Fiora dragged me through a garden on the hillside, away from the noise of the city.
In the center of the garden, the sunlight crowned a white wooden pavilion, contrasting vibrantly with the greenery growing around it.
Inside the vine-wrapped pavilion, three young women sat on delicate white chairs. As Fiora and I drew near, they all turned as one.
Their expressions varied. One wore a polite smile but did not hide her curiosity. Another was beaming brightly, interested in the newcomer Fiora had brought along.
The last one was slightly different however. Her eyes snapped up, dissecting me in three seconds flat before dismissing me and returning to her book.
"Ladies!"
Once inside, Fiora released my arm from her grasp before showing me like a prize on a TV show.
"I present the ever elusive, enigmatic, and yet renowned cousin, Idris. Better known to everyone as the Prince of Steel!"
She sat down grinning, enjoying the spotlight.
"Try not to dazzle him with your charms and beauty. Our Prince of Steel spends more time with books than actual people."
Once I had sat down next to her she began introducing them from left to right.
"Lady Elise, daughter of Duke Vance."
Looking like a prim and proper noble, she had blonde hair and green eyes. She wore an emerald green dress that matched her eyes.
"Our resident diplomat."
Her face barely changed as she always held a perfectly composed smile.
Moving her hand to the right, Fiora continued.
"Lady Isabelle, daughter of Count Hathfield."
A dark brown haired girl with wide sparkling eyes smiled widely at me with excitement.
"She's quite a romantic."
Isabelle's cheeks flushed slightly at the comment before Fiora moved on.
"And this is Lady Joan, daughter of Archmage Adkin."
She barely nodded before going back to her book. She had light brown hair put into a bun and sharp bronze glasses on her face.
"She's studying under the Imperial mages at the capital."
The maids present served me and Fiora drinks and plates. There was no need to bring food themselves as there was a stand with pastries in the center of the table.
"Prince of Steel... Such a martial title for a merchant. Odd, even if you do own a mercenary company wouldn't you say?"
Elise started the new conversation. I couldn't really tell if it was curiosity or an underhanded jab.
'This is going to be boring. Guess I'll start enchanting the ring now rather than when we get back.'
I began to cast my enchantment magic onto the ring. Though to them it must look like I'm fidgeting with it.
"My nickname didn't come from owning mercenaries. It came from my actions."
I calmly responded, occasionally changing my attention in between my ring and her.
Her face seemed a bit cold as she took a sip of tea, probably because I kept looking at my ring while talking to her.
"As most titles are, it's based on how people view me."
She set her cup down with a soft click.
"But why should you care about others' perceptions?"
Sensing a rising tension, Fiora intervened, slightly changing the question.
"Does a soldier's life hold more appeal to you Idris? Your presence outside of your company or family's halls is rather rare."
Isabelle perked up at the question.
This time I stopped fidgeting with the ring and fully looked at the three who were paying attention.
"Indeed, I find fighting thrilling. Often times I go to the company to spar with my men rather than handling ledgers. That work has been delegated after all."
Isabelle became excited after I answered, practically jumping out of her chair.
"You fight alongside your men!? I knew such a gallant title wasn't for naught!"
We all just stared at her. Her eyes were practically sparkling with fervor.
"A Prince! Like a storybook hero! Did your men give it to you?"
I just gave a simple nod and smiled at her question.
"They did. From what I've heard it was based on my first time meeting them. And they spread it through the merchants we contracted with."
Fiora laughed as I went back to fiddling with my new ring.
"Of course it came from when they met you! After talking with you all day, I can say you leave quite the impression. You say the most interesting things sometimes."
Fiora looked away from me to the three ladies, one of which was still nose down in her book.
"He calls his magic 'buffs' and 'debuffs' and talks about his 'stats'! Not to mention the weird questions you asked at the alchemist's shop. He didn't even recognize the regenerative potion!"
This time, at the mentioning of magic, Joan finally looked up from her book. Staring at me with an eyebrow raised, she stole a glance at me messing with my ring before going back to reading.
Elise continued her probing after a single breath of silence.
"Rumors say your company has had zero casualties. Do you only hire extremely skilled recruits or is it because you avoid skirmishes?"
Isabelle added to Elise's question, with a much friendlier tone of course.
"Do you have any scars from fighting?"
I huffed lightly before answering, still dividing my attention between them and my ring.
"My men only avoid fights when necessary. Not only are all mercenaries in my company tested rigorously, but most of them are veterans in some capacity."
Joan kept looking at my ring every now and then while reading.
"As for scars, I don't have any. Even though I don't go on caravan runs with my men, I have fought with actual weapons."
"...Besides, all of their equipment is enchanted. I highly doubt any brigand on the continent could hurt them."
The girls all went silent with widened eyes. Elise tried to mask her surprise. Joan's ears perked up while she was reading. Isabelle sat there with her jaw wide open.
The price of enchanting so much gear would be astronomical! Fiora would be shocked too if she hadn't learned I was the enchanter earlier today.
Maybe a noble could get a coat with an enchantment against cold weather. But a full unit's armory with military and combat type enchantments on each individual piece could likely only be done by the royal family or a small group of a duke's personal guards.
"What are you doing with that ring?"
As I kept enchanting my ring, Joan finally broke the silence.
'Did she notice my magic or is it just my fidgeting?'
I looked up and stared at her for a moment before answering. I had no reason to lie to npc's after all.
"I'm enchanting the ring."
This time it was her turn to be shocked. Her book fell onto the table and smacked shut as she sat there in stunned silence like the rest.
While Fiora was enjoying their reactions, Isabelle snapped out of it with regained curiosity.
