Chapter 2244: Chapter Two Thousand Two Hundred Eighty-Nine: Math Problems

Margaret really did look exhausted, and Miss Sylvia had Xia De sit beside her, so the blonde Princess tilted her head and leaned directly on Xia De's shoulder, while Miss Sylvia sat across from the two of them.

The young witch knew there was still plenty of time ahead, so there was no need to cling to him every moment:

"Looks like you weren't idle this afternoon either, Xia De."

She said teasingly as she lifted the porcelain teacup.

"Yes, I was still investigating the vampires with friends. Whether that investigation will yield results is unknown for now, but at least I learned quite a few interesting things along the way."

He answered while accepting the teacup Margaret handed him:

"I received definite information that the thirteen-ring Light-Chaser is most likely in Moonbay. He's investigating elven legends—truly strange, how did he determine Amelia's race?"

The young witch smiled:

"It seems Bella's 'revenge' operation will need to be more cautious, but that's not really a big problem. Apart from that thirteen-ring, the Light-Chaser Research Society only has one twelve-ring member, and the rest are all below ten rings. Even if we can't beat a thirteen-ring, stalling him for a bit shouldn't be a problem."

Xia De nodded and didn't dwell on these troublesome matters:

"Are you two settling in alright here? Is there anything you need me to handle?"

"Oh, Xia De, you're already so busy yourself—why are you still thinking about helping us?"

The blonde Princess asked softly:

"Go do your own things. Miss Sylvia and I can handle the matters currently in our hands just fine. If we truly need anything, we'll come find you."

The black-haired witch added:

"Xia De, want to look at the business ledgers? This time we really made five or six years' worth of pocket money in one go. Of course it can't compare to Miss Jia Lin Na's wealth, but at least we won't be strapped for cash when doing things in the future."

She actually started to get up to fetch the ledger, but was stopped by Xia De:

"Forget the ledger. If there are dividends or anything, you don't need to give them to me—just keep reinvesting into production."

Miss Sylvia showed an expression that said "I knew you'd say that":

"Currently the business is mainly expanding in Wielendale and the surrounding areas; further out we only have Moonbay here. It's not that I don't want to earn more—it's simply that the factories can't keep up with production."

Margaret also said with a smile:

"Xia De, you absolutely cannot guess how popular this product is. Even Mother and Sister privately asked me whether we could produce stockings exclusively for the royal family."

She stood up as she spoke, saying somewhat shyly:

"I didn't expect you to come by in the evening. Wait a moment—I'll go change into Miss Sylvia's latest product."

Then she lifted her skirt and quickly left the room.

"Girls these days really don't know how to be reserved, but this is what a true witch should be like—it's never wrong to seize what you want."

Miss Sylvia said with a smile, walking around the tea table to sit beside Xia De. Her black eyelashes blinked a few times:

"Did you miss me? Xia De."

"Of course. Need me to prove it with a kiss?"

The witch laughed and hugged him:

"Not for now, because what I need from you right now is that mouth of yours... to tell me, how far have things progressed between you and Bella? If you're willing, a demonstration would certainly be more direct than saying it."

"This..."

Xia De glanced at the bedroom door:

"Margaret will be back soon."

Emma Sylvia laughed:

"Don't worry, she won't be back for at least half an hour. I set a lock on the chest where I keep important items—she has to solve my math problem to open it.

I bet Margaret won't feel comfortable coming back to ask for the answer, especially with you here too. Based on my understanding of the Princess, she'll need at least thirty minutes."

Xia De strongly suspected all of this had been planned in advance, but he didn't have time to think it over—the passionate lady had already kicked off her shoes and curled up on the sofa.

At this moment her legs were wrapped in ordinary black fabric; that kind of intimate garment, of course, she wouldn't wear at all times. She noticed Xia De's downward glance, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile. With a casual wave of her hand, accompanied by a slight ripple in space, a pair of black fabric that should have been in the chest teleported directly into her hand.

The Grand Witch of Space wore a smug expression as she stuffed the thing in her hand into Xia De's hand:

"Tell me, how are things between you and Bella really? When we were chatting about you last night, her reaction was truly amusing. The witch who believed so fervently in fate has ultimately fallen deep into fate's web... help me put them on while you talk, and of course, don't forget—first, you have to take off the original pair.

Oh~ thinking that Miss Jia Lin Na gets this kind of treatment every day, I'm practically going mad with jealousy."

Regardless of what happened in the study, when Margaret finally returned after solving the math problem with great difficulty, Xia De and Miss Sylvia were still sitting across from each other with the tea table between them. Both held teacups, and several cookies on the tea table had disappeared.

