kscans

Chapter 58 - Chapter 1. A Scene of Numbers

"So, Ricardo. What kind of reckless plan do you have this time? As your secretary, I need to be mentally prepared, so please share the details in advance."

I spoke to Ricardo, keeping my voice as low as possible. At the end of the hallway was the library door. The library itself would be fine, but our destination today was beyond the head librarian's office.

"You make it sound so bad. Besides, I'm going to be careful this time, so don't worry."

"And where are we going?"

"The head librarian called it the 'Magic Division'. He said it's about halfway between the academy and the royal palace."

"Are you seriously planning to get involved with magic? I can't even imagine how you'll manage to be careful."

"...It'll be fine. With you here, Mia, it's like having an army."

For a moment, his words made my heart leap. But.

"I'm asking how you plan to proceed cautiously. Your answer only states that what you're about to do is possible. And you have no proof."

I don't know what he's planning, but I have a feeling he's going to do it anyway. He predicted the monster flood in the west, turned the deserted courtyard into the heart of the Shoken Festival, and completely neutralized the dragon that had annihilated a knight order.

And now, it seemed he intended to meddle in a completely different field yet again. As for my response...

"If this is about magic, wouldn't it be better to bring Lady Alfina with you?"

I asked the question pointedly. There was no way he could bring the princess along so easily. Well, I had a feeling that if Ricardo asked, Alfina would drop everything and run to his side, but I'll set that aside for now. The important thing at this moment was to understand the role required of me.

He was unpredictable enough as it was. The last time I let my guard down for a moment, I ended up following him to a battlefield. I wish he would understand how bad his actions are for my heart.

"No, from what I heard from the head librarian, magic also seems to have a proper mathematical basis. So I'm counting on your talent, Mia. You know, since I'm not very good at math."

"Are you an idiot!" Rilka's voice echoed in my mind. If Ricardo was bad at math, then no one in this world was good at it. True, when it comes to things I've been taught, I think I can surpass him. But the number and quality of concepts he possesses are on another level entirely.

No one understands this better than I do. Even the old man they call the Great Sage probably doesn't realize just how dangerous Ricardo is.

That's why I knew. He was comparing himself to something I couldn't comprehend. Besides, people in this kingdom normally use the word "numerics."

"There's even a saying that God is a mathematician."

It was a lighthearted joke Ricardo often told me. And no matter how many times I heard it, it made my heart skip a beat. It was exactly how I felt.

I love numbers. I've had this feeling for as long as I can remember. And Ricardo was the first person in the world to see that in me.

That was six years ago.

◇◇

"You're the girl the priest said was good at mathematics... numerics, I mean."

In the barn of a small building that was a chapel in name only, a boy spoke to me.

I knew who he was. He was a boy a year or two older than me who sometimes came to the village. I was afraid of his abnormality, the way he dealt with the village chief as an equal despite being a child. He's different from me, but I think he's in danger if he doesn't hide it a little better.

By the way, the priest was the foster parent to us village orphans. He had been exiled from the capital to the village because of something called the Nairan, and he taught us reading, writing, and arithmetic. Everyone else managed to put in some effort with reading. But I became engrossed in numerics.

It was a world that wasn't real, a world that captivated my parentless heart, a world far more beautiful than reality itself. But no one understood how I felt. The other orphans just thought numbers were a pain and calculations were complicated. They didn't see the amazing world that lay beyond.

"It's nothing that special."

I answered as curtly as possible. They wouldn't understand anyway. Not even the priest could understand the world I saw.

"I wonder about that. In that case, may I give you a number problem?" My heart raced at the word "problem." I knew that merchants dealt with far more numbers than the villagers. They were beings I was a little envious of. What kind of problem would this boy, who was about my age, give me? I nodded without thinking.

A small part of me wanted to show him up.

"Alright, here you go."

88898888888888888888898888888888888988888888888.

The boy suddenly held a slate in front of me. Back then, the Vinder Company itself didn't have the assets to use paper freely.

In any case, the string of numbers on the slate before me made my heart pound. The numbers drawn across three lines automatically reshaped themselves into a square in my mind. And then, three numbers stood out.

The question was like a riddle. It wasn't strictly a numerics problem or anything of the sort. And yet. Could it be, I thought.

"Okay, how many nines are in there?"

His question surprised me even more. The intent behind it was obvious. Could this person...

"Among the sixty four numbers, there are three nines."

I answered immediately.

"Amazing. First, you knew it was sixty four numbers because it's eight times eight, right?"

"Yes."

"And you knew there were three nines because eights and nines look like different colors to you?"

"H, how. Can you see it too?"

"No. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of talent."

