"It must be strange for everyone to see Mary here. Just so you know, she’s not a witch but a former low-ranking adventurer. She and I crossed paths a long time ago when she helped me out of a difficult situation. Since then, we’ve stayed in touch. She’s been handling the procurement of items ordered by the Witch Society for quite some time now."

The awkward conversation and the subtle exchange of glances between the two women were suspicious, but neither I nor the witches decided to comment on it.

"Her acting leaves much to be desired."

I was already convinced that the woman named Mary was, in fact, the Great Witch of the Frostlands in disguise.

"She must be from the Frostblade Knights, then. Definitely not a witch. Could she truly be an adventurer? Maybe she’s here as a bodyguard?"

"She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Perhaps she’s here more for a charm offensive than protection?"

"A charm offensive? Is that okay? Especially after last time with His Grace…?"

"Shh! I heard she got rejected…."

"Again?! But they seemed so close! She even got a bag as a gift, and she’s been carrying it everywhere lately."

The witches seemed to be spinning tales among themselves once again.

"But honestly, His Grace is really picky about…"

"No, no! This time it was the other way around!"

"What?! You’re saying Count Jin rejected her?"

"That’s impossible!"

"They say he was supposed to propose to Her Grace during the title ceremony but didn’t. And lately, they’ve been avoiding each other."

"So, the woman next to Count Jin is…?"

"Exactly."

"And yet, I hear Her Grace still has lingering feelings for him. That’s why she keeps his seat right next to hers at council meetings."

"Oh my, oh my, oh my!"

"Incredible…."

The longer this went on, the more their gazes toward Mary and me felt like they were watching the leads in a melodrama. It was becoming uncomfortable.

Ignoring their sparkling eyes, brimming with all sorts of implications, I decided to help dismantle the greenhouse farm.

"The dismantling hasn’t started yet, right?"

"Not yet. Setting up a wide-area barrier like this is challenging, but so is taking it down."

"And the spirits?"

"Oddly quiet for now."

"Then we need to finish this quickly before they start reacting."

Mary and I rode horses across the vast farmland, while the witches followed alongside us on their broomsticks. We stopped to inspect the white stone monuments planted throughout the greenhouse farm.

These monuments, about the size of an adult man’s torso, were embedded like stakes, their surfaces intricately inscribed with rune characters and complex magical circles.

"Starting today, for the next month, we need to erase the runes and magical circles engraved on these monuments. A word of caution: never start erasing these with ice magic. Instead, use water spirits gradually…."

As I inspected the first monument, I began explaining the process, practically talking to myself like someone who’d lost their mind.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm!"

The witches listened half-heartedly, barely paying attention. Isabelle was no different. It was all because of their “tradition.” Truly frustrating at times. No wonder they were being outpaced by the Tower’s mages.

"Once the North is stabilized, I might need to establish an academy to train magical engineers."

It was clear that relying solely on the witches would never be enough to ensure the North’s economic and magical growth.

"Then, what would you like me to do? Oh! Let me take notes."

"…?"

Suddenly, Mary spoke up from behind me.

What?

Even Isabelle, the most open-minded of the witches, never directly asked me to teach her due to their traditions.

Yet Mary, despite secretly being the Frostblade’s Great Witch, boldly sought to learn from me.

"Of course. It’s this kind of open-mindedness that will eventually make her the Great Witch of the Frostlands."

I marveled at her enthusiasm but didn’t find it suspicious or strange. Having even one student this eager to learn was enough to energize me.

"First, let’s prepare water-attribute mana stones and ice-attribute mana stones…."

Thanks to her interest, my explanation finally gained momentum. The witches pretended not to care but secretly eavesdropped. Meanwhile, the younger witches, still reliant on their mentors, plugged their ears and fled to a distance.

Just as we were about to complete the first dismantling phase—

"What’s going on…?"

"Why are the spirits acting like this?!"

We hadn’t even started dismantling the greenhouse farm yet, but suddenly—

"The spirits! All the spirits in the North are going berserk!"

The witches screamed in panic as chaos erupted around us.

Woooooom—

Simultaneously, the countless monuments embedded in the greenhouse farm began to glow. It was an entirely unexpected phenomenon.

"What’s happening?!"

"The life energy! The energy from outside the High Castle is all converging here!"

"Calm them down! Do whatever it takes to pacify the spirits!"

The life energy from the North’s key farms and fields began vanishing rapidly, only to flow into the greenhouse farm through the spirits. As a result, the greenhouse farm was now overflowing with excessive life energy.

"The crops in the greenhouse are behaving strangely! They’re dripping sap everywhere and dying!"

"The soil in the farm has turned pitch black too!"

"The life energy is too intense! It’s overwhelming!"

And things were only going to get worse over time.

"Count!"

"Call me 'Boss,' Mary."

"Boss! I’m terribly sorry, but I have to leave early. An urgent matter has come up."

Mary was the first to react to the chaos.

"Leave early…? Now, of all times?"

"I’m so sorry, but it’s truly urgent…."

She had the audacity to request to leave early on her first day, in the middle of a crisis no less.

Even with my experience managing countless MZ employees back on Earth, this was a first.

"Well, I suppose the Frostblade Knights must be in turmoil right now."

I could guess why she was acting this way.

"So much for keeping her identity hidden. How amateurish," I thought with a click of my tongue.

I stared at Mary, who squirmed like a puppy in need of a bathroom break.

"All right. Go on, then."

Without asking for further explanation, I granted her permission to leave.

Had this been Earth, this story would’ve gone viral in workplace forums, with people praising me and my company’s understanding.

"Thank you so much!" Mary exclaimed, her relief palpable.

