Reparation

Poor and naïve Lilith felt her mind spinning. To her, this young noble was terrifying; he had extorted all her wealth... but she had to admit her fault. Lilith never considered using magic to take back Juju. Her upbringing taught her to adhere to fairness and kindness and to treat others well. Being a simple girl who rarely ventured outside, she found it hard to harbor any malicious thoughts.

Thus, she obediently handed over all her possessions, unaware that a single spell could have solved her problem.

This young noble was truly frightening earlier. But in an instant, he expressed such genuine admiration and relentless pursuit of magical knowledge... His words seemed so sincere, and his demeanor and tone were so earnest.

And he even said he wouldn't hold a grudge over being scared by the creature. Oh, God, what a magnanimous person... The overly naïve young wizard immediately forgot about being extorted out of all her possessions. She stammered, "Th-th-thank you for your ki-ki-kindness."

"No, no, I'm not finished yet." Freyr sighed. "Unfortunately, what I have always prayed for is to meet a powerful wizard who could give some guidance to a lost lamb like me on the path of magic... Now, I have finally met you. I wonder if you, kind wizard, would be willing to provide a little guidance to someone who sincerely wishes to learn magic?"

"...Huh?" The young wizard felt something was off, but looking at Freyr's sincere eyes, she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

Oh, what a kind and lovely person! And her teacher's pet had scared him earlier... That was her fault, too. But...

"You-you-you want to learn ma-magic, but I-I-I need to take Juju back... I'm afraid..."

"No, no, you misunderstand." Freyr smiled, his expression even more sincere, his eyes full of passion. "I know that a Great Wizard's time is more precious than gold. Your valuable time should be spent studying the mysteries of magic, not wasted on someone as mundane as me. So, I don't ask for much, just a little guidance. You see, I already have a wizard as my advisor. Though his abilities are limited, he can answer most of my questions. What I need now is some more 'advanced' knowledge, such as..." Freyr's eyes twinkled with a sly smile, "a few higher-level magic spells."

Ryan was stunned! He never expected Freyr's appetite to be so big! If magical materials were a wizard's wealth... then magic spells were their very lifeblood!

Every wizard spends their life studying magic spells, and they would never casually teach their hard-earned spells to anyone!

Any magic book in the Empire only records basic magical knowledge and never a single spell! Every magic spell, no matter how basic, can only be taught directly from wizard to apprentice!

An advanced wizard is more powerful than a lower-level wizard not only because of their magical power and sensitivity... but most importantly, because of their mastery of advanced magic spells!

Even the same spell would have subtle and crucial differences when cast by a lower-level wizard compared to an advanced one! An advanced wizard could streamline the spell, eliminating unnecessary words to cast it faster, gaining an advantage in battle.

And then there are the advanced spells that lower-level wizards have not mastered. Someone like Ryan only knew a few of the most basic spells. To learn advanced magic, he would have to apprentice under a senior wizard.

But Freyr's appetite was so big that he wanted magic spells from this girl!! These were secrets wizards would never share.

Even though the girl was overly naïve, she wasn't a fool... Otherwise, how could she have reached the level of an eighth-level wizard?

Hearing Freyr's request, the simple-minded Lilith's face turned pale, and she shook her head vigorously, "No-no-no-no way. My-my-my teacher said, spells can't-can't be shared with-with others!"

"But this Terror Mirage, it's your teacher's pet, right? Your teacher must have also told you not to let it out, didn't he?" Freyr's expression was now like a villain luring a child into mischief.

"..." The young wizard was speechless.

"Am I right? Your teacher must have told you to take good care of this creature, but you still let it out. Your teacher must have told you not to let it run free, and you disobeyed that too. Now, I am merely asking for a tiny favor... and it's in return for capturing this creature for you... You saw how much trouble we went through to catch it. I was also greatly frightened. Now, to make up for your previous mistakes, shouldn't you compensate me?"

Even though Lilith was a genius, it seemed her genius was limited to her magical talent. In other areas, she was evidently quite lacking. Freyr's logic and reasoning nearly made her dizzy.

She was caught between fulfilling her teacher's order to care for the pet and the command not to share spells... After much internal struggle, she finally started crying.

The simple girl began to cry again, tears streaming down her face, "Al-alright... but-but I can only teach-teach you one-one spell."

"Oh, you mean one spell." Freyr said while quickly raising his fingers, "Oh, let me count, that's four spells, right?"

"No-no-no! It's not four, it's one-one-one..."

She got more and more flustered, unable to get past the "one" syllable, while Freyr kept raising a finger each time she stuttered "one."

Finally, Lilith was so anxious she nearly bit her tongue. Seeing Freyr with all ten fingers raised, about to start counting his toes, she shouted, "Stop-stop-stop!!"

Seeing her adorable flushed face, Freyr didn't dare push her too far. After some bargaining, they settled on six spells.

Despite arguing vehemently, the young wizard was at a disadvantage... she wasn't eloquent, had a simple mind, and stuttered. How could she possibly win a verbal battle against Freyr?

Under the circumstances, the young wizard could only wipe her tears in secret.

Oh, respected teacher, please forgive poor Lilith for disobeying your order... I did it to retrieve your beloved pet. In trying to fulfill your first command, I had to break the second one... Is this right or wrong?