Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 89: The One-Armed Knight

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: The One-Armed Knight

This topic was undoubtedly quite heavy, at least for Samantha, who still couldn’t comprehend what reason could cause Perfikot to say something like "not entitled to keep them alive," but she could at least understand that there was a secret behind it that she wasn’t qualified to know.

Therefore, quickly, Samantha and Perfikot changed the subject.

"Your Ladyship, I heard that your parents were once renowned alchemy masters, particularly skilled in human transmutation. I wonder if that’s true?" Samantha asked, somewhat rudely, but with a glint of hope in her eyes.

Perfikot glanced at her, tilted her head slightly, and asked, "Does someone in your family have a physical problem?"

Although human transmutation is no longer a taboo these years, for ordinary people, this technology still contradicts the mainstream religious beliefs of the Empire. Typically, no one would want an alchemist to perform body modification on themselves without a reason.

And Samantha, clearly a physically intact and very healthy adult woman, didn’t seem like someone who needed an alchemist to perform body modification on her.

As for seeking greater power and thereby accepting forbidden modifications, such acts are outright banned in the Empire, especially for an Imperial Guard Knight like Samantha, who shouldn’t even think about it.

This isn’t because the Empire has any aversion to high-level fighting forces, but rather because such actions could spark further calamities.

Imagine if a knight underwent an alchemist’s modification and gained powers far beyond ordinary people, how would the other knights, who were not as strong, feel?

Would they also seek out alchemists to have themselves modified? And would the alchemists who modified them be upright and without ulterior motives?

One must know that human transmutation was a taboo back in the day. Most alchemists studied it in secret. While there was indeed a pursuit of knowledge and truth, some couldn’t avoid having other purposes for their research.

If someone harbored inappropriate ambitions, certain things would be difficult to predict.

Not to mention, altering facial bones and muscles to shape one person’s appearance into another’s likeness is not overly challenging for an alchemist researching human transmutation.

This is why the Empire bans knights from undergoing such body modifications, especially for the Imperial Guard Knights, to prevent any unscrupulous alchemist from leveraging this to control the entire Knight Order, or even secretly swap the Royal Family without anyone knowing.

Thus, Perfikot clearly didn’t think it was Samantha herself wanting the body modification, so the reason must be for a family member.

Samantha nodded affirmatively and then explained, "It’s my brother. He has an outstanding talent and was meant to become an even more exceptional knight than I am. But when he was young, he broke his arm in an accident and has since been unable to become a knight.

Though he has been working hard to change all this, losing an arm is a significant disadvantage for a knight. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot break through the limitations to become a true knight.

I heard that your parents were skilled in human transmutation as alchemists, so I wanted to ask for your help..."

After hearing Samantha’s plea, Perfikot gently shook her head and said, "You should know that the Empire forbids knights from undergoing any human transmutation modifications. I’m afraid I can’t help your brother in that regard, unless he doesn’t plan to be a knight in the future or has the confidence to face the black hounds."

Law often lacks compassion, but if it weren’t this way, there would always be people who want to exploit loopholes, and once someone starts, it becomes impossible to stop others from following suit.

This is why the Empire would rather have such unyielding rules, even at the cost of knights losing their combat abilities after injuries, than allow them to undergo body modifications to return to the battlefield.

This rule doesn’t just apply to knights serving in the military but is examined for any officially registered knights within the Empire.

If someone violates this rule, they will be not only stripped of their title by the authorities, but the Knight Association will also deploy special hunting squads to eliminate these disobedient knights.

Of course, the hunting squad’s jurisdiction isn’t limited to this; sometimes they are also used to remove dissenters.

However, that falls more within the Knight Association’s internal conflicts and doesn’t have much to do with the Empire’s official matters.

And because the hunting squads typically wear black armor, they are derisively called black hounds.

Perfikot had interacted with them in the past, primarily because the Brandlis Clan was a knight family, while her parents were masters of human transmutation, inevitably raising the Knight Association’s suspicion of their involvement in forbidden research.

It was only under the protection of the old Baron Brandlis that there weren’t major issues when Perfikot’s parents were around.

But with the passing of the Brandlis couple, the old Baron’s influence has inevitably waned, leading the Knight Association to entertain some inappropriate thoughts, which Perfikot later put great effort into dispelling.

Even though Perfikot’s power and influence are vastly different now, she still didn’t want to provoke such a colossal entity as the Knight Association, especially since the black hounds were quite bothersome.

"Is there really nothing you can do?" Samantha immediately showed a disappointed expression.

With her status as an Imperial Guard Knight, she could certainly find an alchemist capable of healing her brother, but just like Perfikot, any respected alchemist would avoid taking on such trouble.

So Samantha wasn’t consulting an alchemist about this for the first time. Most people’s responses were of helplessness; a few with slightly more conscience or permissible skills would suggest she simply get her brother a metallic prosthetic, which could at least partly restore function.

But considering her brother’s lifelong dream of becoming a knight, Samantha had not done so and continued to seek ways to restore her brother’s arm.

However, unless she turned to illegal alchemists, her brother could only ever become an unofficial knight, and the prospects seemed bleak no matter how she looked at it.

Yet, Perfikot seemed to have a different perspective on the matter. After pondering for a moment, she asked, "How was your brother’s arm broken? Was the bone fractured, or was the entire arm lost?"

"His forearm was crushed by a rock, and during treatment, amputation was required, but the remaining upper arm also has issues, affecting not only his balance but also his limb movement," Samantha explained her brother’s condition to Perfikot, though she held little hope.

After hearing Samantha’s details, Perfikot thought for a moment and said, "If your brother insists on becoming a knight under his current condition, human transmutation is no longer an option; the Knight Association wouldn’t allow it.

However, if we bypass this aspect, there might still be a way, for your aim is to heal his arm so he can become a knight, right?"