Later that evening, inside the mansion's family room…
I glance at Nina on the couch next to me, a sly grin on my face.
"Oh, come on…that's not so unreasonable, right?" (Mizuki)
She gives me an aggrieved look.
"That's like three full days of work…probably! Boring, all on my own, and with me getting nothing out of it! How is that not unreasonable!?" (Nina)
When I finally returned to Zara, Teyla, and the cat-kin earlier today, I found that they'd long since completed their diplomatic discussions, which included the lion-kin's agreement to the border wall east of their territory, as well as a road connecting Mane City to the nearest fox-kin city. After that, I dropped off Zara and Teyla at their respective cities, the latter of which seemed inexplicably upset with me, and agreed to check in with them closer to my scheduled negotiation with the Empire. Finally, I returned here and tracked down Nina about half an hour ago.
Naturally, I just finished explaining the border wall and roads I'd like her to build in demi-human territory, and it's fair to say she's being a little…resistant, to the unpaid labor I volunteered her for.
I raise my eyebrows at her, humming with mock thoughtfulness.
"Hmm…maybe I thought you'd consider it fair trade for, you know, saddling me with a certain catastrophically powerful stalker? After all, I imagine I'll be inconvenienced by that for much longer than a few days, considering that she's nigh-immortal." (Mizuki)
She falls silent for several moments.
"Fine…I will build the walls and roads for the demi-humans." (Nina)
I try not to chuckle as she crosses her arms and looks away with something comically resembling a pouting expression.
"Thank you…that's very helpful. Even I can't make an earthen wall as sturdy or efficiently as you can." (Mizuki)
As I hoped, hearing my praise causes her misgivings to diminish, which I feel through our Bond. She partially turns back towards me, her emerald eyes meeting mine surreptitiously.
"Yes, that's true…" (Nina)
I smile at her earnestly.
"It is…I'm very lucky my wife is so capable and generous." (Mizuki)
That earns me a chuckle from her, her eyes glimmering with amusement as her voice turns teasing.
"Fufufufu…you know that I can literally feel your intention to, as you say, 'butter me up', right?" (Nina)
I grin shamelessly, spreading my hands in a conciliatory gesture.
"Is it working?" (Mizuki)
She flashes a coquettish smile, then leans in and presses her lips against mine. They linger for a moment, an earthy scent invading my nose, before she pulls away, humming appreciatively as her thoughtful gaze meets mine.
"Yes, I don't mind at all. Please do it more." (Nina)
I blink, then I erupt into actual laughter. Fortunately, Nina doesn't seem to mind, watching me with an amused expression as I hold my stomach and wheeze. When I finally get myself under control, I shake my head in amusement, then smile at her affectionately.
"Alright, duly noted." (Mizuki)
Before we can continue the conversation further, the door to the room creaks open, drawing both of our attention.
Alto walks in carrying a small bag with several rolls of parchment sticking out of it, her eyes scanning the room eagerly. As soon as they land on me, they narrow intensely, and a small, excited smile forms on her face. I smile curiously in return, immediately enthusiastic.
"Hey, Alto, you made it back! Ilina said you've already finished your research!?" (Mizuki)
When I arrived home, I found an MMC message from Ilina waiting for me. She basically told me that she'd be at the palace late, and I should wait until she messages me to pick her up. In addition, she mentioned that Alto had already finished the research we'd discussed and was on the train back to Eden to share the results with me. I've been eagerly awaiting her arrival ever since, regretting the fact that I couldn't just remotely teleport her off the public train without causing problems.
Alto nods, walking towards me hastily. However, when she arrives in front of the couch I'm sitting on, she stops, blinking repeatedly. Her gaze drifts to Nina, who she seems to be noticing for the first time, then to me, then to the couch we're on, which is distinctly lacking in room for a third person. She purses her lips thoughtfully for a moment, as if pondering something important, before abruptly stepping forward and…sitting right across my lap.
I blink, caught off guard, and Nina's eyes also widen in surprise, silently studying Alto with a curious expression. Noticing our reactions, Alto pauses with her hand inside her bag of rolled parchments, looking to me with a strangely calm gaze. Her voice is distinctly casual.
"Is there a problem?" (Alto)
I open my mouth, then close it, feeling briefly lost for words.
"Uhm…no, I guess not." (Mizuki)
She just nods her acknowledgement and continues rummaging in her bag, leaning into my chest nonchalantly, but there's the trace of a strangely…pleased, smile on her lips. Before I can read too much into it, she produces a small slip of paper from her bag. She hands it to me with a smirk on her face, her pale blue eyes unusually expectant.
