I Believe This Is a Science

"You showed clear hostility toward that teacher named Cicero," Madam Euten said to the child seated before her.

This child's thinking was cold, ruthless, mechanical, and logical. He looked down upon all living beings, cared more about the collective, and often overlooked individuals. This was the first time Madam Euten had seen him display disgust toward someone... Well, his attitude toward that teacher named Zhou Yun just now had also been rather subtle.

"He wore shoes made of human skin," said the child who had fallen from the sky.

Madam Euten's expression froze. Human skin... "I will tell your father about this. He will send people to investigate."

"If it was merely the skin of slaves, then he did not violate Macragge's laws," the child said in the tone of someone stating a fact.

Euten fell silent.

"What a wasteful practice. If all slaves became free people, how much productivity would they contribute? How much consumption?" The child shook his head, revealing his dissatisfaction with the Macraggeans' wasteful ways.

Listening to him, Euten showed a somewhat helpless smile. He was not wrong, but... Euten believed that was not the fundamental reason Conor had always sought to improve slaves' living conditions and even challenge slavery itself.

"Everyone has the right to live a better life. Only when every person lives for their own life can humanity as a whole live better. Debt slavery destroys that natural right and hinders humanity's development."

That was what the Lord of War had once told Euten.

The father and son arrived at the same result in principle, but their starting points differed. Conor leaned more toward individual people, while Robert cared more about humanity as an abstract whole.

Still... Euten smiled faintly.

The fact that Guilliman showed such clear disgust at shoes made of human skin proved that the child was not evil by nature. He might be far beyond ordinary people, but he was still human—a good child who could be taught.

The child lowered his eyes slightly. There was something he had not told Euten.

The first moment he saw Cicero, he felt as though the man was covered by some dark, ominous... misfortune?

That feeling instinctively stirred a faint disgust within him.

It was not a rational feeling, so he did not say it aloud.

"Then, what about Teacher Zhou Yun?" Madam Euten asked. "He seemed to have caught your interest."

Compared with Cicero, Zhou Yun interested Madam Euten even more.

How strange. That teacher had not feared this child in the slightest.

Even Madam Euten often felt fear toward the child. It was the fear a lower life-form felt toward one on a higher level, unrelated to whether the child truly bore any ill intent.

"Zhou Yun..."

The child softly murmured the name. It seemed that the name itself possessed something unusual, carrying a sense of discord that made him feel vaguely unsettled.

Yet in the end, he did not discover what exactly was strange about it. Once the thought passed through his mind, he immediately forgot that oddity, merely showing a faint, almost imperceptible smile as he said:

"He understands me very well."

"Because of his discussion of the Five Hundred Worlds? That is your ideal, isn't it?" Euten saw the smile at the corner of his mouth and could not help smiling as well.

Beneath the child's complex mind lay a sincere and beautiful dream. It was because of this that Euten often believed he would eventually grow into a good person.

"Yes, but that is not all I meant." The child shook his head. "He knows who I am."

"...He knows you are Conor's child?" Madam Euten's brows furrowed slightly.

Many nobles knew that Conor had an adopted son, but Conor had never made information about him public, nor had he allowed him to appear openly in Macragge's social circles. Euten could not say whether Conor was protecting the child or protecting the other children of Macragge.

Euten supported that decision. This child's mind was not truly sound. If his current personality was what his biological father had wanted, then Euten could only say that man was truly a bastard and an idiot.

Before the child developed a sound mind, Euten did not want him exposed too early to Macragge's social circles or its politics.

That was why they had used the pretext of seeking a teacher for Marcus Guilliman's fortieth adopted son to find a private tutor for this child.

"It seems Marcus's secrecy work was rather poor." Euten could not help shaking her head. Though Lord Conor's younger brother was loyal enough, he was never wise enough.

"I mean, he knows what I am." The child repeated himself.

"...He knows where you came from?" Euten's voice abruptly tightened, and her pupils contracted slightly.

The child's origins were fantastical enough that Euten sometimes privately called him the child who had fallen from the sky... And only Conor, several of Conor's close attendants, and Madam Euten herself knew about this matter.

"I am not sure how much he knows," the child said softly. "But I am sure he knows that I know he knows."

"..." Hearing that, Madam Euten felt even more strongly that Lord Zhou Yun would make a very suitable teacher for the child.

The two of them both seemed to be the sort to hide eight hundred schemes in every sentence.

"...And he seems to possess some extraordinary skills. I believe he may be one of the so-called 'psykers' recorded in ancient texts," the child continued.

"A wizard?" Euten frowned deeply.

"Madam, I do not accept the superstitious term 'sorcery.' Everything must have its internal logic. I believe it is a form of technology, a science. I am very interested."

"Without question, he wants something from me, so he will pretend to know nothing about me."

"Likewise, I am interested in the secrets and skills he possesses, so I will also pretend to know nothing about him."

"The two of us will maintain a certain tacit understanding until we both determine that the other can be trusted, or that the other has lost all value."

Did they really have to be so calculating? Euten could not help letting out a soft laugh.

"Come on, it is time to go home. To celebrate you finding a suitable teacher, I will cook Thalassa Tomato Eggs for you myself."

"Last time, you sneaked into the kitchen alone and ate three portions. Did you really think I did not notice—"

"Madam!"

"Welcome home. I learned how to make Thalassa Tomato Eggs from my classmates today. Come taste them."

Tita carried over a cast-iron skillet from the communal kitchen, set it on the table, and smiled at Zhou Yun, who had just returned to the apartment.

Zhou Yun leaned over for a look. The skillet held a rich sauce made from tomatoes, bell peppers, and garlic. Several hollows had been made in the sauce, where six half-set eggs lay gently trembling, giving off a rich aroma of spices. A ring of sliced bread had also been tucked around the edge of the skillet.

Zhou Yun reached out, picked up a slice of bread as a plate, placed a fried egg flowing with golden yolk on it, and shoved it into his mouth in one bite... It was indeed delicious.

"How did the interview go?" Tita asked after seeing the smile at the corner of Zhou Yun's mouth and nodding in satisfaction.

"That child has already been completely won over by my brilliance. Do not worry, that private tutor job is definitely mine—more importantly, how is the apartment hunt going?" Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow. Tita had been looking at apartments lately and did not seem to have found anything suitable yet.

"Senator Caepio's building is excellent, and the price is cheap too—but Senator Caepio honestly told me that it was so cheap because people died in it. One hanged himself, and one overdosed." Tita sounded a little helpless.

"Whoa! One flew, one nested."

"What are you even talking about? I will keep looking..." Tita said, shaking her head.

"If it comes down to it, it does not matter if people died there. I look rather good at warding off evil, so no ghost should dare come near me," Zhou Yun said seriously after thinking it over.

The main issue was that they could not keep living in this apartment forever. Zhou Yun would inevitably make some noise while tinkering with Warp-related things. For example, to enter that body he had accidentally glimpsed within the blue-and-gold storm today, Zhou Yun would have to make a trip to a Catholic church to avoid causing any disturbance.

"I would feel uncomfortable living somewhere people died. I still need to look around some more—but if you get the chance, you can ask Lord Marcus whether he has any apartment buildings he wants to sell."

"Fine." Zhou Yun ate more than half of the Thalassa Tomato Eggs, then nodded at Tita. "Oh, right. I am going to church tonight."

"You have been awfully devout lately," Tita said somewhat helplessly.