She wouldn’t guess right here and now, but Aldric wanted to see how her thought process worked. She was on the right track, but he wasn’t going to just tell her the answer. It turned out not to be necessary, however.

“Maybe... maybe earth is related to wood. Would the wooden desk react to an earth rune like that and change its physical properties? In one of our village elder’s book collections, there was something about trees dying and returning to the earth. Why would that make it burn more, though? Is it like charcoal? And what does the wind rune have to do with anything?”

Well, that was a lot more insight than Aldric had expected. He could practically see the smoke coming out of the girl’s ears as she contemplated the answer. Deciding to cut her off here before she set her brain aflame, he said, “Consider that your homework. I want to see if you can figure it out on your own.” At her crestfallen expression, he added, “We can go over it later if you still have questions.”

“If I’m even still here tomorrow,” he thought bitterly.

“Yes, Professor. Thank you!” Nadrina beamed brightly at him before bolting from the room, no doubt to do exactly as he said. He imagined she’d keep herself up all night, pondering.

Aldric once again found himself alone in his office, left with only his thoughts. That had been... kind of nice, actually. He’d assumed, perhaps unfairly, that this school would be full of stuck-up nobles, like that Caffaret brat. He was sure there would be more just like him, but seeing someone so excited to learn something new was refreshing.

The memories her earlier declaration had dredged up were still floating around in his head, not as bitter or painful to recall as they had been previously. Aldric looked at the staff case still in the room's corner. Even with the case closed, the image of the staff he’d slaved over for months would forever be burned into his mind’s eye. Almost as much as its owner’s visage was.

Even now, he could imagine those bright violet eyes peering at him, seeming to reach right into his soul. He could also see her quiet and delicate frown. It always did more to tell him he was being an ass than any combination of words ever could. He could never ignore her. As long as she was the one asking, he’d always do it. Right now, he felt she was asking him to be a better person.