James stopped looking around, having been somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of enchantments surrounding him, and focused on the older man.

"Good morning, sir," he greeted him respectfully, unsure as he was whether or not the man was a noble. "I don't have an appointment, but I was hoping to receive basic training on Enchanting."

The man nodded. "I see." He consulted a book on his lectern, flipping the pages until he found what he was looking for. "You're in luck, young man. There is a basic training course starting today that runs for two weeks. It costs twelve dollars, and for another six dollars on deposit you can access the reference library during those two weeks."

"Perfect," James replied, "I believe Steward Sebastian arranged an account yesterday in the name of the Aspirant Knight?"

Suero had been using the title frequently since receiving his minor boon from the Goddess Pacifica, and it was starting to catch on. Like almost everything the Knight did, it was polarizing and drew admiration and ire in nearly equal measure.

The doorman of the Enchanter's Guild showed neither; only calm, neutral professionalism.

"So he did. And you are…?"

"James, one of his retainers."

"I see. Very well, we can draw on that account. Although, do you have a Class suitable for Enchanting?"

"I, ah, would prefer not to discuss my Classes. But I will be able to Enchant, yes."

The man's eyes narrowed, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, showing a faint amusement for the first time since James had crossed the threshold. "Ah, I see you have some wisdom about you. It's a rare young man who has learned the value of holding his tongue. Still…" He reached into a shelf under the lectern. "For your own sake, I would at least confirm you have the mana to complete the basic course." He withdrew a metal rod, one that James hadn't seen since the day he learned about Enchanting from Meridox.

James thought a moment, whether or not he should submit to a test of his mana pool. He recalled that back then, the rod had glowed dimly but had reached nearly to the end, indicating he had a decent capacity to start but hadn't trained his mana pool.

His curiosity won out.

"Sure, okay," he agreed. The older man extended the rod, and James took it in hand, letting the rod draw on his mana pool. Unlike before, the rod filled all the way and shone brightly.

The doorman's eyebrows shot up. "Oh my," he exclaimed, and took the rod back, putting it away. "There certainly won't be a problem with your mana."

James, on the other hand, furrowed his brow. He was unsure whether the rod was the same as the one he had used before, and his mana pool had somehow grown, or the rod was meant to measure smaller mana pools and only his training had improved.

In truth, the measuring rod was calibrated for Mages and other magic-using Classes. With sixteen levels in his Enchanter Class, and nine levels in [Stubbornness] on top of that, James had already achieved mana control and capacity that matched the masters of the Mages and Enchanters of Cordova. Though this wasn't known to the doorman, either; the measuring rod he had used capped out at the expected mana capacity of a journeyman Enchanter.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself; I am Xavier. Allow me to show you up to the classroom."

Xavier guided James to the stairs on the right, and the maids waiting along the back wall bowed politely as they passed. The classroom had twenty individual desks with their own chairs arranged in rows of four, facing a lectern and a slate chalkboard. In the back was a tall cabinet with glass built into the doors, revealing shelves of books. Xavier drew James to the cabinet and did something with the enchantment—because like everything else, the cabinet was enchanted—that James didn't quite catch, and announced that James had been registered.

"But please do not allow others to take from the cabinet under your registration, nor fetch them materials from within."

James nodded his assent.

"Well, that's it, James. The course starts at one o'clock. You're welcome to remain here and make use of the reference materials, or to leave and return before the class starts. Please don't be late, and if you wish to eat or drink, please do it downstairs in the entry hall, rather than here in the classroom."

"Of course. Thanks, Xavier. I'll stay here and study, then."

"As you wish, James."

Xavier left the blonde young man to it and headed back down the stairs. The elder of the Enchanter's Guild rubbed his chin as he walked past the bowing maids and back to his post by the door. Of course, he didn't need to be there greeting everyone who came to visit the Guild. Today, though, he had been planning to take the measure of the boys and girls arriving who planned to take the basic course in Enchanting and join the Guild after completion. None would be nobles, naturally. Enchanting was seen as beneath the nobility, although occasionally a noble Mage would take it up as a hobby. But among the commoners, the upper echelons did regularly send their children to join, as it was as close to a guarantee of wealth and comfort as one could hope for.

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He certainly hadn't expected a retainer to sign up for the class, however, given that those sworn to service couldn't become members of the Guild anyway. And a foreigner, at that.

Although he supposed it wasn't that unusual. Just unexpected. When the Aspirant Knight's Steward had made his arrangements and deposit yesterday, he had been observing, and had expected the Knight to come in the next few days to commission enchanted weapons, perhaps even a full set of enchanted armor. The rumor seemed to be true, that the Knight had achieved some glory out on the frontier and received a hefty monetary reward. And Xavier still recalled several years ago, when the then young Knight had been disappointed that he couldn't afford enchanted weapons to compete effectively in the Tournament of Duels.

But now not only had he come into money, he also had a powerful Mage as a retainer.

This merited closer attention than previously thought. He made a note to himself to have the Guild gather more information on the Aspirant Knight and his retainers.

