Russell was different. He was still young and hot-blooded, and he truly could not understand why Ulrich, already the family's only Official Mage, could still be ordered around by a bunch of old men—and would even go looking for his greatest backer because of it.
The moment Gilbert truly emerged from the meditation chamber, everyone understood that Black Mystery Tower had gained another Archmage with real authority.
A Seventh-Circle Mage might not have amounted to much under Archmage Rute... but Black Mystery Tower probably did not have more than a hundred of them in total.
Besides, not all Seventh-Circle Mages were equal.
As a renowned magic array master, Gilbert's combat strength and status were beyond question.
With such a powerful Mage standing behind him, Ulrich was still acting so passively. A complicated expression appeared on Russell's face... He could not understand Ulrich's thoughts, nor could he see why the Archmage before him was not angered at all.
Or rather, in this Archmage's eyes, Gilbert himself would not think Ulrich was behaving strangely because of this.
Russell could not stop himself from wondering what lay behind it all, especially because, if he had been in Ulrich's position, he would never have allowed himself to be pushed around so foolishly.
After stepping onto a new level, Russell instead felt that the fog surrounding his world had grown denser and thicker.
Hill glanced at the bewildered child and merely laughed. "Human nature is very complicated. When you put yourself in another person's shoes, it is not only your position that changes, but also the other person's personality.
"If it had been Carpenter standing there... though that child probably would not have been quite so overflowing with sympathy either..."
"Sympathy?" Russell interrupted Hilbert in surprise. "You mean Ulrich was not doing this because he