Chapter 17
The sudden appearance of an old friend after five years left me dazed.
I had never encountered calculus in any rofan (romance fantasy) curriculum before.
‘Something’s wrong. They said it was easy! Said even an idiot could solve it with their eyes closed!’
My eyes quaked like a magnitude 4 earthquake at the sight of the dizzying numbers and symbols. With trembling hands, I gently closed the book I had just opened.
Hias, noticing my reaction quickly, asked,
“What’s wrong? Why are you closing the book?”
He had clearly been facing the chalkboard, yet he immediately picked up on my action.
They say teachers have eyes in the back of their heads—it might actually be true.
Caught red-handed, I lowered my gaze and began picking at my nails under the desk.
‘At this rate, I’m going to end up being the talking potato again.’
I had planned to pretend to be a genius based on the little I knew, but it looked like I was about to be exposed as a fool. Going from fool to fool was fine—but from genius to fool? Unforgivable.
With a determined look, I lifted my head high and stared at the back of my teacher’s head. I placed both hands firmly on the book and slightly raised my body.
“Teacher, you know I’m seven years old, right?”
Hias adjusted his glasses with his fingers and turned his body fully toward me.
“Of course I do. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just… for a first lesson, isn’t this too hard? And the title of the book doesn’t match the content at all!”
Rather than letting my false genius image collapse later, I decided to go with the clueless-child concept from the start.
Hias’s expression changed for the first time.
“Too difficult?”
He set the chalk down and stepped off the platform. As he walked toward my desk, his eyes bore into mine.
“T-Teacher? Please wait.”
I instinctively leaned back.
“Why?”
“Your eyes… they’re weird right now.”
His gaze shimmered with fascination and something close to madness.
What button had I just pushed? Was he thinking something like, “If a kid this dumb can’t even get this far, better pluck her out while she’s still a sprout”? Is this the lunatic they hired to be my tutor?
The closer he got, the faster my heart pounded. When he finally stood right in front of me, I thought my heart might leap out of my mouth.
The small, proud hands I had placed confidently on the book trembled and lost all strength.
Then he asked,
“I never told you what we’d be learning today. So what did you base the difficulty of the lesson on?”
I glanced at him nervously and moved my hand slightly to reveal the subtitle on the inside of the book.
“It’s written right here, in the subheading.”
Hias’s eyes followed my finger to the table of contents. He raised an eyebrow and asked,
“What does this chapter say?”
He’s treating me like I’m an idiot…
“Calculus.”
“Do you know what calculus is?”
What is this, a street preacher asking if I know ‘the way’?
I almost said, “Isn’t it about differentiation and integration?”—but I paused.
Could a seven-year-old realistically be expected to know calculus? Even in this insane world?
Honestly, the one who gave a calculus book to a seven-year-old is the weird one.
‘Is he testing me right now?’
Putting on an innocent childlike expression, I replied,
“Nope, I don’t. I just read the subtitle. Since it’s my first time seeing it, I assumed it’d be difficult.”
The guilt in my tone stretched all the way to the capital’s royal palace.
Hias hummed cheerfully above my head in response to my flat, mechanical answer.
Hearing the hum made me more confused. He turned back to the board.
‘Phew, is it over?’
I sighed in relief and patted my chest. But then, he turned back around with an unreadable smile and said,
“Honestly, I didn’t want to accept this teaching position.”
His sudden confession caught me off guard, and my internal danger radar began to blare.
“But! After seeing you, Lady, I changed my mind.”
“No, please don’t!”
I needed to shut this man up, fast.
“I, Hias, have met countless fools with this brilliant mind of mine. But not a single genius like myself in all that time.”
But he was so absorbed in his monologue that he didn’t seem to hear me at all.
“Of course, that means I’ve never had a student either.”
Why is he telling me this…?
“Not even once.”
“I figured as much.”
“But now, I’ve made up my mind.”
“Please spit that thought out. Swallowing something like that will make you sick.”
“I’ve decided to take you on as my student.”
I could only clutch my head in frustration.
I had to find a way to escape from this eccentric genius who didn’t even hear a word I said.
