He needs her to come so he can buy all the books with Stratos's official money.

"Oh! Excellent." That saves the risk of disappointment. He gives her a curious look, but family is a tough subject for her and he doesn't want to ask more.

"That's a popular saying with my family." He grins for a moment. "I don't think he'll object, I think he'll use it as an excuse to drill me harder. You know, make sure I'm not passing on any lazy habits or misinformation. And we can cover some alchemy, too - the theory overlaps anyway, when it comes to the biology."

Verity can probably look forward to a grilling herself, just to make doubly sure.