Chapter 25

■ Chapter 24. Human (3) □ ᓚᘏᗢ

As soon as I gave my answer, something popped up on Leona's head again. I could roughly guess what it was since it happened twice now.

Leona is not human but a different race. Given the protrusion on her head, she is most likely a mermaid.

‘Do mermaids attend the academy too?’

From what I heard in class, the relationship between humans and mermaids is the worst. It's even worse than the strained relationship between elves and dwarves that has existed since ancient times. Because of this, there has never been a case of a mermaid attending Halo Academy.

One might wonder about the mermaids I occasionally saw in the bustling areas over the weekend, but they were not students but guards hired for their excellent senses, a natural advantage of mermaids.

The biggest reason mermaids work in human society despite the worst relationship is ‘money.’ The mermaid nation is relatively new and in a situation similar to a developing country. Therefore, it's common for them to endure various gazes and work.

‘She must have her reasons.’

But it's not my concern. She must have her reasons for hiding her identity. More importantly, I need to address Cecil's question first.

“...Do you think humans can take control of the world because they are stupid?”

“Yes.”

“Sometimes I don’t understand what Isaac says.”

Cecil said this, put down her utensils for a moment, and looked at me with a subtle gaze. Her piercing red eyes made me pause my meal.

After a while, she seemed to be thinking deeply, propped her chin on her hand, and spoke.

“Can you explain it so I can understand? You don’t need to twist it around like last time.”

“It’s not a grand reason. It’s similar to what the professor explained in the anthropology lecture.”

“Still, I’m curious. Tell me quickly.”

I glanced at Leona, who was behind Cecil, urging her. The ears that had popped up on her head had disappeared, but her gaze was still fixed on me.

I tilted my head, wondering if she could hear from this distance, but I ignored it and began my explanation.

“As you know, humans have nothing to boast about except their learning ability. They are inferior to other races in lifespan, physical abilities, magic, wisdom, and craftsmanship. They can’t even handle mana well. A race with a short lifespan and no innate advantages. Does that give you an idea?”

“I don’t get it.”

“Humans have the advantage of learning quickly, but in the early days, when they started from zero, they had nothing to learn or be able to learn. How did they survive until now?”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

Cecil’s eyes widened, showing that she was also pondering my words.

In my previous life, there were only humans, so competition among the same species was possible. But in this world, it’s different. There are many races around with innate abilities far superior to humans.

In such a situation, could humans compete? If humans were smart, they would have avoided competition, hiding or living as slaves.

But humans, whether stupid or reckless, chose to compete with other races. Other races probably found this perplexing, thinking, "Why is this kid acting like that?" I would also sneer if a monkey tried to compete with me.

“Of course, it wasn’t easy at first. They had nothing to learn. But humans didn’t give up and started imitating the strengths of other races. This is when ‘knowledge’ began to accumulate, but it was still insufficient. After all, imitation is just imitation.”

“True.”

Cecil nodded, agreeing with me. In reality, while humans have a population of over 1.5 billion, only a few can match the abilities of other races.

No matter how much humans excel, their innate limitations are clear unless they are exceptional geniuses. For example, a normal elf warrior is equivalent to a knight-level human, which is an imbalance.

“I think the reason for their superior breeding ability is also due to this. In the early days, they had to compete in numbers to survive. Other races probably thought it was a simple and futile struggle. Mermaids, for instance, have good physical abilities, but humans don’t.”

“Hmm… Now that you mention it, don’t mermaids also have a good breeding ability? They were massacred by humans during the racial war, but didn’t they exist before that?”

“At that time, humans’ learning ability came into play. Historically, elves were the first to establish ‘civilization,’ but the next to do so were ‘humans.’ Based on the knowledge and abilities learned from elves, humans built their civilization and gathered their scattered kin to build strength. The difference between a race living in tribes and a race that built civilization and society is clear.”

“I see. Mermaids only established their nation 300 years ago, right?”

As mentioned before, mermaids established their nation just 300 years ago. It seems they felt a sense of crisis after many of their kin were massacred by humans during the racial war.

