'Swish swish~~ swish swish~~'

Rosen lay on the floor, a large rag in his hand, diligently cleaning the water stains on the wooden floor.

Whenever the rag absorbed too much water, he would wring it forcefully into the worm-eaten bucket beside him that looked ready to fall apart.

Not far away, Selandris sat in an armchair, dabbing medicine water on the scraped elbow with care. This young and beautiful sorceress seemed to have no concept of shame, disregarding the winter chill with not a thread on her body, exposing snowy white skin to the air.

"Starting today, no, from this moment, you are my magic apprentice.

"But before formal lessons, we must clarify our respective duties and rights. Do you agree on this point?"

'Splash splash~~'

After forcefully wringing out the dirty water and wiping sweat from his forehead with his elbow, Rosen continued to focus on scrubbing the floor.

"I agree."

"Very good."

Because the wound on her elbow was scraped quite deeply by the wood splinters, Selandris' willow leaf-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, but this did not affect her discussion of important matters at all.

"As the magic mentor, I have two duties."

"First, impart correct and safe magic knowledge to you, and introduce you to all the common sense a formal mage should know, guiding you to become a qualified formal mage."

"However, considering obtaining formal mage qualifications requires paying a large sum of crowns, and your mentor I am destitute, and you do not seem wealthy either."

"So to be precise, it is to make you a non-formal mage with equal capabilities as a formal mage."

This was a bit convoluted, but Rosen naturally understood and felt quite happy internally.

"After all this trouble, I've finally found a guide."

By this time, the water near the bathtub had basically been wiped up, but it had flowed everywhere, especially under the wooden office desk, where a large puddle still remained.

He followed the water stains and wiped along, but was blocked by the armchair legs.

Staring at the slender calves less than half a meter away, he suppressed the urge to look up and peek, reminding softly: "Mentor, you're blocking my way."

"Blocking you? No, not at all."

Selandris bent down and pinched Rosen's chin, raising his face up.

"My dear apprentice, I must remind you, the mentor never makes way for the apprentice, only the apprentice makes way for the mentor."

Rosen took one glance and felt his mouth go dry. He immediately struggled free from her fingers, lowering his head to look at the floor: "I understand, mentor."

His body was small and thin, so he simply crouched down and crawled between the chair legs, striving to wipe up the accumulated water under the desk.

He did not know what mischievous urge drove Selandris, but she actually raised her foot and lightly stepped on his back.

"Mm~ Indeed, nothing beats the feel of a human rug, so soft and warm for the feet, really great."

Rosen was truly resigned to the temperament of this mad sorceress. He could not help but curse internally: "Just you wait until I surpass you, I'll surely slap your cheeks hard!"

But his greatest virtue was patience. As long as it did not concern his core interest of survival, he could endure anything.

As for personal dignity and the like, it was nothing more than a term representing power. He had little power now, so naturally he need not consider dignity too much.

Moreover, even if others saw this, they would not mock a 15-year old boy for lacking dignity, only think Selandris, as an adult, did not know decorum.

Therefore, enduring Selandris' feet, he continued wiping the floor.

"Oh, I nearly forgot the main topic."

Selandris simply placed both feet on Rosen's back.

She must have been driven by some mischievous urge, not just stepping on his clothes, but reaching inside to caress his back skin with her toes.

"My second duty is to protect your life, safety and dignity, ensuring no one humiliates you. Of course, excluding your mentor."

She paused, then smiled: "To be precise, this isn't humiliating you, but some necessary physical interaction during establishing an intimate bond between mentor and apprentice."

Rosen felt uncomfortable about such actions, and also somewhat afraid.

Because the other party's behavior had already exceeded the norms of ordinary people.

And an unpredictable mid-level sorceress was very dangerous.

He certainly hoped that the story 'Young Apprentice Meets Accidental Gruesome Death at Mentor's Hands' would not spread through the streets and alleys of Silvermoon City tomorrow.

'Xiaobole ah Xiaobole, I feel you've deceived me again.'

He felt some resistance should be shown, lest the other party take more liberties.

"Mentor, while you have a pair of beautiful and tender feet, your apprentice is only 15 years old and truly cannot withstand your ardent affections."

