Chapter 216

“Hmm…”

Dr. Robert Fuller was wringing his hands while spinning the chair at the podium with his foot.

Emily appeared in his view once per second.

“Dr. Fuller, how was it? Does it really seem like a proper proof?”

Realizing the shocking fact that ‘ㅁㅊㄱㅈㄹ’ was ‘WLOG,’ Robert Fuller tossed out additional questions he had memorized in advance.

Each time, Na Me answered without hesitation, making it difficult for Dr. Fuller to interpret her responses.

He only learned that the ‘Proxima Conjecture’ was about the ‘Dirichlet L-function zeros’ after she had left.

Additionally, unknown proper nouns like ‘Asephite Alpha Groups’ and ‘Kaizen K Functions’ yielded no results when searched online.

There were far too many theories that seemed nonexistent based on their shapes and forms.

“If Fermat had truly used only 17th-century mathematics to prove his Last Theorem, wouldn’t it look something like this?”

Fermat’s Last Theorem was resolved only after modern mathematics established elliptic curves and modularity.

But what if it could have been solved by other means?

Certainly, groundbreaking theories that one couldn’t even imagine would lie beneath that foundation.

Dr. Robert Fuller snapped his fingers cheerfully.

He had finally grasped something after a long period of contemplation.

It didn’t matter whether this proof was true or false; the content embedded within Na Me’s proof promised a future that would shake the mathematical community.

He was not one to cut open the belly of a goose that lays golden eggs. In other words, he was patient.

“We need someone with a broader knowledge base.”

After the development of artificial intelligence, society began to demand specialization from intellectuals once more.

There’s a saying: in undergraduate studies, one learns about elephants; in master’s, one studies elephant feet; and in doctoral studies, one researches elephant toenails.

Human time is finite, and specialized knowledge is endless, which inevitably leads to narrowing one’s field.

Thus, there arose a drawback where even the same elephant experts could be completely oblivious to the fields others were researching.

“I wish someone like John von Neumann or Terence Tao were here.”

“They have both passed away. And von Neumann wasn’t even a mathematician, but a theoretical magician from a century ago. Why are you looking for him here?”

He needed a deus ex machina-like figure who could encompass the entire field of ‘mathematics.’

Only then could there be cross-validation to determine whether Na Me’s theory was already known or entirely new.

Eventually, Dr. Fuller sought other alternatives.

“All that’s left is collective intelligence.”

If a hundred experts gathered, they could presumably create an elephant-shaped figure.

“Dr. I’m glad we rented a large lecture hall, just like you said.”

“Right? Shall I bring some snacks next time?”

The bald professor began searching for snacks that Na Me might enjoy.

Emily, glancing at him, muttered without realizing it.

“Takoyaki?”

“?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It smells like takoyaki. It’s absolutely not because of your head…”

“I keep saying it, but I’m not balding; I shaved my head!”

“Yes, I know… I’m sorry…”

He let out a deep sigh.

Even though such difficult problems had been solved, there was still no sign of baldness medication coming out until 2051.

As he caught a faint whiff of takoyaki wafting through the air, Dr. Fuller patted his smooth head just for the heck of it.

Perhaps because he had been circling around for too long, his head felt dizzy.

* * *

[Na Me! Are you forgetting all our bonds? We met at the career experience fair, and even recently in your professor’s research lab! We had such a good time! Please come back!]

Woo Da Yeon’s desperate cries were deliberately ignored.

Six cheese-flavored takoyaki balls.

I chose present happiness over past friendships.

I seem to be drawn more to those showing effort.

We moved to the studio where the ‘Bark’ channel was first established.

Naturally, Woo Da Yeon, who had followed us to the end, was cut off at the entrance of the building.

“Do you know my sister, Da Yeon?”

“Huh?”

“I heard you two were having a bit of a heated discussion before I came out of the classroom.”

“You heard that too? Na Me has incredibly sharp hearing! Here’s another bite, ahhh—”

“Nom. Um. Thank you, Dan Ni El.”

She was ‘Dan Ni El,’ a freshman at Korea University’s music department.

“But can you call me Ni El or Daniel in front of the seniors? It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Umm, no.”

“F-Fine, I understand.”

“The takoyaki is delicious. I really like the cheese powder on top; it’s refreshing.”

“Really? I’m glad you like it!”

She didn’t particularly like the name given to her by her parents. Why, it was pretty enough.

“That girl has the same group as me for this liberal arts subject.”

“Aha, so that’s how you two know each other. I thought there would be zero overlap, but if it’s for a liberal arts class, that’s a different story.”

The subject is called ‘The Psychology of Human Relationships.’

At that moment, I became all ears, asking what was taught in class and what kind of practical activities were involved.

Do they teach what psychological mechanisms occur when human relationships break down?

If they taught how to manage feelings when there’s an object of hate, I’d be willing to sit in.

“It’s not that kind of class at all! Honestly, I don’t even know what we learn in class… It’s just like meeting with team members and hanging out, I’d say…?”

“You hang out? In class?”

“Yeah! We go bowling, play VR games, and drink!”

“Is that it? No way.”

