"You’re the survivor from the Negara's invasion of Olga Federation… I’ve heard that much."

He jumps in with a single sentence. Certainly, he isn’t the type to beat around the bush. Still, how much subtext is he employing here?

Keep my guard up.

Fixing my cap firmly on my head, I answer. What is going through his mind? How much did he know?

"While I couldn’t make an official statement as a noble of the Ferelden, I want to apologize. We are sorry for what happened there."

As soon as he said that, I feel one of the walls in my heart crumble. This man is the ruler of Abram. Womanizer, and cunning schemer. If I don’t know that, I could have been truly grateful for his apology.

"Please, there’s no need…"

I don’t know how to respond. It isn’t that he is argumentative or intimidating. I just am not my usual self. In contrast to how I feel peaceful whenever I talked to other higher-up, I am on edge with this man. Still, the conversation continues and subjects changes. Perhaps the feeling that I couldn’t get a word in edge’s wise stemmed from Lubreo’s particular charisma.

"Then, it was for my own sake. Feel free to ignore me. Beside, that wasn’t my only reason for coming here."

"Reason…?"

Lubreo switches the topic in a flash. I couldn’t grasp his rhythm. Despite the sorceress and Lyla also in my presence, I couldn’t divide any of my attention to them. He isn’t using magic or anything. It is just unsettling. His negotiation tactics are very different from Albert Gustav, Mayor Bobby, or Lim Goh Tong.

"It’s nothing out of the ordinary. Hiro, the immigrant… Hiro, the Merchant. I came here for business."

***

"Lyla has told me that you sell unique household items here."

I have no arguments there.

"Also you import equipments and enchant them." 

"And the prices are not expensive for commoners."

I was the one who asked Lyla to advertise my shop in the first place, so it wlis natural that he knows this much.

"…Thank you. I’m doing all right, thanks to your beautiful city. …Oh, excuse me a moment. Mirai, would you mind putting the kettle on in the back?"

I turn around to talk to Mirai. I had to break the conversation for just a second. The fact that I hadn’t taken back the reigns yet was driving me nuts… And that’s when I realized that I really wanted to control the conversation. While I had anticipated to be on the submissive without making the first move, it stung to have that self-realization in the middle of it.

these gauntlets are surprisingly light…"

"They’re enchanted that way. Maybe thirty percent lighter than a non-enchanted version. It also protects it from rust a little bit, but that’s a miniscule effect."

"Any magic enchanting this pot?'

"A trace of protection for fire on the inside. …Ordinarily, that kind of spell would be used as a shield for flames, but in this case, it prevents burnt residue from… "

"Ah…! I never would have guessed. Then, what about…"

He hurls one question after another in rapid succession. Since Selene enchanted them all herself, it naturally wasn’t hard for me to answer all of the questions on the spot, but he still don’t give me enough time to collect my thought.

In any case, he’s acting…

"Now, excuse my candor… But, Hiro. Don’t you want to make some money?"

"What? Well, I make a reasonable profit already…"

"You really are… Sure, these may not be top tier per se, but your ability to handle and manage all the variety of enchanted equipments here is extraordinary. Seriously. The magical sword I bought at the capital may cut better than yours, but it’s price tag had two more zeros than yours."

Lubreo is evidently excited. His diction is much more casual, and he now address me with newfound familiarity. I look over to see the sorceress exasperated and Lyla dumbfounded.

Could this be the lord of House Lambert, in his true nature?

"Hiro, can you mass-produce these? How long would it take to mass-produce a certain amount of lightened weapons? Do you have a wagon with an increased load? Why don’t I sell my enchanted sword and use that money to distribute the weapons from this shop to my more experienced soldiers and knights!?"

"Master Lubreo. Please calm down, now."

The sorceress finally speaks, which returns Lubreo to his self again.

"Woah. …Sorry about that, Hiro. Seeing your line-up and price tags got me all excited by myself."

There is a brush of excitement lingering in his tone, but it returns to normal. With it comes his intimidating presence. His emotions switch on and off at the drop of a hat. I discover that his philosophy on war is akin to mine. Growing a mass of soldiers rather than a single hero. Solidifying an army rather than waiting for a hero to be born. If we both employ similar tactics, the side with the critical mass would prevail. Devastating.

"Allow me to rephrase, with some formality. If we can reach a deal, I would be happy to have you in charge of arming the Lambert soldiers."

What the…!?

"Master, that seems awfully rash…"

"Lyla, it’s not your job to make that call."

Even Lyla seems bamboozled, resulting in the sorceress’s reprimand.

"Of course, it would be difficult to have everything ready immediately…"

I am not lying there.

"Hmm. For example, how long would it take you to prepare a set of lightweight bronze armor, a helmet, a spear, and a round shield each for ten soldiers?"

He immediately digs in with specificity. I assume that he doesn’t ask for the price because he either doesn’t care how much it would cost, or he is concerned that my timeline would change if he has given a budget.

"This isn’t the type of order where I could work faster if I charged you more. And, well, it would take me a while to get the materials as well… They would take a month to a month and a half, total."

In reality, I could easily pick somethings out from my stock, and enchanting that amount of product with the same spell would barely take us half of that. Still, it is possible that I need to order something, and I couldn’t give this my full attention while I have to fulfill the orders I had received through Lim Company.

"…How long if you prioritized it over your orders from Lim Company?"

"…In that case, they’ll be done within the month."

This is when he let me know that he has gained information from Lim Company. What is he after?

"That confirms it. It’s you, isn’t it? Hiro."

"You are the enchanter of all the items in your shop, aren’t you?" He interrogates me but I must hide Selene, the elven girl existence at all cost.

"…I concede. No one has figured that much out before."

I couldn’t deny the rush of relief I felt. This much, I don’t mind them knowing.

"It’s pretty much self-taught, and I’ve never even been to the academy. But it’s true that I can use Enchanting magic."

"Wherever did you learn it?"

For the first time, the sorceress spoke to me. She doesn’t even try to meet my eyes, and I am glad for it. I turn to her slightly, and averted her eyes naturally as I counter,

"Madam, you are..."

"...." She refused to give out her name.

"Soraya Zoen." Lubreo answers on behalf of her.

"Masteeeer."

So, the sorceress is Soraya Zoen. Nice.

I bluff,

"My mother, may she rest in peace, was a travelling magician. I never knew my father. I never had the talent for fireballs or that kind of magic, but I was able to enchant things with a little bit of magic."

I was lying, of course, but they wouldn’t have any way to verify that. My mother wasn’t from this world, and I was from another universe.

"…That’s how I made a living after leaving my home in Federation."

They have no way of researching anything on me.

Sure, I had my guard down after surviving that interrogation. But I made an inexcusable mistake. Lubreo was not my only enemy here. And judging from this back-and-forth, Lubreo was intentionally pressuring me down to draw my full attention to him. It was just a little trick of the trade. He baited himself, in a sense, in order for me to… Forget that Soraya is there.

When I turn to her, I see Soraya’s face with her eyes glowing red.

…Without any guards up, I look directly at Soraya and her Eyes.