Chapter 223

On the day that marked the third week since Name’s visit to Korea University for the Q&A on proofs, they decided to take a short break, considering the child’s stamina.

Some sat quietly on chairs, closing their eyes to meditate, while others diligently transcribed equations onto electronic paper.

At the same time, two professors, who ran into each other in front of the bathroom, greeted each other with a friendly handshake.

“Hello, Professor! What a coincidence to see you here.”

“Oh? Ah, is that Professor Seo from the resort?”

“Yes, that’s right. How have you been?”

They were two individuals who had spent a month locked up together at a resort in Gyeonggi-do as examiners for the math section of last year’s KGSAT.

The young professor immediately prepared a mix of coffee to break the ice in their conversation.

“Isn’t it fascinating?”

Though there was no explicit subject, it was easy to discern who they were referring to.

“Fascinating, indeed. When the child was explaining the oval curves, they mentioned the Mordell-Weil group, and I almost gasped. This relates to the Birch-Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture as well as Goldbach’s conjecture—”

“Oh, Professor, I specialize in geometry, so I’m not very familiar with that.”

“Haha, I’ve only taught students around twenty years old, I never imagined I’d learn from an eight-year-old.”

“It’s going to take some time to reach a proof, isn’t it?”

“Goldbach’s conjecture needs at least two years of work. Just the preliminary proofs alone are quite substantial…”

“The problem of moving the sofa is currently being tackled diligently at the University of Colorado with quantum computers. We’re looking at a six-month timeline here.”

Taking a sip of coffee, the bitter taste was completely removed, leaving a sweet flavor reminiscent of canned coffee.

Having only tasted the same derivative proofs every day, or merely sequel studies of existing proofs, their minds were melting away with the delightful fresh insights that Name presented.

“Professor, actually, I ran into Manager Park yesterday at the restaurant in front of here while eating Jajangmyeon.”

“Who was Manager Park…?”

“The guy in sunglasses.”

“Could it be that National Intelligence Service employee? He’s here?”

He was the agent responsible for securing the math department’s examination during that time.

“He asked me not to brag too much about a child named NoName when I return to the university. It wasn’t a serious request, just a personal one.”

In the news, the document titled ‘The Great Generation List’ was handled with half-hearted humor.

But within the NIS, it seemed to be a matter of high alert.

“Right now, the U.S. is firmly on our side, criticizing Switzerland, but they mention that we never know when they might change their stance like flipping a palm.”

“What do you mean by changing their attitude…?”

“We have to prevent a child born in Korea from winning the Fields Medal as an American citizen, don’t we?”

“…!”

It may still be wishful thinking, but if just one of the seven proofs that Name presented were to be validated, the Fields Medal would be as good as confirmed.

However, no one knew when that would happen.

What if she immigrated halfway through?

Even now, the U.S., the UK, Germany, and Japan were steadily increasing their counts of Nobel and Fields Medal winners each year.

How long would Korea have to endure the shame of being titled as ‘Korean-American Award Winners’?

“Among those who attended today were professors from the Department of Theoretical Magic. While we can’t do much if she moves into magic studies, shouldn’t we at least prevent her from going abroad?”

The professor nodded.

“Well, in this day and age, I doubt they would hire comment trolls, but this time, I want to support the NIS side.”

Quiet groundwork was being laid somewhere to ensure that Name could remain in Korea.

* * *

[The Great Generation]

…

[5. Ahmed Mustafa (15) – Egypt]

[4. Ashvin Ramakrishnan (16) – India]

[3. Kamikita Emika (14) – Japan]

[2. NoName (8) – South Korea]

[1. Cecilia Nicole de Saampaio (12) – France, Brazil]

In an age flooded with spies, the leakage of a country’s confidential information barely made headlines.

However, the particular document from Switzerland stirred a great response among netizens due to its ranking.

It lined up promising children from around the world in order, almost seeming to incite competition among them.

It was also fun to learn about the geniuses from other countries, and videos targeting that were flooding the V-Tube platform.

[But why isn’t NoName first? Is this a joke? Are they racist?]

└ But in the top five, there are three Asians, you know?

└ Who is that no-name piece of garbage in first place?

└ The highest IQ person in the world.

└ He’s 12 years old and has already graduated from college and works at NASA, oh.

└ F*ck, he was a scam character! Lol.

[In all honesty) It’s only natural that NoName is in first place.]

└ She hasn’t shown anything, though.

└ Our Name-chan has shown plenty. There are speculations that the magic she cast in the World of Arcane is her Unique Magic.

└ If that were her Unique Magic, she would have announced it long ago, right?

└ Why are there so many anti-Korean people here? Are you a communist? Or are you a comment troll?

└ The moment that math proof is validated, it’s game over. NoName is smarter than the other 99 combined, sorry.

└ There are a hundred people, yet only three are Korean.

└ Among a total population of 8 billion, with a population of 40 million, that’s 1 in 200. Having three is pretty significant, right?

