Horace set aside the last corrected document and looked up at Marika, who was stealthily reaching for the Stone Mallet beside the desk.
"Marika." His voice was flat.
Marika's hand froze, and she sheepishly withdrew it. "I, I was just looking..."
"Looking at what?" Horace stood and walked over to her.
"That 'Rolling Pin,' or that veil?"
Marika's eyes wandered. "B-both..."
Horace sighed.
He bent down, picked up the heavy Stone Mallet with one hand, and forcibly pulled the Mimic Veil from Marika's sleeve with the other.
"Give it back!" Marika reached out to snatch it.
Horace stepped back and tossed both items to Ordovis, the Crucible Knight beside them. "Keep these safe. Until she learns to study, she is not allowed to touch these toys!"
Holding the Stone Mallet and veil, Ordovis agonized between "obeying orders" and "offending the goddess."
"This is an order from the acting chancellor," Horace added.
Ordovis lowered his head in resignation. "...Yes."
Marika's eyes widened, her face plainly saying, "How dare you?"
"I'm a god! Gods don't need to learn mortal things!"
"A god?" Horace pulled a thick book from the nearby shelf and slammed it onto the desk in front of Marika with a bang.
"A god who can't even work out the price of her own dynasty's arrows?"
He pulled out another book, Arithmetic. "Two hundred and forty thousand?"
Then another, Administrative Management. "Approving documents based entirely on your mood?"
The three books made a stack half a foot tall, and Marika's face fell little by little.
"I..." She tried to argue.
"You what?" Horace cut her off.
"Starting today, you'll study history every morning, arithmetic every afternoon, and administrative case studies every evening. I'll test you periodically."
He walked to the door, then turned back to add, "Incidentally, I've placed 'Restraint'