"Because the ward built into this spell is really really strong and general."

"Okay... Can you make another ward like this inside this ward?"

"No, we can't reach in there past it."

"Ugh. This is too many constraints," he moans, dropping his head onto his hands again. "Why will summoning me get you expelled anyway?"

"Because you're not supposed to summon people!"

"But is it a rule against, specifically, summoning people? Or is it maybe about summoning people without their consent? I could say I'd given consent if that was it."

"Except this is a random summon spell."

"And people can tell which spell was used?"

"If they look at the diagram. Anyway we wouldn't have been allowed to meet you to ask."

"Would meeting me to ask also warrant expulsion?"

"We couldn't very well have done it without casting a summoning spell could we!" says Korulen, flinging her hands in the air hysterically.

"Not unless someone else cast it and talked about it with me, and you don't want to tell on them because they'd get expelled, or they weren't a student so can't get expelled anyway, and this casting was perfectly consensual."

"...but my dad is the headmaster and will definitely expect me to tell on whoever would've summoned you first. It might not even be actually legal, even if they weren't a student..."

"How is first contact handled at all, if it's illegal?"

"It's... not? Pretty much? But it is like especially illegal because we're students."

"Hmm... well, but if it's illegal that's double the reason why you wouldn't want to tell, isn't it?"

"I'm not sure if it's illegal enough that somebody could make us tell," says Korulen uncertainly.

"Would you be able to look that up without arousing suspicion?"

"I don't even know where to look, I'm not a law student -"

"But it's a possibility, if you can keep this quiet for long enough to verify, we could avoid the whole expulsion thing. I mean, sure, there's the lying part, but one way or another some form of trickery is going to have to take place."

"That's really nice of you," Saasnil says dejectedly, "but I think we'd probably get caught and then be in more trouble for trying not to get caught."

He sighs. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," sighs Korulen.

He shrugs. "Yeah, but I'm still not super thrilled about it either, from any angle."

"- so should I just go ahead and call Mom -"

"Yeah. Whatever," Saasnil says unhappily.

Korulen purses her lips, but then closes her eyes -

- and the door opens, a moment later, to reveal a really fucking magic lady with green hair.