Learin couldn't believe it. A moment ago he was proclaiming his charge to be his slave, then using that reasoning to... travel with him? The baffled scientist could feel his eyes dilating trying to comprehend the circumstances brought on by Sigrun. He leaves for a few hours, and now he's expected to take a pubescent boy with him on a journey to restore magic to humanity... or at least, at the moment, a select, pious few of the church. He shook his head briefly, trying to snap back into reality and try to sort out the situation rationally.<br/><br/>While the boy seems earnest enough, and overly eager to go to Neravas to the point of taking on a potentially more dangerous and longer trip just to have a bodyguard. Not to mention, it'd be downright heartless to deny someone who has no family to return to. This was a journey to deal with a spirit of fire, which is not exactly the kind of environment to make him feel any more secure than if he just stayed here. After all, does he really have nothing to gain here when he managed to afford an inn room? Maybe the blonde girl cut some sort of deal, considering how easily she "Conversed" with the inn keeper despite her lack of direct communication, they must be familiar with eachother.<br/><br/>That also begs the question; does he really exert the full control over Sigrun that he believes he does? He'd be willing to think his long association with the knight and her sister would bring him into higher standing on the list of "People to listen to." At the same time, though... Sigrun was Sigrun; if there's anything truer in the universe that he's come to learn over the years, it was that statement alone. Despite the boy's circumstances, the only reason this is happening right now is because of this slave business. Even so, the stakes aren't too high, and all he'd have to do is bring some extra baggage along too.<br/><br/>The tired man met the gaze of the boy's blue, idealistic eyes, "I can tell by the way you plead your case that you're a rational man. I'm sure you can assume that the basis of your case is that you believe to have complete domination over our purple-headed friend here. While I am not arguing that you're wrong, mayhaps we could have a sort of brief contest here; we'll each give an order that conflicts, and see which she takes priority in. If I win, then you stay, since the only stakes you hold are the knight's allegiance. And if you win, well, you get what you want. Sounds fair, doesn't it?"<br/><br/>Even though he was betting the entire life of a person here, it wasn't too big of a loss if he were to fail this competition. First, Sigrun was Sigrun, and second, the boy wishes to prove himself useful. However, having to deal with a third party in these matters certainly brings its own set of complications, and it'd be less trouble having less bodies to count. Not to mention, when he does return to Neravas, his apprentice will have a lot of reasons to chew him out over not taking her along upon seeing a young boy with him. Still, they were potentially trifling matters for a minor benefit, so it works itself out, no matter how the match ends.