Helena had now left my room, but she had left me stuck in such a dilemma that I didn't want to think about at all right now. I went back and sat on my chair and tried to compose myself.
I decided in my mind, "Alright, she said she'll come the day after tomorrow. If she comes to me that day, I'll refuse her directly. Yes, that's the right choice. I'll clearly say I'm not coming. That's the best and safest path for me."
But the moment I tried to convince myself, Misty's innocent and sad face appeared before my eyes. I remembered how hopefully she was searching for her father. If he isn't found and that kidnapper woman escapes, then maybe Misty will never meet her father again.
Even if her father is a complete drunk and doesn't care about his family at all, still he is Misty's father. She's searching for him like crazy. If she doesn't find him, she'll break completely from inside… and I didn't want that at all.
Thinking this, I became surprised at myself. I had met her only a short while ago, but after understanding her and learning about her from the 'Real Jona's' diary, I had started caring about her too. It really is amazing that you can become so concerned about someone in such a short time. This feeling was completely new to me; in my past life such emotions had never awakened. I couldn't understand how or why this change was happening inside me.
But then I stopped thinking about all this and took out that folded paper from my pocket, which Historia had given me. As soon as I opened the paper, my eyes fell on her handwriting, which was neat and beautiful. Then my gaze moved to the mathematical calculations that I had given her to solve.
On the top of the paper a small note was written:
"Master Jona, the exact calculation of the area question of the 'Cyclic Quadrilateral' that you asked has been done here. A quadrilateral whose four sides are known and whose four vertices lie on the circumference of the same circle—finding its area is a wonderful example of ancient geometry."
I carefully started reading the solution:
Area of a Cyclic Quadrilateral
When the four sides of a quadrilateral a, b, c, d are known, its area is calculated using Brahmagupta's Formula.
Given values:
a = 25
b = 39
c = 60
d = 52
Step 1: Calculation of semi-perimeter (s)
First we must find the semi-perimeter:
s = (a + b + c + d) / 2
s = (25 + 39 + 60 + 52) / 2 = 176 / 2 = 88
Step 2: Applying Brahmagupta's Formula
The formula for area (A) is:
A = √[(s-a) × (s-b) × (s-c) × (s-d)]
Step 3: Substituting values
(s-a) = 88 − 25 = 63
(s-b) = 88 − 39 = 49
(s-c) = 88 − 60 = 28
(s-d) = 88 − 52 = 36
Therefore,
A = √(63 × 49 × 28 × 36)
Step 4: Final solution
Factoring to simplify:
A = √[(9 × 7) × (7 × 7) × (7 × 4) × 36]
A = √(9 × 7⁴ × 4 × 36)
A = 3 × 7² × 2 × 6
A = 3 × 49 × 12
A = 1764
I read this answer completely. Historia had derived the equation very well, and now I could claim my reward by showing it.
But just then Historia came back into the room. Seeing her again, a glow appeared on my face, as if I had found something lost. Happily I said, "Oh Historia! So you finally came."
Historia replied calmly, "Master, I only came back to take that tray." But then her eyes fell on the paper in my hand. She asked, "Master, have you read it? You don't see any mistake in it, right? Honestly, it wasn't such a difficult question; in our world it was solved long ago. So I didn't have to work very hard."
But there was a mischievous smile on my face. I placed the paper on the table and, looking into her eyes, said, "Historia, it's not like what you're saying at all. In fact, the truth is that there's a very big mistake in it."
Hearing this, Historia was stunned. She said in shock, "Master! What are you saying? What kind of mistake did I make?"
I smiled and challenged, "Come see for yourself."
Historia immediately came closer, took the paper from my hand, and began searching for her mistake. She checked every step again and again, every multiplication and division, but she couldn't find any error. Finally, giving up, she asked shyly like a child, "Master… I can't see any mistake. What are you talking about?"
Seeing her innocent reaction, I covered my mouth and laughed. She thought the mistake was somewhere in the math formula, but I had already discovered a 'big mistake' of hers that wasn't limited to this question.
That one slip of Historia's had also shown me a path to understand this new world more deeply.
But Historia was still asking me about the mistake in the cyclic quadrilateral answer. Finding an error in her AI calculations was almost impossible for her. So I finally told her where she had slipped.
Pointing at the paper, I said, "Historia, you didn't make any mistake in the formula or its answer. Your mistake is in its language."
She was stunned hearing this. I explained further, "You wrote this entire solution in English."
Hearing that, Historia realized her mistake. In this world, just like our old world, different regions have their own languages—but English doesn't exist here at all. This language is completely unknown to this world. And that was her biggest mistake… but for me, it was going to become my greatest strength.
And I had a solid reason for thinking that. In the Guptis Empire where we are right now, the native language is Tara. This language is named after the goddess of knowledge and light, Ugratara, and its words closely resemble the classical Sanskrit of my world.
When Historia and I first came into this world, I couldn't understand even a single word of this language. But the moment I wore my Hallowed Holo on my head, something changed in my brain and I could fully understand and read it. I noticed this when I was reading Jona's diary, because that entire diary was written in the Tara language.
But for Historia the situation was completely different. She didn't get any ability like mine that could instantly teach languages. However, thanks to her super-advanced AI mind, she learned to read and write Tara within just one week of entering this world. She had even started understanding other languages here, which showed her incredible capability.
Yet one thing was worth noting—everything she had written in this world so far used English words. That creates a big possibility. Even if she has learned this world's language completely, she still hasn't become fully perfect in it. Her use of English reveals this flaw.
And when Historia mentioned the contract she signed to become a Royal Knight, saying she could share secret information with me through a loophole in that contract… in my opinion, maybe there isn't any loophole in it at all.
The real possibility might be that Historia never properly read or understood that contract! And when it came time to sign it, she must have signed in English. And that might be where the laws of this world stopped working.
If we compare our world and this one, the language of our world defines logic and the practicality of English words, whereas the languages of this world define magic and miracles. So maybe because of that—
When Historia signed that paper in English, that magical contract might have turned into a kind of waste contract. And that could be the reason why she can share Royal Knight Headquarters' secret information with me without any magical restriction or difficulty. Of course, this is still only my theory—but its possibility cannot be denied.