"You mean..."
Leichir raised his head slightly, hesitation and surprise flickering across his face. "You... want to learn magic?"
"Yes."
Louis did not shy away from the question. Instead, he nodded.
For a moment, the expression on Leichir's face froze almost imperceptibly.
After all, this was not a question he could answer lightly.
Even an ordinary person hoping to enter the world of magic had to undergo multiple identity checks and aptitude assessments first.
And teaching magic to someone else, especially an outsider who was not from Magewood, was expressly forbidden.
The consequences were not something he could shoulder alone.
But he... could hardly refuse.
If not for the man before him, he would probably have been a cold corpse by now, with even his bones gnawed clean by wild beasts.
Besides, Louis must have expended considerable resources to save him. Leichir knew just how severe his injuries had been.
"Magic is no ordinary skill," Leichir began carefully, as though trying to give himself a way out. "It requires exceptional talent, mental perception far beyond that of ordinary people, and an affinity for the elements. Most people never cross that threshold."
"Then let's see whether I have the talent to learn magic first." Louis looked up at him earnestly, as though he had expected that response.
"..." Leichir suddenly felt a headache coming on.
He was actually serious.
But on further thought... testing for magical power was not particularly difficult.
Besides, someone with the necessary aptitude was rare even among tens of millions. Louis almost certainly had no talent for magic.
So, since Louis was so insistent, there was no harm in testing him.
Perhaps it was merely a passing fancy. Once nothing happened, the young noble would naturally give up.
Leichir had already prepared himself. There was a faint