For a while he scarcely acted, more than happy to be the audience rather than the speaker. He allowed Eine to dab away at him freely since it was to be expected. She was required to monitor his health yes but it definitely did appear that she cared for him in a genuine sense. As one of the few people he wasn't forced to speak hypocritical lies to it was definitely of great comfort that they were able to get along.
As she entered the room he gently shut the door behind her. The room was by and large sparse. The center of the room was open save for a rather basic table and two chairs. In the corners of the room were large stacks of paper gathered in groups to keep them tidy. They filled up the corners of the room but left plenty of space to walk otherwise. His desk on the other hand was basically a fortress, a large wall of paper stacked high enough that anyone sitting behind it could go completely unseen. The top of the desk itself held the work he was previously engaged in, scrolls neatly piled to one side and arcane inks & pens piled to the other. While ink with special ingredients weren't specifically required for scroll imbuement they allowed him to strengthen aspects of the spell bound in it.
"Have you been drinking enough water? If you push yourself too hard, you'll pass out or run out of Mana. Take hourly breaks between attempts, as I've told you before."
"Oh, of course. I have made sure to schedule regular intervals between sessions of scroll authorship." He spoke no falsehood regarding that. Then again the things he included as break time included study, meal times and meditation practice. The last thing in the world he'd want is to cut his career in magic short by misusing his arcane abilities. He took the reclamation of mana as one of his many priorities, definitely not one to be neglected either.
"You don't need to force yourself, Rick. I know you better than most, so you're free to be as you are while in my company. With that said, I'm sure you've already realised that my trip here is rather important business."
He quickly nodded in affirmation. Trying to conduct himself by her words of wisdom he tried to shake off the awkwardness that plagued him only moments ago. It wasn't easy but he kept it in the back of his mind. Turning his focus to the topic of her purpose here helped.
"Oh, ah, guten tag, Rick. Forgive my lack of manners. Please, take a seat. Our chat will be long, I believe. I have been asked to brief you about something rather important."
It was always a bit strange for him. This little bit of familiarity her german accent held for him stood before the backdrop of being trained in the heart of Italy. It was a constant note of familiarity in a place quite far from his own back in the days of youth long past. It was also a constant reminder of what happened that brought him here. It was no fault of her own but there was no day that didn't feel the same as that very day after that tragedy took place. There was little that could ever shake that very memory from his mind.
_
Silently he took his seat at the table in the center of the room and awaited further debriefing from Eine.
"As you've turned 18, the Principal feels that you are capable of being sent on your first ever official Exorcism mission."
With solemn expression as he looked down he considered her words, a flood of thoughts filing into the forefront of his mind.
"An official Exorcism mission..." He had heard much about these, having trained all these years for the very purpose of conducting these missions. In some ways it was rather exciting, the possibility of putting all his learned skills and spells to the ultimate test stood as a potential validation of everything he had prepared for. On the other hand it was also rather frightening. Single target take-downs and assisted missions were fairly straightforward, simple. There was some peace of mind to be had in such simplicity even if there was very real danger involved. Conducting his own mission however meant having to consider a truly dizzying number of factors, managing every aspect with the very real risk of death should any particular facet go unaccounted for.
"Apologies if I'm being somewhat forward but is this the briefing for the mission or is that scheduled for later?" He asked after letting the silence stand until it was clear he wasn't cutting her off. His voice was as soft as ever, requiring a conscious effort to remain above a whisper. He had returned his focus to Eine herself as he awaited more information.