While the couple was still amazed by the test paper, Greed, who had placed all of the bags to the side, walked toward them with little Sylvana piggybacking on her back.
"Hm? What's this?" Greed picked up one of the test papers to examine it, with the little troublemaker still clinging onto her back like a koala.
"Is this Sylvana's test paper?" Greed asked, confusion evident on her face after seeing the results.
"Yes, she answered all of it in less than half an hour," Daniel replied.
A teasing smile appeared on Greed's face as she turned to the little troublemaker behind her. "Well? Little redhead, do you know what the derivative of f(x) = 3x^2 + 2x - 5 is?" Greed asked a question that would surely leave Koyuki's brain spinning.
"That's easy! It's f'(x) = 6x + 2," Sylvana answered confidently. However, instead of receiving a round of applause or even a word of praise from her parents, she was met with complete silence.
Both Daniel and Greed looked at little Sylvana as if they had seen a ghost, while Koyuki, still smiling, remained oblivious to the situation. Her brain felt like it had experienced a minor short circuit after hearing both the question and answer.
"Am... am I wrong?" Sylvana asked, feeling discouraged as her parents and her favorite aunt remained silent. Her face drooped with sadness and she feared that her parents would no longer like her because she had given the wrong answer.
Seeing the dejected expression on his daughter's face, Daniel quickly reassured her. "No! No! You're not wrong... It's just that... we never expected you to get it right!" Daniel replied, still wearing a look of astonishment.
"That's right! I didn't think you would get it right either!" Greed chimed in, agreeing with Daniel, while Koyuki continued to smile, pretending to understand.
Daniel then recalled the first time he had met Sylvana in the basement of the Willow family laboratory. He remembered the pile of human bodies that had been used as nourishment for the Sylvan tree. Although he didn't remember many of the individuals, he knew that most of them were people who opposed the Tessia Royal family.
With that in mind, Daniel quickly accessed a website that listed the names of individuals who were considered missing, believed to have been abducted or forcibly disappeared by the royal family. Among them was a cosmology researcher. Daniel promptly searched the internet for a suitable question and posed it to Sylvana.
"Sweety, can you answer this? What is dark matter and what role does it play in the universe?" he asked, shifting the question to the realm of cosmology.
"Um..." Little Sylvana pondered for a moment before responding. "Well, it's a hypothetical form of matter that doesn't interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation, making it invisible. It is believed to constitute a significant portion of the mass in the universe and plays a crucial role in explaining the observed gravitational effects on galaxies and the large-scale structure of the cosmos." Sylvana attempted to provide a concise summary of her understanding.
Daniel quickly looked up the answers and confirmed that they were correct. Once again, Sylvana astounded him, though deep down he realized that her exceptional intellect shouldn't have come as a surprise. After all, the question he had asked earlier aligned with the field of the missing individual who had opposed the royal family.
Encouraged by Sylvana's remarkable responses, Daniel continued to pose more questions, spanning various subjects such as biology, chemistry, and mechanical engineering, all at an expert level. And just like an expert in each respective field, Sylvana flawlessly answered every question.
Greed stood in awe of Sylvana's knowledge, her eyes wide with amazement. Meanwhile, Koyuki maintained her smile, though her mind had already drifted away from reality. Unbeknownst to her, the questions and Sylvana's remarkable answers were completely out of her league.
[Ok… I won't teach her any homework. Never! I can't risk my motherly pride crumbling in front of her!] With a touch of self-preservation as a mother, Koyuki silently vowed to herself.
After Daniel was satisfied with the test, he looked deep into his daughter's eyes with curiosity, as if searching for something.
"Do you know about Professor Mason Brown? Do you know what he looks like?" Daniel asked.
"Huh?" Upon hearing the name, little Sylvana tilted her head in confusion. She had no recollection of who that was. Did the name hold any significance? Despite having vast knowledge stored in her mind since birth, she had no information about that particular name.
