793 Uneducated Chef
The debate had already reached a state where a verdict was about to be reached. No one dared to answer the sharp question raised by Earlton, and if the revolutionaries had no response, then this debate would conclude with the victory going to the conservatives.
However, right at this moment, someone suddenly arrived at the venue.
Everyone turned their attention to this strange combination, which consisted of a young man with a little half elf girl, as well as an orange kitten. They appeared to have nothing to do with this debate, so everyone was perplexed why they had come here.
“Who’s that?”
Earlton appraised Mag with a cold expression. If this debate could conclude due to a question raised by him, then his status in the world of scholars would most definitely be enhanced further. As such, he was naturally rather displeased to be interrupted on the cusp of glory.
“Isn’t he that chef from yesterday’s royal banquet?”
Erma faltered slightly upon seeing Mag and Amy. He had attended the birthday banquet the day before, so he could naturally recall this duo. However, he hadn’t thought that he would see them again today. Could it be that meals were to be served during the debate, and he’d been invited here to cook for everyone?
“Exactly, why did he come here rather than stay in the palace and cook for His Majesty?” Leeroy frowned as he looked at Mag.
All of the revolutionaries were also just as confused; aside from Byron, none of them even knew who Mag was.
“Teacher Luna.”
Amy waved at Luna before adjusting Ugly Duckling’s position as it was about to slide down out of her arms.
“Amy, Mr. Mag.” A smile appeared on Luna’s nervous face. Even though they were late, it was very much a case of better late than never.
“Sorry, we got a little delayed on the way here.”
Mag nodded in an apologetic manner. He hadn’t cooked breakfast earlier, and it had been rather difficult to choose what to eat, so they ended up arriving at the venue later than expected.
“Right this way, please, Mr. Mag,” Byron said with a smile as he rose to his feet.
“Sure.” Mag left Amy with Luna before making his way over to Byron.
Earlton was a little displeased. “What are you doing, Master Byron? The debate is still in progress; how can we allow an unrelated outsider to interrupt us? Even more so, he’s just an illiterate chef! Could it be that you’re trying to get a chef to help you in this debate?”
All of the conservatives burst into raucous laughter as they looked at Mag with disdain in their eyes. If a chef was proficient in the field of mathematics, then wouldn’t that make them the same as lowly chefs? That would be preposterous!
“Not only is Mr. Mag the chef who received the best dish award during the royal banquet, he was also the one who proposed the Mamy Multiplication Table, and it’s none other than his brilliant contribution that has made arithmetics so simple to popularize. As such, he has every right to participate in this debate today.” Byron turned toward Mag with approval in his eyes, and asked, “How can you call him an unrelated outsider? Who among us has more right than him to be here? He is our sixth speaker during this debate!”
He’s the one who proposed the Mamy Multiplication Table?! Lister’s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.
The simple yet efficient multiplication table was imbued with astonishing wisdom and intelligence. In Lister’s heart, the one who’d proposed such a brilliant tool surely had to be an old and wise scholar. Who would’ve thought that it would actually be a man who appeared to be comparable to himself in age?
All of the other revolutionaries were also astonished to hear this.
If it weren’t for the fact that they had been won over by the brilliant Mamy Multiplication Table, they wouldn’t have chosen to jump ship and throw their support behind the decimal system so quickly. After all, no one wanted to become a rebel if they could avoid it.
As such, all of them were stunned by the fact that such a young man had proposed the revolutionary multiplication table. On top of that, he was also a chef?
The glowing praise Byron had delivered immediately made everyone reassess Mag. His ability to win the best dish award during the royal banquet already indicated that he stood at the pinnacle of the cooking world. How could a cooking genius like him also be a brilliant mathematician?
Earlton looked at Mag with a deriding sneer, and scoffed, “No wonder the so-called multiplication table is so crude and unsightly; turns out it was invented by a chef! I underestimated the multiplication table. If I’d known that it was something proposed by a lowly chef, I would’ve never participated in this debate.”
All of the conservatives also wore expressions of disdain and superiority. All of them hailed from noble families, and the fact that they were scholars placed them on a pedestal above even normal noblemen, let alone a lowly chef.
Even the revolutionaries were starting to lose their confidence.
Byron hadn’t revealed any information about Mag to them this entire time. As such, they hadn’t even been aware of his age, let alone his profession.
To scholars like them, it was naturally a little absurd that they were fighting so hard for a multiplication table proposed by a chef.
“Simplicity is the basis for popularity. It is the priority for basic education, and it determines whether it’s easily replicable and has the potential to become prevalently utilized.” Mag turned to Earlton with a smile, and said, “Basic arithmetics is supposed to be a practical skill, not some profound art. It’s an absolute joke that all of you are trying to overcomplicate skills that can be mastered even by children barely out of their infancy. All of you are desperately nursing your frail egos and trying to create an artificial pedestal for yourselves so you can continue to feel superior to everyone else. However, that pedestal is going to be destroyed by the decimal system and the multiplication table.”
Mag cast his gaze toward the five white-robed elderly men on stage with a disdainful sneer, and continued, “That’s why you’re scared. You’re petrified that those ‘ignorant’ commoners will one day be able to easily calculate answers to questions that you have to work painstakingly to answer. It doesn’t feel good to have your fragile egos come under threat, does it?”
All of the conservatives’ expressions changed in unison. Mag’s words were like sharp blades digging under their skin, making them feel very uncomfortable.
Change was indeed something that evoked fear and unrest among people. Fear of the unknown made the conservatives wary, and they would much rather stay in their own comfort zones. As such, regardless of how superior this decimal system was, they were insistent on denying it its place under the sun so they could continue to be looked up to by the masses.
In contrast, all of the revolutionaries’ eyes immediately lit up. During the entire course of this debate, they had constantly been bullied by the conservatives. All five of the white-robed elderly men were extremely esteemed scholars, so no one dared to directly rebuke them. However, Mag had no such qualms, and his scathing tirade was extremely satisfying to all of the green-robed revolutionaries.
Earlton was so enraged that his beard was trembling as he pointed at Mag. “You… You… That’s utter nonsense! If a child can calculate multiplication problems with two-digit numbers, I’ll retire right away! However, if you’re simply spouting nonsense, then I’m going to reveal to this entire world that your multiplication table is nothing more than a pile of trash!”