The small feet caressing Rosen's back stilled, just as Rosen was feeling anxious and worried about unpredictable accidents, the sorceress' slightly regretful voice sounded from above his head.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Oh, alright, I'll spare you this time, seeing how hard you're working."

Selandris removed her feet, and the entire armchair floated to the side of the wooden bed.

This action made Rosen secretly relax.

'Thank goodness, not the kind who enjoys oppression through power, even if conduct is eccentric.'

If it was someone tyrannical like Celest, he would have considered changing mentors.

The sorceress' voice once again sounded from overhead.

"After duties come rights."

"I have a total of three, pay close attention and listen carefully, then carry them out meticulously in the days to come."

"If you fail to execute them satisfactorily, leading to infringement of my rights, then I would have no choice but discount my duties as well."

Rosen could not fully restrain himself and subtly retorted: "Mentor, you speak so candidly, I will surely pay utmost attention and listen closely."

"Candor is a virtue, avoiding unrealistic hopes, hence no disappointment when hopes go unfulfilled, naturally no illusory anger either."

As she spoke, she turned her head to glance at the floor, praising: "You've done quite well, my floor has never been this clean before."

Then her tone changed again: "The floor is clean now, I'm very satisfied. Go downstairs and wash your hands thoroughly."

So Rosen carried the dirty water bucket, clomping downstairs.

While washing his hands at the wash basin, Selandris' voice kept drifting down from upstairs.

"First, I can waive your tuition fees, but have the right to be cared for in daily life by my apprentice."

"Including but not limited to, three meals a day, must have meat every meal, ingredients must be fresh and slightly above average taste."

"At least once every 2 days, a bath of suitable temperature, and you must stand ready beside to serve me anytime during the bath."

"Every 2 days, you must hand wash my undergarments, every 3 days you must hand wash my outer clothes."

"Additionally, full house cleaning must be done every 7 days to drive out rats, cockroaches, spiders, mosquitoes, stink bugs and the like. House repairs must be completed within 2 days of damage...."

She prattled on endlessly, detailing meticulous requirements for every aspect of ordinary family life.

Rosen felt his head would burst from listening. He felt like he had not found a mentor but a full-time domestic worker job.

By the time he washed his hands clean and went upstairs again, Selandris had stood up from the armchair and pointed at the clothes laid flat on the bed.

"Now, help me get dressed. Use your hands for now. When you've practiced well, switch to mage hands."

Saying so, she lifted her chin slightly, stood straight, and stretched out her arms, waiting for Rosen to dress her.

Rosen sighed internally: "Thank goodness she isn't some 70 to 80 year old granny, or things would truly be miserable."

Fortunately, he was no novice. At the Green Warbler Inn in Whitestone, he saw Lily change clothes every day, so he knew what to do.

He went to the bedside and first picked up the undergarments.

The style was somewhat different from Earth. Altogether three pieces, first a pair of cotton suspender stockings, pulled up to the thigh roots, then tied at the waist with straps to prevent slipping.

This was an extremely arduous task. Selandris was entirely insensitive, but Rosen nearly lost composure.

Next was a rather thin, ankle-length white slip dress, similar to a nightgown.

Finally, over the long dress was a cotton vest-like garment that covered the chest, tying it tight to bind both chest and waist.

With undergarments on, next was outerwear.

Two outer garments in total.

First a thick, moss green cotton long skirt. After putting it on, a fur cape was draped over the shoulders, serving both decorative and insulating purposes.

While dressing her, Rosen noticed these clothes were no longer new.

The outerwear was still passable, but the undergarments were already somewhat tattered, yet bore no mending, left to fray as they were.

Recalling her previous words about family bankruptcy, Rosen sighed internally.

'Looks like not only is this sorceress lady destitute, but a destitute without so much as lifting a finger.'

After much difficulty dressing her properly, Rosen was drenched in sweat, with all fanciful notions dispelled from his mind.

No matter how beautiful something was, staring too long would numb one to it.

Selandris walked around a bit, nodding in satisfaction: "Not bad."

She sat back down in the armchair, letting down a head of thick, fiery red hair.

"My hair is completely dry. Help style it nicely."

