Chapter 321 – [21st Round] Social studies?

There were six teachers left.

And I had no time left to waste.

The Eastern Continent was made up of several large and small islands.

The water’s depth between its islands was shallow, preventing sea monsters from appearing in their gaps, but megalodons lived in their marine ecosystem, waging wars against mermaids.

Megalodons were large and voracious sharks, but they obviously weren’t the Cenozoic fossils from Earth but ordinary marine animals. I only called them that for convenience.

Locals called them “storm sharks” because of their tendency to crash into ships at high speeds, like battering rams.

Bang! Bang!

Crrrr!

A storm shark often charged in with its entire mass, piercing the ship’s hull and ultimately forcing humans into the waters.

“Aaaaahhh!”

“Somebody help us!”

“S-save me!”

After that, it would begin its hunt, but it didn’t always get enough victims to feed itself.

After all, most sailors were young and strong men. True to their instincts, mermaids didn’t allow the sea monster to devour them.

“I will save you~?”

“You have such a wide chest~?”

“Leave your body to me~?”

Many of their kind died fighting the colossal beast, but their numerical advantage often allowed them to emerge as the victors.

They didn’t even bother counting their losses.

They got their hands on delicious sailors, after all.

Squeezing the last drop of male humans brought them batches of good offspring.

And, of course…

“Pha! S-save me!”

“I’m tired~?”

“I’m the most beautiful princess in the kingdom! Pha! I crossed the sea to marry a charming prince…”

“Really~?”

“Huh… I’m choking… I’m not…”

Gender discrimination in this world was just awful.

The probability of a man returning to the ground in two months after falling into the sea or lake was around 80%.

That left only a 20% chance he’d disappear forever, which was only possible if he was too beautiful or, on the contrary, too ugly.

However, the probability of women’s survival was about 2% and less than 0.1% for beauties.

How could they be so cruel!

I looked away from the scene of brutal gender discrimination in the middle of the sea.

“The Eastern Continent is still the same.”

The only thing that changed was that the cursed dragon, which was supposed to be one of the Five Great Disasters, now enjoyed normal family life.

Queen of Wisdom Malfaricia.

But the destination I was flying to wasn’t that lizard’s nest.

I was interested in Island E, the largest island in the east, and Island W in the west, where there was extensive trade with the Trade Republic of the Central Continent.

? Outrage: Why do you change these beautiful islands’ names with stupid ones? The Eastern Continent consists of four large islands. Orkan in the north, home to most dragons, Lune in the east, known as the dwarves’ territory, Bakum in the west, the center of trade and commerce, and Rulba in the south, a haven for pirates.

‘Thanks for talking about their names that I’ll forget in a second, Fugitive Senior.’

Since Island W conducted active sea trade, pirates constantly visited it.

And now the pirates attacked the merchants exactly where I was going.

“Take everything!”

“Throw the men into the sea, and take the women onto the ship!

“Captain! A storm shark is approaching!”

“Damn it! Why now? Prepare for a collision!”

Buuhhh!

Crrrr!

The pirate ship split in two.

“Aaaaaahhh!”

“Mom!”

Splash! Splash!

Pirates fell from their vessel into the water.

They tried to retaliate using their cannons and magic, but it wasn’t enough to slay the megalodon.

This situation often happened in this continent.

“God~?”

“It seems that you need help~?”

“I will save you~?”

Sea mermaids gathered upon sensing men had fallen overboard and into their waters.

It would naturally lead to a battle between the mermaids and the megalodon, which I nicknamed aptly so for one more reason.

“Megaaaaaah!”

They usually moved silently, but they immediately released those roars whenever they encountered mermaids, their natural enemies.

Fshuk! Fshuk! Fshuk!

If I were to describe the battle between the megalodon and the mermaids gracefully, I’d say it was like throwing many eggs at a stone in a pitiful attempt to break it.

But this time, it was different.

“Ha-ah!”

“Megaaaah?!”

Fshuk! Fshuk! Fshuk!

The monster died after a sea mermaid’s golden trident pierced through it, causing its blood to taint the clear waters.

Fugitive Senior immediately perked up.

? Memory: That trident… is the weapon I gave to one of my wives, a sea mermaid. It is an extremely powerful armament made with 2% romantium, one of the two most precious metals in the universe. Hundreds of dwarves took turns to finish it before my wife’s birthday.

That was really romantic!

I thought I finally understood why the dwarves and Malfaricia hated Fugitive Senior so much.

That aside…

“Hey, Miss Fishy.”

“Wow! I found a cute male~?”

“Don’t even try to snuggle your slimy skin against me, fish brain, unless you want me to kick your ass.”

“The way you speak is so cool~?”

“…”

I came across this frequently. These stupid fishes didn’t know how to conduct normal human conversations.

I wanted the golden trident, a Chaos Artifact, not a sea mermaid.

If I showed it to my senior’s subordinates, they’d be able to track the teacher who owned it.

I wondered if I could do without it this time as well, though.

I extended my right hand towards the megalodon’s corpse.

[Darkness]

My dark matter crushed the giant shark.

At that moment…

Krrrr!

Just before its body collapsed, its dorsal fin cracked, and a woman in a swimsuit jumped out of it.

? Excitement: That’s her! There’s no mistake about it. I can spot her fantastically smooth and seemingly eternally oiled skin from miles away!

This beautiful woman was the wife of Fugitive Senior, who loved all females, regardless of race.

But why was she hiding in the megalodon’s stomach?

