12 – Discussing Change
White snowflakes fluttered.
It looked quite new.
Time that had passed was like sand slipping through my fingers, making it difficult to estimate its size. I could only guess from the awkwardness of the snowflakes outside the window.
Three years.
That’s how much time has passed.
I turned nineteen.
*
That evening.
Tak―
I closed the book with a relieved heart. I finally finished the algebra textbook that had been tormenting me for over ten months.
After receiving Benjamin’s teachings, the book that had been plaguing me every night finally!
It was an unparalleled triumph.
“Phew.”
I stretched comfortably and looked out the window.
A dark sky.
It seemed like it was already evening, even though it was winter when the sun set early.
Sure enough, when I headed downstairs, the kitchen was slowly starting to get busy.
Even though we had a rotation system for meal preparation, we would all help out if the conditions allowed.
Today was no exception. I remembered that Benjamin was in charge of cooking, but I could see Dorothy carrying a basket of potatoes in the kitchen.
I quickly went down the stairs.
“Dorothy, how far along are you with the preparations?”
“I’m in the middle of making potato salad.”
“Then I’ll handle the vegetable preparation.”
As I said that and rolled up my sleeves, Dorothy responded with a bright smile.
Since Benjamin and I had an uncomplicated relationship from the beginning, not much had changed over the years. But there had been quite a few changes between Dorothy and me.
I struggled between addressing her as “Miss,” “Madam,” or “Noona…,” but eventually decided to just call her Dorothy.
And she went from giving me cold glances to smiling brightly (although she remained frosty towards Benjamin).
Aside from that, there were also physical changes.
She had grown so much taller in the past three years.
The reason why I had a small stature was solely because of a lack of nutrients. But as soon as I had plenty to eat, I grew like a ghost, reaching over six feet tall (180cm).
I used to have to look up at Dorothy, but now I could admire her forehead.
In contrast, Dorothy had to tilt her head to meet my face.
That was when the two of us were busy preparing dinner.
From upstairs, Benjamin’s voice could be heard.
“Yujin! Can you come up for a moment?”
“Benjamin is the one who should come down. What if the person in charge of dinner is stuck in the attic?”
“He’s quite strict. He also needs help over here.”
He seemed to have his own troubles. I exchanged a glance with Dorothy and headed towards Benjamin’s study.
Creak.
“You’re here.”
“Where did the letter come from this time?”
“I received a report of suspected magic usage from the military… and also one from the Magic University. I roughly summarized the contents, so I need you to transcribe it.”
“Understood.”
I took the letter and fountain pen and settled down at the desk in the study.
He used to be a renowned magician who once held a position at the Magic University, but now he lived in a small town. Despite his lackluster reputation, occasional letters would still arrive.
Benjamin’s expression looked quite serious.
The contents of the letter probably weren’t too serious. He was likely just tired from coming up with appropriate phrases in letter format.
Whenever this happened, Benjamin would always ask me to transcribe for him.
It all started as practice for my Fravia handwriting skills.
However, due to the considerable increase in workload and Benjamin starting to pay me for my services, transcribing had naturally become my assigned task.
“Let’s see…”
I adjusted the pen and swiftly wrote down the letter.
The first missive. The ‘Notice of Suspected Use of Magic’ sent from the military was something I had received quite a lot, so I roughly knew how to respond.
‘I am not aware of this matter.’ ‘Could it be a mistake?’ ‘I apologize for causing concern.’ I combined these three and if I wrote it vaguely, it would be enough.
Dorothy mentioned that the receiving party usually just glanced through it.
I put a period in an instant.
“I’ll finish quickly, so go downstairs and have dinner.”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks….”
Is creativity linked to physical strength when you become old?
With such suspicion in mind, I opened the second letter.
[Sender – Professor Klaus Muller, Federal Magic University]
Federal Magic University.
After briefly skipping over the words that stimulated my heart, I read the contents.
It was only a few lines.
[Benjamin, I’m informing you briefly because there’s an astonishing discovery in academia.]
[Do you remember the scholar Thomson? He overturned the Maseo particle theory. He proposed a particle model that aligns with the cases of existing cathode-ray experiments.]
[According to the paper, Maseo particles are not the minimal units of matter.]
[He suggested a smaller particle, like a grape embedded in bread, carrying an electric charge inside Maseo.]