“That’s it? Why?”

This is not the kind of university class I was imagining!

Isn’t this just as bad as the trashy Academy from my past life?

The classes have become mere facades, transformed into a socializing venue for aristocrats at the Kaizen Central Academy.

Commoners would do anything and everything to trample over the weak to somehow connect with the aristocrats, while the aristocratic children would bring wine to class for their drinking parties, making it utterly meaningless as an educational institution.

“Hihihi, as long as we’re having fun and getting good grades, that’s all that matters, right?”

“Oh… no…”

“Do you want to come to class with me later? The professor would surely be happy to see you!”

The trauma from my past life replayed, making me dizzy.

If I had known that Dan Ni El would be like this, I would have followed Woo Da Yeon instead.

But what’s done is done.

The Bark studio contained several college students, as well as an older woman, just as she had mentioned.

Given the professor’s similar aura to Professor Chun, it was obvious this person was a college professor.

“Hello.”

“Oh, Na Me, you’re so cute! Yes, hello! It’s really nice to meet you!”

The professor’s voice rose a pitch.

When speaking to babies, people unconsciously raise their voices, but experiencing it firsthand was quite burdensome.

I exchanged greetings one by one with the other Bark members.

All of them were incredibly unique individuals to the extent that it was hard to find common ground.

If anything, they had long and elegant fingers?

“Na Me, do you know about our Bark? Bark?”

“Yes, I saw it in a recommendation video a while back.”

“Wow!”

“See? Na Me said she knows us!”

“Is this for real?”

At the time, a channel with over a million subscribers was impossible to ignore.

Especially for someone like me, who often searched for classical music, it would frequently pop up in my feed.

The students cheered enthusiastically. I wasn’t sure how impressive it was that I had seen it.

“When did you see it? Can you tell us which video?”

“I’ve seen quite a few and it seems like I watched almost all of them two years ago.”

“Aah, I see! Wow, two years ago means Na Me was really tiny! At six years old, that is so young… Wait… Ah…”

The senior girl hurriedly clasped her hands and put them over her mouth.

“Oh… I’m sorry…”

Her eyebrows furrowed in a ‘V,’ and her pupils twitched uncontrollably.

Maybe her legs went weak as she suddenly flopped onto the cold marble floor.

Why? Why did I just say that?

“Not just when I was trapped in the capsule; I remembered about it and looked it up even after I was rescued.”

Perhaps they mistook it for something I only watched because I had nothing else to enjoy while trapped in virtual reality.

That wasn’t the case. I noticed some videos even had millions of views and were quite popular.

I gently patted her shoulder a couple of times as encouragement.

Then, this time, Dan Ni El behind me rolled her eyes and collapsed sideways.

What’s going on with them all at once? Is this some prank or something?

* * *

Dan Ni El thought to herself. There couldn’t possibly be two such adorable creatures in the world.

Korea University’s Everytime was constantly filled with photos of a child’s face, skillfully cropped. It seemed everyone refrained from posting due to portrait rights issues.

Because of that, even after Na Me finished performing and said goodbye, Ni El planned to meet her once more.

Ni El went down to the school gate to buy takoyaki.

Then, it was rewarding to have run back to the Natural Sciences building in the scorching sun.

Thanks to that, he got to hold hands with the cute child, and more importantly, he could defeat the competitor that was Hicks Studio.

The seniors must have been feeling all excited as well.

Contrary to appearances, ‘Bark’ was a dark and gloomy group constantly struggling between the PDs’ real-life problems and content production duties.

The vitality that Na Me brought was on a different level.

Everyone was so excited that one senior made an embarrassing mistake.

Dan Ni El, who had maintained a smile throughout, suddenly turned serious.

[Not just when I was trapped in the capsule; I remembered about it and looked it up even after I was rescued.]

It seemed the poor child was trying to smile so that Na Me wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

The clear and cute features were overshadowing something that everyone had completely forgotten.

The fact that the child named No Na Me was someone who had been trapped in the capsule for a whole seven years.

The senior immediately realized the mistake he had made.

But once a word was let out, it couldn’t be taken back.

Dan Ni El suddenly felt a tightening in her chest.

How much pain had Na Me endured during those seven years in the capsule?

And upon encountering her ‘trauma,’ how could she be so serene?

A feeling of remorse surged up, regretting bringing her here in the first place.

As various complex emotions stirred within him, Dan Ni El felt dizzy and ultimately lost consciousness.

After some time had passed, Dan Ni El awoke on the studio mattress.

“Ni El, are you okay?”

“Na Me… What about Na Me?”

Ni El was more worried about Na Me’s well-being than his own.

“She’s with the professor, doing ‘Maestro’ right now.”

“What? Is it that virtual reality thing? Is Na Me in the capsule?”

“Yeah. Right.”

“I need to see her directly.”

“Hey, don’t overdo it, Ni El!”

Ni El dashed into the next room.

His legs grew heavier, yet he could not stop.

Much like No Na Me, who had lived confined in the capsule since childhood, it was crucial to check on whether Na Me was okay, even if he risked losing consciousness again facing his own trauma.