She stared at Wood and Stone for a long moment, and in the end, she could only admit defeat.
These two weren’t stupid.
They might look slow, but their loyalty was sharp as a blade.
The moment she hinted that she might “disappear,” they were already ready to die in front of her.
If she tried to hide the truth any longer, she would only force them into desperate actions.
Since that was the case, there was only one choice.
She would bring them in.
Sienna let out a helpless breath, then forced a smile.
“Alright.
Put the swords away first.
Carrying them around like that, do you want to scare the ghosts too?” She paused, then spoke seriously.
“Now listen carefully.
What you’re about to see… You will not speak of it.
Not to slaves.
Not to outsiders.
Not even to yourselves when you’re drunk.
Understood?”
Wood and Stone looked at each other, then nodded at the same time.
Sienna nodded back.
“Good.
Then don’t blink.”
The moment her thought moved, the world around them twisted like water.
The stone walls of the room vanished.
The torchlight disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, the three of them were standing under an open sky surrounded by thick white fog.
A ten-acre field stretched out before them, neatly tilled and full of young crops.
A small spring bubbled quietly nearby, clear and cold.
A straw hut stood in the middle like a farmer’s home, with tools arranged beside it as if someone had just used them.
Wood and Stone stiffened instantly.
Their hands reached for their swords again without thinking, their eyes scanning every direction.
Their bodies reacted like trained beasts sensing danger, but their faces were filled with confusion.
Sienna sighed and slapped both of them lightly on the shoulders.
“Enough.
Put them down,” she pointed at the ground.
“If we were in danger, would I bring you here?”
The two men froze, then slowly lowered their weapons.
Their eyes were still wide, as if their minds were refusing to accept what they were seeing.
Sienna walked forward, stepping onto the soil and watching the radish leaves sway slightly.
Everything looked normal.
The field was clean.
No weeds.
No pests.
The hut was the same.
The tools were still there.
Only then did she feel her heart settle.
She had been worried that something might have changed while she was outside, or that this strange space might suddenly act differently.
But everything was stable.
Still, her gold coins were running low.
If she made a mistake now, even this miracle would not save her.
Her only safe path was to keep planting Magic Vegetable until she built enough wealth to experiment with other crops.
Sienna turned her head and looked at Wood and Stone.
To her surprise, their eyes had changed.
Before, they followed Harold’s orders like loyal dogs.
But now, after stepping into this place, their gaze toward Sienna held a different kind of respect.
It was heavier.
Almost sacred.
Their backs were straighter.
Their breathing was quieter.
Even their silence felt more obedient than before.
Sienna frowned slightly, confused, but she didn’t have time to think too deeply.
she only needed them to obey, not to worship.
She took one last careful look around the space, making sure nothing was wrong, then nodded to herself.
“Alright.
Nothing unusual.”
She walked back toward them.
“We’re leaving.”
Wood and Stone immediately answered at the same time, their voices stiff but clear.
“Yes, Young Miss.”
Sienna paused for a second.
That was the first time she had ever heard them speak to her properly.
For a moment, it almost felt unreal.
Then she simply nodded, pretending it didn’t affect her.
With another thought, the world shifted again.
The fog vanished, the field disappeared, and they were back inside Sienna’s room as if nothing had happened.
The door was still closed.
The torch outside the window still flickered faintly.
No one had entered.
Sienna finally relaxed.
She turned toward Wood and Stone.
“Now you understand why I told you not to panic if I vanish.”
The two men didn’t respond with words this time.
They simply stood behind her like iron statues, their loyalty now locked onto Sienna alone.
Sienna rubbed her forehead.
This was going to be troublesome in a different way.
She didn’t want too many people knowing about the farm, but now it was too late.
At least Wood and Stone knew.
Still, it was better than letting them kill themselves out of fear.
“Come,” Sienna said, pushing the thoughts aside.
“We’re going outside.
I want to see the land.”
She led them down the stairs and out into the courtyard.
The morning air was fresh, carrying the smell of damp stone and old wood.
Mirella and Tiara were already outside, watching the slaves work.
The abandoned dwarf mines were being cleared exactly as Harold ordered.
Dust rose into the air, and the sound of digging echoed through the square.
What surprised Sienna was the energy.
The slaves weren’t dragging their feet anymore.
Their movements were fast, almost eager.
Even their faces looked different, as if a spark had been lit inside them.
Yesterday, they were lifeless tools.
Today, they looked like people who believed they might still have a future.
Sienna didn’t interrupt.
Mirella and Tiara were handling it well, and the slaves had their motivation now.
She didn’t need to hover like a worried parent.
Instead, she walked straight toward the moat.
The moat was narrow but deep, the stone lining still solid even after years of neglect.
The water was clear enough that she could see small ripples and tiny insects skimming across the surface.
It wasn’t stagnant.
It was living water.
Sienna followed the flow with her eyes and soon noticed why.
There were two sources feeding it.
One was a small spring inside the moat itself, constantly bubbling water into the channel.
The other was an underground stream coming down from the iron mountain, flowing quietly into the moat before continuing out through a drainage exit on the far side.
“A living moat…” Sienna muttered.
It was perfect for raising fish, but she also saw the problem immediately.
If they released fish into it now, the fish would simply swim away through the outlet.
They would have to modify the moat, build barriers, and maybe even create a separate enclosed pool.
But the moat was connected to the castle drainage system.
If they changed it recklessly, it could cause flooding, a bad smell, or worse.
A small mistake could ruin the castle’s water system.
Sienna frowned.
“Too complicated.
Not now.”
She turned away from the moat and walked toward the black soil.
The land stretched out endlessly beyond the castle walls, dark as ink, smooth and oily under the sunlight.
It looked fertile at first glance, but the silence of it felt unnatural.
No grass.
No weeds.
Nothing alive.
Sienna crouched down and grabbed a handful.
The moment it touched her fingers, her expression sank.
It felt wrong.
It felt like the oil sand from her old world, black and slick, the kind of soil that looked rich but could never grow crops.
Her fingers came away stained dark, and the soil clumped strangely, as if it didn’t want to breathe.
Her heart grew heavy.
If this was truly cursed soil, then even with the farm’s power, changing the entire wasteland might not be easy.
And without land, their development would always be slow.
Slow meant risk.
Slow meant exposure.
Slow meant being crushed before they could rise.
Sienna stood up and turned to Wood.
“Dig some of this soil out.
A lot.
We’ll test it.”
Wood nodded immediately.
Without hesitation, he drew his sword and drove it into the ground like a shovel.
His strength was monstrous.
In just a short time, he had carved out a deep pit and piled a mound of black soil beside it.
Sienna watched quietly, then stepped forward.
With a simple thought, the entire pile vanished into her space warehouse.
Wood and Stone stiffened slightly, but they didn’t panic.
They had already seen enough to accept it.
Sienna stared out at the endless black wasteland again.
The wind was cold despite the sunlight, and the silence of the land felt like a warning.
She exhaled slowly.
“This place really is a grave for hope…” she muttered.
Then her eyes narrowed, and her voice became steadier.
“But if space water and space soil can change even a small part of This land… then the entire world will have to bow its head sooner or later.”
Wood and Stone stood behind her like silent mountains, and Sienna turned back toward the castle with the black soil’s weight sitting in her chest.
The next step would decide everything.