Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The city enveloped in a thin mist gave off a feeling as though the heat was trapped within the fog, unable to dissipate. At one in the afternoon, which was the hottest part of the day, stepping out in formal attire was particularly tormenting.

However, this outfit was necessary. Even though the academic presentation was open to social figures, inappropriate attire could likely complicate entry.

The clothes Shard wore were tailored by the same tailor sent by Miss Galina when he last played cards with the Duke. He entered the Draleon Royal Mechanical College without any hindrance, curiously observing the higher educational institution of the Steam Age, and even took the time to appreciate the flowers planted in the flowerbeds.

Following a few middle-aged gentlemen who were evidently attending the academic lecture, and guided by the signs, he found the lecture hall where the event was held, where even servants were available to offer directions if needed.

Different venues within the academy's auditorium were bustling as properly dressed gentlemen moved about, various accents mingling in the corridors discussing their views or inviting peers to join them in attending specific sessions.

The academic atmosphere here was intensely concentrated; one could tell from each individual's demeanor that those gathered here this afternoon were indeed the so-called cultured people.

"Does this count as boasting about myself?"

He wondered, as he paused in front of the notice board looking for a suitable session.

[With your educational background and level of knowledge, you are certainly considered a cultured person.]

This was arguably one of the few times she directly complimented Shard.

Inside the auditorium, the temperature was significantly lower than outside by some means. Shard even discovered that there was a tea party included in this academic presentation event, a detail not mentioned in newspaper advertisements, likely to deter freeloaders.

Although his original purpose for attending was to understand the current development of physics, he initially chose a mathematics presentation by a white-bearded old scholar who had come from the County of Saradiel.

The main content of the presentation was calculus, but most of the time, the elderly professor discussed his recent work, specifically, "When a function satisfies certain conditions, by using the values of its derivatives at a particular point as coefficients, a polynomial can be constructed to approximate this function."

The room, small, equipped with a blackboard and furnished with over twenty benches, had only a dozen attendees, who sat fairly scattered.

At the beginning of the presentation, most could nod along while listening, agreeing with the views expressed. When the professor formally delved into function expansion, only a few could comprehend, and by the time the discussion turned to the remainder of the expansion series, likely only Shard fully understood.

He had learned this knowledge back in his homeland, where it was termed "Taylor's Expansion," but in this world, the old scholar named it after himself as "Mos Expansion."

This was not exactly the cutting edge of mathematical research, indicating that within this era of the Steam Age, the field of mathematics had reached a significantly advanced level.

The development of production forces necessitated the innovation of production tools, and the innovation and creation of these tools could not do without breakthroughs in fundamental mathematics, physics, and chemistry. The Outlanders had already noticed the vibrant and flourishing steam industry of this world, hence the foundation in mathematical tools could not be lagging.

Shard was mindful of his character setting as someone "who had lost his past memories," so he merely audited the talks that afternoon without speaking up or showing any anomaly. However, after the talks, he would discuss the content with the presenting professors, sharing his views casually, probing how far the frontier of fundamental sciences had advanced. Stay tuned for updates on empire

This love of learning and his "talent" made Shard quite popular, and he even distributed his business cards, a way to expand his networks.

Among all the presentations, Shard was actually most interested in the ones discussing the inventions concerning steam machinery, eager to see the innovative ideas of this era.

Unfortunately, this academic conference did not involve physical exhibitions, so he could only listen to presentations about mechanical principles and the miniaturization improvements of steam engines, but these were interesting enough.

The allure of steam technology, and the raw beauty of metal machinery based on fundamental mechanics, were captivating. Perhaps not as practical as the electrical systems from his homeland, but Shard admired the ideas and designs. Encountering uniquely intriguing things was what made exploring this unfamiliar world so fascinating.

At the tea party, Shard, holding a teacup, somehow struck up a conversation with a few strangers speaking Carsonrick, discussing the presentations they had attended. Coincidentally, Shard understood Carsonrick but could not speak it, while the foreigners understood Draleon but couldn't speak it.

Thus, their conversation went surprisingly smoothly. Shard heard that just half an hour prior, there had been a big fire caused by someone demonstrating a new metallic combustion enhancer, making him somewhat regret not attending a chemistry lecture earlier, as such excitement was rare.

