The misty City gave one the feeling that heat was trapped within the fog and unable to dissipate. One o'clock in the afternoon was already the hottest time of the day, and going out in formal attire was even more agonizing.
But this outfit was necessary; even if the academic report invited ordinary citizens to attend, it would be difficult to enter if one was not dressed appropriately.
The clothes Xia De was wearing were made by the tailor sent by Miss Jialinna the last time he played cards with the Duke. He encountered no obstacles when entering the Delarion Royal Academy of Mechanical Arts and curiously observed the higher education institution of the steam era, even having the leisure to stop and admire the flowers planted in the flowerbeds.
Following several middle-aged gentlemen who were clearly also attending the academic report, he found the auditorium where the academic report was being held by following the signposts. There was even a dedicated servant who asked if he needed directions.
The academy auditorium was divided into different venues, and well-dressed gentlemen moved among them. Various accents exchanged views in the corridors, or invited fellow enthusiasts to attend a particular lecture.
The academic atmosphere here was very strong. Just by looking at the temperament of everyone, one could tell that all those gathered here this afternoon were so-called cultural figures.
“Is this me boasting?”
He thought this while stopping in front of the bulletin board, looking for a suitable report session.
“Given your education and level of Knowledge, you are certainly cultured.”
This was probably one of the few times she directly praised Xia De.
The interior of the auditorium, by some unknown means, was significantly cooler than outside. Xia De even discovered that this academic report event surprisingly included an afternoon tea party. This was not mentioned in the newspaper advertisement, presumably to prevent some opportunists from sneaking in.
Although his original purpose was to observe the current state of modern physics, he ultimately chose a mathematics report by a white-bearded old scholar from Saladir County.
The main content of the report was calculus, but in reality, most of the time was spent discussing the old gentleman's recent work, which was: “When a function satisfies certain conditions, a polynomial can be constructed using the values of the function's derivatives of various orders at a certain point as coefficients to approximate the function.”
This was a small room with a blackboard and more than twenty benches, and only dozens of gentlemen came to listen to the report, sitting scattered.
When the report began, most people could still nod along, indicating their agreement with these views. When it officially entered the function expansion, only a small number of people could understand, and by the time the remainder of the expansion was discussed at the end, probably only Xia De could fully understand it.
He had learned this kind of Knowledge in his homeland, only in his homeland it was called “Taylor expansion,” while in this world, the old scholar named it after his own surname, becoming “Morse expansion.”
This was not the cutting edge of current mathematical research, indicating that in this era of steam wave, the development of mathematics had reached a considerably high level. The development of productivity demanded the innovation of production tools, and the innovation and creation of production tools could not do without the research and breakthroughs in basic mathematics, physics, and chemistry. The Outsider had already perceived the vigorous and prosperous steam industry of this world, so it was impossible for basic mathematical tools to lag behind.
Xia De remembered his character setting of “lost past memories,” so this afternoon he only audited the lectures, never speaking or showing any abnormalities. But after the lectures, he would have a few shallow conversations with the professors about the lecture content, sharing his views and probing the state of the cutting edge of basic disciplines.
This studiousness and “talent” made Xia De very popular, and he also handed out his business cards as a way to expand his business.
Among all the reports, Xia De was actually most interested in the lectures on steam engine inventions, wanting to see the ingenious ideas of people in this era. Unfortunately, this academic conference did not involve physical exhibitions, so he could only listen to reports on mechanical principles and the miniaturization improvements of steam engines, but these were interesting enough.
Steam technology was captivating enough, and machines made of metal based on basic mechanics also possessed a sufficiently rugged beauty. Perhaps in terms of practical application, it was not as good as the electrical system of the Outsider's homeland, but Xia De appreciated the ideas and appearance within it. Coming to a strange world, the most interesting thing was to see those sufficiently unique things.
When he went to the afternoon tea party, Xia De, holding a teacup, somehow started discussing the contents of the reports they had each heard with some strangers speaking carson rick. Coincidentally, Xia De understood carson rick but couldn't speak it, while those foreigners understood delarion but couldn't speak it.
So, their conversation went surprisingly smoothly. Xia De heard that half an hour ago, someone accidentally caused a large fire while demonstrating the use of a new type of metal combustion improver, which made him regret not having listened to the chemistry lectures first, as such excitement was rare.
