The Dialectic of Master and Slave - Chapter 7
“This can be solved by applying ‘Dekal’s Theorem.’ If you draw lines so that the diagonals meet perpendicularly in this rectangle, it creates four right triangles. If we call the point where these diagonals intersect ‘o’ and classify the distances from each vertex to o as a, b, c, d, then apply ‘Dekal’s Theorem’… You can confirm that when two diagonals inside a rectangle intersect perpendicularly, the sum of opposing sides is equal, right? If we return to the problem remembering this fact, we can find that the unknown value is 64.”
‘Dekal’s Theorem’ was what was called ‘Pythagorean Theorem’ on Earth. Here, it was called Dekal’s Theorem because a scholar named Dekal first discovered it. In this way, though names differed, principles remained the same, making mathematics more applicable compared to other knowledge.
On the other hand, since both language and ideology were different in this world, humanities knowledge was of little use, making Jaha grateful for choosing sciences in high school.
“Since nothing in the world is free, take this.”
The day after asking questions, Ranya would bring food like cookies, fruit, or bread. These were the most welcome gifts for Jaha.
Even in the imperial palace where everything was abundant, the meals given to slaves were terrible. Soup boiled with all sorts of vegetable scraps and a piece of bread. The bread was so hard it could break teeth if chewed as is, so it had to be softened in the soup. It was truly food that embodied the expression ‘eating to survive.’
At first, Jaha would retch after eating the soup.
Though not from an extremely wealthy family, she had still been raised comfortably in a well-off household until now. Forget the taste, she couldn’t stand the visual of soup that reminded her of food waste. However, reality was cruel, and Jaha conformed to her circumstances to survive.
I can’t die here.
Even if she were to die, it would be after returning to Earth.
She couldn’t die meaninglessly in a foreign land while her parents waited anxiously for their missing daughter.
Forcing down the soup that threatened to come back up, Jaha steeled her resolve this way.
Fortunately, humans were creatures of adaptation, and the soup that was initially swallowed with involuntary tears became something she could eat indifferently as time passed. Then, when first receiving cheese cookies from Ranya, she was overwhelmed with shock.
Were cookies always this delicious?
Taking one bite, her mind went blank from the nutty aroma and sweetness filling her mouth. A sensation of every cell in her body trembling with joy. It was such an incredible feeling that she thought, ‘Is this what taking drugs for the first time feels like?’
When she came to her senses, Ranya was making a strange expression. Jaha was confused until she saw the offered handkerchief and realized she was crying.
Ranya quietly left the space, and Jaha ate the cheese cookies alone. With each bite of this proper food, tasted for the first time in nearly three months, the flavor seemed to seep into every single cell.
After that incident, Ranya’s payment for learning from Jaha unconditionally became food.
She never gave food without reason, and Jaha preferred it that way. Because it felt like receiving fair compensation for honest work rather than pity.
Days continued of cleaning the library, occasionally teaching Ranya mathematics, and reading books in spare time. For a slave’s life, it was peaceful. Jaha hoped to live this way and one day wake up back on Earth.
The emperor’s sudden appearance at a palace without a consort could only be described as a bolt from the blue.
That they happened to encounter the emperor, and that something about Jaha, a mere commonplace slave, stirred desire in the noble emperor who could have any beauty in this world if he wished – there was no way to explain it except as terrible misfortune.
The empire’s emperor was a handsome man with luscious golden hair and violet eyes. Though only glimpsed briefly, that much was clearly discernible.
As a slave, Jaha was not permitted to look directly at the emperor. While keeping her eyes lowered throughout, only catching glimpses as they changed positions according to the emperor’s demands, that was all the information she could gather. And now Jaha was trembling beneath the emperor, whose features she didn’t even properly know beyond a vague impression of handsomeness.
With each thrust of the emperor’s hips, it felt as if her entire body was being torn apart, but she couldn’t even scream freely, let alone escape. Jaha clenched her teeth to prevent making any sound.
How did it come to this?