"The progress of the mathematical disciplines, even without the help of computers, has reached a quite impressive level. The development of chemistry, influenced by Mysticism, differs from that of my homeland. There's no issue with basic physics, but I suppose the chance to copy a book on 'The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy' is slim... No world lacks geniuses."

This was Shard's current feeling.

The academic lecture had attracted people from various places, including a Circle Sorcerer. As Shard passed by people, he heard whispers reminding him near his ears. However, he did not observe others, nor did he feel the urge to delve into their secrets. He pretended to know nothing and focused on moving through the conference.

In the first few hours of the afternoon, he listened to several reports on mathematics, physics, and mechanical manufacturing. Therefore, after the tea break, he went on to attend lectures on humanities and social sciences. The reports discussing economics and bilateral relations were particularly enlightening to Shard.

Occasionally attending theological lectures allowed him from a layman's perspective to understand the fundamental role of the church in civilized society.

After the lecture, since it was not necessary to consider the source of basic knowledge as in the natural sciences, Shard specifically discussed with a professor from the Rolax Divine Academy of Tobesk City some issues concerning the relationship between God and humans.

These questions were not meaningless, in a world where God truly existed and could come near mortals, the answers to these questions were obviously different from what outsiders had heard from their homeland.

The academic seminar sponsored by the City Hall even hosted a dinner at six in the evening. Since Shard had prepared the night's cat food for his cat before leaving home, there was no need to go back, so he stayed for the dinner.

This was not a formal banquet but a simple dinner gathering, similar in scale to the afternoon tea, where everyone held their plates and gathered with familiar people to discuss topics of mutual interest.

Shard had not encountered any acquaintances all afternoon, but he met Professor Manning during the dinner. It was not Shard who initiated the greeting, but the professor who approached him first.

At that moment, the young Outlander was standing by a long dining table covered with white cloth, discussing with the voice in his head whether he should fetch the roast goose by cutting it himself with a dinner knife or by asking a servant for help.

He wasn't particularly eager to eat the roast goose, but he was curious about how a whole goose was placed on the table.

"Oh, isn't that the Hamilton Detective?"

Only when someone mentioned his name did he turn around and see Professor Manning approaching.

By this time, more than a week had passed since the "Joyful Dream Pen" incident, and Professor Manning had recovered quite well. Although he still looked somewhat unwell, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness and was still experiencing some aftereffects, he could at least go out normally already.

"Good evening, Professor, long time no see."

The two shook hands, very tacitly not mentioning the last time they had met. After some small talk, Professor Manning asked about the reason for Shard's presence. Upon hearing that he was specifically there for the lectures, the professor immediately smiled:

"It's really rare these days to find such a studious young man like you."

The two discussed that afternoon's lectures together. As luck would have it, Shard had not attended any lectures on history or archaeology, so he listened to Professor Manning talk about the topics discussed in those lectures.

The theme was about the relevance of ancient literature to reality, and the professor who had come from distant Carsonrick pointed out that most of the ancient literature that is transmitted to this day might probably be related to actual events that occurred in ancient times.

Of course, this controversial view naturally caused dissatisfaction among some people. As for Professor Manning, his field of research was archaeology, or rather leading a group of people to excavate ancient ruins. Hence, he did not express any opinion at the seminar.

During the conversation, the professor used a dinner knife to open up the stomach of the roast goose, revealing the beef stuffed inside, showing Shard how to eat this dish.

The professor was not only proficient in archaeology but also made contributions in other social science fields and even understood some higher mathematics. At the end of the dinner, he introduced Shard to some of his colleagues and invited Shard to a seminar on the excavation of ruins from the City-State of the Fifth Era in the Eastern Kingdom to be held after the dinner.

Professor Manning was highly respected among his peers, and thus Shard was greeted warmly. During the seminar, he even tried to steer the conversation towards the large ancient ruins in the New World, but people cautiously did not discuss this topic with Shard.

"It is explicitly regulated by the Kingdom that any news about archaeology in the New World must not be disclosed to the public in an open setting."

This was something Professor Manning quietly told Shard, meaning that if Shard visited his home, it would be fine to discuss such topics in private.

It truly was a fulfilling day; up until nine o'clock that evening when Shard returned home without encountering any unexpected events. Holding the cat that pounced on him and walking up the winding staircase to the second floor, he still thought that today was probably his lucky day.

Perhaps because of this thought, at two o'clock in the middle of the night, a few hours later, someone knocked on the door downstairs at No. 6, Saint Delan Square.