└ We need to exclude all those who have never cast magic. Lol, what kind of miraculous calculation is that?

└ Being the youngest among a hundred and being second is already a huge scam.

└ No, it’s not satisfactory unless she’s first.

[ENVY, Bong Chan-sik, Lee Sang-yoon, NoName Let’s Go!]

└ The lineup is breathtaking! Haha.

└ Do you know NoName?

└ I can’t stand this anymore.

└ What?

└ Starting today, I’m going to start a campaign to promote NoName. Sorry!

Unlike the state’s position of wanting to hide Name, the general public was outraged that her abilities were being underestimated.

While the other children were only slightly advanced compared to peers of the same age, Name was not outclassed when compared to any adult.

Movements to seek more information about her latest activities appeared on internet community sites, rebelling against the opinions seeking to belittle Name’s abilities.

Little did they know that this made Korea’s position even more difficult.

Word had begun to spread around that Name frequently appeared at Korea University.

[Let me tell you the story about NoName coming to our class.]

[Author: ㅇㅇ (147.47)]

* * *

“Does Name have a boyfriend?”

“Yes…?”

“A person she loves, a partner. Today’s lesson happens to be on ‘relationships.'”

“I don’t have one.”

“Ai, it must be really unfortunate for those who like you.”

The liberal arts professor seemed determined to catch me off guard.

“What does Name think love is?”

The college students in front of me turned their heads toward me every five seconds like a whack-a-mole game.

Were they really that curious about what I would say?

Love was simple.

“Love is a psychological phenomenon that manifests as a function of species preservation inscribed in our genes, producing offspring and protecting partners and children.”

The essence of love lies in survival and species preservation.

The reason siblings don’t fall in love is that they view one another as competitors rather than objects of protection.

Also, from a standpoint of evolutionary psychology, humans are not sexually attracted to those they’ve known since childhood to prevent inbreeding.

Therefore, it would be more accurate to say that the feeling of love is driven by hormones rather than being perceived by the subject.

Woo Da Yeon, beside me, murmured, “That’s not love!” in protest, but I maintained my position firmly.

See, even the professor introduced scholars like Wilson and the Bus who advocated my position with PowerPoint slides.

The psychology of human relationships turned out to be a more intriguing field than I had expected.

Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love left the most significant impression.

“Intimacy,” “Passion,” and “Commitment.”

According to Sternberg’s theory, if any of the three is absent, it results in an incomplete love.

‘…?’

I contemplated, extending my fingers one by one.

Intimacy builds up when you spend enough time together to share secrets.

Passion is that which ultimately follows you like a leech no matter where in the world you escape to.

And the commitment that seeks to kill me to ensure my comfort.

‘Doesn’t this sound like Hiasen from just the explanation?’

I think I just found an exception to the theory.

It shouldn’t apply among family members.

I shook my head, folding down three fingers, and woke up the sleeping Ni-el who was next to me.

“Ugh!”

“Sis, you were just snoring.”

“Thanks… Huh? The class is already over? Ughhhhhh!”

As Ni-el stretched and tried to grab the attention of the boys, I checked the new message that had just arrived.

The sender was the Korea University Public Relations Team.

* * *

Name’s wild exploration vlog seemed to have been a lost cause. This was a common thought among her subscribers.

It had already been over a month since any edited footage of her ranked matches in the World of Arcane had surfaced on V-Tube.

This halt coincided with the one-month suspension of World of Arcane’s operations, causing her videos to suddenly stop coming.

-NoName, open the door! Bang bang bang bang!

-Our dear Joseon person made a mistakeㅠㅠ Please come back, Nameㅠㅠㅠ

-That Choi Jong-won is a real jerk!

-An elementary school student should spend all day gaming during vacation, not wandering around!

-NoName Return Campaign, Day 26

-Sebastian Return Campaign, Day 26

-Now that the LOL servers are open, won’t you play Arsteria for us?

└ I personally hate LOL, but I could probably devour it like a dog right now.

-Just come! We’ll cover all the expenses.

└ Suddenly an engagement has 500,000 fans. Haha.

-Did this guy suddenly get addicted to rhythm games or what?

-NoName has appeared!!!

└ Really?

└ You’re lying. Haha.

-No, I’m not lying!

└ Really?

└ What? Why is it true? Haha.

As always, Name’s comeback happened abruptly without any notice.

[NoName]

[Just Chatting – Korea University Dominance]

And truly before her eagerly waiting fans, NoName appeared.

She was brandishing a luxury con artist’s writing device in the air.

The ‘Reminiscence’ series from ‘IWC Schaffhausen.’

-Oh my god, isn’t that the one worth 30 million won?

-Where is that from?

-IWC Schaffhausen.

-Must be that her adoptive parents are quite wealthy, wow!

-Even so, did they really buy that for an 8-year-old?

Coincidentally, as evidenced by its name, IWC is located in Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland.

-Could it be that she bought it in Switzerland…?

The fans’ misunderstandings snowballed uncontrollably and ultimately led to articles being written about it.