhan was thinking. In the end, all we could do was remain vigilant.

[More importantly, I hope you haven’t forgotten your promise to me? Neither my revenge nor the recovery of my subordinates has been accomplished yet. I’ll let it slide this time since you seem to cherish those three dearly… but there won’t be a next time. Remember that.]

Hersella also seemed displeased with my northern journey and shot those words at me.

I should be grateful she’s not completely opposed to it, I suppose.

Thanks to that promise, I’ve received various forms of help… but thinking about it now, it’s quite a troublesome promise.

Revenge is one thing, but how am I supposed to recover her subordinates? The people in Ordos.

Besides, I doubt they would welcome or follow the current me.

Regarding this issue… I’ll have to discuss it with her again later.

We’ll need to find a compromise.

—-

Next, I visited Asha’s workshop.

“Ah, you’re a bit late, Haschal. You’re going north, right? I’ve already prepared everything, so you just need to take it with you.”

Those were her first words upon seeing me.

“Um… that’s right, but how did you already know what I was going to ask?”

“It’s obvious. Securing cold weather gear and repairing your armor, right? The repairs will take about 30 minutes, and the other equipment is stored inside.”

She was spot on.

Perhaps because I always came to her whenever a problem arose?

Asha had reached the point where she anticipated my visits and prepared in advance.

Asha nodded and led me inside her workshop, where she handed me a pile of equipment.

“A breastplate, cold weather clothing, daggers… and since you’ve been using spears more often lately, I prepared one for you too. Should be enough, right?”

While Asha repaired my armor, I carefully examined the items she had given me.

A breastplate with scales overlaid on thick fur, similar to the pauldrons, plus a fur cloak that covered the entire body.

There was also a shirt and pants that completely covered the arms and legs, meant to be worn under the armor. All tailored perfectly to my size.

I’ll look like an Eskimo once I put all this on.

It might be a bit heavy and cumbersome… but considering where I’m headed, this level of preparation isn’t excessive.

If I went around as usual with just my chest covered and my arms and stomach exposed, it wouldn’t be strange if I froze to death.

The dagger and spear were made of black iron plated with silver, and they were a bit lighter than typical black iron.

Looking closely, there were also fine cracks on the blade.

There’s no way Asha would give me defective items or make mistakes in crafting simple cold weapons, so those cracks must be intentional.

I’ll ask her about it after the repairs are done.

Thirty minutes later, Asha returned, dripping with sweat, and handed me back my armor.

“It feels a bit heavier than before?”

It also seemed slightly thicker.

“I added an extra layer of lining and put cotton and feathers in between. You can’t expect much cushioning effect, but it should improve the insulation a bit. Do you like the breastplate?”

“Yeah, it looks warm and sturdy. But that fur… it’s what I think it is, right?”

It was clearly Werebeast hide.

The coat even had the head attached to serve as a hood, as if they had used a wolf Werebeast’s skin directly.

“Of course. Nothing matches Werebeast hide in terms of durability and insulation. It’s purebred hide directly from the north, so the quality is guaranteed!”

I see…

If I wear this to meet Werebeasts, they’ll go berserk.

I’d be wrapped from head to toe in the skin of their kin, even wearing their head as a hood.

“…Anyway, thanks. And about these weapons, there are strange cracks on them. Why is that?”

“Ah, I forgot to explain earlier. Those weapons are disposable. Since you have the True Silver Sword, whether it’s a spear or dagger, they’re just auxiliary weapons to throw at enemies, right? If they’re going to be thrown anyway, I thought increasing lethality would be better than durability.”

She’s not wrong.

I’ve wielded a spear on horseback a few times, but I’m more comfortable with a sword.

“When a strong impact hits the tip, the blade will shatter and scatter in all directions. Considering your strength, it would be no different from an explosion of gunpowder.”

So it’s like a grenade with blades?

“…It would certainly be powerful, but with that design, wouldn’t it shatter from air pressure the moment I throw it?”

If it explodes right after leaving my hand, it’s basically self-destruction.

“Hmm… it takes about 1-2 seconds to rupture… so it should be fine?”

Asha tilted her head, then smiled slightly and nodded reassuringly.

That timeframe should prevent it from exploding right in front of me… but I won’t know until I try it.

There’s only one spear but over ten daggers, so I should test one along the way.

—-

Although I received many items, I only achieved half of my purpose in visiting Asha.

She also declined to join the northern journey.

She mentioned that the movements of the elves were concerning, so she planned to return to Himmel for a while.

While dwarves possess excellent technology, their population is extremely small, making each combatant a precious military asset.

With Perneisia’s warning and all… damn elves, are they really planning to start a war?

It’s troublesome if they waste their forces like that, but they’re not the type to listen to reason…

They’re truly an unhelpful race.