Dear Mr. Williams:
Thank you so much for forwarding the misaddressed letter to . A friend of mine made a terrible mistake, which is how it ended up in the Fidektri Kingdom. You are a true gentleman!
I must apologize. By the ti I received your reply, Mr. Warren's arithtic class was already over. The distance from Ruen to Nolan is simply too great, so my howork was a complete disaster. However, I did show your letter to Mr. Warren. I was hoping to understand those headache-inducing symbols—they looked so interesting—but he said you must either be a highly respected probabilist... or a seasoned gambler.
I am certain a gentleman such as yourself would not frequent gambling dens. Mr. Warren also admitted that your mathematical talent is unparalleled. We looked through recent mathematical papers and found no one whose research into probability is nearly as profound. Those arrogant academics always seem to think that only gamblers study probability!
Mr. Williams, I swear by the spirit of nature that I will never publicize your knowledge. But why not write these ideas into a paper and publish it? I am certain you would beco famous for it!
Thank you again for your reply. Although my arithtic grade was poor, I still hope we might have the chance to discuss mathematics or literature together.
P.S. I have enclosed a few krone in the envelope as a token of my gratitude for your reply. Please do not refuse it; it is a small gesture from my heart.
Yours faithfully, Mary
Jenkins ran his fingers over the envelope and felt a small, neatly folded paper packet inside. He snipped it open with a pair of scissors and counted two red banknotes. It was currency from the Hamparvo Kingdom, called the krone. The exchange rate with the Fidektri Kingdom's gold pound was roughly one to three. Jenkins had little interest in such matters, but Papa Oliver had insisted he familiarize himself with the currencies of various nations.
"Two one-hundred-krone notes... converted to gold pounds, that's... 620 pounds?"
Jenkins could hardly believe it. He reread the letter, guessing that Miss Mary must co from an exceedingly wealthy family, and... she had mistaken him for so unworldly, mad mathematician.
Her deferential tone between the lines made that much clear.
"Chocolate, I'm buying you better cat food tomorrow!"
He squinted, waving the red banknotes at the cat, but the little feline only stared for a mont before lying back down, utterly uninterested.
The banking industry in this world was still in its infancy, having been started by the Church of Travel and Contracts for the convenience of travelers. He could exchange the currency there. Jenkins decided to take care of his family matters tomorrow and skip his visit to Papa Oliver's shop.
Miss Mary had once again used that extrely expensive snow paper for her letter. And given the speed of the reply, it was likely sent by ans more than ordinary post.
"A reply..."
Jenkins filled his fountain pen with ink and pulled the kerosene lamp on the dining table closer to illuminate the blank sheet before him. His current financial situation didn't allow for expensive stationery. The paper he was using was official church docunt paper—the sa high-quality stock, just a step below modern printing paper, that Captain Bincy had used during his initial review. Papa Oliver kept a stack for writing reports, and Jenkins had helped himself to a few sheets.
My Dearest Miss Mary:
"Cross that out. Too intimate."
Respected Miss Mary:
I have received your reply.
Your kindness does great honor, and your admiration fills with pride. Thank you for the krone; it is a trendous help.
I do not wish to deceive you, but you may be under a slight misunderstanding. I am not a mathematician, but rely a mathematics enthusiast. I do, however, have so small accomplishnts in the field of literature. ṘἁＮ∅βĚs̈
I have read your suggestions regarding a paper, but I know my knowledge is still shallow, and the heavy demands of my work do not permit to delve deeper into the fascinating realm of mathematics. I will, however, attach so of my unsystematic research on probability at the end of this letter. If you find it interesting, please feel free to publish it, but do not attach my na.
I dislike being exposed to the public eye. Though it might bring fa and fortune and change my life, I despise that kind of change!
You need not feel any apprehension about this. To disseminate my knowledge to the public is an honor for a believer in the Legacy Sage. At the sa ti, I hope my proposal does not cause you any trouble.
Thank you again for your generosity. I would be delighted to beco your pen pal and discuss topics of mathematics and literature with you.
May you always have a reason to smile, and may all be well with you.
P.S. I am a follower of the Legacy Sage, and I swear to the Sage that the theories appended to this letter are being presented to this world for the first ti by my hand.
Yours faithfully, Jenkins R. Williams
"I'm so humble,"
Jenkins was quite satisfied with his decision. Before he transmigrated, he had just gone through graduate school entrance exams, so his understanding of higher mathematics was decent. But that knowledge was limited to the unsystematic content required for the tests. He wasn't so novel protagonist; organizing it all into a theoretical paper for publication would take considerable effort.
But Jenkins didn't have that kind of ti. He wanted to focus his mind on the study of mysticism. Besides, the original Jenkins's persona could accommodate the label of "mathematics enthusiast," but certainly not "mathematician."
It was a matter of survival.
Still, since soone was interested, it was a fine thing to jot down so of what he knew. After all, as a believer in the Legacy Sage, such an act was in line with the doctrine. He had co to this world, so he ought to bring so change to it. Otherwise, what was the point of the journey?
But safety ca first. He would let Miss Mary decide whether to publish it.
"Transportation in this backward era is incredibly inconvenient, and she's in a distant foreign country. There's no way we'll ever cross paths in our lifeti."
Chocolate's tail swished idly, knocking against the teacup Jenkins was using for his milk. The cup wobbled, and a little milk sloshed over the rim.
"I can ntion so probability theory, but simple classical probability is just surface-level knowledge. Deeper concepts will require calculus."
After a mont's thought, Jenkins began by defining the Cartesian coordinate system in his own words. He then moved on to discuss the area of a trapezoid, which led to the problem of finding the area of an irregular trapezoid on a two-dinsional plane, using the concept of infinite divisions to introduce integration.
"This isn't enough either. Using integration as a tool for probability is still too rudintary. I'll also need limits, infinite series, differentials, derivatives, differential equations, matrices, multidinsional space, vectors..."
Jenkins muttered to himself as he wrote down everything he could think of on the paper.
Chocolate craned its neck to peer at the strange symbols flowing from its master's pen. After a short while, it felt dizzy, let out a ow, and lay back down to feign sleep, though it was still secretly watching Jenkins's every move.
Jenkins still had so sense left. While he didn't know how far the frontier of mathematics had advanced in this era, he knew that what he was writing was far too advanced.
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