The boy said it apologetically. At the time, I didn't understand why he was apologizing, or how he knew I was disappointed. But now I understand. Ricardo probably knows the loneliness of seeing a world that others can't.

"Then, one more question, or rather, a request. If I said I wanted to entrust you with a job that uses numbers, would you come work for us?"

I left the barn and was sitting across from him again at a table in the chapel. He made his offer while recommending an incredibly sweet something called honey.

Yes, I was probably the first girl Ricardo ever treated to honey. Back then, he didn't have enough money to make French toast. ...Not that I'm holding a grudge. It's not like the sweetness of the honey is what convinced me, anyway.

"Does that mean you're buying me?"

"No. I wouldn't do something that lowers learning efficiency. I want you to help me achieve my goals with your mathematical ability. Let's see, maybe starting as something like a secretary. We don't have the leeway yet to have you focus solely on numbers."

I didn't understand everything he was saying, but he understood that feeling of mine, and he needed it. It was an incredibly appealing offer. Forgetting my initial wariness, I gave a small, firm nod.

The boy went to get his father. And I became an apprentice at Vinder.

◇◇

And now, I am a co-owner of Vinder. Because I'm in charge of the ledgers, I understand perfectly. My personal assets are already beyond what some mediocre Copper-ranked company could dream of. Just with the yearly payments called dividends, money that comes in even if I do nothing, I could live a life of leisure. My body trembles when I calculate what that will become in the future.

But that has nothing to do with why I follow Ricardo. He gave me a role that only I can fulfill. That's why I have to accept his minor flaws. I am the one who will make up for them. Even if it's a job I'm not particularly good at.

Otherwise, I can't win against that girl. Ricardo and I are still an addition. But I feel like he and that girl are a multiplication. Even though she first said she wouldn't get close to such a volatile person.

Speaking of which, what is with the recent, sudden increase of women around Ricardo? Especially Claudia. I'm grateful she protected Ricardo, but I haven't forgiven her for pointing her sword at him. Until just a little while ago, she was number two on my threat assessment list.

On this list, the values jump geometrically as the rank increases, so number two is sixteen times more dangerous than number five.

In any case...

"Enjoying the spring of your life, I see."

As I was mentally manipulating Claudia's rank, a person who had recently been climbing the ranks stood before me. She was the daughter of a merchant house that had dealings with Dorefano and Calest. If I remember correctly, she deals in high-end fabrics for nobles. What's more, her mother's family was a noble house that declined after the Fellbach Rebellion. After falling from grace, her mother was married off to a merchant family, and now that merchant house is in dire financial straits due to the successive downfall of influential guild members.

Almost all of this information came from Rilka. Rilka investigated with great enthusiasm when I told her she was Ricardo's enemy. In this regard, I can't compete with my friend. ...You did it for my sake, right, Rilka?

"What are you plotting in the Forum, going over the Commercial Guild's head? If you dare to mess up the Forum, I won't forgive you."

"Um, your attachment to the Forum is..."

As usual, Ricardo began to logically analyze the intent behind her words. I have the same tendency, so I know, but that's dangerous.

He can prevent a national crisis before it happens, but he's oblivious to the dangers right in front of him.

"I will take that complaint as being directed toward all merchant houses involved in the exhibition, including Vinder."

"Wh, what is that? Are you flaunting the authority of the Food Guild Master? Hmph. Anyway, I won't allow you to treat the Forum like your private property."

At my words, the woman left with a parting shot. She should be grateful I kept it to the level of the Food Guild. Unlike Ricardo, I have a healthy sense of self-preservation, so I won't say it out loud.

"Hey, hey, don't do anything too dangerous."

"I don't want to hear that from the man who dragged me onto a battlefield without me realizing it."

"No, that was just how things turned out."

"Making a direct appeal to the king was 'how things turned out'?"

"I, I had no choice. Look, I explained it, didn't I? That was..."

"And you still haven't explained how this exhibition is going to proceed peacefully."

"...Not thinking you can predict the future is the foundation of self-preservation. By the way, who was that girl just now?"

"I explained the other day. Please read the report later. ...For someone who fancies himself a strategist, you're surprisingly gullible, Ricardo. Please be careful."

I said with a sigh.

"I know. Come on, let's hurry to the head librarian's office."

Blatantly changing the subject, Ricardo quickened his pace.

"Understood."

I followed after him. The reality I see from behind Ricardo is, without a doubt, far more beautiful than it used to be.

I'm not interested in Vinder's stock dividends, but supporting the prediction of revenues that are increasing geometrically is a mathematically interesting job. And while I'm at it, I admit there is something captivating about the logic of magic.

I won't tell Ricardo that, though. It would just go to his head.

Now, I wonder what sort of outrageous thing I will be shown today.