Arthur readily agreed to Melina's words; having an extra person to help was much better than bearing the pressure alone.
He led Melina to the City Lord Hall, where Nepheli Loux happened to be working at her desk, though there wasn't much to deal with on the table.
Therefore, she still had the leisure to joke with Arthur and Melina: "It's rare to see you here, Arthur. What's wrong? Are you finally planning to take my place and handle things?"
Arthur's face showed some embarrassment, but Nepheli Loux waved her hand: "I'm just joking. The current workload at Stormveil, aside from the manpower issue, isn't so great that I can't handle it. It's Kenneth Haight at Kenneth Haight's Fort who's in a complete mess, because you summoned Royal Capital Leyndell and changed the fort's location again."
"Then I'll have to pay attention. He's indeed working very hard. I should reward him with something," Arthur said.
Nepheli Loux paused her quill and kindly reminded him: "You absolutely must not send weapons or anything like that."
Arthur nodded: "I'll remember that."
Nepheli Loux looked curiously at Melina, who pulled out a chair for Arthur and then one for herself to sit down, and asked: "So, you two came to the City Lord Hall, do you have something to discuss with me?"
Arthur quietly thanked Melina before replying: "No, just to borrow this room. I'm about to write down what I plan to do recently, and Melina wants to see if there's anything she can help me with."
Upon hearing this, Nepheli Loux put down her quill and asked: "Can I also see your recent plans?"
Arthur shrugged: "Of course you can. Some things might also need to be discussed with you. But please don't mention manpower again; I'm already trying to solve that."
Nepheli Loux, having received Arthur's permission, came and sat down opposite him.
Soon, Arthur picked up paper and pen and quickly wrote down the things he had thought of earlier.
However, his writing was messy; he would quickly jot down whatever came to mind that needed to be done. Melina, on the other hand, was very thoughtful. She would ask Arthur the reasons for doing each thing, then quietly take new paper and pen and re-transcribe Arthur's notes onto another sheet, organized by priority.
During this time, Nepheli Loux did not interject with any opinions, mainly because she looked at the two people across the table, who were occasionally whispering and smiling at each other, and suddenly felt a bit superfluous.
"You've been a great help, Melina. Thank you so much for your trouble."
About half an hour later, Arthur sighed with relief, looking at the paper filled with Melina's writing.
Melina shook her head slightly and softly said: "It's no trouble. When I used to read, I often categorized and recorded my notes, so I'm quite good at this kind of thing."
Arthur nodded, thanked her again, and then looked at Nepheli Loux, who was propping up her chin and almost falling asleep, saying: "Wake up, Nepheli Loux, didn't you want to see my recent plans? They've been organized."
"Huh?! Oh... you're done? Let me see."
Nepheli Loux suddenly looked up, then patted her face to wake herself up, took the paper Arthur handed her, and read it carefully.
A few minutes later, she returned the paper filled with plans and said with a touch of sympathy: "It looks like you have quite a lot to do. Melina alone might not be enough. I see that some plans can also be completed by others, such as this 'Find orc Gathering Places' item. However, I truly don't have anyone here to send to help you. Kenneth Haight and Edgar are in the same situation."
Arthur smiled and shook his head: "This is nothing; these are just things that can be solved by running errands, not matters of life and death. As for manpower, don't worry, don't I still have Millison and Bernal?"
To Arthur's surprise, Nepheli Loux's reply was unexpected: "That's what I was going to say. Because there's a shortage of manpower in all territories right now, Bernal and Igon, who came back with you, were taken away by Kenneth Haight and Edgar this morning to put their skills to good use."
Arthur was startled and quickly asked: "Tell me more? I've been busy with Ensis Castle today and don't know what happened to Bernal and them."
Nepheli Loux shrugged: "If the Stormhawk hadn't told me that another city had suddenly appeared in the territory, I wouldn't have known you summoned a new Caria army. I guess you summoned this army to station them in Lake-town, right?"
She wasn't aware that Ensis Castle came from the Land of Shadow; she simply deduced its Caria style from the city's architecture and the ubiquitous glintstones.
Arthur nodded: "Yes, you guessed correctly."
Nepheli Loux had an 'I knew it' expression, then cleared her throat and said: "As for Bernal and Igon being pulled away, it's also because you changed the locations of Kenneth Haight's Fort and Morne Castle. Otherwise, why do you think Kenneth Haight and Edgar weren't rushing to find you? It was Bernal who saw their frantic appearance and stopped them for you."
Arthur awkwardly coughed: "Still the manpower issue? Sigh, I get it. Once Radahn's Red Lion Legion returns, his Redmane Castle can help share the patrol pressure of Stormveil, Kenneth Haight's Fort, and Morne Castle."
Nepheli Loux reminded him with a complex expression: "That would have worked a few days ago, but now..."
Arthur slapped his forehead: "You mean Royal Capital Leyndell also needs population replenishment, right? Royal Capital Leyndell can be temporarily sealed off as a temporary expedient."
Then he remembered something and asked: "Bernal and Igon have gone to help, so where is Millison?"
Nepheli Loux shrugged: "You know, Stormveil is the place that needs the most manpower..."
Although she didn't finish her sentence, Arthur already understood what she meant.
He could only say: "Then please help me look after Millison. Although the Scarlet Rot in her body has been suppressed by the Pure Gold Needle, I'm still not entirely at ease."
Nepheli Loux nodded seriously: "Yes, I will. The matter of Scarlet Rot must be treated seriously."
After Arthur exchanged some more information about Stormveil with Nepheli Loux, the latter stood up and returned to her seat to continue her unfinished work.
Arthur then took Melina to the market within Stormveil. Those who came from other kingdoms to this territory were mostly gathered there.
He needed to find the merchants representing Gondor nobles who had come to the Golden Tree Territory, because Arthur heard that Gondor had a very serious orc problem on its eastern border, and he just happened to need a large number of orc souls.