As soon as I gave my permission, Mary tilted her head slightly, as if thinking, "Did he just let me go that easily?" Then, without further hesitation, she mounted her horse and galloped off in the direction of the inner fortress.

That was likely where the Frostblade Knights’ headquarters were located.

“Spirits suddenly going berserk... This must have been caused deliberately by someone.”

After sending Mary on her way, I began analyzing the rampaging greenhouse farm.

“Stop the spirits! Restrain them!”

“They’re not calming down!”

“What is this?! What’s going on?!”

The panicked shouts of the witches echoed across the sky and earth of the farm. Nearby, the Great Witch of Spring, Isabelle, had drawn a large and intricate magical circle on the ground and was chanting a spell.

“She didn’t earn the title of Great Witch for nothing.”

As a magical engineer myself, I couldn’t help but admire the complexity of the grand magic circle she had created.

“[Reveal it!]”

Her incantation resounded beyond the greenhouse farm, spreading across the entire High Castle.

Whooooom—

Ki-ki-ki-ki-keek!

Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!

However, the spirits’ rampage didn’t stop. While the flow of life energy into the greenhouse farm slowed slightly, it persisted.

“I can see it now! Hmm… there are 26 locations! Something horrible, absolutely horrendous, is buried there!”

Of course, Isabelle’s magic wasn’t intended to immediately resolve the situation. Instead, it was a diagnostic spell meant to identify the problem areas.

One hour later, an emergency meeting was convened in the Hall of Glory, with the Grand Duchess at its center.

“Why is my seat still fixed next to hers?”

The fact that my place was still right beside the Grand Duchess was unnerving, but I didn’t have the luxury to focus on it now.

“Is this the spirits going berserk?” Arina asked gravely, her expression unusually serious.

“It’s not a natural rampage. It’s more accurate to say they’re being artificially controlled,” Isabelle reported, her face more rigid than usual.

“And what about the characteristics of the lands losing life energy?” Arina directed her next question to the officials who had conducted the investigation.

“All of the affected areas are North’s main farmlands and fields.”

“Territories like Shuen and Narvik, which are vital for agriculture, have been hit the hardest.”

“The real issue is that this phenomenon is spreading rapidly across a wide area. If this continues, it will impact not only food production but also the manufacturing of Arad Salt.”

Isabelle’s diagnostic spell, akin to a magical map-hack, had allowed us to pinpoint the affected areas and their scope. However, the results were grim.

“At this rate, a massive famine will strike the North.”

“It might already be too late. According to reports from the nearest outer fortress, even the surrounding foliage has begun to wither.”

The problem wasn’t just the scale of the disaster but its devastating consequences.

“In the worst-case scenario, witch hunts could start in the North,” someone murmured.

Isabelle and the other witches looked as if they were on trial for a heinous crime, overwhelmed by the weight of the situation.

“This isn’t the witches’ fault,” I interjected, hoping to cut through the suffocating atmosphere.

“Of all times, this had to happen just as we were about to start the dismantling….”

I spoke up, not because I feared being blamed for the situation—definitely not.

“Is there a solution?” Arina asked, her tone carrying a faint note of desperation.

“Oh! That’s right! If anyone can come up with a solution, it’s Count Arad!” exclaimed one of the high-ranking officials.

For the first time in a while, all eyes in the room turned to me, including Arina’s. Her gaze was filled with an overwhelming expectation that felt suffocating. She looked at me with a calm, composed demeanor, as though she had already compartmentalized her personal pain like the ruler she was.

“The spell cast by the Great Witch of Spring pointed out the affected locations. I heard that knights and witches are being dispatched there,” I began.

“That’s correct. The witches said something dreadful was buried in those places,” Arina confirmed.

“But how long will it take to find what’s buried in those areas? It’s likely they’re hidden behind layers of deceit and concealment spells.”

“The witches will use detection magic,” Arina countered.

“In the current situation, where spirits are uncooperative, that will be difficult,” I said, shaking my head.

I continued, “Starting now, I’ll work through the night to create detectors by tomorrow morning. Using these detectors, you can locate and destroy whatever is buried in those areas.”

Although my proposal was firm, the atmosphere in the meeting room suggested they had been waiting for me to say just that.

“Sure, just treat me like a magical Doraemon, why don’t you?”

“I’ll help with the crafting!” Arina suddenly exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

“…Pardon?”

“Ah, no! I mean, I’ll provide manpower or resources if you need them.”

“This is a time-consuming process, but I can handle it alone for now.”

“I-I see….”

“However, I do have one request.”

“Name it.”

“I recently hired an assistant named Mary, though it seems she has other responsibilities. If possible, I’d like her to return to the Arad Company to assist me. Having an assistant would make the process much smoother.”

Hmm-hmm-hmm!

Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!

The meeting room was suddenly filled with awkward throat clearing, notably from Chief Administrator Haitai, Frostblade Knight Balzac, and the Great Witch Isabelle.

I knew exactly why they were doing this.

“It’s deliberate, you fools.”

By bringing up another woman, I was intentionally creating distance between myself and Arina, who still seemed to harbor some lingering feelings.

“Besides, if Mary truly is the future Great Witch of the Frostlands, she might actually be helpful during the crafting process.”

“Why is everyone acting so strangely?” I asked, feigning confusion.

“Uh… hmm… Very well,” Arina eventually agreed, albeit hesitantly.

Her visible discomfort left me feeling a pang of guilt, but I had no choice. This was the best option, or at least the lesser evil.

Now, if only they’d do something about this seating arrangement.

Having to make such declarations from the seat right next to the Grand Duchess was nerve-wracking enough to make my legs tremble even while sitting.