? Suggestion: Perhaps she tried to approach the Chaos Artifact without being noticed by cadet Kang Han Soo?

‘Oh! I think Trainee Teacher’s right! You truly have such a beautiful mind, body, and soul!’

If so…

“There must be a trainer nearby who can control megalodons. Oh! Before anything else, I need that trident. Give it to me.”

“Wonderful gentleman~ Spend a hot night with me— Huh?!”

“Hand it over now, or else I’ll spend a hot night with you by turning you into soup!”

“Oh, great~ Your rudeness is just perfect for my taste~ You’re making my heart beat even faster~?”

“Stupid fish…”

Nevertheless, I took the golden trident from her.

I focused my gaze on my senior’s wife.

Fast.

Very fast!

It would be an exaggeration if I were to say she moved at the speed of light, but she was still the fastest mermaid I had ever seen.

Was she the swimming teacher?

“It doesn’t matter. You can’t hide from me.”

No matter how fast she moved in the water, she was no better than a fish trapped in a large aquarium.

She knew that if I took the trident back to my senior’s subordinates, she’d be caught no matter where she hid.

We were basically playing a game of hide and seek.

If I caught her before the inspection team’s arrival, victory would be mine, and if she remained inactive and hid until then, victory would still be mine.

I was curious about what her next move would be.

“Megaaaaaaah!”

“Megaaaaah!”

“Megaaaaaaaaah!”

As if to surpass my expectations, countless megalodons pounced on me.

That was yet another fish brain move.

I just took to the skies.

Last I checked, megalodons were still marine animals. They couldn’t fly.

It would be possible to exterminate them all for interfering with my work as the MAX-Class Righteous Hero, but I decided to avoid it to preserve the sea’s ecosystem.

“Megaaaaaaahhhhhh…”

“Megaaaaahhh…”

“Megaaah…”

Under an unidentified being’s control, the gigantic sharks tried to hunt me down while I was hovering in the air, only to ultimately fail.

Still, I couldn’t just leave everything like this.

‘It’s time to get some work done, Soul Spirit King.’

I ordered him to free their minds.

Pop? Pop!

The Soul Spirit King stopped sexually harassing me and demonstrated his power.

The megalodons, who wasted their stamina and time pointlessly launching themselves out of the water to catch me, finally calmed down.

Since the situation seemed to have been sorted out, I decided to catch Fugitive Senior’s fish wife later.

“Time to go to the next—”

Pshshshshsh!

As I was about to turn back, a water column soared into the sky, with something seemingly riding its current.

What was in this pillar?

It didn’t look like another megalodon trying to bring me into the sea.

Well, just in case…

I stabbed my Holy Sword at the colossal beast that dared attack me.

[Spine]

But something strange happened.

My attack had no effect.

Bang!

Splash!

I received a blow so powerful to my body that I shot back down into the water.

“What is it this time?”

“Kraaaaah!”

“Ah… so it’s the Kraken.”

As soon as I heard its cry, I immediately realized what kind of strange creature it was.

Kraken.

If megalodon was just a “big shark,” this huge abomination was the perfect embodiment of sea monsters.

I thought what I attacked with my Holy Sword was a pillar, but it was actually just one of its tentacles.

Yes. It was an octopus.

The Kraken was a mollusk, so my perfect Holy Sword, made to punish spines, had no effect on it.

I didn’t like this.

“You are nothing but a wild animal for me to watch for entertainment, student Kang Han Soo.”

When the Kraken rose above the water level, I saw a man on its head.

He had the “Teacher” profession.

I decided to ask about his identity.

“Who are you?”

“Shouldn’t you be addressing me as a teacher, student Kang Han Soo? Even animals are more polite than you are.”

“Do you also teach ethics and morality?”

“Sociology is my subject. I teach heroes how to get along in society. Don’t think of me as a zookeeper. Keeping pets is simply one of the easier ways to learn about society. I mainly conduct psychotherapy by gifting cute pets to heroes with social anxiety disorder, misanthropy, sociopathy, and panic disorder symptoms.

“Stop lying.”

Due to my incompetent companions, my 1st round became extremely difficult. However, I never once received a cute pet as a present.

“I tried. I swear.”

“I don’t remember anything like that.”

“Of course you don’t. You kept accidentally turning the cute creatures into experience points. After 25 attempts, I gave up.”

“…”

“Let me end our conversation by enlightening you a bit. I can control various creatures, and I chose to use the Kraken against you since it’s perfect for countering your divine power.”

“It is indeed.”

Great choice.

The Kraken had no spine and could withstand the vibrations of dark matter.

Sociology Teacher was well prepared!

“To hunt animals, you need to know their behavior and weaknesses. Student Kang Han Soo, if you don’t want to get hurt, give me Swimming Teacher’s trident immediately.”

“So you’re saying you’ve studied me?”

“That’s right.”

“Hahaha! That’s a blatant lie!”

“You will come to your senses when you realize the bitterness of defeat against the might of the Kraken.”

“I’ll explain why I know you’re lying.”

“You can try.”

“First and foremost, I’m not a sociopath, so I have no need for cute pets. Second, you clearly didn’t study me all that well. Third, the proof of my words will fall on your little octopus now.”

He was lying, but I wasn’t.

My alter ego, revered in the Giant Empire, had just arrived.

The embodiment of cuteness himself!

Captain Fantasy crushed the tiny mollusk and its chubby tentacles.

“Wow.”

“Kraaaaaahhh?!”

“How do you stop this cute baby, Sociology Teacher?”

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