Chapter Text
*
“Ahh...!! Why can't I find my Eve!?”
Tonight, Ainosuke was once again lamenting in front of the monitors in his room at the Shindo mansion. He had just watched a compilation of S videos from the past few weeks, but unfortunately, none of the skaters could live up to his expectations. Tadashi cautiously decided to talk to his master.
“Ainosuke-sama. What kind of person is Eve?”
“You ask nonsense, dog,” Ainosuke hissed. “If I say Eve, it must be Eve! Eve for Adam, don't you see? Ahhh, if I could meet my Eve, I would recognize them immediately!”
“Oh... umm...” Tadashi replied vaguely to Ainosuke's emotional outburst. Ainosuke had said, “Don't you see?” but he could not understand what he did not understand. However, Tadashi was well aware that telling Ainosuke this would not improve the situation, so he did not argue with him.
What really was Adam's Eve? Ainosuke had been obsessed with the idea since his high school days, when he started calling himself Adam. And even though he had actually met several people who “could be Eve,” each time, he was disappointed, saying, “It wasn't Eve...”
As for the unfortunate Eve candidates, most of whom were sent to the hospital, the servants of the Shindo family worked behind the scenes to take care of them the best they could, so fortunately, no lawsuits or other actions were filed against the Shindo family.
However, if Ainosuke continued to approach the Eve candidates, a dangerous skateboarding accident that could lead to someone's death would be inevitable. Considering the cost of covering up the deaths and the risk to his master's social standing, Tadashi was determined to avoid such a situation at all costs.
“Then why don't you calculate whether you will be able to meet Adam's Eve?”
Tadashi spoke to his master in a casual manner. Ainosuke looked up at him.
“What do you mean? Is that even possible?”
“Please take a look at this paper. It was written by Peter Backus, a mathematician from England.”
Operating the tablet in his hand, Tadashi showed it to Ainosuke. The text on the screen read:
Why I don't have a girlfriend: An application of the Drake Equation to love in the UK †
“The formula presented by the 20th century American astronomer Prof. Drake for arithmetically estimating the number of extraterrestrial civilizations is known as the Drake Equation. This paper is about the application of the Drake Equation to love,” Tadashi explained.
Ainosuke looked at the tablet skeptically but seemed to be interested. Tadashi decided to continue.
“I know that you are not looking for a girlfriend or anything like that, but essentially, this paper attempts to mathematically calculate the probability that a heterosexual 31-year-old British man will meet a woman in London who meets his desired criteria. This is an application of a technique called ‘Fermi Estimation,’ which can be used to logically estimate and approximate numbers that are difficult to get an exact value for.”
“Okay, so?” Ainosuke prodded.
“I think it would be appropriate to redefine ‘Adam's Eve’ as ‘someone who fulfills Ainosuke-sama's desired conditions,’ which would make this approach relevant.”
“Well... that's one way to look at it. But how would you apply this equation to my Eve?” Ainosuke asked.
Obviously, he had succeeded in catching Ainosuke's interest. While making a fist pump in his mind, Tadashi continued speaking calmly without changing his expression.
“Ainosuke-sama, I have prepared materials on this subject to discuss with you in detail when I had the chance. Please wait a moment while I prepare them. In the meantime, you can take a look at this paper for reference, if you wish.” Tadashi handed Ainosuke the tablet.
“Hmm...” Ainosuke looked down at the tablet and started to read the text.
Tadashi moved a small cart next to the monitor and opened a laptop with his presentation. He connected it to the large main screen in front of Ainosuke's desk. Then, he turned down the lights in the room.
“Hm... I can see that the logic makes sense. At first glance, the equations seem difficult. But in the end, it's simply a matter of multiplying probabilities, right?”
“Yes, you're right, Ainosuke-sama,” Tadashi replied as he continued to prepare for his presentation. He was once again pleased by the intelligence of his master, who was able to accurately understand the English content in such a short time.
“Oh, this section is good... ‘While extraterrestrial civilizations may be rare, there is something that is seemingly rarer still: A girlfriend. For me. What might the approach employed in the estimation of the number of alien civilizations tell us about the number of potential girlfriends for me?’” Ainosuke recited before looking at Tadashi again. “So you are saying that you will use this paper to calculate the number of people who could be my Eve?”
“Exactly. Let's examine this more closely. Ainosuke-sama, I'm ready now; please look at the screen.”
Tadashi operated his computer and projected the title of his presentation onto the main screen.
Why ADAM doesn't have Eve: An application of the Drake Equation to finding Eve at S
“My name is Kikuchi Tadashi, and I am a secretary from the office of Shindo Ainosuke. Thank you for coming to my presentation today.”
Holding the pointer stick, Tadashi straightened up and turned to Ainosuke, who was sitting in a large chair. As he began to speak to his audience of one, he remembered that he loved this moment of tension, like a gong ringing to signal the beginning of a fight...
“That's enough preamble. Let's move on. Why did you even say your name?” Ainosuke asked suspiciously.
“... I'm sorry, it just reminded me a bit of my university days.”
“You majored in science, didn't you?”
“Yes, I graduated from the Department of Mathematical Sciences.”
Although it was some years ago, Tadashi had once worn a white lab coat in a science and engineering laboratory while searching for scientific truths. Now that he had become a politician's secretary, he rarely had the chance to present his research, which made him feel nostalgic.
However, there was no way that he could let Ainosuke's interest be dampened. Tadashi quickly moved on to the next slide, which contained a flowchart template.
“If we put Ainosuke-sama's desired conditions and the expected percentage of each of them into each item, we will be able to estimate how many people could be Adam's Eve.”
“Hm... The use of Fermi Estimation in this way is also an interesting approach.”
Fortunately, Ainosuke seemed to be quite interested in this topic. In front of the big screen, Tadashi straightened up again and turned to his master.