In this case, it needs to load vcruntime for the python##.dll, so linking isn't going to make any difference. We need to statically link the loader, since it will be run independently and can't have any dependencies, but when it finds a Python install and loads the DLL directly it's not finding the vcruntime adjacent to the DLL. We'd have to statically link python##.dll.

SetDllDirectory would also work, though it's a little more complicated to get right. It's probably worth it here though to set the search path around the load in this case, as we know that nobody else is expecting the value to not change. However, it may break other loads if python##.dll calls it or makes assumptions about the search path (which it almost certainly does). Setting the working directory is likely to lead to a more reliable initial state.