I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 161: Rhaenas

Martyn Voss is a member of the Valestria royal family.

The Kingdom of Valestria is the only country in modern Altheon that remains a full monarchy. The Voss family has ruled it without interruption.

When Martyn’s brother, Alfred, was king, Valestria, like the rest of the world, suffered from a severe lack of natural resources. Once a large and powerful kingdom, it had been reduced to a small and weakened one after heavy losses during the natural resources war.

Alfred had no surviving descendants. His three sons died in the war.

Later, Alfred named his nephew, Martyn’s son Edward, as his heir. Martyn immediately relinquished his noble title and passed it to his daughter, Maristella, as he entered the Custodians.

From a young age, Maristella and Edward were raised in a household that valued money. Martyn taught both his children how important it was to amass wealth. Both Maristella and her younger brother Edward grew up revering money, though in different ways.

Edward became obsessed with accumulating wealth and preserving it. Maristella, on the other hand, preferred to use money as leverage.

When the first dungeon was discovered, Edward was already being groomed as crown prince and studying his future duties. He paid close attention to the dungeon’s development.

When scientists later shared their findings about heartstones with the world, Edward was determined to involve Valestria in the heartstone and dungeon exploration industries.

After he was crowned king, that determination did not fade. He continued searching for ways to insert Valestria into what had quickly become the newest and most lucrative industry: dungeon exploration and heartstone extraction.

Unfortunately, Valestria lacked both the manpower and the financial strength to compete with the world’s giants.

By a stroke of fate, a group of scientists specializing in optimal heartstone utilization discovered that when vinedust was added during heartstone processing, it could boost heartstone output by as much as fifty percent.

Vinedust came from a plant called ashvine. From plant to vinedust, the process was long and difficult, which had caused many industries to abandon its use entirely.

But after the latest discovery, vinedust surged in popularity and quickly became one of the most sought-after materials in the world.

This was very good news for Edward, because Valestria was the only place in all of Altheon where ashvine grew like wild grass.

He began selling the plant everywhere.

Valestria’s economy started to climb, and Edward’s personal wealth ballooned alongside it. So did Martyn’s, and Maristella’s.

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Martyn sighs.

He looks at the other Custodians.

"We need resources. This is a fact. No one can deny or ignore it. If we do not find a stream of income quickly, we will not be able to continue our work."

"And as you have also noticed, mana is slowly returning to Altheon. This is where our role truly matters. We are sitting on the only repository of magical knowledge left in this world."

"People are bound to discover mana sooner or later. Those with high mana resonance are already appearing. Look at my daughter. Look at Maeve. Look at Ethan. And I am certain there are others out there as well. We cannot gather them all and teach them one by one. We do not have the manpower, the resources, or the time."

"But it has always been our duty, ever since the Custodians were founded more than ten thousand years ago, to be prepared for the return of mana to Altheon."

"Well, this is it. It is happening now. Or are we going to keep ignoring the fact that mana is returning?"

Martyn pauses and looks around the room.

When no one speaks, he continues.

"We cannot keep magic to ourselves. It is dangerous. People with high mana resonance, if uneducated and left to discover magic on their own, are extremely dangerous. It is like a child discovering a gun."

"My proposal is this. We invite Arthur Montrose. Not his team. Only him. We speak to him directly and attempt to strike a deal."

"We send Maeve with him to assist in clearing dungeons, and in return, we receive our share of heartstones."

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Maeve feels like she is speed-walking. She almost breaks into a run, but she keeps forcing herself to slow down.

If anyone were to see her, they would probably wonder what exactly she was trying to do. One moment she is walking fast, almost running, then the next she slows down. Then she speeds up again, only to slow herself once more. Over and over.

If Julian saw her like this, he would laugh out loud.

But Maeve really wants to get to her office as quickly as possible. Somewhere she can lock the door, activate an aegis to prevent any eavesdropping, and then call the Five.

Maeve exhales in relief when she finally sees her office door. She breaks into a sprint, unlocks it quickly, slips inside, closes the door, and locks it.

"Phew!"

She slowly collapses onto the floor, panting.

After a few minutes, she mutters to herself, "Okay, Maeve. Phew. Breathe. Breathe. Just breathe, Maeve."

Once her breathing returns to normal, she sits up, touches her ring, and initiates a conference video call, still sitting on the floor.

Julian is the first to answer.

"Hey! You’re done? The meeting’s over? How was it? You nailed it, didn’t you? There’s no way you didn’t."

Maeve chuckles and smiles. She misses his enthusiasm.

"I’ll wait for the others before answering," she says with a grin.

Julian nods. "Makes sense."

He is sitting in his lab, clearly tinkering with something. Maeve tilts her head, curious. "What are you working on?"

Before Julian can answer, Liam’s face appears. "Hey, Maeve! Good to see you again. Hey, Julian!"

"Hey, Liam."

"Hi, Liam."

Arthur is next. "Class," he greets them.

"Hah! Class president is just a nickname. Don’t let it get to your head, Montrose."

"Hey! That’s not nice. I’m a Montrose too. You can’t just say that. There are three of us here."

"Three? It’s just you two. Thea is..."

"Here."

Thea appears, smiling.

The Five is complete.

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"Well, the Five is complete. Hello, fellow members of the Five," Julian says.

Liam protests immediately.

"No. I don’t agree. First, I never agreed to the name. Second, the Five? It sounds lame. No. Just no."

"But we need a name for our group, trust me," Julian insists.

"Guys," Arthur cuts in, impatient. "We are not here to debate or decide a group name. We are all adults. Let’s not fight over something this trivial."

"But I insist we need a name. And if no one gives an idea, I’m christening it. From now on, we are called..."

"Rhaenas."

"What?" Julian frowns.

"Was that you, Maeve?" Liam asks.

"I think it was. I believe it was," Arthur says.

Thea only blinks in surprise.

Maeve looks at the other four. "Rhaenas. Let’s call our group Rhaenas."

"What does it mean?" Julian asks.

A warrior, Thea says inwardly. I need to ask her later. This is certainly not a coincidence.

"It should mean a warrior," Maeve says. "I’m not entirely sure if I remember it correctly."

"It sounds good," Arthur agrees.

"Then Rhaenas it is!" Julian grins. For some reason, this feels important to him.

"Alright," Arthur says. "I’m sure we’re all here to hear about Maeve’s hearing. What happened?"

Maeve tells them everything. Every detail, every word she said, every question the Custodians asked, and the shift in their focus.

If Maeve is honest with herself, she has already broken her own oath. She does not explain the Custodians in detail, but she gives them enough information that the connections are not hard to make.

The only things Maeve does not tell them are the group’s name, the identities of the members, and how many Custodians there are.