"Here…I've summarized the findings from the statistical tests you taught me." (Alto)
I raise my eyebrows, taking the slip of parchment from her.
In essence, I told her to do five things, three of which were actual, relevant statistical tests, and two of which were kind of sanity checks to make sure there weren't any gross errors from asking her to do all this tedious calculation without a computer. The statistics were correlation assessments for the individual offspring-mother and offspring-father data sets, and a hypothesis test to compare the two data sets and determine if they are differentially correlated. The sanity checks were plotting the actual data points for each set, then fitting them with the individual correlation trend lines to confirm that they visually match the data. What she's just handed me has a summary of the three statistical assessments' results on it.
My eyes scan over the paper, eagerly looking for the hypothesis test results. When I find it, I freeze, my eyes narrowing in confusion. As if awaiting this reaction, I feel Alto chuckle lightly against my chest, looking up at me with a small, expectant smile.
"You were wrong…there's no apparent difference in the effects of maternal versus paternal power levels on the power levels of their children." (Alto)
I frown.
"What about the individual correlation metrics? Did you check if-" (Mizuki)
Her voice cuts me off, increasingly amused.
"I checked the trend and strength of correlation for each individual data set…there's no difference in either, Mizuki." (Alto)
As if to emphasize her point, she snuggles closer against me so she can see the paper I'm holding, then taps a section of it. I read the part she's indicating and, sure enough, she's right. For all intents and purposes, the data sets seem statistically identical. Slowly, a sense of unease begins building inside my chest.
I glance at her.
"Can I see the data plots and fit lines?" (Mizuki)
She smirks.
"Don't trust me?" (Alto)
I pause, unsure how to respond to that. Fortunately, Alto just chuckles good-naturedly, her smirk firmly in place.
"Don't worry, I expected that you'd want to see them…it's the two largest parchments in the bag." (Alto)
She lifts the bag slightly, presenting it to me. I smile sheepishly at her, then reach my arms around her to rummage in the bag until I find the two scrolls in question. Pulling them out, I unroll the first one and extend it towards Nina, who is sitting next to me with an impressively bored expression.
"Can you hold this up like so, Nina?" (Mizuki)
She raises her eyebrows at the request, but nods and takes it without comment, holding it up as asked. I unroll the other parchment and hold it up next to the first, my eyes glancing between each of them, scrutinizing the data for any signs of error. But…I don't find any. The data are spread across nearly identical areas, but they still have clearly distinct individual values. The correlation trend lines bisect their respective data agreeably, and they have comparable slopes and intercepts. Visually, it reinforces everything Alto's summary told me.
I set the parchment down with a troubled sigh, my thoughts already racing, turning over potential explanations. As my contemplation continues, my unease only grows, and I begin stroking Alto's hair absentmindedly. That's when I feel her shudder in my lap, snapping me from my trance, and I look down at her in surprise. She hasn't moved, the side of her head still resting lightly against my chest. However, there's a tension in her jaw that wasn't there before, and some color seems to have infiltrated her cheeks.
I raise my eyebrows, my voice concerned.
"Alto? Is everything okay?" (Mizuki)
I feel her stiffen, then she slowly looks towards me, her expression stoic yet subtly tense.
"It's nothing, I am fine." (Alto)
Nearby, Nina perks up at the response, and I feel a rush of curiosity from her. Glancing her way, I see that her gaze is now fully focused on Alto, a mischievous grin on her face, her earlier disinterest seemingly banished. My brow furrows, bewildered by the sudden change in her demeanor, but Alto's voice interrupts.
"So, Mizuki, what do you think?" (Alto)
Slowly peeling my eyes from Nina, I glance back at Alto. She's seemingly back to normal, staring at me expectantly with a small smirk. I sigh, pressing my back into the couch.
"You're right…it really seems like there's no difference between the maternal and paternal influences on elven power level." (Mizuki)
Her expression finally morphs into a satisfied smile.
"So, what now?" (Alto)
I purse my lips thoughtfully, my expression conflicted.
"The result is consistent with magic power being largely genetic, and inconsistent with environmental magic having a significant influence during development. But that makes no sense…there has to be something I'm missing, some flaw or limitation in the research. Maybe there's a difference between-" (Mizuki)
"Mizuki…" (Alto)
Her voice cuts me off, surprisingly sharp. I glance down at her, and for the first time, she doesn't seem excited. In fact, she's moved her head off my chest to stare at me directly in the eye, and her expression is almost…angry.