Chapter 156 - 153 - Lunch Date
At that point, the history of House Sanchez extended back centuries. They had risen in much the same way that the Aspirant Knight intended to: their founding father was a Knight, and by valorous service to the Kingdom, he was promoted to Baronet. His son's efforts earned a promotion to Baron, and a grant of land on the Kingdom's border. Wise management of the land led to additional lands and more promotions, and in the time of the Smith, the patriarch of House Sanchez was a Marquess, and the head military planner for the Kingdom's armies.
What made House Sanchez a House was that many of the extended family members were themselves lesser nobility: many of the young men who wouldn't inherit lands or titles joined the Knights. Others won positions in the Kingdom's civil service, primitive though it was in those times.
Somebody had to manage the sewer system of Cordova. Somebody had to regulate the weights and measures.
Those who couldn't do that were employed within the Marquessate itself, which now covered much of the Iberterian coast facing the outer ocean.
The trouble was, House Sanchez had grown too large, too unwieldy for a single patriarch to manage everything himself: the lands, the family, and the official position in the military.
Ever faithful, Marquess Sanchez devoted himself to his military duties, trusting in his family to manage their own affairs.
All this to say that Marquess Sanchez was most likely unaware of the attempt on the Smith's life, and the petty harassment the Aspirant Knight was receiving due to a perceived slight to Knight Pablo Sanchez, the third son of a very minor branch family that lived in the capital exclusively and only produced enough Knights to avoid being disowned from House Sanchez entirely.
Reasonable inference suggests that the loss of his House's spymaster in the capital brought the issue to his attention.
It is said that when the Aspirant Knight received the report, neatly summarized by the Steward with draft legal filings already prepared, he simply sat, still wearing his armor, for a full hour processing what had happened in his absence.
Though only a Knight, a Knight was still among the ranks of nobility, and there were formalities designed to prevent disagreements from escalating into violence.
The full scope of the conflict between the Knight and House Sanchez is beyond the scope of the Legend, and indeed many of the details have been lost to history.
Suffice it to say, the Smith was confined to Headquarters for a time. The Aspirant Knight delegated much of his work to subordinates as his squadron swelled with additional members. Not just the Itinerant Baker, but the Illusion Breaker had also dropped contact. The Steward worked long hours, as well, collecting information and coordinating with allies, but his work was much the easier thanks to the Smith.
The Merchant's Guild was most upset their information had leaked, especially before they had a chance to profit from it themselves.
The Smithing Guild was appalled that their heroically productive pipe smith was assaulted on the streets, and threatened to deny Smithing services to House Sanchez, Kingdom-wide.
The Enchanter's Guild, ever influential with the Royal Family, was similarly enraged that one they would name Friend would be attacked, even if he was a Smith.
But it was the Izguardia Family that proved most aggressive on the Smith's behalf. Their daughter's savior and the man whom she allowed to court her had been viciously attacked in their territory. Where normally the spymaster would have been released into House Sanchez custody, Baronet Izguardia instead challenged the Marquess himself and kept the spymaster as a prisoner, defying noble rank hierarchy.
That the Izguardia Family was deeply involved in military logistics throughout the Kingdom, and was an important partner in military planning, played a large role in tying the Marquess' hands.
The Marquess, for his part, yielded as much as his House's dignity could allow.
Knight Pablo, no longer Sanchez, was disowned, as was his family that had been pushing for the House as a whole to harass the Aspirant Knight. Still a Knight himself, however, Pablo de Cordova de la Iberteria was dispatched on monster-slaying missions outside the city, to put some distance between him and the Aspirant Knight and his retainers.
But House Sanchez never admitted wrongdoing, and there was a tension between them and the Smith for a time.
A time the Smith spent enjoying himself quite thoroughly.
For you see, the Knight had arranged for the Smith to have his own private smithy and workshop, right there in the Knight's Order Headquarters. From the moment the dawn's rays alighted on the spire atop the Royal Castle, to the time the fading light of dusk left that same spire, he was permitted to smith to his heart's content. And outside that time, he was permitted to do as he liked so long as it didn't make too much noise.
