Chapter 169: Initial Socialization Targets S-Class? (K8)
Chapter 168 – Initial Socialization Goal is S-Rank? (4K8)
Arthur watched as Elder gleefully slipped the kraft bag into his pocket, his eyes sweeping over everyone in the ballroom.
Suddenly, Elder’s eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers, rushing towards Arthur to lower his voice.
“Anyway, I can’t figure out that much, turn around and I’ll write in all the things I know for you, exactly which ones are useful, you watch and choose. As for the question of money, you see to it that you give it, anyway, the last time I sailed to earn enough money for me to enjoy a good time. When I spend all that money, you should also have judged the value of this information.”
Arthur had no problem with Elder’s generosity, he clinked glasses with Elder who was leaning back in the sofa chair and said, “To our friendship.”
“I wish my friend Arthur an early accentuation of importance.”
Elder grinned and drained his drink before smoothing out his tuxedo, “I won’t be spending much time with you, it’s a great opportunity to get into high society today, so I’m going to go step it up a notch. You’d better not just sit around either, go and meet more madams and ladies, it’ll definitely benefit your future promotion.”
At the end of his sentence, Elder got up and walked towards Colonel Fitzroy who was chatting with the ladies, he intended to shamelessly ask Mr. Colonel to introduce him to them.
As soon as Elder stepped away, the Red Devil immediately took over the sofa chair where he had been sitting before.
Agareth crossed his legs and nestled in the chair, and his mouth was still broken, “Arthur, do you hear me? Don’t just sit here, go over to Madame and Mademoiselle’s side and find something to talk about.”
“Talk?”
Arthur took a sip of the watered down whiskey in his glass, the spicy flavor choking him a bit, “What can I talk to them about? Am I going to tell them what kind of cool tactics I used on those ground rats in the murder and theft case? Or that I just sent my men to break some gangsters’ legs in the East End of London? Agareth, my stories are nowhere near as compelling as those exciting experiences they’ve had.”
“Whoa! My dear Arthur, you must not underestimate yourself so much.”
Agareth covered his mouth and snickered, “A boy with no background, a country bumpkin educated only at the University of London, a desperate man who once wanted to leave his home to go to the Americas, in just over half a year’s time, with his own strength, he transformed himself from an unheard of sergeant-at-arms constable into the Greater London Superintendent of Police, who dominates the Greenwich and Tawrhamletts Superintendent of Police. Arthur Hastings, a name that means one thing and one thing only: the legend of Scotland Yard.”
Arthur’s gaze swept across the room, but his eyes eventually settled on Lady Cowper, surrounded by stars in the center of the crowd.
He spoke faintly, “Mrs. Cowper will appear here today, I believe you arranged it, right?”
When the Red Devil heard this, he was first surprised, but very quickly, the surprise turned into a stronger smile.
“Arthur, I told you, don’t underestimate yourself too much, you’re one of the few villains in this world who combines both mental savvy and extraordinary control. We’re a good match, don’t always be too wary of me, I’m not doing this out of malice at all. I’m just trying to use her to better help you, and if you can gain her trust, you’ll have your ticket to the Ormac Club, where Mrs. Cowper, as one of the club’s seven patroness commissioners, wields a great deal of influence.”
Hearing this, Arthur just shook his head slightly, “Agareth, you’re too nervous, I don’t mean to blame you at all. On the contrary, I am also very grateful to you. Do you still remember what you said to me before? You said that I always wanted to earn money standing up.”
When Agares heard this, he couldn’t help but fold his arms, and the Red Devil exulted, “So, you agree?”
“That’s right, I agree, I agree with you, but reject your suggestion. The reason I thank you is that you guys have empowered me to earn money standing up. You have to realize that not everyone in this world has the ability to be able to make that choice. Since you’ve given me the opportunity to earn money standing up, why wouldn’t I appreciate it?”
The Red Devil was stunned at his words, and he frowned, “Arthur, what do you kid mean?”
Arthur calmly said, “Generally speaking, it seems as if opportunities are always tantalizing, but the truth is that there are too many unattainable and wonderful things that are all deceptive fronts. The best opportunities are often right beside you. It is perhaps too presumptuous to challenge the lady who has made countless people swoon right off the bat. So, I think the best option may be to start from the side.”
At the end of his words, Arthur suddenly stood up and walked towards a white-skirted young girl sitting not far away, with an anxious expression.
Agareth looked stunned, he was about to get angry, but the flames had just raced up to the top of his head, and then extinguished in an instant.
A few wisps of smoke wafted from the red devil’s head as he stared for a few moments at the young girl that Arthur considered a low difficulty target.
