"Before I explain Black and White Wizards, I wanted to ask you a question, Richard. How much did you know about wizard society?"
Gerald's question caught Richard completely off guard.
If he had asked how much Richard knew about the Wizard World, Richard could have recited a thing or two from Chronicles of the Wizard World. But Gerald had asked about wizard society. How could an apprentice who had not even graduated from a Wizard Academy know what wizard society was like?
Seeing Richard's silence, Gerald knew that his student knew nothing about such miscellaneous matters.
"Looks like you know nothing at all. That works out perfectly—I'll take this opportunity to introduce wizard society to you in advance."
Gerald brought Richard to the desk, casually picked up a sheet of draft paper as a blackboard, and began explaining wizard society to him.
"The wizard society we live in has a pyramid structure."
As he spoke, Gerald drew a triangle on the draft paper, then added two horizontal lines through its middle.
Pointing to the tip of the pyramid, he said, "At the very top is the Truth Council, composed of five Truth Wizards. The rules of Wizard Academies, the code of conduct for the Wizard World, the Wizard World Natural Protection Act, and all sorts of other regulations are issued by the Truth Council.
"They are both the strongest among wizards and the standard-bearers of the Wizard World."
Then Gerald moved the tip of his pen to the bottom layer.
"At the very bottom are the countless billions of mortals. Though weak, they are the origin of wizards. Every Wizard Academy has the obligation to protect all mortals within its sphere of influence, and all wizards are forbidden from using mortals for human experimentation.
"Not even Great Wizards are exempt."