Which meant Enchanting.
Though the materials were expensive, the Aspirant Knight was flush with cash, and he was highly motivated to develop his retainer as much as possible before his luck ran out.
It was unfortunate that the Smith could no longer venture out into the city, and visit the Smithing and Enchanter's guilds to speak with their experts, peruse their archives, and learn new techniques. But the ability to forge and enchant as he liked, to practice his craft, to experiment…
It was sublime.
And he had the most beautiful girl in the entire capital he was courting.
They exchanged letters daily, and the Aspirant Knight ensured that at least once a week a tea room was prepared for the Smith's use. Sadly, he was too busy to chaperone personally—at some point he would have to make the time for propriety's sake—but Isabella's family was accommodating and sent various family members to oversee their dates.
Isabella's mother was enchanted with his exotic blonde hair and blue eyes.
Isabella's cousin Grim intimidated the hell out of poor James, but disappointment turned to exasperation when James realized that Grim's sword, a katana, was Oversmithed, and begged Grim to let him examine the naked blade.
"Your suitor is a nerd," Grim had declared after they had left the Knight's Order. "It's hard to believe he survived an attack from four Sanchez men."
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Isabella had merely puffed out her chest with pride and smiled smugly. "He's certainly more than just his good looks!" she replied, nose in the air.
One day, attended by one of the Izguardia family maids, Isabella took an elegant sip of tea and asked matter-of-factly, "James, are you insane?"
James coughed, nearly spilling his own tea. "Isabella, w-what do you mean by that?"
"I went to the Joint Workshop, you know, to visit Raven and see about getting some knives to enchant."
James frowned. "And how does that make me insane?"
Isabella pursed her lips. "Perhaps insane is the wrong word. You're a Smith, no? Are you a stubborn goat? Are you one day going to put your foot down and refuse to see reason? I know you're certainly not blind." She flipped her hair, a move she knew always got a reaction from the blonde Smith, and sure enough, his eyes followed the curtain of silky black as it fell over her shoulder.
James leaned forward and took the hand she had deliberately left on the table into his own large, calloused, strong hands. "My dear Enchantress, what have those boorish Smiths done to upset you? I have half a mind to storm down to that workshop and demand restitution!" he bluffed emptily, both of them knowing that it wasn't safe for him to leave Headquarters.
Isabella was still mightily pleased to hear him say it, though.
It was all the Maid could do to keep a straight face as Isabella launched into a minor tirade about her attempt to commission knives from the Joint Workshop. Isabella, being both a Knifewielder and an Enchanter, was inordinately picky about her knives and had frankly demanded the impossible.
Maid Class Skill [Professional Poise] has reached level 9.
"Oh my sweet, sweet Isabella, speak no more of this, and do not think less of our dear friend Raven. How could you go to the Joint Workshop for your knives, when you have a capable Smith devoted to you right here? Tell me, what exactly did you intend to enchant your knives with…"
The conversation rapidly shifted from flirting to a commission order, and from there into shop talk between Enchanters.
James had still not told Isabella he was an Enchanter. She believed him to be some kind of mage, and graciously didn't pry into his second Class, especially given how he had been attacked.
Though he might be able to enchant Basic level designs, and he had some tricks to power those up beyond what was considered normal, she didn't ask him to enchant the knives she wanted, packed with Advanced level designs, and even multiple Advanced enchantments on the same knife. She insisted she was more than capable of performing the enchantments herself.
All too soon, their time came to an end, signaled by a polite murmur from the Maid.
"Have I proven my sanity to you, my lady?" James asked, and Isabella turned her head up and away.
"Hmph, I suppose so, good sir, though I will withhold my judgment until I see the finished knives," she challenged.
"I shall strive to meet your exacting standards," James smirked confidently. He was secretly excited to see how far he could push the designs, though he also wondered if Isabella really could perform the enchantments herself.
