"Alright. So, I understand this is entirely too overwhelming and I would like to help as much I can. But the first step would be knowing what you would like. Are you okay with telling me that? You can just send me away and tell me to stop being so nosy and I wouldn't hold it against you nor it would I rescind the offer if you changed your mind later."

He blinks slowly. "I—I wanna go back? Back, um, home," he says, his voice falling to a whisper at the end.

Felix grimaces. "I will see if that is possible, I am sorry you got involved. ...Is there anything else we can do to make things more comfortable?"

Small headshake.

"I am sorry. I will try everything in my power to make things turn out okay."

Small nod.

"Alright. Anything you would like now?"

Another headshake.

"Okay, I'm going to return to my room to brainstorm."

Presumably they do that without anything unusual happening.

"I'm an idiot and should've considered something like this would happen."

"If you're an idiot, I'm an idiot," she says. "I just kinda—forgot to consider the effects of us not having the portal on other people, yeah."

Felix does not illogically argues that he still should be more to blame. "Okay, he wants to go home. What are the obstacles to that? I don't suppose geas magic is common enough that we could use in this case?"

"—geas magic?"

"Magic that restricts behavior. It's not particularly common back home but exists."

"It... doesn't really exist at all, here. Well, not permanently, anyway. He'd need a minder to keep the restriction in place."

"Yes. I hardly want to re-invent the sorcery version. Well, what are the odds that they would let him go?"

"Now? Next to zero. But if the knowledge leaks they won't have a reason to hold him any more than they'll have one to hold us."

Sigh. Felix hugs Kaede. "...What if they assume it was his fault then?"

"We can run off with him," she shrugs.

"That wouldn't bring him home."

She sighs. "Yeah. I don't know. Maybe we should make it obvious it was us and run away? After they're sure sorcery isn't evil."

Sigh. "Possibly, yeah. Not gonna be easy for him in the interim."

Sigh. "Hopefully he'll at least get used to it."

"What can we do to help? Even if they don't want to let him go, they might be sympathetic enough for consessions?"

"Like what? He's probably in a fancy room, too, and I expect he'll be given nearly the freedom of the palace."

"Have his family come over. Have him visit his family under supervision. Not force him to go through dinner where he is afraid of accidentally insulting someone more powerful than him."