The rest of the morning passed as usual for the Guild. Clients came to request commissions, or introductions to the more exclusive semi-independent workshops. Enchanters visited to peruse the archives, the materials separated and restricted based on one's Guild rank. Merchants came to place bulk orders, pick up finished products, or deliver raw materials for enchanting: imbued ink, dyes, magic stones both crushed and raw, and substrates in bulk—cloth and paper being the most popular. The substrates were both cheap and versatile. Less common were the paints and canvases. Most rarely seen were the materials for stone and wood carving. As the years passed, fewer and fewer Enchanters took up the chisels, carving grand enchantments into the foundations of buildings and the city walls. The Royal Family was, essentially, the only remaining customer for such enchantments.

Thoughts on the day when the elders of the Guild passed and there was no one left to maintain the grand enchantments occupied his thoughts until lunchtime, when the new students started to trickle in. Most were from the upper ranks of the commoners; the children of wealthy shop owners, merchants, mages, or enchanters.

The first was a young man with red hair and freckles. His manners were passable, though his mana was on the lower end of acceptable. But he had already taken the Enchanter Class, so all they could do was train him up and put him to work.

The next was also a young man, with dark hair and a strong jawline. He recognized Xavier, and his manner was obsequious to the point of irritation. His mana pool was larger, but untrained. He volunteered that he had taken a Talisman Enchanter specialized Class, and had forgone a boost to Willpower to take Dexterity and Intelligence instead. He hoped to be a designer of enchantments. Though Xavier kept a straight face, he was disappointed. This young man would likely never reach the heights of the Guild unless he acquired a rare Skill that boosted his Willpower.

A very polite young brunette woman wearing glasses entered, with an average mana pool but clear signs of training. The rod glowed brightest for her, save for that foreign lad. When she gave her name, he recognized it. She was the daughter of an enchanter employed at that workshop.

There was a reason no metal goods were brought to or taken from the Enchanter's Guild.

Smiths were impossible to work with. Stubborn goats disguised as humans. And almost none of them had any magical sensitivity. It was bad enough that they often produced items to be enchanted with remnants of essence contamination. But they would argue about it, and getting them to recreate an item without essence often led to shouting. Worse still, because metal was so hard, it typically required enhanced strength to etch the enchantment patterns, which precluded the enchanter just doing it himself. Or, herself, he supposed. And if the smith botched the pattern? Which happened more often than not? Well, they certainly didn't just graciously acknowledge their mistake and correct it. Of course not. More arguing. Shouting.

And of course metal items were the most durable, and therefore most desired to be enchanted.

Many Enchanters in Cordova outright refused to work with Smiths, no matter how much money was offered. This girl's father was one of the rare few who made that his entire business, working for the Joint Workshop.

"Dear, how is your father doing? Is he well?" Xavier asked with genuine concern.

She nodded. "Yes, Master Xavier, he's doing fine. Thank you for asking."

"Excellent. Let him know I said he should show his face around the Guild more. We can have tea, he and I."

"He's quite busy, but I'm sure he'd make time for tea with you, Master Xavier. I'll let him know."

She smiled, bowed gracefully, and made her way upstairs.

It was nearly one o'clock when the final expected student arrived. There was an odd air about her, Xavier felt. Polite, but it felt forced, like she was used to being superior and unsure how to handle being in the inferior social position. Still, effort made up for her lack of grace.

She took the rod, and it lit up entirely, though dimly. There was some sign of training; not much, but her total mana pool was the second largest he'd seen this morning.

She thrust out her chest proudly and stood tall as she could as she made the rod light up. Her dark, nearly black eyes sparkled innocently, and she tossed her long, glossy black hair back as she preened.

Ah, that was it, Xavier thought to himself.

"Child," he said gently, "have you not had your Choosing day yet?"

"No, not yet, sir," she answered. "But it's only twelve days away. I'll be able to finish the course," she assured him.

"Hmmm," Xavier rubbed his chin as he looked down at the short young girl. "And you're certain you want to be an Enchanter?"

"Yes!—sir," she hastened to add. "I'm going to establish my own workshop under my father's company." She gave her father's name, and Xavier nodded in recognition. The Izguardia family ran the largest trading company in Iberteria, with branches in every large city and most of the towns. Their family head, this girl's father, was a single-generation baronet, as his father had been before him, and his father before him; their contributions to the Kingdom merited promotion to the nobility in each generation, but they lacked the accomplishments for promotion to hereditary nobility and the social connections to marry into a noble family. Still, they weren't a family to be trifled with, not when they controlled such large shares of so many markets and industries.

"I see. Yes, the Izguardia Trading Company has been a valued business partner of the Enchanter's Guild for many years. Do give your father Enchanter Xavier's regards. Perhaps we will have tea one of these days."

The girl nodded, and Xavier beckoned one of the maids over from the back wall. "Please escort Mistress Izguardia up to the classroom for the basic course."

He watched the girl as she went, striding confidently behind the maid. It was unusual to have an unclassed child take the course, but not as much as having a Knight's foreign retainer.

He began to regret passing on the opportunity to teach this season's basic enchanting course.

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