After a long time, Agares rubbed his chin, smacked his lips twice, and muttered with a bad smile, ”Arthur, you little bastard, do you think that the calculating Professor Agares would not have prepared a preplan? This is the daughter of the Princess of Parallelograms and the Sassy Maven, if you want to hook up with her, I can only hope that you have really strengthened your math skills properly in your recent study of electromagnetism ……”
Said here, the red devil again can’t help but shake his head and shrug his shoulders, “Human society may really be progressing, put it in King Solomon’s time, who can think of chatting with a beautiful girl must also be able to solve higher math problems?”
Arthur had just walked up to the vicinity of the white-skirted girl when he saw that the other party had actually stood up as well, and with both her hands behind her back, she seemed like she was hiding something.
Seeing this, Arthur couldn’t help but ask, “Excuse me, can I help you?”
The young girl’s eyes seemed to be a little flustered as she stammered and spoke, “No, nothing …… I’m quite fine, I won’t trouble you, Mr. Hastings.”
The young girl’s abnormality soon also attracted the attention of her mother, who was standing not far away and talking with Mrs. Cowper.
The lady in the sky blue pleated skirt quickly smiled at Mrs. Cowper and said, “If you’ll excuse me, there seems to be a problem with Ada. As you know, the child has been a pain in the ass since birth.”
Mrs. Cowper smiled back, “That’s all right, Mrs. Milbanky, you can rest assured. As for what you just mentioned to me, I promise. I’ll be the chaperone to introduce her to the entire London social circle at the Lady’s Ball at Buckingham Palace next year in Ada’s year.”
Mrs. Milbanch sniffed, first with some surprise, but afterward with overflowing gratitude, “I really didn’t think you would be so quick to agree, after all ……”
Hearing this, Mrs. Cowper simply raised her lace-gloved hand and interrupted, “Let bygones be bygones, and that was all a matter of two untalented fellows of our generation stirring up trouble, and it has nothing to do with Ada the child.
Madam, you were the most talented lady in the entire London high society back then, and even Professor William Freed of Cambridge commented that your knowledge reserves in literature, philosophy, and mathematics far exceeded that of ordinary Cambridge students.
If you hadn’t been entrusted to the wrong person, you would have gained a more brilliant life than me.
And your daughter Ada looks to have fully inherited your bloodline of both beauty and wisdom, so I am truly honored to serve as your daughter’s chaperone for the Lady’s Ball.”
Mrs. Milbanki sighed at these words, “I cannot thank you enough for your generosity. My whole life has been ruined in the hands of Ada’s asshole father, I only hope that she can have a good home now, her future husband can have any hobby, any status, but only can’t be a poet, you should share the same feeling with me, there is not a single good thing in a poet.”
At these words, Mrs. Milbanch took it upon herself to take leave of Mrs. Cowper, and then made her way towards Arthur and her daughter.
She soon sensed the awkward atmosphere in the air, and Mrs. Milbancic first nodded towards Arthur, and then inquired at her daughter, “Ada, what’s wrong with you? What are you hiding behind your back?” Ada’s face reddened through and through, and she stammered for half a day before finally, under her mother’s strict orders, she reluctantly took out the little trinket she had hidden behind her back.
It was a piece of draft paper, densely filled with all sorts of arithmetic formulas that gave Arthur a headache just by looking at them.
When Mrs. Milbanki saw the piece of draft paper, she first breathed a sigh of relief, and then snapped, “Look at you, making it so secretive, I thought you were writing poetry. It’s not something to be ashamed of to like math, when I was young I also studied math with the same mind as you, but I didn’t have to spend more than ten hours a day on it ah.
Ada, you’re almost an adult, you have to spend some of your mind on something else, like talking to people or something. It’s a good thing it’s a Bluestocking Club party today, if it were a normal social occasion you’d be treated like a freak by the others.”
Ada heard her mother’s accusation and only lowered her head to admit her mistake, “I know.”
Ada had already admitted her mistake, but Mrs. Milbanki was still not satisfied, she twisted her head again and also inquired at Arthur who was on the side, “Mr. Hastings, do you think I’m right?”
Arthur smiled and could only touch the back of his head awkwardly, he also didn’t know whether he should express his opinion on other people’s domestic affairs.
After thinking about it, he could only give a compromising reply, “To tell you the truth, ma’am, it’s my first time attending this kind of occasion as well, so I’m not particularly aware of the actions of the gentlemen and ladies at the banquet. When I first saw Miss Ada doing this, I thought that this kind of behavior was actually quite normal in a banquet.”
Mrs. Milbanki’s eyes widened in surprise when she heard this, “Don’t you even socialize much in your daily life?”
Arthur sincerely replied back, “Madam, you may not know that my real job is a police officer at Scotland Yard, on top of that, I’m also a scientific researcher. Coping with these daily tasks every day is already killing me, and if I hadn’t just recently been transferred to work at the Greater London Police Headquarters, I really wouldn’t have much time to attend social occasions.”
It was only when Mrs. Milbanki heard this that she remembered what Mrs. Codrington had told her earlier about Arthur’s experiences.
