Peony smiled at his pretty manners - she rarely saw such, though it wasn't unheard of - and nodded her head. "It is a vocation and an art like many others - challenging but ultimately rewarding." She occasionally encountered those to whom magic carried a particular mystique, but she could not see it that way - it was simply a skill, something she was good at and had cultivated, no different from writing or swordsmanship or smithing. "We do what we can to serve society, much as any other person."
She noted the smith returning and offered a smile - and her money - once she was close enough to the counter. "Thank you, Aspel. I look forward very much to the finished product." Once she had paid, she nodded once more to both of them. "Good day to both of you." With that, she took her leave, intending to visit the booksellers before returning to the tower.