Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste

So people oppose me, trying to overthrow my rule, which is all too normal for Perfikot.

It's normal to the extent that Perfikot herself thinks it's abnormal for no one to oppose her.

Understandably, although she is nominally just a member of the Imperial Council, holding many titles but not the Empire's Prime Minister title, from any aspect, Perfikot, who oversees all the Empire's work in response to the apocalypse, can still be seen as the most powerful person in the Empire, controlling everything.

During her time at Windsor Castle, she almost oversaw all the affairs of Langton and the Empire's homeland. Although not all matters needed her decision, it was clear she could decide everything.

This fact is undeniable by both the Empress herself and both the Noble Council and the elected parliament.

Despite not craving power, Perfikot would not allow herself to be overthrown.

This is her greatest difference with Churchill; she knows someone is plotting against her, and she has the ability to handle everything.

Perfikot is a powerful lord noble, not only possessing actual control over the entire Northern Territory but also commanding a formidable military force.

If she's unhappy, it means the whole Northern Territory is unhappy.

No one can afford the consequences of problems in the Northern Territory for the Empire right now; it is the foundation and key for the Empire to continue to exist amidst apocalyptic disaster.

If Perfikot now refuses to recognize the Empire and returns to the Northern Territory, sealing off all access to the Empire from the Northern Territory, leaving the Empire to its own demise, all her opponents would immediately be dealt with, and then they would come begging Perfikot to let them enter the Northern Territory.

This is no joke but fact.

After all, Perfikot is Lord of the North, having absolute rule over her land.

The process of Perfikot shaping the entire Northern Territory over the past three years ensures she has enough control and governance over it; if she truly wishes, she can indeed cut off all routes from the Empire's homeland to the Northern Territory.

Although doing so would be meaningless to Perfikot and inevitably incite resistance from the Empire's homeland, she could indeed accomplish such a thing.

Albeit the final result might be the Empire's homeland organizes a massive army to attack the Northern Territory, using force to pry open its sealed gates, only to find themselves erased from the map by some unspeakable lethal weapon Perfikot conjures.

It is precisely because the military and Noble Council understand to what extent Perfikot can go, so when she suddenly dropped everything to prepare to return to the Northern Territory, it indeed sparked panic.

Many believe Perfikot is fed up with all the issues in Langton and plans to return to the Northern Territory for peace of mind.

It even alarmed the Empress, who personally came to persuade Perfikot, asking if there was anything bothering her and assuring that as long as Perfikot speaks up, anything displeasing to her will vanish from the Empire, in every sense of the word.

The Empress herself knows better than anyone that Perfikot must not have any issues, even though now it seems the Northern Territory can operate normally, and the Empire's homeland situation is under control; once the final migration is complete, the Empire can safely refocus its development priorities on the Northern Territory.

Yet they still cannot do without Perfikot.

Because the environment will continue to deteriorate, the Empire needs Perfikot's talents to cope with any future disasters.

However, Perfikot is not shirking her responsibilities but needs to return to the Northern Territory to find solutions to the various troubles the Empire faces.

Of course, more importantly, she needs to remove herself, a mountain that suppresses everything, giving her opposition a channel for outburst and a chance to oppose her.

As long as Perfikot is not in Langton, all the problems previously suppressed due to her presence will emerge on their own.

Once these issues all surface, it will be the moment for Perfikot to capture them all.

During her absence from Langton, she can redirect her focus back to research in alchemy rather than being ensnared in daily bureaucratic affairs, leaving little time and energy for alchemical research.

Perfikot never forgot her core duty as an Alchemist; her noble status, Empire power, Lord of the North... these are merely additional identities derived from being an Alchemist.

She needs to grasp firmly her core job to play these additional roles better.

Conversely, those additional identities won't provide any augmentation in her core profession.

After all, for an Alchemist, power, status, and wealth have no meaning; if she wishes, these are easily attainable.

An Alchemist wielding the Philosopher's Stone can likewise ignore any resource boost brought by power, status, and wealth.

Moreover, Perfikot possesses the Divine Artifact Jade Record, eliminating any need to worry about acquiring knowledge like ordinary alchemists.

She merely needs to concentrate on researching alchemy and new knowledge to continually progress and enhance.

And when she consistently advances her alchemical skills, all issues faced will cease to be problems.

"Count, the wind is strong on the deck, you should go inside the cabin! Should anything happen to your health, it would be a great loss for the Empire!" The captain of the Flying Airship appeared behind Perfikot, urging her back to the cabin.

The deck of the Flying Airship was bitterly cold; even these crew members needed thick wool coats to fend off the biting winds.

In the captain's eyes, Perfikot's standing on the deck facing the wind was prone to problems.

Not to mention other possible severe consequences; just Perfikot catching a cold would be something the captain could not bear.

Though a cold seems ordinary, it is actually an incurable illness by humans, and with this world's medical level, catching a cold indeed carries a risk of death.

Thus, even though nervous about bothering Perfikot, the captain braced himself to persuade her back to the cabin.

Thankfully, Perfikot was not particularly stubborn, and having been cold for so long, she felt thoroughly chilled, eager to return to a warmer place.

However, before heading to the cabin, Perfikot glanced at the captain and asked a question: "Captain, have you encountered a mutiny among your crew? If you faced a mutiny and the crew sought to overthrow your leadership, what would you do?

Suppose your ship is navigating through a storm, where a slight error could sink the ship, you must strong-arm all crew onto the deck, risk their lives, but the crew refuses, and they start a mutiny.

In such a situation, what would you do? Reason with the crew or forcefully suppress the mutiny, and throw the instigator into the sea? Or do you have better solutions?"

Confronted by Perfikot's question, the captain hesitated but quickly responded: "On a ship, the captain's orders must be absolute since only this can make the ship a cohesive whole, able to face any challenge.

Typically, a captain will soothe the crew's feelings, avoiding excessive harshness in suppressing a mutiny as much as possible.

After all, the crew are living humans; pressing them too hard easily results in larger-scale mutinies.

But if a mutiny occurs amidst a storm, then a strong approach is necessary, because I don't have time to slowly soothe my crew; they must choose between possibly dying or certainly dying."