*Mehr’s POV*

Secrets, when outed abruptly, create a disturbance in the human heart. And when these secrets are something that had to remain hidden, deep in the crevices of darkness, there is a sharp instinct of getting rid of the person unfolding the secret. That’s what I was feeling right now. The chubby professor’s remark rang in my head like a temple bell, unceasing and loud. His eyes, that looked at me mischievously, seemed to be inviting me to gauge them out. However, I stood still. There was nothing I could do. If I moved with the intention to attack him, I would be surrounded and killed in an instant. Well, there wouldn’t be time for me to get surrounded as the depth of the professor’s power was a mystery to me. Ever since I had entered this academy via a Gate, I had only been seeing students. While a few seemed more powerful than me, the large majority were nowhere near my level, and this fact had made me a bit complacent.

I never learn, do I?

“I see.” I answered simply. I turned around, not wanting to look at the chubby professor anymore. I had started walking away from the professor’s seat when I heard Sirius ask a question, “Why aren’t the commoners allowed in here?”

I turned to look at Sirius, who was standing beside the seat and looking at both of the professors with his curiosity filled gaze. His face had the familiar smile he always had, as he waited for a reply.

“That is because most of the commoners aren’t that good at utilising mana.” The lady professor spoke. I looked towards her and noticed that she was wearing a plain grey robe that had the insignia of the academy over the heart. She had deep green hair and light blue eyes, the features that looked very odd together. Well, it was not like I could say anything about anyone’s odd looks with me being a freak with eyes of two different colours. Anyway, her statement about commoners not being able to utilise mana attracted my attention.

“Why is that? Doesn’t mana treat everyone equally?” I inquired of her. However, the one that answered was the chubby professor. He was still looking at me with the same smiling eyes that seemed to be spying even on my thoughts.

“Mana does, but the world doesn’t treat everyone equally. Where would a commoner learn the basics of mana, how to comprehend it and other rudimentary principles. Most of them pick up bits and pieces of information from here and there, and try to comprehend in their own ways. So, most of the commoners just waste the examiner’s time.” Professor Willem said, “On the same note, this is Professor Cecilia. She teaches Principles of Mana in the academy.”

Sirius and I greeted the lady professor and she nodded back. Sirius looked troubled for a moment but then, perhaps after deliberating within, asked an innocent question, “Isn’t that unfair though?”

I looked at Sirius, who would sometimes show the emotional maturity of an adult, and realized that he indeed was a child. Sirius stood there, with his hands tied in the front while his eyes showed the complex emotions he was going through. He was a good child, probably the only truly innocent person I had ever seen, untouched by the vices of the world and who only ever saw good in people.

“If you were to question the fairness of this world, you would have to question your existence as well, and most of all, you would have to chide the Sword God, The Third Star, himself. After all, he was the one who established the system of Empire in the Mainland thousands of years ago.” Professor Willem spoke without taking a pause. Sirius looked embarrassed. Questioning the validity of the decisions made by the Stars was nothing short of a sin. Moreover, The Sword God was an ancestor of the Fryes.

“Look child…” Professor Cecilia said, “It is not about the division of nobility and commoners; people, in nature's setting, aren’t equal. Some have better bodies than others, while some are born with heightened sense of intelligence and some, the most unfortunate, are born crippled. Unfairness is all around us, and we need to swim across this stream of nature’s depravity and not try to stop it.”

“Even in this academy,” Professor Willem chimed in, “You’ll come across such unfairness. Competitions are encouraged among students to filter out the cream of the crop. You’ll have to join teams to earn meritorious rewards throughout the years, but why would a strong team allow you in, if you aren’t strong enough yourself? Would that be unfair to you? Wouldn’t it be unfair to the strong team to let you, a weak member, join them? Unfairness changes from person to person, child. Try to think about it. You still have a long, and perhaps eventful, life ahead of you.”

I listened to the words being said to Sirius. I agreed with a fair bit of those opinions but I also disagreed with some. Sirius lifted his head after thanking the professors for their insights and looked at me. He seemed a bit embarrassed, and mostly hopeless, as one of his first interactions with the outside world had left him questioning his own world view. I walked towards him while smiling, trying to lighten his mood, and spoke to him, loud enough that even the two professors would hear it.

“There is no need to swim across the stream while neglecting the depravity that annoys you. We do not shift our eyes away from the things we despise, we move the despicable things aside. Even in this academy, it doesn’t matter if other teams are strong or not, at the end of the day, only we will stand victorious. Now why don’t we show the cackling buffoons in the audience, who Sirius and Mehr are?”

Sirius smiled brightly as the sparkle in his eyes returned. Both of the professors were looking at me, Willem with his mischievously curious eyes and Cecilia with an inquisitive gaze that didn’t shift her facial expressions one bit.

“Next aspirant!” The announcer announced with his amplified voice, “Mehr from the house…. A commoner?”

Let's make this fun, shall we?