Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: A Researcher's Research Premise (2)
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Iris did not respond.
She simply quietly observed Erika's back as she dove back into her work, and the faint glow of mana blooming from her delicate fingertips.
And she thought.
'Emotions.'
That was the most illogical and incomprehensible variable in Iris von Valkenriter's system of thought.
Mages explored the roots of phenomena.
How the world began, where mana came from, what life existed for.
Every living being she understood moved for the exceedingly clear purpose of survival and prosperity.
Even the northern giants' craving for mayonnaise stemmed from their need for high-calorie fats to survive the bitter cold.
It was logical. A natural, logical conclusion for survival.
But what about the other flavors Jonathan had created?
Humans, like other animals, needed only to consume the calories required for survival.
There was no need for taste buds to evolve so delicately that they could distinguish thousands, even tens of thousands, of scents and flavors.
So why did humans crave delicious things? Why did they avoid bitterness and feel joy in sweetness?
The phenomenon right before her eyes was the same.
Erika Argentis was the sole heir to the Argentis family. Her time and knowledge should be devoted to her house's prosperity, the advancement of alchemy, and a better future for humanity.
Yet she was spending her precious time on something utterly trivial and inefficient: Lord Jonathan's comfort.
'Love. Devotion.'
Iris could not explain this phenomenon with any magic formula she had learned.
Humans were finite beings. Born, they lived, and eventually died, returning to the cycle of mana.
Not even magic could fully defy the laws of entropy.
Knowing that everything would ultimately crumble and vanish, why did humans depend so blindly on others for solace?
Why pour all their resources into that fleeting emotional high called love?
She could not understand it.
This was a blatant waste of resources.
Emotional expenditure only clouded rational judgment and hampered the efficiency of the entire system.
'...Or perhaps.'
A hypothesis flashed through Iris's mind.
'This, too, is the most primal program for prosperity.'
She revised her logic.
Within finite time, to produce offspring carrying one's genes.
That might be the most powerful command for prosperity given to living beings.
Then was this illogical emotion called love merely an advanced chemical deception to trick the brain into fulfilling that biological imperative?
An instinct to select superior mates and build stable nurturing environments.
Iris thought that was the most logical conclusion.
But for some reason, it felt bitterly incomplete.
It was then, as she was lost in this labyrinth of complex reasoning.
"Erika, got a moment... Oh, Lady Iris is here too."
The workshop door opened, and Jonathan appeared.
In that instant, Iris witnessed an unbelievable phenomenon right before her eyes.
"Jonathan!"
Erika, who had been immersed in precise work just moments ago, bloomed like a sprout finding the sun.
Her blue eyes sparkled with vitality, her cheeks flushed with unconcealed joy.
She looked like she was barely holding back from leaping from the workbench to run to him.
Iris analyzed it immediately.
'Lord Jonathan's appearance triggered an immediate and explosive positive shift in Erika Argentis's emotional state. Elevated body temperature. Increased heart rate. Clear chemical reaction.'
Erika hurriedly covered the silver jar on the workbench with a cloth.
"Wh-what is it? If it's verifying the northern ingredients, Lady Iris..."
"No, I've left that to Lady Iris, so no worries."
Jonathan gave Iris a light nod before naturally approaching Erika's workbench.
His gaze lingered briefly on Erika's face. His voice carried not rebuke, but gentle concern.
"Erika, you didn't pull an all-nighter again, did you? You look a bit tired."
At Jonathan's soft remark, Erika's cheeks flushed peach-pink in an instant.
"N-no! I went to bed really early last night. Must be from being cooped up in this stuffy workshop too long."
Jonathan chuckled at her frantic waving and excuses.
The traces of early-morning work were obvious, yet she insisted she was fine. It was adorable.
He naturally reached out, brushing Erika's soft golden hair behind her ear and giving it a light stroke.
"Exactly. Take it easy and rest. What am I supposed to do if that pretty face of yours gets ruined? Come on, let's go."
"E-eh? If you stroke it like that right now-"
"It breaks my heart seeing the world's most beautiful lady with a dull complexion. Shall we head back together?"
Erika's face turned beet red at Jonathan's teasing praise, practically steaming from her head.
"J-Jonathan! Lady Iris is watching... Really! Idiot! Mmph!"
She protested in a small voice but didn't seem displeased at all, lightly tapping his chest with a fist that had no real force behind it.