You might ask why I’d want to escape from someone who’d probably be the female lead’s loyal right hand. My answer: Because I’m not a genius.
To receive support from him, I’d have to constantly prove and reaffirm my genius.
The moment I failed to prove it—or ran out of tricks—his trust would vanish like vapor.
I had no interest in such exhausting, headache-inducing trouble.
I slammed my hands on the desk.
Bang!
Hias stopped speaking at the sound and focused on me.
“Teacher, why do you suddenly want to take me as your student? I know absolutely nothing about calculus.”
Hias’s expression shifted again, as if he’d discovered something fascinating.
“But you read the title of the book, didn’t you?”
“And what about it?”
“You’re saying… you read it without knowing what it meant?”
His face turned pale in disbelief. I blinked at him in confusion.
“No way… I have to report this to the Academy immediately…”
Muttering under his breath, Hias began pacing frantically. He even slapped his own cheek before snapping back into focus and approaching me again.
“Lady, have you ever studied theology?”
“Theology?”
“Yes.”
‘That’s probably what they teach at temples, right?’
“No.”
“H-How could this be? Lady, are you a natural-born genius?!”
Wait a sec… Is this one of those “even breathing makes you a genius” tropes?
As I tilted my head in continued confusion, Hias finally explained.
“What you read… was in Divine Script.”
Divine Script? Why is that even in here…?
So it wasn’t calculus that shocked him—it was the fact that I could read something written in Divine Script.
“Not just anyone can read it. Only people like me—true geniuses—can.”
Hias paused dramatically, then pointed his finger at me with gleaming eyes.
“And geniuses like you, Lady. Among commoners, at least.”
I thought he was one of those cold, rude types with no social skills. But apparently, he was more of a hyper, flappy weirdo.
My expression cooled, though I couldn’t stop my shoulders from twitching and my cheeks from lifting at being called a genius.
Ignoring my reaction, Hias excitedly continued.
“It was designated ‘Divine Script’ because only those with divine power could read it—and even then, only those of cardinal rank.”
“So… do you have divine power, Teacher?”
He shook his head.
“No. I just couldn’t stand not being able to read it. So I analyzed and dissected it until I memorized all of its principles.”
“Is… is that even possible?”
“No. It’s only possible because it’s me.”
This guy is seriously insane… Completely drunk on the idea of being a ‘genius.’
As he stood there marveling at his own brilliance, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
“That means, Lady, you must either have divine power on par with a cardinal… or be a natural-born genius. Either is fine.”
A saint? Where’d that come from?
A 24-year-old college student, buried in assignments, now a saint in this world?
‘What kind of nonsense plot twist is this…’
If I had divine power, I’d definitely have noticed by now. Or so I thought—but the corners of my mouth were rising uncontrollably.
Didn’t the Duke say I’d be visiting the temple in three days? I should ask him to schedule a divine power test while I’m there.
If it turns out I have divine power thanks to my transmigration buff, I could escape this whole angsty adopted-daughter arc. After all, “Turns out the girl you adopted is a saint!” is a straight road to affection from the whole household.
Even if I can’t escape the genre, I can at least escape the Duke’s mansion.
‘And the overpowered setup? I love it.’
While I was grinning to myself, Hias’s voice called out again.
“Lady, have you hired teachers for the other subjects yet?”
“Yes. I’ve already hired them all.”
“I’ll take those too.”
“I said I hired them already.”
“I’m confident in everything—except physical labor.”
Please just listen for once…
“Teacher… you really don’t listen to people, do you…”
I said each word with a sigh of resignation.
“If I can take you as my student, it’ll be fun. I don’t know why, but something inside me is telling me I must.”
“How about you get that exorcised at the temple? I think it might be a demon.”
“Oh, could it be one of those divine prophecies I’ve heard about?”
“……”
Oblivious to what he was saying, Hias suddenly sparkled with realization. He even clasped his hands together in a prayer position and took it a step further.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really a believer in God—but I think I’ve become one today.”
“Isn’t that blasphemy?”
“Do you think the temple would officially certify it for me?”
“OF COURSE NOT!”