Apart from what Margaret couldn't notice for the moment—Xia De's pocket having gained a few things, and Miss Sylvia's legs now wearing a different pair of fabric—nothing here had changed.

"Teacher, your chest was locked. I only just managed to open it."

The blonde Princess said, pretending to be aggrieved. But as she walked to the tea table, she lifted her skirt hem, revealing her feet and the area below her knees, then turned around in a circle to let Xia De see the beautiful flesh-colored fabric with semi-openwork patterns formed by varying thickness.

"Very pretty."

Xia De sighed softly in admiration. Margaret sat back down beside Xia De and, very naturally, placed Xia De's hand on her own leg:

"Yes, this is the teacher's proudest work, though the idea of using varying thicknesses of silk fabric to form patterns was mine. What were you two just chatting about? The Chosen One's affairs, or the plans going forward?"

She was only asking casually, but Miss Sylvia still shot Xia De a look, letting him answer.

The Outsider was always good at handling sudden situations:

"Math problems."

He said very certainly:

"Yes, wonderful math."

"What math problem?"

The Princess remained curious, while Miss Sylvia pressed her lips together and smiled as she watched Xia De, also curious what he would say. The young Grand Witch wasn't afraid of her student finding out what she and Xia De had just done—she simply found it very amusing.

"Um... the solution method for systems of equations."

Xia De continued nodding very certainly:

"Miss Sylvia believes the solution methods for multivariable systems of equations have already been fully explored, and that the remaining fancy solution methods are merely showing off and don't count as exploring the essence of mathematics.

But I first brought up sequences, then brought up 'determinants'. Determine the number of unknowns in the system of equations, then extract the coefficients before the unknowns in each equation. Form a determinant in the form of (number of unknowns) × (number of equations), and then..."

He took out his notebook and gave a brief explanation, and after writing out the final answer and verifying it against the result obtained by the normal method, he also briefly discussed the relationship between "matrices" and determinants, the rules of determinant transformations, the significance of determinants for determining volumes and coordinates in multidimensional space, and the significance of determinants for solving multidimensional calculus.

If it were not for the fact that "quantum mechanics" was most likely inapplicable to this world, Xia De would even have wanted to discuss the influence of determinants and matrices on quantum mechanics calculations. Although it had been over a year since coming to the new world, thanks to his enhanced memory, he had not forgotten a single bit of the knowledge learned in his hometown.

In fact, the concept of "determinants" had long been proposed in this world as well, but had still not received much application or research. The outsider, because he had harbored the idea of making a living through mathematics at the very beginning of his transmigration, had not only attended several forums and lectures, but had also read books on the subject, and thus had a certain understanding of the development of mathematics in this world.

As for the content he was lecturing on, Margaret had been confused from the very start, but Young Lady Sylvia's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and after Xia De finished speaking, she reached across the tea table and grabbed Xia De's hand:

"Xia De, will you stay with me tonight?"

"Mm?"

Of course, in the end Xia De did not stay the night. However, before leaving, he used the witchcraft of the 【Moon Library】 to reveal portions of the knowledge from his memory on the pages of the book, and then Young Lady Sylvia, through "psychography," directly imprinted the contents of those pages onto paper.

Xia De was very worried that this young great witch would have to pull an all-nighter tonight.

Margaret did try to persuade Xia De to stay for dinner, but because Xia De was still thinking of going to visit Young Lady Benares and Hillis, he politely declined her invitation.

However, Margaret did see Xia De down to the ground floor of the manor, and only let him leave after they shared a kiss:

"See you tomorrow night, Xia De, I will find a way to have a dance with you."

The golden-haired Princess waved goodbye to Xia De, and as she watched Xia De toss out the glass slipper and disappear into the sunset, she felt boundless longing for tomorrow night's banquet.

"Mia, let's go eat at Moon Bay!"

There happened to be no one at home this evening, so Xia De bounded up the stairs two at a time, then scooped up the cat that was sprawled on the back of the sofa, and before the cat could react, took it with him down to the basement.

But since it had Xia De's company as well as dinner, the cat did not object to going out with Xia De in the evening. Thus one person and one cat walked out of the Dragon's Nest, and then took a carriage to the Gothic Grand Hotel in the city.

Because going around in such a big circle had wasted some time, by the time the carriage stopped in front of the most luxurious hotel in the city of Moon Bay, the gas lamps on the street had already been lit with bright yellow light.

The best hotel in the "City of Wealth" was, of course, extraordinary; the Gothic Grand Hotel sat at the five-way intersection in the upper city district of the east side of the city, right next to the "Moon Bay Bank," and one street away from Limingjiaotang. In the night, every window of the hotel radiated a brilliant light, almost illuminating the entire intersection — even in the Steam Age, such a sight was astonishing.