Ch.12Tutoring (3)

Edward sent an email before dark and researched the Rheinland family. When he searched for “Eidel von Rheinland” on the internet, a flood of disturbing articles appeared.

Eidel’s most recent misconduct was causing a disturbance at the Harcus Casino. Not only did he lose an unimaginable amount of money, but it was revealed that he had used those funds without his family’s permission.

The articles even explicitly described how he beat someone with a pool cue demanding his money back, only to be knocked unconscious by security guards.

‘He’s much crazier than the rumors suggested.’

And that wasn’t all.

Five months ago, he threw a tantrum at a bar demanding they let him in despite being underage, and when refused, attempted arson before being stopped.

Six months ago, he secretly visited a hospital operated by the head of the Rheinland family and hurled verbal abuse at patients, calling them “cripples” before leaving.

Eight months ago, he ordered numerous deliveries through an app, then requested refunds and left 1-star reviews, resulting in charges of business interference.

One year and one month ago, he sexually harassed a passing woman and when caught by space police, claimed “I’m a juvenile offender so you can’t punish me,” nearly landing him in juvenile detention.

The more Edward scrolled, the more disgusting articles appeared.

“Ugh.”

Edward nearly threw up his dinner.

“How is this guy not in prison?”

Surprisingly, the boy named Eidel had only paid fines thanks to his family’s influence, never serving any prison time. Edward couldn’t help but feel his blood boil.

‘The rich are innocent, the poor are guilty.’

Those with money face no consequences for their crimes.

‘Damn Federation.’

The Federation, which had expanded its influence across tens of thousands of light-years, had poor public security. There was no shortage of police officers and prosecutors who would smile like prostitutes and prove innocence if given enough money.

But even so, it was disturbing that such a famously terrible person had never been arrested.

And now he was about to become this boy’s tutor. Though it would only be temporary, Edward hated even that brief period enough to make him nauseous.

‘If it weren’t for the tuition fees, I wouldn’t do this.’

Edward packed his bags with a scowl.

He sought out the Rheinland family’s spaceship as soon as day broke. The reply to his email had instructed him to come at a convenient time the next day.

Clunk.

As he docked his old private vehicle to the main ship, a dreary grayish-white dock greeted Edward. The overwhelming vastness made him feel intimidated.

“Oh, Teacher! Welcome!”

A young man with black hair and golden eyes rushed over and bowed deeply.

It was a respectful greeting.

“You are…”

“I am Eidel. I look forward to working with you this month.”

“Y-you… I mean, you’re Eidel?”

He looked much more normal than Edward had expected. Intelligence shone in his eyes, and he was dressed neatly. His bangs were trimmed cleanly.

His first impression was nothing like that of a delinquent.

“Yes, I am Eidel Rheinland. And this friend here is Sonia, my personal android.”

An android with blue hair shorter than azure blue nodded slightly. She wore a headband with frills and a black apron decorated with hanging ribbons.

“…A maid?”

It was an outdated outfit. Clothes no one would wear except for cosplay. Edward thought briefly and frowned slightly.

‘Why dress her like that? Could it be… does he have some perverted taste for doing such things to androids?’

He couldn’t figure it out. Yet Edward’s thoughts kept drifting in that direction. Considering the articles he’d read yesterday, and moreover, the android was excessively beautiful.

She was practically no different from an adult entertainment robot.

Edward shook his head. He became convinced that he couldn’t judge someone by first impressions. Despite Eidel’s appearance, he would likely reveal his true colors at crucial moments and make Edward’s life difficult.

There was no need to speak more than necessary. Edward decided to keep things strictly professional as he walked.

Eidel guided Edward to his room. It was a spacious area of about 50 pyeong, and Edward, who had only ever lived in rooms of about 5 pyeong, felt a sense of relative deprivation.

The room itself was modest and clean. Despite Eidel’s reputation as a gambling addict, not a single playing card was visible, and the bookshelves were packed with entrance exam workbooks and specialized textbooks.

Mathematical formulas commonly found in physics were sparsely written on the electronic board facing the window.

‘What’s going on here…?’

Edward asked while unpacking his belongings.

“Is this the room you use?”

“Yes. This is the young master’s room.”

It was Sonia who answered, not Eidel. She adjusted her headband and continued speaking impassively.

“Contrary to public perception, the young master is more scholarly than he appears. Currently, he is working hard every day to enter Stellarium Academy.”

“…I see.”

Of course, Edward didn’t believe it.

Eidel might have instructed the android to say this, or this could be someone else’s room.

But if that were the case, a question arose.

‘Why, among all the tutors available, did he specifically choose me?’

Perhaps because Edward was from the frontier with a humble background, and his tutoring fees were cheap, making him an easy target.

In the worst case, he might end up being humiliated without getting paid for the tutoring.

Of course, Edward wasn’t stupid enough to just take such treatment.

He secretly activated a voice recorder and spoke.

“Your goal is to enter Stellarium?”