Isabella grinned back, but then her face fell.
"What's wrong?" James asked, now serious.
"Visiting you here is nice and all, but I have this new dress, and I wanted to wear it down to Puco Rancero. My father managed to get a reservation there next week, but…" Isabella pouted cutely, intentionally tugging on James' heartstrings.
James couldn't resist.
"I'll talk to my lord and see if it can be arranged." Perhaps things had settled down enough for him to venture out once more. He had improved his armor yet again, most notably in how stylish it looked. Several of the pieces had rated a 'Very High' quality rating, and he was planning to work his tools up to that level and start to attempt Masterworks.
"Do let me know as soon as possible." Isabella performed an elegant curtsy, and James bowed formally. She wondered when her own Dexterity would finally overtake his, given that she had a double boost, and Mages tended not to have any Dexterity boost at all.
The next morning, the Knight and his retainers met in the gymnasium, and to James' surprise, the Knight agreed.
"Things have mostly settled with House Sanchez," he said as he prepared for his next exercise.
"Indeed," the Steward said while spotting the Knight, "I've identified all their assets and allies within Cordova, and Puco Rancero takes the security of their guests very seriously."
"If this goes well," the Knight paused while he lifted the weights, and continued only when the bar was back on the rack, "we can probably allow you to start visiting the Guilds again."
James was excited to hear that. Isabella would bring him books from the Enchanter's Guild, and they would study them together, but Melinda had promised to let him visit the archives that were more restricted than those to which Isabella had access.
So the Smith wrote a letter to the Enchantress, accepting the invitation to Puco Rancero.
On that day he set out wearing his nicest clothes and fanciest armor set to date. His vitals were covered with subtle armor worn underneath the clothes, of the finest steel he had produced yet and enchanted with [Advanced Solidity] tiled to an absurd degree. It should be proof against the sharpest and heaviest blows alike. On his extremities he wore almost decorative pieces enchanted against magic. He hadn't yet mastered [Magic Absorption], nor designed an appropriate magic storage or dispersion device, but the advanced level [Magic Nullification] would surely be enough. As was his habit, he had an anklet of [Ice Resistance], and he had crafted matching amulets of [Safety], a design of his own creation. An offshoot of the all-purpose basic level [Protection] enchantment, which was considered too weak for actual combat, [Safety] was designed with the Smithing Guild's ridiculously hot smelter in mind, to augment the safety equipment they already used. It provided less protection against physical attacks and more protection against environmental hazards. And, as always, the Smith wore his leather toolbelt with several hammers and other items.
Over this he wore a finely tailored doublet, disguising the armor underneath, and breeches, and fine leather shoes enchanted for comfort and protection in equal measure.
The circlet that adorned his head was also enchanted with [Magic Nullification], leaving his styled blonde hair visible.
He met Isabella and Maya, her chaperone for the evening, at the gate to the Knight's Order, and her dress nearly bowled him over it was so stunning. The strapless dress hugged her curves, decorated with fine embroidery that James recognized as disguising various enchantments, mainly for comfort, and the stylistic embellishments skillfully disguised sheathes for hidden knives, only spotted because he could sense the enchantments on them.
He didn't fool himself into thinking he had identified all the knives, of course.
Isabella was perhaps even more skilled as a Knifewielder than she was as an Enchanter, though he would never say that to her face.
Her hair was styled up with a comb, revealing the nape of her neck, and the comb was enchanted, James recognized, with an unusual enchantment of [Solar Protection], a derivative element of Light and Fire, which would protect Isabella's fair skin from the rays of the hot summer sun even without her parasol.
She was absolutely gorgeous.
The Smith escorted the Enchantress to the restaurant, one of the finest in Cordova, and therefore all Iberteria, and they made it to their table as though it were a dream, and nothing could possibly go wrong.
Everything was perfect, right up until the moment Isabella's eyes widened and she pointed to a corner of the room.
"James, that's Marquess Sanchez, sitting right over there!" she whispered.