"Papa, is he famous? Or is he one of the researchers' uncles in the lab? Should I memorize all of their names?" Little Sylvana asked, genuinely concerned that not knowing would make her parents love her less.
Observing his beloved daughter's reaction, Daniel couldn't help but recall his own days as an orphan. Back then, he had strived to excel academically and behave well, hoping to catch the attention of potential adoptive parents and find happiness. He had always been afraid that not being good enough would hinder his chances of being chosen.
After a moment of reflection, a warm smile graced Daniel's face. "No, sweetheart, he's not important, and you don't need to remember all of the researchers' names. Just remember the ones you want to or the ones who have been kind to you," Daniel reassured his daughter.
A visible sense of relief washed over little Sylvana. It became apparent that she knew who she truly was and where she came from. She had feared that her parents might abandon her, knowing she wasn't their biological daughter.
"Hey..." Daniel called out to his little princess, gently patting her head. "You don't need to worry about us ever abandoning you. Your origin doesn't matter to us. We see you as our daughter, nothing less." Daniel reassured his uncertain little princess, who started to beam with a bright smile.
The question Daniel had asked pertained to the professor who had spoken out against the Tessia Royal family and subsequently went missing. This professor was an expert in mathematics and cosmology, and was even considered a potential candidate for the new Minister of Science and Astrology within the scientific circles of the Tessia Kingdom.
This revelation meant that Sylvana, who was born from the Sylvan tree that had absorbed the knowledge of those individuals, had inherited their expertise but not their memories that defined their identities.
But was this truly possible? Daniel couldn't say for certain, as he wasn't an expert in magical biology, nor did his knowledge of alchemy encompass the inner workings of the Sylvan tree. Based on what he knew so far, the theory he had come up with seemed unique, as he couldn't recall any other instances of a Sylvan tree being nourished with mana and human vitality to such an extent.
"Michaela, could you take Sylvana to play outside? I need to discuss something important with Koyuki and Greed," Daniel requested.
"Yes, my lord," Michaela agreed, wearing a relaxed smile. She approached little Sylvana and extended her hand, gesturing for her to come along.
"Little one, come with me. I'll take you flying..." Michaela began, but Daniel interjected.
"Nope, not unless you're wearing armor with a safety seat attached. Don't even think about taking her flying," Daniel said, waving his hand to dismiss the idea.
Michaela pouted playfully before changing the subject. "How about a full course of sweet buffet? You can eat all the cake and chocolate you want!" she proposed to Sylvana, stealing a quick glance at Daniel, her lord.
"Don't forget to have her brush her teeth afterward," Daniel reminded.
Little Sylvana looked at Daniel as though he were an ancient artifact. "Boo! Papa is boring!" the little troublemaker pouted, then leaped from Greed's back towards Michaela.
Daniel could only sigh wearily and offer a wry smile in response to his daughter's mischievous nature. He wasn't quite sure how to handle her best.
He didn't want to spoil her excessively like Greed, knowing it wouldn't be beneficial for her, yet he also couldn't be overly strict, fearing that she might end up like him when he was adopted—a mere money-making machine, pressured to constantly learn and nearly deplete himself in order to graduate quickly, work, and provide money for his adoptive parents.
After the little troublemaker had gone out with Michaela to the sweet buffet restaurant, Daniel couldn't help but clutch his head in frustration.
"Ha— one day, she might give me a migraine," Daniel complained, eliciting amused gazes from both Koyuki and Greed.
"So, what did you want to discuss that prompted you to let Sylvana go outside like that?" Koyuki inquired, with Greed, her close friend, nodding in agreement.
"Well, it's like this," Daniel began, explaining his theory about the Sylvan tree. Since both Koyuki and Greed already knew about Sylvana's origin, they understood what he meant. Surprisingly, even Greed, who seemed to be well-connected and knowledgeable about many things, found this theory to be rather unique! Could this mean that Sylvana was a truly exceptional existence among the Sylvan fruits?
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om