“Yes.”

Edward inwardly scoffed.

“The most important part of Stellarium’s admission process is the interview. Even if you do well on the written and practical exams, the interview can overturn everything. Are you aware of this?”

“Yes, I am.”

“The interview is divided into specialty interviews and general interviews. The general interview mostly asks about your motivation for applying and future plans, so we’ll put that aside for now. I assume you’re more interested in the specialty interview.”

“That’s correct.”

Surprisingly, Eidel was listening attentively to Edward’s explanation without making a single insulting remark.

‘This is different from what I expected… Well, I’m fine if things continue this way.’

Edward took out an interview question sheet and continued.

“The specialty interview is essentially a major interview. However, there are no majors in the academia course. So, you’ll mention your area of interest there, and a robot will give you a task to solve on the spot. After you’ve solved it, you’ll write the solution on the board, and an AI will grade it.”

He then pulled out several printed papers.

“These are entrance exam questions generated by AI last year.”

The types of problems were diverse: language, economics, history, philosophy, biology, military science, and so on. All were from last year’s exams.

“Let’s see your skills. Which subject are you interested in?”

“…Hmm.”

Eidel swallowed and moved his hand. Soon his fingertips pointed toward the physics exam paper.

‘Physics? He’s choosing physics?’

Edward flinched.

Reflexively, he turned his head to look at the bookshelf again. Upon closer inspection, all the specialized textbooks had titles ending with either “Physics” or “Mechanics.”

Then he glanced at the board with equations. F=ma and so on. Something about the relationship between D’Alembert’s principle and the Lagrange-Euler equation.

‘…No, it can’t be.’

Edward’s gaze returned to the desk.

‘Wait a minute.’

Eidel had already picked up a different subject test instead of physics.

It was mathematics.

The discipline Edward intended to major in later.

And therefore, the subject he had chosen for his specialty interview.

‘He picked up the exact same test paper I solved.’

There was no need to check the answer key. He could simply listen to the solution process and grade it himself. Edward twisted the corner of his mouth slightly and said:

“You want to go with that one?”

“Yes.”

Let’s see how good he is.

If nothing else, Edward became extremely strict when it came to mathematics. This was true even if the subject of evaluation was known as one of the universe’s most notorious troublemakers.

Even if something major happened, Edward had something to rely on. First was the presence of the android Sonia, who would be governed by the principles of robotics, and second was the recording equipment secretly recording everything.

‘If I end up getting beaten, I’ll just extract compensation.’

Edward watched Eidel, who picked up a pen, gritting his teeth. Eidel skillfully twirled the pen, thought for a moment, then brought the tip to the paper.

Scratch, scratch.

A pleasant sound like piano keys being pressed filled the room. At this moment, Eidel moved his mechanical pencil as if in a trance. Every swallow, every straight line he drew as a side note, all were traces of his contemplation.

Edward gulped at his serious demeanor.

The solving time wasn’t long. Eidel put down his pen and spoke.

“I’ve finished.”

“…Would you explain it now?”

“Yes, but before that, you can speak to me informally. It actually feels uncomfortable being addressed so formally.”

“No, I prefer it this way…”

“……”

Eidel nodded and stood up. He took the workbook and walked to the electronic board.

“This problem requires understanding the concept of function substitution from permutations. A student who can solve this will more easily understand how to derive generalized solutions for systems of linear equations later.”

Saying it was important content, Eidel continued with his detailed explanation.

The explanation itself was clean and concise.

Why this logic should be applied here, what the examiner’s intention was, what additional conditions might be needed to solve the problem more rigorously, and so on.

Eidel conveyed all these processes flawlessly.

‘…This guy is no ordinary person.’

Just as heroes recognize heroes.

Geniuses recognize geniuses.

‘His skill is genuine.’

It was a moment that changed Edward’s perception.

“How was it? Was it acceptable?”

Eidel asked politely. Edward moistened his cracking palate with dry saliva and answered.

“The solution itself was flawlessly perfect. However, there are some parts that drag on. For example, here, and this part…”

There were many instances where he took the orthodox approach despite mathematical intuition allowing for easier solutions. Edward didn’t view these flashes of insight negatively.

“Your solution method is too classical. If you use the decomposition property of commutation here, you can prove problem 3 without extending the formula.”

“Wow.”

“The same goes for the part dealing with set S. When studying set theory, one typically learns about equivalence classes, which are…”

Eidel repeatedly expressed admiration after hearing the explanation.

“Teacher, you’re really smart.”

Isn’t there a saying that praise makes even whales dance?

Edward eventually lowered his guard against Eidel’s barrage of compliments and began to smile broadly.

“You’re quite exceptional yourself…”

Edward felt a disconnect. Someone this intelligent and capable of such polite conversation wouldn’t seem like the type to sexually harass passing women or set fire to bars.

He began to wonder if this Eidel might be different from that Eidel.

“With this level, you’ll pass with flying colors. But you know…”