Human (3)

The moment I gave my answer, something once again went Pop- and popped up over Leona's head. Seeing it twice was enough for me to get a rough idea.

Leona wasn't human but a member of another race. Since something had sprouted from the top of her head, she was probably beastfolk.

'Do beastfolk enroll in the Academy too?'

As we heard in the lecture, relations between humans and beastfolk were the worst. They were even worse than the strained relations between elves and dwarves, which had existed since ancient times. Because of this, no beastfolk had ever enrolled at Halo Academy before now.

One might ask, then, what about the beastfolk I had occasionally seen in the busy streets over the weekends? They weren't students; they had been hired as guards. Thanks to their naturally superior five senses, beastfolk were exceptionally capable guards.

More than anything, the main reason they worked in human society despite having the worst possible relations with humans was 'money.' The beastfolk nation had been established only recently and was in a situation similar to that of a developing country. Thus, they frequently endured all sorts of hostile looks while continuing to work.

'She must have her reasons.'

But it wasn't something I needed to worry about. She must have her own reasons for hiding her identity. More importantly, I needed to answer Cecily's question first.

"So you're saying humans can seize control of the world because they're stupid?"

"Yes."

"Sometimes what Isaac says is hard to understand."

Cecily said that as she set down her utensils for a moment and stared at me with an unreadable gaze. Her red eyes seemed capable of sucking me in, and I stopped eating for a moment as well.

Afterward, she seemed to ponder my words deeply, then propped her chin on her hand and spoke.

"Could you explain it so I can understand? You don't need to twist your words around like last time."

"It isn't anything grand. It's similar to what the professor explained during anthropology class."

"I'm still curious. Tell me quickly."

I glanced at Leona over Cecily's shoulder. The ears that had sprung up over her head had settled down by now, but her gaze was still fixed directly on me.

I tilted my head, wondering whether she could hear even from this distance, then forced myself to ignore it and began explaining.

"As you know, Lady Cecily, humans have nothing going for them besides our remarkable ability to learn. We're inferior to the other races in everything from lifespan to physical ability, magic, wisdom, and dexterity. We aren't even particularly good at handling mana. A short-lived race with no innate advantages whatsoever. Can't you see where I'm going with this?"

"Not really."

"We may have the advantage of learning quickly, but what about when we were starting from absolute zero? We wouldn't have had anything we'd learned—or anything we could learn. How did we manage to survive until now?"

"Huh? That's true."

Cecily's eyes widened. She looked as though my words had made her question it as well.

In my previous life, humans could compete among themselves because they were the only species around, but this world was different. There were countless races nearby whose innate abilities were far superior to those of humans.

Could humans really compete in that situation? If humans had been smart, they would have avoided competing, scurrying around in hiding or bowing their heads and living as slaves.

But whether because they were stupid or reckless, humans chose to compete with the other races. From the other races' perspective, they must have wondered, 'What's wrong with those idiots?' If some monkey tried to compete with me, I would have laughed at it too.

"Of course, it must not have been easy in the beginning. They had learned nothing. But instead of giving up, humans began imitating the strengths of the other races. It was at that point that 'knowledge' began to accumulate, but they were still lacking. In the end, imitation was still only imitation."

"That's true."

Cecily nodded in agreement. Humans did have a population of over 1.5 billion, but only a small number of them were capable of standing against the other races.

No matter how capable a human was, unless they were an unparalleled genius, their innate limitations were obvious. The fact that an average elven warrior possessed the physical prowess of a human knight was already enough to throw the balance off.

"I think their reproductive ability was superior to that of the other races for the same reason. In the beginning, survival would have required them to compete through quantity rather than quality, so they blindly increased their numbers. From the other races' perspective, it must have seemed like a truly simple-minded and pointless struggle. Beastfolk at least have superior physical abilities, but humans don't even have that, do they?"

"Hmm... Come to think of it, don't beastfolk have a high birth rate too? You said they were massacred by humans during the Race War, but they must have existed before then as well, right?"

"That's when humans' ability to learn truly came into play. Historically, elves were the first to build a 'civilization,' but humans were the next race to achieve one. Using the knowledge and abilities they learned from the elves, humans built civilizations and gathered their scattered fellow humans to stockpile strength. A race that lives in tribes versus a race that created civilization and society. Isn't the difference obvious already?"

"I see. The beastfolk only founded their own country three hundred years ago, right?"

As I mentioned before, the beastfolk had established their nation only three hundred years ago. From what I had heard, they founded it after feeling threatened when countless of their people were massacred by humans during the Race War.

However, unlike humans, whose foundations had been solid from the beginning, the beastfolk had clearly established their nation in haste, and it remained unstable even now. There were also various ethnic groups among the beastfolk, and their barbaric way of life was still being maintained.

