I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 163: Operational

"Lucien, am I hearing this correctly? You are sending a magus into dungeons now?" Baroness Maristella Voss asks Lucien Markov of Arcanus Verdant.

"We are still considering it, Stella. We haven’t found the right Sentinel team yet," Lucien replies.

They are speaking over the phone. The Baroness and Lucien have been friends since Lucien was an Apprentice nearly twenty years ago.

Lucien is one of the few people the Baroness truly considers a friend. They share a very similar way of thinking, and that similarity is what bonded them in the first place.

Now, Lucien is updating the Baroness on the recent developments within the Custodians.

"We did consider sending you," Lucien continues. "But let’s be honest, Stel, you’re not young anymore. So we decided not to send you and instead send Ethan, Isabelle’s apprentice."

The Baroness nods. She knows Ethan.

"That is a good choice," she says. "Ethan is almost as strong as I am, and he is still young. He will grow stronger."

She pauses.

"But Luci, what concerns me is not who you are sending. Do you truly understand how dangerous dungeons are? This is a genuine question. I am not questioning you or the other Custodians."

"If it’s money you’re worried about, I can help. A lot." The Baroness adds.

Lucien scoffs. "It’s not about that, Stella. You know that. We want our own income stream, you of all people should know that."

The Baroness sighs. She knows. She understands. Arcanus wants power. And power, without money, is nonsense.

"There’s another thing." Lucien adds.

"We believe Red and White are working together. We believed they’re going to send Jonathan’s apprentice, to the dungeon."

The Baroness frowns. She doesn’t remember Jonathan’s apprentice. She knows he has one, but she doesn’t remember.

"What about the Sentinel team? Do they already have one?" The Baroness asks.

"We believe so. So, we cannot come late to the party. We need to do this before them." Lucien says.

"Stel," he adds. "Help me find a good Sentinel team. The one where we can have a NDA clause."

The Baroness feels there is something is not right, but she cannot point out what. So, for now, she decides to just follow where the flow is going.

"Of course. I will try to find a good Sentinel team with NDA clause in their contract."

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"I understand, Teacher. And I am willing to do it. I’ve been wanting to use my power to do good. Clearing dungeons is a good place to start. I know several people we can hire for our Sentinel team. I believe we should have a team owned by Arcanus, not outsource it."

Ethan Barlett, Isabelle Crowley’s apprentice, is sitting in his office. He is one of the few people who chose not to work at the Library. Instead, he runs his own company.

He is a man in his mid-thirties, with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, standing at about 180 centimeters tall. He works as a security consultant for the military of the Kingdom of Aurenvale. Through his work, he knows many ex-military personnel who are currently looking for employment.

From the moment his teacher mentioned a Sentinel team, Ethan has already been thinking about forming one of his own.

Isabelle nods. "That’s good, Ethan. Arcanus needs to win this race. We cannot lose this opportunity. We need to enter dungeons and start claiming heartstones."

He nods in return. "I understand the urgency, and I agree. We must move quickly. I’ll try to find a team and possibly form it by the end of this week, or next week at the latest."

Isabelle smiles. "Thank you, Ethan. I know I can count on you."

"It’s me who should be thanking you, Teacher. If it weren’t for your magic, I would have lost my life on that mountain."

Ethan is not lying. He used to love hiking.

Once, he went hiking on a snowy mountain and got lost. He was almost frozen to death when Isabelle, who happened to own a cabin on that mountain, saved him using her fire magic.

At first, he did not believe his eyes. He thought he was hallucinating in his final moments. But it was real. A real human being was controlling fire, and that realization changed him.

From that day on, he became obsessed with magic. He was fortunate to have a magic resonance of his own, one that eventually led Isabelle to accept him as her apprentice.

Ethan ends the call.

He dials another number.

"Hey, Hawk. Good news. I have the approval. Operation Heartstone is a go. I repeat, Operation Heartstone is a go. Spread the word. Tell the others."

He ends the call.

A slow smile forms on his face.

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Theo is drinking cold water in the gym. He has just finished exercising and is about to leave when the door opens and Arthur walks in, already in his gym clothes.

"Hey. It’s rare to see you here," Theo says. "You don’t usually train here, right?"

Arthur smiles. "Yeah. I have a small gym in the office. It’s more than enough for me. I came here because I want to do HB."

"Ah, I see. You want to practice your magic in HB?" Theo asks, instantly interested. "Can the hologram handle that?" It has never crossed his mind before.

Arthur nods. "Julian certainly thinks so. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. To test it."

He pauses. "And there’s another matter."

He looks at Thea.

"Judging by how things are progressing, if we do this right, Rhaenas is going to be busy. And I don’t think you’d want to stay behind. You’d want to enter the dungeons with the rest of us."

"And I don’t blame you," Arthur adds. "Or I can stop you."

"You are part of Rhaenas. You are one of us."

Theo blinks once, then smiles. Ah. I know where this is going. He’s not wrong. I should have seen this coming. I’m actually surprised it didn’t come sooner.

Seeing Theo smile, Arthur smiles too. "I figured you’d understand. So let’s do it. I’ll start with a low-level dungeon, just to see if the Aegis can withstand our magic. Then we move on to higher difficulties. Okay?"

Theo nods.

I will kick your ass, Arthur.