The next day, instead of hitting the books again right away, I took up the various weapons that I had enchanted and accompanied Kolia down into the city, the Serpentkin needing to purchase some different materials for herself as well as replenish her stock of empty notebooks and ink, not wanting to accrue a debt to the Empress or impose herself on the Royal Family; even after I asked if Arch Mages weren't eligible for the support of the woman who cultivated them, Kolia just shrugged and told me she wanted to be self sufficient as much as possible, even if she could have her materials paid for by the Empire.
Like she had mentioned before, the Serpentkin was rather prideful about her position and how she got to where she is, and a piece of that pride was that she had come from nothing.
