Mark sent.

I took a moment to think about it before replying. The negotiation with Lord Runax hadn't gone that poorly...

<... The what now? There was an uprising!? And what the heck does 952 mean?>

I asked. It was a lot to take in, but Wolfram would drop crazy nuggets of forbidden information on me almost every time we talked recently, so I was more or less used to it. The education system here was far from egalitarian... We might not suffer from discrimination due to gender or race, but the class system was extremely hard-core.

I was momentarily stunned by the looping logic in Wolfram's words. There was definitely some level of truth contained within his statement, but right away I could see that the foundation was just an empty house of cards. It made sense that nobles would view themselves as the 'good guys'; the same thing had been true of Earth, where tales of brave knights in shining armor were scattered throughout history - with little mention of the thousands of dirt-poor peasants whose labor made each 'brave knight' lifestyle possible.

I replied.

I couldn't help but wonder if my view of things would be closer to Wolfram's if our roles were reversed, and the fact that I was bitter and resentful over how much control over my life a random noble (Lord Froggy) suddenly had was surely making me extra resentful.

<... I guess? I didn't really look at it from his point of view.>

Wolfram sent, along with a sense of amusement and a mental image of himself (as Mark) putting me (as Alex) in checkmate during a game of chess back on Earth.

He had me there. I replied, including a sense of eye-roll-inducing faux-outrage.

<... Sure, I get that, but at least you would be nearby, right? You could protect them if anything happened.>

Actually... why did I care so much? I had only known my parents for a little over six years, yet the thought of separating from them filled me with a wave of panic. Was it some kind of ingrained instinct that kids were meant to feel, that need for protection or comfort? I mean, I was closer to thirty than six, in theory... at least, according to my memories.

Not being able to see little Shark-tooth (aka Zephyr) would also suck... but neither of those things explained why I had pushed so hard for the Academy option. Froggie's plan neatly diffused my attempt to flip the script and regain control of negotiations by threatening him with an angry demigod, since the Citadel was pretty close to the village and he estimated The Merrik could find me there easily enough.

I sent a mental sigh,

I didn't hide my lack of compassion for the suffering of the pampered 'elite', but if they were killed that was crossing a line.