Tarnes readily agreed to Melina's words. Having one more person to help was much better than bearing all the pressure alone.
He brought Melina to the lord's hall, where Nepheli Loux happened to be working at her desk, though there weren't too many matters on the table to handle.
Therefore, she still had the leisure to joke with Tarnes and Melina. "It's rare to see you here, Tarnes. What's wrong? Are you finally planning to replace me and sit in this position to handle affairs?"
Tarnes looked a bit embarrassed, but Nepheli Loux actively waved her hand. "I'm just joking. Aside from the personnel issue, Stormveil Castle's current workload isn't beyond what I can handle. It's Haight Fort that's really struggling. Because you summoned the Royal Capital, Leyndell, and changed the fortress's location again, Kenneth Haight is now the one who's most overwhelmed."
"Then I should pay attention to that. He's indeed working quite hard. I should reward him with something," Tarnes said.
Nepheli Loux put down her quill and kindly reminded, "You absolutely must not give him weapons or anything like that."
Tarnes nodded. "I'll remember that."
Nepheli Loux looked curiously at Melina, who had pulled out a chair for Tarnes and then pulled one for herself to sit down, asking, "So what brings you two to the lord's hall? Do you need me for something?"
After quietly thanking Melina, Tarnes replied, "No, just borrowing this room. I'm preparing to write down what I need to do recently, and Melina wants to see if there's anywhere she can help me."
Hearing this, Nepheli Loux put down her quill and asked, "May I also look at your recent plans?"
Tarnes shrugged. "Of course you can. Some things might need discussing with you too. But please don't bring up personnel issues again. I'm already thinking of ways to solve that."
With Tarnes's permission, Nepheli Loux came to sit across from him.
Soon, Tarnes took paper and pen and quickly wrote down the things he had previously thought of in his mind.
However, he wrote quite messily, belonging to the type where he'd hurriedly write something down as soon as he thought it needed doing. Melina, very thoughtfully, asked Tarnes why he needed to do each thing, then silently took fresh paper and pen to rewrite Tarnes's items according to priority and urgency on another sheet.
During this time, Nepheli Loux didn't interject with any opinions, mainly because watching the two people across the table occasionally whispering to each other and smiling at one another, she suddenly felt somewhat superfluous.
"You've been a great help, Melina. Thank you so much; sorry to trouble you."
About half an hour later, looking at the sheet filled with Melina's writing, Tarnes let out a long breath.
Melina shook her head slightly and said softly, "It's no trouble. When I used to read books, I often categorized and recorded notes I wanted to write, so I'm quite good at this sort of thing."
Tarnes nodded, and after thanking her again, looked at Nepheli Loux, who was propping her chin and nearly falling asleep. "Wake up, Nepheli Loux. Didn't you want to see my recent plans? They're organized now."
"Hmm?! Oh... you're finished? Let me see."
Nepheli Loux suddenly raised her head, then patted her face to wake herself up, took the paper Tarnes handed her, and read it carefully.
A few minutes later, she returned the paper filled with plans, saying with slight sympathy, "Looks like you have quite a lot to keep you busy. Melina alone might not be enough. I see some plans could be completed by others, like this item 'search for Orc gathering places.' But I really don't have personnel to spare to help you, and Kenneth Haight and Edgar are in the same situation."
Tarnes smiled and shook his head. "This is nothing. They're all things that can be solved by running errands, not life-or-death matters. As for personnel, don't worry. I still have Millicent, Bernahl, and the others, don't I?"
Contrary to Tarnes's expectations, Nepheli Loux's response surprised him somewhat. "That's exactly what I wanted to mention. Because all territories are short-staffed now, Bernahl and Igon, who returned with you, were taken away this morning by Kenneth Haight and Edgar to contribute their efforts."
Tarnes was stunned and quickly asked, "Tell me in detail? I've been busy with Ensis Castle affairs all day and don't know what happened to Bernahl and the others."
Nepheli Loux shrugged. "If the storm hawks hadn't told me that another castle had suddenly appeared in the territory, I wouldn't have known you'd summoned new Carian forces. I'm guessing you summoned this army to station them at Lake-town?"
She wasn't yet aware that Ensis Castle came from the Land of Shadow, simply deducing it was Carian-style from the castle's architecture and the glintstones everywhere.
Tarnes nodded. "Right, you guessed correctly."
Nepheli Loux wore an "as expected" expression, then cleared her throat. "As for Bernahl and Igon being taken away, it's also because you changed the positions of Haight Fort and Morne Castle. Otherwise, why do you think Kenneth Haight and Edgar weren't urgently looking for you? Bernahl saw their frantic state and intercepted them for you."
Tarnes coughed awkwardly. "Still the personnel problem? Sigh, I understand. After Radahn's Redmane Legion returns, his Redmane Castle can help share the patrol pressure of Stormveil Castle, Haight Fort, and Morne Castle."
Nepheli Loux reminded with a complex expression, "That would have worked a few days ago, but now..."
Tarnes slapped his forehead. "You mean the Royal Capital Leyndell also needs population replenishment, right... The Royal Capital can be temporarily sealed off as a stopgap measure."
Then he remembered something and asked, "Bernahl and Igon both went to help, so where is Millicent?"
Nepheli Loux shrugged. "You know Stormveil Castle is the place that needs personnel most..."
Though she didn't finish her sentence, Tarnes already understood what she meant.
He could only say, "Then please take care of Millicent for me. Although the scarlet rot in her body is suppressed by the Unalloyed Gold Needle, I'm still not entirely at ease."
Nepheli Loux nodded seriously. "Yes, I will. The scarlet rot matter must be treated seriously."
After Tarnes exchanged some more information about Stormveil Castle with Nepheli Loux, she stood up and returned to her position to continue her unfinished work.
Tarnes then brought Melina to the marketplace within Stormveil Castle, where people from other kingdoms who had come to this territory basically gathered.
He needed to find those merchants representing Gondorian nobles who had come to the Golden Tree territory, because Tarnes had heard that Gondor had very serious Orc problems on its eastern borders, and he happened to need large quantities of Orc souls.