Far from rejecting his touch, she subtly leaned closer, resting her weight against him.
Iris observed every bit of it, missing not a single moment.
Her violet eyes darted between the two.
'Analysis.'
Iris silently watched it all, as if peering through a microscope at microbial interactions.
Lord Jonathan's actions. The tactile stimulus of stroking her hair. The auditory stimuli of "pretty" and "beauty."
These two signals instantly resolved Erika Argentis's emotional instability and even provoked an extreme positive reaction.
This was no mere chemical deception.
Iris revised her previous hypothesis.
'...Synergy.'
This was not waste. It was the most efficient interaction.
'Interaction. Positive feedback from the male to the female's devotion. This strengthens the bond between the two individuals.'
Erika received emotional reward for her devotion through Jonathan. This maximized her work efficiency.
Lord Jonathan gained the strongest, most stable drive to realize his vision through that devotion.
'A structure where two individuals complement each other's weaknesses and maximize strengths... A joint system to surpass individual limits.'
Iris reached that conclusion, yet there remained unexplained surplus.
Beyond efficiency and logic, humans gave far too much to one another.
Goodwill without recompense. Unnecessary consideration. Devotion even unto death.
If all that was merely a program for prosperity, why was it so excessive?
Even in that brief touch as he brushed back Erika's golden hair, she showed pure, unadulterated happiness.
That glow was neither mana manifestation nor mere biological reaction.
'...What is that?'
For the first time, Iris conceived of an immeasurable variable.
Something irreducible by logic.
An error not in the equations yet altering the results.
But an error that, far from collapsing the system, propelled it faster and stronger as additional drive.
'Emotions are not surplus. Perhaps the most advanced computational system unique to humans.'
She quietly drew in a breath.
'If emotions are not mere bias or error, but a higher-dimensional algorithm for evolving into better beings...'
Then what was the ultimate 'solution' that algorithm aimed for?
Breaking through the fundamental limit of finite individuals: mortality.
The sole logical rebellion against entropy—the law of dissolution—not even magic could fully defy.
Not mere extension of an individual's survival, but inheritance and advancement of the information composing oneself.
Replicating and improving the information carrying one's genes, mana traits, knowledge.
Her hypothesis solidified further.
'Ultimately, the endpoint of all these emotions is genetic inheritance. Children.'
Life could not persist alone.
Just as mana must cycle to maintain its power, life might be designed to affirm, complement, and complete one another through relationships with others.
The illogical emotion called love that she couldn't understand might be the strongest law sustaining that interaction.
And the ultimate destination that law led to.
The product passed to posterity, born from two finite lives sharing everything.
'...The creation of new life.'
More complex calculations than tens of thousands of magic formulas whirled in Iris's mind.
Her knowledge, her mana, her curiosity.
All were confined within the limits of the individual Iris von Valkenriter. She, too, was finite.
But what if.
'What if I had a child?'
A new individual inheriting her logic and knowledge, surpassing her physical limits.
Wouldn't that be a creation more profound and perfect than probing the roots of magic?
If that was life's strongest, most logical command for prosperity.
No—transcending even that, experiencing directly the miracle of life's origin and birth.
"..."
Iris's head slowly turned.
Her gaze no longer lingered on Erika's flushed cheeks or Jonathan's tender touch.
Those blunt violet eyes, seeming to pierce everything, fixed solely on one person.
Jonathan Valerius, straight on.
'Then, the most efficient and logical partner for my child.'
An intriguing person. A brilliant strategist. One who stimulated her intellectual curiosity and manifested the Tower's techniques in reality—the ultimate partner.
But viewing him now through this new lens of research into fundamentals, he appeared entirely different.
Overwhelming intellect. Creativity shaking the Empire. Political acumen moving Emperor and Pope alike. Vast wealth and heir to his house.
And with the absolute honor of sainthood, a man who embodied alchemical principles to an alarming degree despite lacking formal knowledge.
'A child inheriting that man's genes and mine...?'
The subject of the utterly logical conclusion she had just reached.
Jonathan was still smiling tenderly at Erika, chatting away.
"You know, once distribution's sorted, the sauces should hit the southern markets soon too."
"Really? Amazing! Then from now on—"
Utterly unaware that he had just become the deepest object of study—and goal—for the Tower's genius.