"It was a joke. Do they not have Fantasia where you're from?" Really, Howard's toned down the pop culture references in the last few months, if only because nothing takes the wind out of his sails like having to explain his smartass comments, but sometimes they just pop out naturally.

Cedric sounds like a good enough guy, which, in Howard's opinion, means he's either naive or incredibly powerful. Howard's leaning towards the former, given how much Cedric talks about having to learn new things. It doesn't occur to Howard that maybe he's just holding Cedric to a really paranoid, cynical standard.

He unwittingly verbalizes Cedric's thoughts. "And there's another kind of wizard that does use their power to make trouble?"