"You're an enchanter? Did you enchant all your company's gear on your own?"
This also recaptured Elise's focus as she coughed lightly.
"That makes more sense. I was wondering how you could afford to enchant that much gear."
I stopped touching the ring and nodded.
"I'm primarily an enchanter. Though not in the traditional sense as I'm a battlemage."
I cast one of my toughness spells.
'Skin enhancement would be the most obvious. I'll do that.'
Holding up my left hand, I took a clean knife off the table and dragged it across my palm as it screeched.
"This is also the reason I don't have scars. I enhance my body during combat."
I showed the blade harmlessly gliding across my hand and how I didn't even get a scratch from the blade, let alone draw blood.
Joan finally came to after this, realizing I was a legitimate enchanter.
"Wait! This is impossible! How are you enchanting equipment without tools? You'd have to be extremely skilled to do that!"
"And how can you divert your attention while enchanting? All the enchanters I've met lock themselves in rooms for long times while working!"
I laughed and leaned back in my chair.
"Just upgrade your skill tree, duh."
They all stared at me with pure confusion.
Fiora tilted her head.
"What?"
I coughed heavily noticing four pairs of eyes locked onto me.
'I said that out loud...'
"I'm just extremely talented in the realization of spells. Thus it's efficient enough for me to not use tools."
'Can't exactly tell her I made these spells myself, or that I ripped them off my previous life...'
"I just can't believe this. Prove it!"
The ring pulsed warmly in my hand as I finished the last mana thread needed for the focus enchantment.
"Proof?"
I took the ring off my finger and slid it across the table toward Joan.
"Put it on."
She hesitated and looked at me skeptically.
"Why?"
"I've already finished one enchantment. Just put it on and you should notice the effects of the spell."
Joan snatched the ring off the table and slowly put it on her middle finger.
She froze, eyes widening behind her bronze spectacles.
I pointed at her book.
"Try reading."
Joan's finger trembled as she traced the text.
"Y-you embedded a cognition enchantment? During tea? How can I trust you?"
Fiora chimed in at this moment.
"Idris bought that not even an hour before we came here."
Isabelle leaned across the table.
"What does it feel like?"
Joan's breathing got slightly heavier.
"It's like someone poured cold water on you. All your thoughts stop and become clear."
Elise finally broke her diplomatic act. "You truly enchanted all your company gear yourself? Hundreds of pieces?"
I shrugged.
"I just template what each piece should have. It's less thinking. Tedious but efficient."
Joan's glasses slid down her nose as she pressed her fingers to her temples.
"Efficient? Battle enchantments require hours of concentrated focus! The Imperial Enchanters use silence spells and mana lenses the entire time!"
She pointed accusingly at my empty hands.
"You did this while talking and eating!"
Fiora giggled.
"Told you he's interesting!"
Joan ignored her, handing the ring back then pulling parchment from her book.
"An enchanter battlemage? But how? Anyone can use enchanted gear. Do you study combat magic too?"
Joan stared at my unmarked palm, then the glowing ring that was back on my finger.
I shook my head.
"Not like you're thinking. I don't use fireballs or lightning. I specialize in self-enhancement magic."
I brushed my hand along my arm while looking at her.
"I use my own body as the focus of enchantment. In other words, you become the magic weapon."
Joan scribbled frantically into her notes.
"But maintaining a body enchantment requires intense focus! How can you do that mid-combat!?"
"Muscle memory."
I tapped my head on the temple.
"I've engraved the spell patterns into my subconscious through thousands of repetitions."
Isabelle clasped her hands together.
"So awesome! Like a hero from the epics! He seems a mortal man until blades shatter on his skin!"
Joan stared at me with eyes like lasers.
"But how do you use many enhancements at the same time? Even breathing can be hard under intense pressure!"
I smiled while picking up the silver knife again.
"Excellent question!"
Without casting any spells, I dragged the knife across my arm this time. The blade screeched again, leaving only a silver shimmer that faded.
"Some of my spells affect the body itself, becoming passive. Basically meaning it's always running for a set duration before I need to recast it."
Joan was scribbling furiously, trying to write everything as if it would leave her head the very next second.
"This means I don't need to divert attention to them."
Joan looked at me very excitedly, like a kid in a toy store.
Elise leaned forward, no mask at all anymore, just curiosity.
"Why is this path rare? It seems immensely practical."
Turning my head to her, I held up three fingers.
"There are three main reasons."
I glanced at Joan. She was fully prepared to write everything I said.
"First off, it's more difficult to learn and use. Understanding how the body works and reacts to things is much harder than picturing a ball of fire."
"Secondly, battling is more dangerous. Not only do you have to train your attention through countless fights, but also, you're often times engaged in close combat no matter the opponent."
"Thirdly, people don't like the idea of changing your own body with magic."
After talking, Joan looked ready to pounce and kidnap me to learn more.
Fiora stole Joan's abandoned cake to change the conversation to something else.
"Enough magic! Idris has had enough interrogation and magic lectures for today. Elise I heard from the capital you-"
They talked for a few hours as I got lost in my thoughts before we headed home.
The carriage ride back with Fiora was rather short.
She talked nonstop about Joan's stunned expression while I rotated the humming ring on my finger.
After parting ways at the estate gates, I retreated to my room. Through the window I could smell the steel polish carried in the air from the training grounds.
*Knocking*
"Lord Idris."
I swung the door open gently to reveal the head butler. His aged white hair matched the color of his spotless gloves.
In them, a single parchment was balanced on his stretched-out palm, sealed with red wax bearing the family livery.
"His Grace asked me to give you this after your return."