However, unlike humans, who had a solid foundation, the mermaids’ establishment felt rushed, and they still feel unstable. There are various ethnic groups within the mermaid race, and a primitive culture persists.

“Yes. In any case, to sum up, humans are too stupid to just die without doing anything. If they were smart from the beginning, they would have given up long ago. With so many superior beings around, they would have felt despair and disappointment.”

“Paradoxical. Instead of being stupid, they die quickly?”

“No. To reiterate, despite being stupid and reckless and having almost no advantages, they chose to compete.”

“Perseverance, then?”

Cecil hit the nail on the head. Although I explained it at length, the biggest reason humans have survived and taken control of the world is their ‘perseverance’—the refusal to give up.

Humans are the race that turned the impossible into the possible, and during the war with demons 3000 years ago, they resisted to the end, regardless of age or gender. If nothing else, human perseverance can be seen as a kind of ‘ability.’

However, there is one more decisive reason why humans have taken control of the world.

“That’s true, but humans also have a stronger sense of unity than other races. They fight among themselves in normal times, but when a crisis comes, they unite to repel it.”

“Like the racial war and the demon war?”

“Exactly. The refusal to give up and the ability to unite in times of crisis. These two characteristics combined to give humans the dominant position.”

What’s even more frightening is that human potential is limitless. Humans, who are well aware of their shortcomings, have a tendency to continuously develop. This is something I can assert because of my memories from my previous life.

However, I’m not without concerns. I poked at my food with my fork and spoke.

“Of course, this isn’t always a positive trait. It can also lead to terrible sins, like the mermaid massacre. The more frightening part is that such events will recur in the future. I’m certain of this.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Without going too far, just a few thousand years ago, the demon race was massacred. Who do you think led that massacre?”

“...”

Cecil’s face stiffened at my question. Although it might be blunt for her, it’s the best example.

“Anyway, do you understand now?”

“...Yeah, thanks to you. Humans are truly complex beings. I need to study more.”

“It’s good to know about humans, but I hope you don’t learn their bad aspects. As seen in the demon and mermaid massacres, humans often commit acts worse than demons.”

“Thanks for the advice. Fortunately, there are only good people around me so far.”

Cecil smiled and nodded. I smiled back and then turned my gaze to Leona, who was still staring at me, having forgotten to eat.

She seemed to have heard everything I said.

“Why are you staring?”

“It’s nothing. Have you finished eating?”

“No. I couldn’t eat while listening to your story. Does Isaac have a class next?”

“I don’t. What about you, Cecil?”

“I have one math class.”

“Isn’t math really hard?”

“Not really. I find it easy.”

Despite the unknown incident, the meal proceeded smoothly. We talked and had a good time until the class started. Occasionally, we played some rough jokes, but since no one was around, there were no major issues.

However, Leona was a bit concerning. Her usual stern gaze made me feel uneasy.

“It’s already this late. I’ll get up first.”

“Okay.”

“What about Isaac?”

“I’ll eat a bit more and then go. You go ahead.”

“Alright. See you next time~”

After the meal, Cecil smiled and waved. I waved back and saw her off warmly.

Once Cecil left, the originally empty dining hall was left with only me and Leona, who was sitting a bit away.

“...”

“...”

I stared at Leona, and she stared back at me.

After pondering what to do, I came up with a fun idea and acted on it. I first clenched my fists and placed them on both temples, then opened my hands wide.

This was to mimic the ears that had popped up on Leona’s head.

“...!”

The effect was tremendous. As soon as I acted it out, Leona’s eyes widened, and her body stiffened.

Pong-

As a bonus, Leona’s ears, which she couldn’t control, popped out. She tried to hide them quickly, but it was too late.

Thud-

Just as I was inwardly chuckling, Leona suddenly stood up. I thought she might want to talk, so I also tried to stand up.

Thump-

“Huh?”

“Follow me for a moment.”

Before I could react, she was right in front of me, grabbing my collar and dragging me along. I hadn’t even noticed her approach.

Confused, I blinked and urgently called out to her.

“W, we need to clean up the dishes...!”

“Grrr...!”

“...”

As soon as I responded, Leona growled fiercely.