Hilbert actually knew he was softening again.
But he also knew that, as he came to understand Carpenter better and better, it was basically impossible for him to treat her with the same coldness as before.
The fact that he could still hold himself to providing only the Mage Tower rules without giving detailed instruction was all thanks to Falan's constant admonitions in the past.
What Falan worried about most with Hill was that he handled people and matters too much according to his own preferences.
Whenever he treated someone well, he overlooked the rules.
But in the world of Mages, when teaching students, those with better talent and ability were meant to receive more resources than others.
This was not a matter of fairness or unfairness.
Some people could become Mages, while others could only remain ordinary mortals. Fate had made its most unfair choice from the very beginning.
Humans could only respect that fate.
Therefore, Mage Towers always divided Mage Apprentices into different ranks according to their talent from the very start.
They had to understand from childhood that the reason they fell short of others was simply because their innate abilities were lacking.
Otherwise, if children were allowed to believe they were no different from anyone else before they grew up... then, at the most crucial moment, when they saw themselves inferior in every way to the person next door who had once been no different from them, some people—no, most people—would lose their balance.
Of course, Mage Towers did not completely deny opportunities to those who possessed talent but lacked sufficient strength.
The various purchasing terms offered by the Mage Tower's public library to these apprentices gave them a chance to struggle for their own futures.
Moreover, children who performed well enough also had a chance