Prout took his leave with a cold expression, his eyes, which he tried to keep lowered, betraying humiliation and an ambition he refused to abandon.
Hilbert had not even intended to get up to see him out... The man had a rather thick skin. Give him an inch, and he would take a mile.
In that respect, he and Wester certainly lived up to being students of the same teacher.
How had Kament Tower, which had always presented such a cold and serious face, managed to produce students like these?
Normally, students were supposed to adopt their teacher's style!
Rute's students, for instance, were all domineering and somewhat protective of their own. When they needed help, they went to their own people first... And they understood the meaning of an exchange of interests very well. Of course, they were not entirely free of ulterior motives, but they generally would not leave the other party taking a loss.
How should he put it... They were closer to traditional mages in their outlook. Naturally, they would not factor in value the other party knew nothing about, but they would never propose a deal the other party knew would lose them money.
Snapping up a bargain and accepting a lavish gift were two different things... Nobody gave things away for nothing, unless they believed they could get something even greater out of you.
Besides, magic was their greatest pursuit in life. They would not let gains of little value tie their hands and feet.
Even if mages like that were not kindhearted, they understood that everything had a price, so they did at least have some limits.
Prout and Wester were rather different... And Prout was a little worse. With his shallow thinking, it was hardly surprising that he could not advance to