Ch.22Human (1)

If history is the major I’m most interested in since coming to the academy, then my next deepest interest is “anthropology.” In this world, anthropology includes not just humans, but also elves, beastkin, dwarves, demons, and various other races.

Therefore, in anthropology class, we’re learning about the unique characteristics of each race, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

However, Halo Academy focuses primarily on humans while comparing them to other races. This is probably because it’s an educational institution established by humans, and most of the students are human.

Even so, foreign students—that is, non-human races who have enrolled at Halo Academy—are generally satisfied. Though the world is vast with diverse races, they also understand that humans have always been at the center of events.

“According to recent research, the human population is approximately 1.6 billion, while all other races combined only amount to about 800 million. Thanks to this vast population and limitless development capabilities, humans have been able to maintain dominance until now. And…”

An elderly gentleman with notably thick, gray eyebrows was enthusiastically explaining at the front of the lecture hall. I sat in the front row, listening attentively to his lecture.

The elderly gentleman’s name was Professor Roy Magnus. As you can see, he’s the professor in charge of anthropology. Like Professor Virus who teaches humanities, he has such passion that there’s never a dull moment.

“Of course, other races have their own unique strengths, which is why they constantly keep humans in check. Dwarves can control the weapons market, and each individual elf warrior is as powerful as a human knight. The same goes for beastkin. Finally, demons are exceptionally talented in magic, rivaling elves in that regard. Humans, on the other hand? We have no innate exceptional qualities. An event that clearly revealed these strengths and weaknesses of each race was the Racial War.”

Anthropology is inherently inseparable from the “Racial War.” That war exposed the light and dark sides of each race, and it was when humans began to take the lead in earnest. I completely agree with this point.

But I have a separate question. When Professor Roy paused his explanation to catch his breath, I slowly raised my hand. Seeing my raised hand, Professor Roy’s face brightened as he looked at me.

“Ah, yes. Issac. What question do you have for us today?”

“… …”

I gave a wry smile at the professor’s words. Since anthropology was my second most interested major after history, I had bombarded him with various questions from the first class. Because of this, Professor Roy tends to view me favorably.

Of course, inversely proportional to that, the gazes from other students weren’t so pleasant, as I received bonus points for asking many questions. Anyway, I should ask what I want to know.

“You mentioned earlier that the human population is 1.6 billion, right? And all other races combined don’t even reach 800 million.”

“That’s right.”

“Let me focus specifically on elves. Elves have the lowest birth rate among all races. Because of this, they have the smallest population. I’ve heard that even at the highest estimate, the elven population is only about 100 million.”

“And dwarves are at 250 million, beastkin at 350 million, and demons around 100 million. That’s roughly the calculation.”

As Professor Roy explained, the elven population is quite small even when considering the overall ratio. One might think, “Isn’t 100 million out of 2.1 billion decent?” But that’s only if viewed from the perspective of my previous life.

We shouldn’t overlook the fact that on Earth, only “humans” existed. Considering the racial characteristics of elves, their numbers are seriously low.

“Yes. Additionally, elves are long-lived, with a lifespan of about 1,000 years. Compared to humans who, even with longevity, barely exceed 100 years, it’s an enormous figure. Even with rough calculations, it’s more than 10 times longer. However, even considering this, I find it strange that the elven population is so small.”

“So, you’re saying that despite many humans dying during those 1,000 years, it’s strange that the elven population remains small. Is that right?”

Professor Roy neatly summarized the question I wanted to ask. As I nodded, he made eye contact with Cecilly sitting next to me.

After briefly making eye contact with her, Professor Roy shifted his gaze elsewhere. Except for Cecilly, who is a demon, there were only humans in the lecture hall.

“Hmm… quite an interesting question. Since we’ve only talked about elves so far, let me tell you about their cultural characteristics after their biological traits. First, Issac, how much do you know about sex?”

“…What?”

I was dumbfounded by this sudden, unexpected question. I might have been prepared for other questions, but being suddenly asked about sexual knowledge was bound to be surprising.

Seeing the atmosphere in the lecture hall turn awkward, Professor Roy hastily added an explanation.

“Ah, everyone, don’t get any strange ideas. This requires some basic sexual knowledge to explain. Anyway, Issac, your answer to my question?”

“Um… I know everything I need to know.”

Though I answered, I couldn’t prevent my face from turning red in real-time. I hope this explanation is worth such an embarrassing response.