[The discussion is ongoing, and there are some parts that cannot be explained yet, but the experimental results seem highly likely to be accepted.]
[Well then, I’ll take my leave. Wishing you a swift return.]
In an instant, I forgot even to toy with the pen, engrossed in the contents.
The Maso Particle.
I had learned about it while studying natural philosophy. It was described as the last particle remaining when everything in the world is divided and subdivided.
However, the letter stated otherwise.
The theory had been debunked.
“That can’t be.”
The book was wrong. To be precise, it had become incorrect.
The moment that theory was refuted, textbooks on magical studies would need to revise and rewrite hundreds, if not thousands, of lines.
It was a discovery shocking enough to warrant such a reaction!
Yet Professor Muller seemed to be calmly reporting the news without much ado.
Speculatively,
“…Are discoveries of this magnitude happening frequently in the Federation right now?”
It was an era of upheaval.
Even from a distant land, one could feel it. The flow of the times was continuously accelerating.
“…”
Once again, I raised the pen.
Benjamin meticulously organized his lengthy response and wrote it down.
For some reason, the fountain pen seemed to catch on the paper incessantly.
Becoming his disciple, spending three years under the Oslo family’s roof. A time when scholarly turmoil was rampant beyond the sea.
In such times, I was still inexperienced.
*
After finishing dinner, I returned to my room.
Two pound coins were held in my right hand. It was the allowance that Benjamin handed over under the pretense of ghostwriting fees.
If there is a flaw, it is that I have nowhere to spend the money.
As someone who has lived as a beggar, I didn’t have much use for such a sum of money.
Whether now or in the past, there is only one thing I do when I have spare change.
Jjallang―
Into the savings.
The iron cylinder that had been used from the bottom emitted a clear sound as it swallowed the coins.
It was no longer the sound of an empty space resonating through the tin. It was a sharp sound of metal hitting metal.
It was to be expected.
“Now… eighty pounds.”
It was full.
January 28th. Snow.
“Eugene. It’s been three years.”
Benjamin, who came to my room, began with a serious expression.
“Yes.”
“I never expected that in three years, you would absorb everything that others learn in ten years. I knew you had talent in philosophy, but to master everything from the alphabet to basic algebra in three years… people with enough knowledge would envy your absorption ability.”
“Well, aren’t you exaggerating a bit too much?”
“hehehehe. Well, shall I say we’re still a long way off?”
Benjamin, leaning against the desk, chuckled nonchalantly.
“hahahaha… Still a long way.”
Perhaps I wanted to hear those words a bit more.
I absentmindedly scratched my cheek.
Benjamin probably knew everything, despite what he said outwardly. How long I had been glued to the desk for the past three years.
Geniuses produce 100 results with 10 efforts. However, fundamentally different from those who pour 100 efforts to get 100 results.
I was someone who had to pour in 200 efforts to get 100 results.
Humanities, mathematics, natural philosophy, culture, and common sense.
Things naturally acquired by a student born and raised in the federation.
I devoted three years just to catch up even a bit.
If dedicating time wholeheartedly to achieve a goal is also a talent, then perhaps I am talented. Indeed, from that perspective, I might be a genius.
“More importantly, what I learned was ‘basic’ algebra, right? I thought I had learned everything about equations and nth-degree functions.”
“Every discipline has the charm of an onion. Congratulations on peeling off one layer.”
“…So, what’s the deal with my room? Are you planning to organize my bookshelf or something?”
I said, but in reality, I had a certain feeling.
The book that Benjamin held in his arms. The cover of the thick book, boasting remarkable thickness, seemed familiar to me.
“Hmm? No.”
Benjamin placed the book on the desk. Instead of a ‘thud,’ there was a ‘thump’ sound.
The title and author’s name, embroidered in golden threads on a deep burgundy cover.
I effortlessly read the words written in Frauovian.
《Basic Calculus / J. D. Trawets》
“Hmm.”
It has arrived.
Even a beggar, after three years under a professor, learns the art of rhetoric. I knew the meaning of those words.
Calculus.
Benjamin, with his clenched fists, threw a nostalgic smile.
“You have to peel another layer of the onion. What do you think? This is the first flower of mathematics.”
Ah.
I started to feel a bit uneasy.
