The magi has the reddest eyes of any child Kouen has ever seen, and sitting across from those giant, staring eyes makes Kouen so uncomfortable he'd rather be anywhere else. The child is six, and that seems a laughably young age even to Kouen, who joined the military at ten to serve at the crown prince's side. The child rummages in his robes and produces a peach from somewhere within the layers of silk and ruffles.
"What is in a dungeon?" Kouen demands of the child.
"Dunno," he replies, taking a giant bite of his peach. "They don't let me go in 'em. They say it's too dangerous, because I'm special."
Kouen makes a noise of aggravation. Of course the child would be of no help. What would he stand to know about any of this? He's just a small boy, but if the whispered words of the Empress's attendants are anything to go on his innocence is questionable. Kouen doubts that he's actually what people say- a demon or a creature of pure magic. It's hard to think of this tiny child as the weapon of war he's claimed to be.
"Well, what have other people you've raised them for seen?"
"I haven't raised any dungeons in Kou," the magi replies, a small piece of peach falling from his mouth. He picks it up off his robes with sticky fingers and shoves it back into his mouth.
"But you have raised them before."
"Yes."
Kouen waits patiently for the child to do something other than slurp and munch on peaches, until it becomes clear that he's going to have to ask more clearly. "Well, what did the people who have gone into your other dungeons seen?"
"They could be lying." The magi sucks every tiny bit of meat off the peach pit. "But Bar said there were monsters and puzzles and it was super dangerous."
Monsters? Puzzles? Kouen can deal with those. He looks out the window, slowly formulating a plan for once he is inside the dungeon. The child has to clear his throat before Kouen realizes that the conversation was not yet over for the magi. "Yes?" he demanded, eager to get back to his thoughts.
The magi blinks his huge red eyes. "So? What are you hoping's in the dungeon?"
Kouen blinks hard, taken aback by the child's forward nature. "...Puzzles. I suppose." Kouen's wits are sharp, and his mind hungers for the knowledge he's heard is hidden within. "I hope... that there are lots of interesting puzzles to solve."
The magi stares for a while after that, and Kouen doesn't dare break eye contact, unsure of exactly what it is the child wants. Then he breaks into a massive grin and fishes two more peaches out of his robes. "It's gonna be forever 'til we get there, so I guess you can have some of my peaches too."
Kouen takes it gently, and then offers the magi a real smile in return. "Thank you."