Chapter 34

Chapter 34

#34. Northern Region’s Fertilizer (1)

Today, Ariana was busier than ever.

Juggling her roles as the assistant to the Duke of the Northern Region and an employee of Arad’s trading company had her head spinning even more during this emergency situation.

Hiiing

After returning the horse she rode earlier with Arad to the stable, Ariana once again checked herself.

First, she inspected the necklace around her neck.

The magical necklace that changed her appearance, voice, and even physique was glowing faintly.

Next, she checked the token of Arad’s dedication always attached to her waist.

On top of the beautiful and unique design of this spatial case rested a larger bag carefully prepared by Isabel.

“Phew…!”

After confirming her outfit,

Gulp!

She took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and then…

Knock knock knock

She timidly knocked on the door of the first floor of Arad’s trading company building like a guilty person.

“……?”

But despite knocking several times, there was no sound from inside.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Finally, she cautiously opened the door and went in.

There was no one on the first floor.

But sounds of activity could be heard from the basement.

Ariana immediately headed down there.

Making sure to stomp loudly so as not to surprise Arad.

“Uh… Sir?”

“Aha! You’ve come.”

“I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly earlier.”

“No, it’s not like you did it out of choice, right?”

In the basement workshop where Arad was, strange parts of magical devices were scattered everywhere.

Also, piles of black soil brought from the greenhouse farm were stacked in a corner.

“Good timing you came. From now on, Mary, you’ll be making this.”

As soon as Ariana entered, Arad handed her a newly-made detector.

“You mean… I have to make this?”

“It’s not that difficult. If you follow along a few times, you’ll get the hang of it quickly. Come on! Now follow exactly what I do.”

“Yes, yes!”

That’s how they ended up starting cottage industry work.

After Arad demonstrated the process a few times,

Ariana was soon clumsily able to create some of the detector components.

It was a process involving cutting and assembling leather, wood, and bones, which surprisingly turned out to be fun.

It was similar to wielding a sword all day but just different enough to be entertaining.

Just as Arad said, making the detectors wasn’t hard.

It just required a lot of manual labor.

“You seem to have quite the knack for handiwork? Yes, keep following my lead like that.”

“Thank you.”

Moreover, thanks to Arad’s occasional compliments slipping through the cracks, she couldn’t help but suppress the smile threatening to break out on her face.

‘Truly incredible craftsmanship.’

Meanwhile, watching Arad etch magic circuits with astonishing precision and speed, she couldn’t help but marvel.

Compared to her clumsy cutting and assembling, Arad’s work looked intricate and sophisticated even at a glance.

The sight of him engraving magic circuits onto leather and wood coated with magic stones using a fine needle almost seemed divine.

While Ariana was lost staring at Arad working,

“Are you managing alright? Is it doable?”

Suddenly, Arad turned to her and asked while his hands continued working without pause.

“Yes…!”

“Well, then from now on, pick up the pace. There’s no time for zoning out.”

Was it because she zoned out for a moment? For the first time, Arad scolded Ariana.

“Yes, sir!”

Due to this rare scolding, Ariana felt her heart flutter unexpectedly.

“We need to make 60 today.”

“I heard we’re deploying these to 26 areas?”

“We need to account for malfunctions and damages. We should give each team two spares. And we also need to factor in defective parts and failed attempts.”

“Ah! That makes sense.”

Surprised by the larger-than-expected workload, Ariana moved her hands faster.

“By the way, aren’t you going to hire more staff?”

Meanwhile, she wondered why he hadn’t hired anyone until now.

Thinking about it, even after getting approval to establish the royal trading company, he hadn’t done any significant hiring.

“Of course, I’d like to hire. But I can’t just hire recklessly. His Highness the Duke said my knowledge shouldn’t spread unnecessarily throughout the empire.”

At her question, Arad surprisingly engaged in conversation openly.

“?!”

And with this answer from Arad, Ariana internally thought “Oh no!”

-Umm… So you intend to pass on your knowledge to them?

-Let’s put that aside for now. There are still too many rats in High City and the Northern Region. Plus, there’s the matter with the witches.

Recalling the conversation when Arad gifted her the spatial bag named “Arad’s Dedication,”

‘I spoke too casually!’

It was clear that her words back then had been misinterpreted and exaggerated.

Even if security was important, this level of secrecy certainly wasn’t what she intended!

‘Hold on, does that mean I’m here doing this… because of me?’

Is this karmic retribution?! A wave of unnecessary self-loathing washed over Ariana.

“And His Highness is right. You can’t hire just anyone when things get urgent. Industrial spies are a very annoying risk.”

“Industrial… spies?”

“Indeed, they exist. They use incredibly creative methods to steal core information.”

With a furrowed brow, Arad spoke as if reminiscing about the past.

‘He must be thinking about the Golden Age. Back then, he seems to have run a trading company or workshop.’

Seeing this side of Arad, Ariana let it slide with a ‘whatever’ attitude.

“So, what criteria do you use to hire people, sir?”

“I judge people based on their character when hiring.”

“Character… you mean?”

