Greetings, Mister Principal

Chapter 158: Peas

Morale Support: Scherzo

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After taking care of some chores, Reiner went straight back to his room, without bothering to shower, and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already evening.

The strong sunlight had dimmed considerably, casting a golden hue through the thin clouds, illuminating Reiner’s bed through the curtains.

He opened his eyes, feeling a bit breathless as if his chest was being pressed by a heavy object. Upon lowering his gaze, he discovered that the tabby cat had curled up and was sleeping soundly on his chest.

Reiner didn’t know when the cat had slipped into his room. He raised his hand and gently scratched the cat’s head.

This action woke the sleeping cat, and it opened its eyes, glanced at Reiner, then, as if nothing had happened, laid back down and went back to sleep.

“… Is this really a cat?”

Reiner twitched at the corner of his mouth and got up, causing the cat, unable to maintain its balance, to jump up and land on the floor.

It yawned widely, then pressed its two front paws on the ground, arching its body backward, as if stretching.

After completing these movements, the cat glanced at Reiner, showing no signs of resentment for interrupting its nap. It circled the room and then jumped out of the window sill.

“There aren’t many people during the summer vacation. I wonder if it has anything to eat?”

Reiner got out of bed, thinking as he changed his clothes.

The campus in the evening was tinted golden. Through the window of his room, Reiner could see the entire square. He noticed a girl carrying several bags walking in a corner of the square. On closer inspection, he recognized her as Dana.

Dana was not a graduating student, but she chose to stay at the school for the summer break to continue practicing magic. It seemed she had bought some fresh fruits.

After some thought, Reiner felt that he might indeed need the help of these students. Holding some documents, he walked to the office and coincidentally met Claire.

“I was about to come to the office to find you…”

Claire wore one of the regular outfits Reiner bought for her, a small skirt with cute patterns. She had a large package floating beside her. Reiner knew at a glance that it contained the items he requested.

“Mr. Osborne sent this to you by express delivery, but I still don’t understand the connection between peas and pure-blood families.”

Walking into the office with Reiner, Claire placed the large package on the table. After unpacking it, they found several small bags, each containing pea seeds.

“It’s easy to understand, Claire.”

Reiner explained to Claire since he might need the help of the students. He picked up a bag labeled ‘tall stems’ and continued, “Peas have different varieties, such as tall and short stems, their flowers can be white or red, and pea grains can be smooth or wrinkled. Just like humans, they come in different heights, sizes, and appearances.”

Nodding somewhat understandingly, Claire looked at the seeds.

“According to the research on life in the Necromancy department, our bodies are made up of a type of living tissue called ‘cells,’ which can be clearly seen under a microscope.”

In this world, the microscope was an optical microscope composed of lenses, invented during the ancient Magic Empire. Although it could observe at the cellular level, it couldn’t peer into the internal workings of cells.

“These cells exist in human bodies and also in the bodies of animals and plants. Due to blood mages being able to merge the bloodlines of animals and plants and pass them down through generations, it can be inferred that there is an ability to transmit their own bloodlines between individual plants and animals.”

Although there was no theoretical summary of this phenomenon, it had long been applied in agricultural production. The seeds labeled ‘tall stems’ written by Reiner were the result of multiple generations of selective breeding, removing short-stalked peas to obtain the final product.

“I speculate that in the transmission of bloodlines, there is a bloodline factor that can affect the specific external appearance of living organisms, just like elemental particles composing matter. The so-called bloodline modification is actually the process of selectively replacing the bloodline factors of other species with their own bloodline factors.”

Books on bloodline fusion were very rare, and most pure-blooded mages considered them family secrets. However, blood mages had a long history, and with the decline and extinction of some families, their books were handed over to the Magic Association. The basic methods of bloodline fusion gradually became clear.

In Reiner’s view, bloodline fusion was the process of selecting the genetic factors carrying specific phenotypes of magical creatures, replacing them with corresponding parts of human genes. Since blood mages lacked corresponding theories, this process took a considerable amount of time and sacrificed a large number of test subjects, making it both primitive and brutal.

“So, I want to study the characteristics of plants like peas to find out how bloodline factors affect the external appearance of living organisms. I believe Elymia’s mother did not have an affair with other men. The reason she is different from people of other families is that her bloodline factor is very unique. I want to prove the existence of this uniqueness.”

“Uniqueness…”

Claire had never thought about what Reiner was saying. In her opinion, it was natural for children to resemble their parents. Claire had not considered whether there was any rule in this regard because, according to the research in the Necromancy department, children inherit almost nothing from their parents. No one knows why the obtained cells and this brand new life can inherit bloodline.

“You mean, that even biological children may have completely different appearances from their parents?”

“Although that is an extreme case, what I want to prove is that there are at least some traits that parents may have, but their children don’t necessarily have them. Conversely, some traits that parents don’t have may appear in their children.”

Reiner’s words were somewhat convoluted, causing Claire’s eyes to show spinning circles.

“In any case, I want to unravel Elymia’s inner struggles. If she no longer feels guilty about her family, she might be able to stand up against the absurd traditions of the Albione family.”

“But why do you think that proving Elymia is the biological daughter of her family would make her resist the Albione family? The ideology of pure-blood families is very stubborn, and it’s not something simple that can change it, right?”

Facing Claire’s question, Reiner took out a note.

Claire quickly recognized it as one of the notes Reiner had requested all students to write about their future goals. Obviously, this one was written by Elymia.

“She already has this determination within herself. What’s lacking is just the opportunity to break free.”

On that crumpled note were written words with somewhat messy handwriting.

—Find a home that truly belongs to me.

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