Reborn As Noble

Javier glanced at Garius in confusion but kept his expression calm.

”No... esteemed Father. I don’t have anything to share.”

Garius smirked. ”Really?”

Javier grew more confused and followed Garius’s gaze, noticing that his father was looking at the device Aelius was using. The mana phone.

”Yes, honey bun~” Francesca smiled, resting her chin on her palm as she glanced at Javier gracefully. ”I believe you have something you might want to share with us~”

”Ah...” Javier’s eyes widened slightly as he realized what they were hinting at.

Marcellus, who sat next to him, nudged him gently. ”Now, now, little brother. I believe this is a good time for you to share with us that device Aelius has been using.”

Cedric rubbed his chin with a smirk. ”Indeed. With the upcoming busy duties for us, that will help us stay connected and coordinate more efficiently.”

Heres just smiled and nodded. ”I also believe this will benefit us greatly, especially when we’re stationed in different areas.”

Garius smirked and glanced at Aelius, who was smiling at the screen of his mana phone, where Athine was on a video call with him, before turning his gaze back to Javier.

Javier exhaled and snapped his fingers, opening his dimensional storage. A sleek metal box with a modern, glowing RGB stripe materialized in front of him. He placed his palm on the box, and it opened with a soft, mechanical hum.

He then took out his mana personal computer, a device resembling a sleek, glowing laptop, and placed it on the table.

He glanced around, seeing his father leaning back in his chair, while his mother Francesca smiled sweetly at him, along with all his stepmothers.

He exhaled softly and shook his head. ”Fine... I’ll set it up now.”

Javier silently counted the people in the room with his eyes.

Marcellus stood and peered into the box. ”Oh, that one looks cool. I want that color, and make it the same for Lithia and Harny.”

Cedric rushed to Javier’s other side. ”I want that color, too, and the same for my wives, Meira and Zania.”

Javier exhaled and slowly typed on the keyboard while connecting the device. ”I’ll set it up specially for everyone. Just relax and wait a moment.” He glanced up at Marcellus and Cedric. ”You all can stay connected with your wives with just a mana talkie.”

He looked at Heres, who smiled. ”And we have the command center and mana talkies to contact anyone who has them. Communication isn’t even a problem for us, and distance isn’t an issue since we have our best Pekko that can reach Gaze City from here in under thirty minutes at full speed.”

Marcellus grinned. ”Yeah, but this one is different, right? We can see each other, like...” He glanced at Aelius, who was still smiling as Athine talked to him on the video call. ”And we can take pictures and videos with it, too? Just like the mana cams you made before, but for personal use~”

Javier looked at Aelius. ”Yeah... this mana phone isn’t limited to voice calls only. And with the new application I’m about to update, you can also send messages, share images, and even video chat in groups.”

Garius smirked and signaled toward Erinette to call the maids to serve some snacks before glancing at Javier. ”Very well... take your time setting it up. We’re in no rush.”

Hours later.

Javier stepped out with heavy steps, both hands tucked into his pockets.

Man... it’s tiring to teach everyone how to use it.

Especially with Mother insisting on setting the caller ringtone for each of Father’s wives using their own voices and personalized messages.

Setting up their contact profiles, creating a family group inside the new chat application...

And Lithia, Harny, Meira, and Zania were called into the room so they could learn how to use it, too.

Couldn’t believe I had to teach all of them for nearly two hours.

Javier exhaled and kept walking, hands still in his pockets.

Alf and Erinette both got theirs, too. Gilmon and his wife, Rasdingen and his wife...

Javier chuckled and smirked.

Heh... couldn’t believe Uncle Hesbeirn was sweating nervously when he received his, along with one for his wife.

Ehehehe... I’m sure he’ll be nagged in a video call if he gets drunk again.

I already have five new model mana phones ready for all my future wives.

And since my family already has theirs, along with Father’s most trusted aides, I believe it’s time for my wives to get theirs, too.

Javier reached his room and opened it, stepping inside.

He noticed everyone wasn’t there.

Hmm? Wonder where they are?

Should I use my mana tracking skill to find them?

Nah...

Perhaps they’re at my personal workshop or checking on the Pekko.

Guess I’ll go there.

Javier stepped out of the room and walked through the hallway toward the main door.

He glanced around and smiled as the household maids paused their work and gave him graceful bows as he passed.

His thoughts drifted back to the earlier discussion.

About the upcoming civil war.

That means more refugees than we’ve ever handled before, even more than the Arjam refugee crisis before we used military intervention and absorbed the land.

With our treasury, money and cost aren’t the main problem.

The problem is... the logistics, the strain on resources, the risk of disease spreading in crowded refugee camps, and the social tension between locals and newcomers.

When a civil war breaks out, Armand, Arjam, the Beastkin Nation, and other neutral nations become safe havens. But refugees bring not just hunger and desperation, they bring rumors, spies, hidden loyalties, and sometimes even violence. Managing them without sparking conflict within our own borders... that’s the real challenge.

And military intervention won’t work well. The Human Kingdom isn’t like Arjam. It’s a fractured network of powerful nobles, each controlling their own regions with their own armies and agendas.

With Kimar ruling the Human Kingdom now, the kingdom is beyond saving from the outside. Military intervention would be costly, messy, and likely ineffective, corruption runs deep, loyalties are fickle, and trying to occupy such a vast, divided territory would drain our resources and morale.

Sigh.

No wonder in the plan, Father never mentioned conquering the land, even though that might seem like the quickest solution. Conquer and rule.

Perhaps because it’s a pain in the ass to handle. Conquering is one thing, but governing a broken, resentful population divided by decades of noble infighting? Rebuilding an economy from scratch, rooting out corruption, managing displaced nobles and their private armies...

It’s not a war you win on the battlefield. It’s a war you fight in council rooms, treasury ledgers, and the hearts of the people. And right now, we don’t have the need to take on that burden, especially when its people are fractured and its leaders are either incompetent or corrupt.

( End Of Chapter )