Ignis paused, partly to wonder why someone would need forgiving for that kind of question and partly out of surprise. Those who were inclined to cook already did it themselves, and those who weren't rarely asked to help. He would ordinarily have put the question down to pity and dismissed it pleasantly enough, but he'd heard pity many times before, and in Alcuin he heard only a genuine desire to help.

Perhaps he was simply a helpful sort. Either way, dismissal was a poor response to a genuine (and kind) offer. "If you like, certainly. If you'd rather simply rest and watch, of course, I'll take no offense. The cheese there," he pointed with the knife he'd been using to cube ham, "will need to be grated." Another point, slightly vaguer, indicated the grater. Someone with eyes, who could see when their fingers were about to be grated rather than just operating by feel, would be able to go faster.