Mathematics Is the Foundation of All Sciences

"When I heard that the child had chosen you as his teacher, I was both shocked and impressed by your talent."

"You may have noticed that he is an extraordinary child. His wisdom surpasses even that of adults, and his vision exceeds that of most people. Other than my cousin Conor, I have hardly seen anyone who truly caught his attention."

"I had thought I would never be able to find a suitable teacher for him and fulfill my duty. So when he told me this morning that you would be his teacher, I was so surprised I could barely speak."

Marcus Guilliman was a somewhat pale man in his forties or fifties. Dressed in a loose robe embroidered with the glorious deeds of House Guilliman, he sat across from Zhou Yun on the sofa and personally poured the coffee the attendant had just brewed from a glass pot into Zhou Yun's cup.

"From the Leon Plot of Emerald Estate in Lax, at an elevation of sixteen hundred meters. The beans are a variety known as Geisha in ancient Terra. They were dried on raised beds for five days, then cold-fermented and dried at low temperatures, with an extremely light roast."

"The flavor notes are yellow flowers, pineapple, and white wine. Try it. This may have come from the last coffee estate in the entire galaxy."

Zhou Yun picked up the cup and took a sip... Mm, sour.

As for yellow flowers, pineapple, and white wine... Zhou Yun felt this was just like the Warp: belief was your magic.

That morning, while Zhou Yun was still having breakfast with Tita, the attendant of Lord Marcus Guilliman had already been waiting outside the apartment building. He brought Zhou Yun to the city villa of the consul's cousin and personally invited him to enjoy coffee in the courtyard.

Zhou Yun's Telepathy School psychic instincts told him that Marcus sincerely admired him.

He was genuinely astonished that Zhou Yun had become that child's teacher.

Beyond admiration, there was even a trace of pity.

His tone made it sound as though Zhou Yun was not about to become the teacher of a six-year-old child, but the teacher of an adult anteater.

It seemed Lord Marcus had also been frightened quite a bit by that Primarch.

"Lord Zhou Yun." Marcus looked at Zhou Yun and said earnestly and sincerely, "You must have heard the rumors about me and know that I have many children. But I must tell you, all of my children combined matter less to me than the child you are about to teach."

"I hope you understand that teaching this child is not merely a matter between you, me, and the child. It concerns the welfare of a far broader population."

"This child's talent surpasses everyone I have ever seen in my life. Even Conor could not compare to him at that age—the King of War above, I never thought I would live to say such a thing."

"If a child like him is taught well, it will be the good fortune of all Macragge. If he is taught poorly, perhaps all Macragge will weep for it."

Zhou Yun nodded slightly. He believed he understood that child's importance far better than Marcus did.

He also believed that if the child was not taught well, it would not only be the people of Macragge who cried. Sooner or later, the entire galaxy would cry like a Gretchin that had its toe stepped on.

But Zhou Yun had to admit that he did not think raising Roboute Guilliman to have a healthy personality was something he could accomplish—Emperor of Piyang, his factory settings were simply too inhuman. It was a good thing Conor and Lady Euten possessed boundless merit. What Zhou Yun could do was make Guilliman vigilant in advance against everything that might happen in the future: Chaos and the gods.

"Father." At that moment, footsteps sounded from beside the courtyard. Zhou Yun saw the tall blond man, Marcus Guilliman's eldest son, Quintus Guilliman.

"Quintus, didn't I tell you not to disturb me right now?" Marcus was visibly somewhat angry.

"Elder Caepio has arrived. Do you remember? His visit was scheduled for this time." Quintus bowed slightly and leaned close to Marcus as he spoke.

He barely looked at Zhou Yun, completely ignoring him.

Marcus glanced at the clock and only then realized he had spent over half an hour rambling to Zhou Yun about that child's importance.

"Have Elder Caepio wait for a while. I'll take Teacher Zhou Yun to the classroom now." Marcus waved Quintus away, signaling for him to leave.

"I'll go by myself. That child must be getting a little impatient already." Zhou Yun stood and said to Marcus, "The same room as before?"

"How could that be acceptable?" Marcus rose to his feet and emphasized once again, "You still do not understand how important this child is."

"No, no, I really do understand." Zhou Yun waved his hand. His ears were already starting to hurt from listening.

Only after Zhou Yun insisted did Marcus reluctantly nod and agree to let him go on his own, while Marcus hurried off to receive his guest.

Zhou Yun returned to that room with the mirror running across its middle. Sofas had been placed inside, along with a lesson board and various books and teaching aids that might be needed.

"Good morning, Teacher." The same calm, almost emotionless voice sounded from behind the mirror before him.

"Good morning, Guilliman."

Zhou Yun sat on the sofa facing the mirror and said to Guilliman,

"This is our first lesson. I am going to teach you an extremely important and crucial subject."

"It is the foundation of all sciences—mathematics."

"...Oh?" Guilliman behind the mirror seemed to become slightly interested.

He truly had not expected Zhou Yun, a grammar teacher, to teach him mathematics.

Guilliman had studied mathematics before and believed he did not need to specifically find a mathematics teacher.

In his view, a subject based on pure logical thought like mathematics was the simplest of all.

After all, no matter how stupid someone was, could they really fail to prove that every even number greater than two could be expressed as the sum of two primes?

"What kind of mathematical knowledge will you teach me? How to prove the consistency of any consistent axiomatic system itself? How to use the Crystal Group Computational System to convert coordinates between the Warp and the real universe?"

Naturally, Zhou Yun could not understand that string of words Guilliman had just said. He merely picked up a small blackboard beside him and wrote the number 6 on it.

"Do you see this number six?" Zhou Yun asked the mirror.

"I see it." Guilliman's voice came from behind the mirror, carrying a hint of confusion.

"This number symbolizes indulgence, depravity, lust, greed, and endless pleasure. Whenever you see this number appearing frequently in any form, you must remain vigilant."

"If six to the sixth power appears, or six hundred and sixty-six, or multiples of six, all of these situations require vigilance."

"...Teacher, isn't this feudal superstition?" Guilliman spoke slowly after two seconds of silence.

"No, this is a rigorous science. It is the great Numerology. Study it well, watch carefully, and remember it for me."

"Now look. This is the number 7. It symbolizes decay, disease, death, rebirth..."