“The development of mathematics, without the aid of computers, has reached a considerably high level. The development of chemistry differs from the system in my homeland, probably due to the influence of mysticism. Basic physics is fine, but I probably won't have the chance to copy a copy of 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'... There will be no shortage of geniuses in any world.”
This was Xia De's current feeling.
This academic lecture attracted people from all over, and surprisingly, there were even Ring術士. Xia De heard the whispers in his ears as he brushed past people. But he did not observe others, nor did he have the urge to explore others' secrets. He simply pretended not to know anything and focused on moving through the reports.
In the first few hours of the afternoon, he listened to several reports on mathematics, physics, and mechanical manufacturing, so after the tea party, he went to listen to lectures on humanities and social sciences. Among them, the reports on economics and international relations greatly benefited Xia De. And occasionally auditing theology lectures allowed him to understand the foundational role of the church in civilized society from the perspective of an ordinary person.
After the lecture, since there was no need to consider the source of basic Knowledge like in natural sciences, Xia De specifically discussed some questions about the relationship between God and humans with the professor from the Tobesk City Rolax Theological Academy. These questions were not meaningless; in a world where God truly existed and could come to mortals, the answers to these questions were clearly different from what the Outsider had heard in his homeland.
This academic report, sponsored by the City Hall, even hosted dinner at six in the evening. Xia De had no need to go home, as he had prepared the cat's dinner in advance before leaving, so he stayed for the dinner party.
This was not a formal banquet, but a simple meal, similar in scale to the afternoon tea party. Everyone held plates and gathered with acquaintances, discussing topics of mutual interest.
Xia De hadn't met anyone familiar all afternoon, but at the dinner party, he encountered Professor Manning. It wasn't Xia De who greeted Professor Manning first, but the professor who approached Xia De.
At that moment, the young Outsider was standing by a long table covered with a white cloth, holding his plate, discussing with the voice in his head how to get the roasted goose on the table—whether to cut it himself with a carving knife or ask a servant for help.
He didn't necessarily want to eat roasted goose; he was just curious about the whole goose placed on the plate on the table.
“Oh, isn't this Hamilton Detective?”
He only turned around when he heard someone mention his name and saw Professor Manning approaching.
It had been more than a week since the “Joyful Dream Pen” incident, and Professor Manning had recovered very well. Although his complexion still looked somewhat unhealthy, giving the impression of having just recovered from a serious illness with some lingering after-effects, at least he could go out normally.
“Good evening, Professor, long time no see.”
The two shook hands, tacitly avoiding any mention of their last meeting. After a few pleasantries, Professor Manning asked Xia De the reason for his visit. When he heard that he had specifically come to attend the reports, he immediately smiled:
“There are really not many studious young people like you nowadays.”
They discussed the afternoon's reports together. Coincidentally, Xia De hadn't attended the academic reports on history and archaeology, so he listened to Professor Manning talk about the content of the reports. The theme this time was the practical reference significance of ancient literature, and the professor who came all the way from Carson Rick pointed out that most of the ancient literary content passed down to this day was very likely related to real events that occurred in ancient times.
Of course, such a controversial view naturally caused dissatisfaction among some people. As for Professor Manning, his research field was archaeology, or rather, specializing in leading a group of people to excavate ancient ruins, so he did not express any opinions at the report meeting.
During the conversation, the professor used a carving knife on the table to cut open the roasted goose's belly, revealing the beef stuffed inside, which was how Xia De learned how to eat this dish.
The professor was not only accomplished in archaeology but also in other social science fields, and even understood some advanced mathematics. After the dinner party, he also introduced Xia De to some of his colleagues and invited Xia De to listen to a report on the excavation of fifth epoch City-state ruins in the eastern part of the Kingdom after the dinner party.
Professor Manning held a lot of sway among the crowd, so Xia De was also widely welcomed. During the report, he even tried to steer the conversation towards the large ancient civilization ruins in the New World, but people cautiously avoided discussing this topic with Xia De.
“The Kingdom has clear regulations that no news about New World archaeology can be disclosed to the general public in open settings.”
This was what Professor Manning quietly told Xia De, meaning that if Xia De visited his home, discussing such topics privately would be fine.
This was truly a fulfilling day. Xia De returned home at nine o'clock that evening without encountering any unexpected incidents. Holding the cat that jumped up to him, and walking up the winding stairs to the second floor, he still thought that today was probably his lucky day.
Perhaps it was because of this thought that a few hours later, at two in the morning, the door downstairs at Saint Delan Square Six was knocked upon.