"If you don't know how, I'll teach you. You must practice diligently and grasp this skill early."

Rosen truly did not know how. He also felt it was extremely vexing.

He could not help but complain: "If my mentor was a man, would there be so many chores?"

Selandris glanced back at Rosen, a trace of ridicule on her face.

"Just be content. Male mages have even more chores, not only daily living care but many also carry a certain danger."

"At least I won't have you collecting muskrat root in cesspools, much less seeking out the fatally toxic death cap mushroom in deep forests."

Rosen immediately felt balanced internally.

He attentively learned hair styling, with Selandris also teaching patiently, and ample thick hair to practice on. After struggling for over half an hour, he finally styled a passably decent hairdo.

With everything settled, Selandris turned to look at Rosen.

"Continuing about my second right - the split."

"That is, during the apprenticeship, I take half of every penny you earn."

"You might say you can choose not to earn money."

"That is certainly feasible, but if you do not earn money to support me your mentor, we two would starve to death in this hut."

She looked at Rosen with a smile, completely nonchalant.

Rosen was quite surprised. "Mentor, could it be you have no income at all? How did you get by before?"

Selandris appeared utterly calm.

"The mage association in Silvermoon City gives me 15 crowns relief fund annually. And my family left a tiny bit of assets behind. Of course, it's basically used up by now."

"Isn't 15 crowns a year enough?"

Though not much, it should be enough for one person frugal living alone to eat and drink without worries.

Selandris smiled lightly.

"But the mage association also stipulates that if a formal mage officially accepts an apprentice, they automatically forfeit the relief fund. All living expenses for said mage transfer to the apprentice for support."

She looked at Rosen with a smile, completely candid: "You see, taking you as apprentice is also a huge sacrifice on my part."

Rosen was rendered speechless, though fortunately he could still earn money from selling paintings, and did not worry about not affording meals.

Seeing the other party had yet to mention the third right, thinking one might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, he asked with the look of a confirmed bachelor.

"Then what is the mentor's third right?"

"Third, on the premise of not inflicting irreversible physical or mental harm to the apprentice, the mentor has the right to obtain spiritual and physical pleasure from the apprentice."

"What?!" Rosen was flabbergasted!

Seeking instruction came with selling your body too?!

Seeing the deepening shock in Rosen's eyes, Selandris' smile grew increasingly pronounced.

She reassured gently: "Now now, I won't go so far as to violate a child's body. Spiritual pleasure is enough."

Rosen secretly relaxed. Although Selandris was a great beauty, she was no delicate bird relying on others, over 1.7 meters tall, with a hint of unpredictability in her actions.

If she really went mad, his small physique definitely could not withstand it.

"Rights and duties are relative. My rights are your duties. My duties are your rights. I believe I have stated it clearly enough, no?"

"Mm."

"Any thoughts? Don't worry, I'm candid - I also like candid apprentices."

Baring it all at first meeting, she was indeed very forthright in personality.

Considering she had been quite reasonable so far, Rosen spoke frankly as well.

"I feel like I'm not just your apprentice, but also a bit like your father."

Selandris' eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Although father died nearly 3 years ago and I don't care much for him, I still don't like my apprentice joking about him."

Rosen also felt he had overstepped and quickly explained.

"See, I have to earn money to support you, care for your living needs, and see to your physical and mental well-being. Aren't those a father's jobs?"

Selandris was stunned briefly, then laughed heartily.

"How amusing, your phrasing is truly witty yet apt. Then in private, I shall call you father."

Now Rosen was truly shocked: "Mentor, I was only joking, please do not take it seriously!"

"I absolutely cannot bear such an address, it would bring disaster upon me!"

What mentor addresses their apprentice as father? It was simply outrageous!

"Just teasing you. Look how frightened you are, as if being stared down by the temple hounds."

Selandris laughed loudly again. With great difficulty halting her laughter, her face still brimmed with mirth.

"Well then, father, your daughter is hungry now, shouldn't you go prepare dinner?"

"..."

Rosen was rendered speechless, feeling this sorceress' thought process was indeed not on the same channel as ordinary people.

No wonder Xiaobole said she had mental issues.