“Yes. Sense of responsibility, mission consciousness, loyalty—these kinds of character traits are important. Business skills naturally improve over time if someone isn’t outright stupid, as long as you teach and work together daily.”

Arad continued speaking.

“But character and trust cannot be bought with money or resolved with time. No matter how much salary you pay, no matter how long you’ve worked together, no matter how sincerely you treat someone, it doesn’t work sometimes.”

“How can you tell if someone is trustworthy?”

Ariana listened intently to Arad’s words.

This topic of conversation was especially meaningful to her, given her original identity as a duchess, so she couldn’t help but focus fully.

“It comes with experience. At some point, instincts start kicking in. Of course, it’s not perfect, but it’s accurate most of the time.”

“Instincts… you mean?”

“Yes, instincts. After a few conversations, you’ll notice those who feel off. Eliminating those types already solves half the problem.”

Ariana paused her hands and looked at Arad.

Arad’s appearance looked not much older than hers.

Yet his skills and maturity didn’t match his youthful looks at all.

Was it because he was an ancient human from the Golden Age, aging slower?

Of course, even now, mastering swords and magic can slow down aging.

“When I started, I believed that if I treated others sincerely, they would return the favor sincerely. But… it wasn’t true.”

While she observed Arad, he kept talking.

“Damn bastards! I treated them so well! When they claimed they were evicted and wanted to die, I even pulled out the company slush fund to help them! Then when the company faced difficulties and I froze their salaries once, they immediately jumped ship to our competitors?!”

Crunch crunch

As he spoke, Arad suddenly clenched his teeth, seemingly lost in old memories.

“Hmph…”

Soon after, he sighed and regained his composure.

“…?”

Ariana understood only half of Arad’s muttering.

“Then… do you think I’m trustworthy?”

But there was one thing she was curious about.

“Oh, of course I trust you.”

Without hesitation, Arad answered her question.

“Eh? What’s your basis for that?”

“Just a feeling. That’s why I hired you right away when we first met.”

“……!”

Arad’s cool response touched her heart.

“So, don’t betray my instincts.”

“W-Water, of course not!”

While watching Ariana’s visibly moved expression, Arad thought inwardly,

‘Honestly, if I didn’t know her backstory, I would’ve fired her immediately due to pity. Even though she was recommended by Isabel, her vibe felt… off.’

Though his words outwardly expressed trust, his evaluation of Mary wasn’t entirely positive.

But sometimes white lies are necessary.

‘Still, she’s pretty sharp for being the future Great Witch.’

Watching his assistant and employee rapidly improving in crafting skills, Arad smirked slyly.

‘Her necklace and the bag around her waist were already suspicious. Definitely a talented witch in terms of crafting magical tools.’

He had already analyzed her necklace and bag thoroughly with his eye scan the first time they met.

‘That necklace is definitely concealing her strength and abilities.’

Isn’t the advanced eye scan practically equivalent to a scout device?

‘The bag seems enchanted in its own way. Though, the leather finish could be better.’

There was a reason he went through all the trouble of asking Ariana to remove Mary from Frosthaven.

‘She’s clearly a hard worker. The calluses on her hands prove it.’

The more he thought about it, the more his evaluation of Mary improved. Everything except that off-putting vibe was perfect.

“Excuse me… sir?”

Caught in deep thought, Mary suddenly called out to Arad.

“All done.”

“Eh…?”

She had already completed everything Arad instructed.

“Wow! Really done?”

Surprised, Arad inspected the parts Ariana had worked on.

Everything from the finishing touches was excellent. The defect rate was nearly zero.

Thump!

Seeing this, Arad felt a ticklish sensation in his chest.

It felt like meeting a piece of destiny.

If such talent existed in Korea, it would have been directly recruited into full-time employment…

“Hmm… Well done. Not bad.”

But he didn’t show it outwardly.

People tend to lose focus if praised too often.

They grow arrogant, demanding higher salaries and benefits, then eventually quit to start their own businesses.

“Would you like to try this next?”

And here Ariana made a huge mistake.

‘If she does well, maybe I can offload the task of engraving magic circuits to her!’

She had no idea that excelling in a company run by an entrepreneur from Hell Korea meant only more work.

‘She’s a witch, so pushing her a bit harder should be fine. She’ll gain skills and knowledge proportionate to the effort.’

Suppressing the excitement and dopamine rush, Arad decided to not only dump but also teach Mary the art of magic circuit engraving.

‘She’s enjoying it so much!’

Watching Arad enthusiastically explain everything with pure joy, Ariana couldn’t help but feel happy herself.

‘Glad I read those magic theory books regularly.’

Knights and magicians are natural enemies. Thus, Ariana often sought out and read books related to magic.

What she learned turned out useful—not in battle, but in an entirely unexpected direction.

“Is this correct?”

“Yes! Very precise!”

“This is easy for me. Hehehe.”

“Mary, you’re a genius, truly a genius!”

Therefore, she approached learning what Arad taught her with the same passion and focus she used while training with the sword.

“…?!”

And after a while.

Ariana needed to realize something was wrong.

‘What is it? I’m getting recognition and praise from him, so why… why does it feel harder?’

By the time she sensed something was amiss, it was already too late.