Greetings, Mister Principal

Chapter 165: Inspiration

Morale Support: Scherzo

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“However, it seems not all bloodline factors are entirely independent; some traits often appear simultaneously. The simplest example is the distinction between males and females.”

Reiner added, having already verified the Law of Independent Assortment and Law of Segregation through pea cross breeding. However, the Law of Linkage had yet to be demonstrated in these experiments. Perhaps he needed to find some fruit flies in this world for that. [1]

But from the obvious differences such as gender, it could almost be concluded that the Law of Linkage existed.

The Law of Linkage refers to the fact that not all traits are independent; some traits are often accompanied by others. They do not follow the Law of Independent Assortment and Law of Segregation, but are a special inheritance method.

Although Reiner’s explanation was scholarly, the topic still made the several girls feel a bit shy. Even Fina couldn’t help but turn her face away.

“Ahen, of course, peas and humans are quite different. The situations observed in peas may not necessarily apply to humans. However, we can organize these phenomena and conclusions into a paper, inspiring other qualified mages to verify them.”

They were able to verify and draw these conclusions in a short time due not only to the magic greenhouse’s ability to quickly cultivate peas but also because peas were an economically important crop with a planting history of over a hundred years. Farmers had long since selected peas with various special traits. If they had to start from scratch and painstakingly search for these trait differences, it would take several years, if not longer.

Moreover, peas were a self-pollinating plant, making cross breeding easy. If it were another plant or animal, the process would be much more complex. At least within the Luna Nova Magical Academy, it was challenging to carry out subsequent experiments.

But obtaining several laws of inheritance was sufficient for Reiner.

After organizing the data, each of them went their separate ways. Reiner went straight to the principal’s office to prepare the thesis.

In the past few times, he had written papers at night, but today was different.

Reiner spread the parchment, placed a long strip of paperweight on it, dipped a quill in the ink bottle, and began by writing the title of the parchment.

“Experimental Crossbreeding of Peas and Some Explanations and Hypothesis Verification of Experimental Results.”

After writing the title, according to his habits, Reiner extracted the keywords for this paper. He hesitated for a moment before adding the keyword “necromancy” and then wrote words such as “peas,” “crossbreeding,” and “bloodline factors.”

The next process was all too familiar to Reiner. Aside from the introduction, abstract, and conclusion, he divided the paper into three chapters.

The first chapter mainly introduced the various traits of the peas he selected and hypothesized on how these traits manifested during cultivation, proposing the concept of bloodline factors.

The second chapter detailed the experimental process, providing a thorough record of the ideas, procedures, results, and summarizing them with several tables for clarity.

The third chapter focused on the analysis and explanation of several experimental results  in the second chapter that contradicted common knowledge. It introduced the concept of inheritance, summarizing three laws of inheritance: Law of Segregation, Law of Independent Assortment, and Law of Linkage. Among them, the Law of Segregation and the Law of Independent Assortment were verified in the pea cross breeding process, while the Law of Linkage was illustrated by examples but not experimentally proven.

When Reiner finished writing the paper, the dusk had already arrived, and the setting sun dyed the clouds crimson, like a burning flame. The entire campus was enveloped in a golden hue, casting a somewhat mysterious color.

Reiner stretched lazily, then remembered that he had left a note on the door for Mrs Freya about tonight’s dinner.

He stood up, opened the door, and found a plate of steaming potato stew with freshly baked bread, and a vegetable salad neatly arranged outside. It seemed the other party had accurately calculated the time it would take for Reiner to finish his work.

“Speaking of which, I’ve never met Madam Freya until the summer break.”

Reiner picked up the tray and returned to his office.

The potatoes were soft and tender, mixed with gravy, refreshing yet flavorful. The stewed meat melted in the mouth, leaving an endless aftertaste.

Some herbs were added to the broth, providing a refreshing fragrance that added layers to the rich and hearty taste of the stew, alleviating the greasiness from the animal fat.

Reiner quickly finished the potato stew, consuming most of the salad in between. After feeling full, he cleaned up the tableware, placed them outside the door, and then returned to his work.

“Now that the existence of the laws of inheritance has been confirmed, we can use this as a basis for analysis and see what the hereditary traits of the Albione family really are.”

Reiner thought, reaching for the Albione family’s genealogy that he had previously organized.

The reason he chose the most recent three hundred years instead of all family members was, on one hand, to save time, and on the other, from a genetic perspective, samples that were too ancient might result in significant deviations.

At the same time, three hundred years was precisely the time since the establishment of modern magic. Since then, the research of bloodline mages had mostly stagnated due to the regulations of the Magic Association. It had passed down without much significant change.

Regarding the points where Elymia’s mother was accused, Reiner investigated and compiled several important features of the Albione family.

The first was hair color. Since Elymia had distinctive crimson long hair unlike most members of the Albione family with blonde hair, she appeared a hundred percent unique.

The second was whether the individual had awakened abilities. If it were only a difference in hair color, Elymia probably wouldn’t have faced such accusations. More importantly, she lacked the iconic bloodline power of the Albione family, which was the fundamental reason.

Reiner consulted the genealogy and found that individuals without awakened bloodline abilities in the Albione family were not limited to just Elymia. In the three-hundred-year history, a total of twenty individuals had not awakened abilities. These individuals were also called “squib.”

Most squibs not only lacked awakened bloodline abilities but also found it more difficult to learn magic than ordinary people. Even today, the pure-blood faction had not found a way to eliminate squibs from appearing in the family. Whenever a squib appeared, they would usually hide them, not allowing this “shame” of the family to be seen by others.

As for red hair, it did exist in the Albione family. In the three hundred years, there were five individuals with red hair, but all five of them awakened bloodline abilities. Therefore, they were not suspected and were merely considered as an accidental mutation.

In summary, given Elymia’s red hair and the lack of awakened bloodline abilities, she naturally became suspected of being the result of an affair.

Reiner’s goal was to overturn this conclusion.

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T/N:

[1] In biology, fruit flies and peas are often used when conducting experiments such as this one.