"Yes. In any case, to get to the conclusion first, humans are too stupid to simply do nothing and die. If they had been smart from the beginning, they would have given up ages ago, wouldn't they? They would have despaired and lost heart with so many people around them who were better than they were."

"Isn't that paradoxical? Wouldn't being stupid make them die sooner instead?"

"No. As I said, they were stupid, reckless, and foolish, so despite having almost no advantages, they chose to compete."

"So it's tenacity?"

Cecily had pinpointed the exact point. Although I had explained it at length, the biggest reason humans had survived until now and seized control of the world was their never-give-up 'tenacity.'

Humans were the race that stubbornly dug into things everyone had declared impossible and made them possible. They were also the race that fought against demons three thousand years ago, resisting to the very end regardless of age or gender. Whatever else one might say, human tenacity could be considered a kind of 'ability.'

But there was one more decisive reason humans had been able to seize control of the world.

"That's true, but humans are also far more capable of uniting as one than the other races. Normally, they're too busy fighting among themselves, but when a crisis comes, they join together and drive it back."

"Like during the Race War and the war against the demons?"

"Exactly. Tenacity that refuses to give up and the ability to unite in moments of crisis. Those two traits worked together and allowed humans to seize a firm hold over the world."

What was even more frightening was that human potential was limitless. Humans were more aware of their own shortcomings than anyone else, so they tended to develop constantly. I could say that with certainty because I had the memories of my previous life.

But that didn't mean there was nothing to worry about. I prodded my food with my fork—poke, poke—and opened my mouth.

"Of course, that isn't necessarily an advantage. It can also become a horrific sin, like the beastfolk massacre. More frighteningly, something like that will happen again someday. I can be certain of that."

"Why do you think that?"

"We don't have to look far. The demonkin were massacred just a few thousand years ago, weren't they? Who do you think was behind that massacre, noona?"

"... ..."

My question made Cecily's face stiffen slightly. It might have been direct, but there was no better example than this.

"In any case, do you understand now?"

"...Yes. Thanks to you. Humans really are complicated beings. I should study them a little more."

"It's good to know about humans, but I hope you don't learn the bad parts. As the demonkin massacre and the beastfolk massacre show, humans often commit deeds worse than demons."

"Thanks for the advice. Still, I'm glad everyone around me has been kind so far."

Cecily spoke with a refreshed smile. I smiled along with her, then shifted my gaze toward Leona behind her.

Leona had forgotten to eat and was staring intently at me. Judging by the look of things, she really had heard everything I had said.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. By the way, are you done eating?"

"No. I couldn't eat because I was listening to your story. Isaac, do you have a class after this?"

"I don't. What about you, Cecily noona?"

"I have one math class."

"Isn't math really difficult?"

"Not really. I find it easy."

Although there had been a little incident Cecily knew nothing about, the meal itself proceeded smoothly. We spent a pleasant time talking in the cafeteria until class began. She occasionally played some rather harsh pranks on me, but there weren't many people around to see them, so it wasn't a major problem.

Leona, however, made me a little uneasy. She kept staring at me with her characteristically impassive gaze, to the point that I felt burdened by it.

"It's already this late. I'll head out first."

"Yes."

"Isaac?"

"I'll eat a little more before I go. You go ahead."

"All right. See you next time~"

When the meal was over, Cecily smiled brightly and waved at me. I waved back and gave her a warm send-off.

Once Cecily had left as well, only Leona, seated far away, and I remained in the cafeteria, which had been nearly empty from the start.

"... ..."

"... ..."

I stared intently at Leona, and Leona was staring right back at me.

As I wondered what to do, an amusing idea came to me, and I put it into action. First, I placed my clenched fists against both temples, then spread my tightly closed hands wide.

I was imitating the ears that had popped up over Leona's head.

"...!"

The effect was tremendous. The moment I acted it out, Leona's eyes widened until they were as big as lanterns, and her body went completely rigid.

Pop-

On top of that, Leona's ears, which she could no longer control, popped out. She hurriedly tried to suppress them afterward, but it was pointless now that everything had already been exposed.

Spring-

While I was chuckling inwardly, Leona suddenly sprang to her feet. Thinking she might want to have a private conversation, I started to rise as well.

Grab-

"Huh?"

"Come with me for a moment."

Before I could even realize what was happening, she had come right up to me, grabbed me by the collar, and started dragging me away.

I blinked cluelessly, then hurriedly shouted at Leona, who was holding me by the collar.

"I-I have to clear away the dishes...!"

"Grrr...!"

"... ..."

The moment I answered, Leona barked viciously at me.