Chapter 35.1

At first, it was wonderful.

Even if she was hiding her true identity, Arina felt elated receiving compliments and recognition from the man she admired. The work itself was fun and rewarding.

She poured herself into her tasks, eager for more praise.

“Well done. Not bad at all. Would you like to try this next? I think your skills are more than up to the task.”

Before long, she was assigned the most complex and demanding job: engraving magical circuits.

“Impressive! This task requires incredible focus, and you nailed it on your first try.”

“Th-thank you?”

The recognition felt good.

But there was a problem—the more she excelled, the more work she was given.

“This one’s for a dispelling enchantment, and this one’s for detection. The circuit allows particles similar to muons to penetrate obscured barriers.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

“And here’s another. Also, this one. You should give these a go as well.”

“Um… alright?”

By the time she realized what was happening, the situation had completely changed.

“Thanks to you, we can tackle these ahead of schedule.”

The basement workspace now had a clear division of labor: Arina hunched over her station, tirelessly working, while Arad hummed a cheerful tune, preparing something entirely different.

“No one told me why my heart’s a mystery~♪”

Arina didn’t recognize the song—it was likely from the Golden Age—but it was oddly distracting.

Meanwhile, Arad had set up seven large jars, carefully mixing the dark soil from the greenhouse with powdered magic stones, weeds, liquids, and various alchemical ingredients.

‘What is he doing?’

Though she was exhausted, the seriousness in Arad’s expression made her hesitant to interrupt.

Instead, she focused on her task, keeping as quiet as possible to avoid breaking his concentration.

***

As the saying goes, misfortune can sometimes bring unexpected blessings.

The greenhouse’s soil, saturated with mana to the point of killing every crop, had turned into a unique resource: Black Earth.

The abundance of mana in the soil, combined with the North’s magic stone-rich terrain and the various spells and rituals cast over the farm, had transformed the earth itself.

‘The crops died because the mana levels were too high, but this soil is priceless.’

Where others saw despair, Arad saw opportunity.

‘Without my max-level alchemy, farming skills, and modern Earth knowledge, even I might’ve missed this.’

Thanks to Mary’s help with the detectors, Arad had the freedom to experiment.

With careful precision, he combined the Black Earth, magic stone powder, and other components in large silver cauldrons. Beneath each cauldron, faintly glowing magic circles generated gentle heat, akin to induction stovetops.

‘The mixing ratios and temperature control are crucial.’

He adjusted the attributes of mana and materials as he went, a process that required repeated trials and subtle refinements.

‘The heating stones seem to work better with shadow-aligned mana—unexpected, but fascinating.’

Although modern AI could have simulated this process in an instant, this medieval fantasy world demanded meticulous, hands-on experimentation.

After hours of trial and error, Arad finally created a satisfying result.

“Perfect.”

Inside the cauldron was a fine, dark brown powder with a warm, earthy aroma—a solid-state form of ammonia fertilizer, uniquely adapted to this world.

***

Meanwhile, Arina had completed her task as dawn approached.

“All done!”

Around her were 62 perfectly crafted detection devices—two more than the original target.

Her entire body ached, from her neck and wrists to her back and eyes. Sleep-deprived and sore, she felt both exhaustion and pride.

“Phew… Success, I think?”

From across the room, Arad’s voice broke the silence.

“Done here too.”

At that moment, Arina’s stomach betrayed her with a loud gurgle.

Grrrroowl…

Her face turned red as she quickly tried to deflect attention.

“What… what exactly have you been making?!”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The question came out sharper than intended, a desperate attempt to steer the conversation away from her embarrassing stomach noises.

“This?”

Thankfully, Arad either didn’t notice or chose not to comment. Instead, he grinned and held up the dark brown powder he’d been working on.

“This stuff is as valuable as Arad Salt.”

‘What an amazing smell!’

The powder gave off an aroma that was both comforting and rich.

“This world is unbelievable. Even with mana and magic stone enhancements, who would’ve thought ammonia fertilizer could smell this good?” Arad murmured, seemingly to himself.

“A-as valuable as Arad Salt?!”

Arina barely registered his muttering, her shock focused entirely on his earlier declaration.

“That’s right. As you know, even if this crisis is resolved, the affected farmlands won’t recover their mana for at least a decade.”

“I was worried about that as well.”

“Worried? Why?”

“Ah, no… I mean, because of… uh… the people I’m associated with, I suppose…”

She stumbled over her words, trying to maintain her cover.

Arina froze after her slip of the tongue. Her mind went blank, realizing the possible consequences of her careless words.

“Well, that’s understandable.”

“…?”

Yet, to her astonishment, Arad brushed it off with surprising indifference.

‘Wait, what? He’s letting it go just like that? Is it because of the mental magic in this necklace?’

Neither realized they were caught in parallel tracks of misunderstanding.

“Anyway, this powder is a type of fertilizer.”

“F-fertilizer? You mean… manure?”

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