Suddenly, she looked delighted, “Alas! Excuse me, Mr. Hastings, I only remembered that you are a scientific researcher, but I forgot that you are also a Superintendent of the Greater London Police Department. I am relieved that Ada has a well-trained police officer like you to look after her today.”
At the end of her speech, Mrs. Milbanki also gave Arthur a graceful skirt-raising salute, and then went off on her own to get in touch with the ladies again for her daughter’s Bar Mitzvah next year.
Arthur was puzzled by Mrs. Milbanki’s behavior.
It was true that he was a Scotland Yard police officer, but the regulations in the Police Handbook did not include babysitting for others.
And even if he was babysitting, he could at most look after little Adam, who was seven or eight years old, for Tom on the basis of old friendship, what was Mrs. Milbench doing directly throwing an almost adult daughter at him?
Arthur was a little angry by the lady’s behavior, he was planning to turn around and leave, call Elder to Mrs. Milbanci, let her see what is called the evil of society.
But before he could take a step, he heard Ada beside him mutter, “Every day she knows how to reprimand me for not knowing my manners, and I don’t think she knows any better herself. It’s not true that I play ten hours of math a day, but don’t you also play eight hours every day? Two hours less doesn’t seem like much of a difference.”
Hearing this, Arthur couldn’t help but turn and follow up with, “And you really spend ten hours a day on math?”
Ada was shocked by Arthur’s sudden question, she stared at Arthur’s eyes, then hesitantly nodded slightly, “I …… I just play, and those problems I do, they definitely can’t be compared to a professional researcher like you.”
Arthur glanced at the draft paper that was thrown on the coffee table by Mrs. Milbanki, the Arabic numerals on it he could understand, but if it was put together with a whole bunch of arithmetic formulas and symbols, he looked at it in a cloudy way.
Arthur just took a heavy breath, “I think you are being overly modest. Mr. Faraday told me earlier that the Bluestocking Society isn’t as pure as it was a decade or so ago, but after I actually arrived today, I realized that even if it’s no longer pure, you ladies still exceeded my basic expectations.”
Ada sniffed and couldn’t help but widen her sparkling black eyes, her lashes fluttering slightly as if in question.
“Are you really not paying me a compliment? I think a professional scholar like you definitely has to beat me at math.”
“No, no, no.” Arthur waved his hand back and forth, “I’m not as brilliant as you think, I’m just a Scotland Yard cop who graduated from the University of London, and I’m not the only one, did you see that ass-kisser in front of you following Colonel Fitzroy?”
Ada looked in the direction of Arthur’s finger and it was none other than Elder with a glass of wine and a fawning smile on his face.
“What happened to that gentleman?”
Arthur spoke without blushing, “To be honest, that gentleman graduated from Oxford, and he also can’t beat you in mathematics. Or let’s lower a level, that gentleman’s attainment in mathematics is not as good as mine, who graduated from the history department of the University of London.”
Hearing this, Ada actually nodded with approval, “This I do know, my tutor, Mr. Augustus de Morgan, also said that Oxford’s mathematical education really doesn’t work.”
Hearing this, Arthur asked almost without thinking, “Dare I ask if Mr. Morgan graduated from Cambridge?”
Ada covered her mouth in shock, “How do you know that? Mr. Morgan did graduate from Holy Trinity in Cambridge.”
Arthur shrugged his shoulders, “Just so you know, I am a Scotland Yard police officer. And to be a qualified police officer, you need to have enough insight and logical thinking skills, just like you solve math problems. The opposite of Cambridge is Oxford, and the sum of the two equals zero.”
Ada pointed at Elder with a puzzled sniff, “But what about that gentleman who graduated from Oxford? I’ve heard him mocking his alma mater, Oxford, in conversations with others before.”
Arthur was silent for a while when he heard this, then spoke, “Miss, that one is an exception, and his judgment on the quality of education is uncertain, so how can I …… explain this to you?
Well …… right, it’s like now Mr. Carter’s standing in front of a lady, until Mr. Carter learns whether this lady likes Cambridge or Oxford, we can’t be sure whether Mr. Carter will denigrate Cambridge or Oxford, this phenomenon is generally known to me as the ‘Elder-Carter Measurement Principle of Inaccuracy’.”
Ada sniffed, couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laughed out loud, her eyes curved like a crescent moon: “Mr. Hastings, you can just say that Mr. Carter is desperate for a spouse. I originally didn’t know that the original Oxford graduates were all like him.”
“Exactly.” Arthur composed himself, “Oxford is like that. However, I had forgotten to ask for your advice on how to address you; it seems disrespectful to call you by your first name directly.”
Ada blinked at that, she picked up her sketchpad and pointed to a line of elegant handwriting on the side, “That would be rude of me, Augusta Ada Byron, just call me Miss Byron if you don’t mind. Also, please don’t tell my mother that I took the initiative to reveal my name to you, or she’s sure to get on my case again.”
(End of chapter)