While I harbored such thoughts, Professor Roy cleared his throat and began to provide explanations one by one.

“Ahem. Let me explain. This is something you’ll learn in biology major as well, but since there might be students who don’t take biology, please listen carefully. First, humans, specifically human females, get an opportunity to conceive once a month periodically. However, for elves, this cycle is much longer. According to research, it’s on average once a year.”

“Wow…”

I genuinely marveled at Professor Roy’s explanation. This is why their birth rate is catastrophically low. It’s more surprising that they haven’t gone extinct despite such a long menstrual cycle.

“And there’s one more thing. Elves have a cultural characteristic. Unlike humans, elves regard sexual intercourse as a sacred ‘ritual.’ Moreover, even the sexual desire of male elves is more subdued compared to humans. Ah, at times like this, it might be more appropriate to say that human sexual desire is stronger than that of other races.”

“… …”

“The reason for the small elven population is a combination of these factors. How about it, does that make sense?”

I slowly nodded at Professor Roy’s question. Befitting a mysterious race, the reason for their low birth rate was also mysterious.

Above all, I felt a sense of wonder. In my previous life, when explaining elves, they only mentioned that the birth rate was low, nothing more. It was a kind of “common sense” concept that no one was curious about, even without a separate explanation. The same was true for me.

But not now. The clear explanation, while making sense, once again made me realize that I had been reincarnated into a fantasy world.

“Thank you. I feel like my mind is clearer now.”

“On the contrary, I should thank you. I haven’t seen many students who ask such interesting questions. I hope you’ll continue to ask interesting questions like this in the future.”

“What about beastkin?”

“Hmm?”

This wasn’t a question I asked. Nor was it a question from Cecilly sitting next to me. I turned my head.

Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw a beautiful woman with auburn hair raising her hand. Her expressionless face, devoid of any emotion, matched her rigid way of speaking.

Meanwhile, as attention focused on her, the auburn-haired woman once again voiced her question.

“I’d like to know why the beastkin population is small.”

“Your name is… Leona. Is that right, Leona?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“What are you curious about?”

“Beastkin, like humans, have vigorous sexual desires, and their menstrual cycles are similar to humans. Yet, the beastkin population is only 200 million. I’m curious about the reason for this.”

Leona’s question makes sense. Beastkin have an appearance that seems like a half-and-half mix of humans and animals. In the past, they insisted on a primitive lifestyle, but about 300 years ago, they established their own nation.

However, even considering that, their numbers are strangely small compared to humans. Even taking into account that their nation was established not too long ago, it’s still quite small.

After listening to Leona’s words, Professor Roy seemed to think for a moment, stroking his chin, and then answered somewhat ambiguously, unlike before.

“That’s a rather complex issue. There are cultural characteristics of beastkin, but during the Racial War, beastkin were virtually massacred by us humans. At least tens of millions of beastkin disappeared, I’d say. Because of that, relations between us humans and them are still quite hostile.”

Professor Roy is talking about the worst war crime committed by humans during the Racial War. While the Holy Papal Kingdom of Sabre indiscriminately massacred demons, that was limited to one nation. This incident was a crime committed by the “Human Alliance.”

The Human Alliance killed every beastkin they saw when the beastkin, whom they had enslaved, sided with the elves. In my eyes, it was several times more severe than the Holocaust, the Jewish genocide committed by Nazi Germany during World War II. What’s more outrageous is that they even offered bounties for killing beastkin.

Due to this insane event, the beastkin population was reduced to less than a quarter, not just halved. It’s a history that exemplifies how cruel humans can be.

“Moreover, beastkin are a race that is enthusiastic about combat from birth. From a human perspective, they might be considered barbaric, but from a beastkin perspective, they consider themselves honorable warriors. Due to this cultural characteristic, they often die in battle rather than from natural causes. They even have a custom of despising beastkin who die of natural causes, saying they didn’t die honorably.”

“… …”

“Still, compared to 300 years ago, their population growth rate is similar to or higher than that of humans. I can’t give you a clear answer to what Leona is asking because it’s still ongoing. Keep that in mind.”

“I understand. Thank you for the explanation.”

After her characteristically blunt response, Leona sat down. Listening to her story, I suddenly wondered about the relationship between humans and beastkin.

‘It’s quite dangerous… indeed.’

The relationship between humans and beastkin can be defined in one way.

Mortal enemies and slaves.

Beastkin unilaterally hate humans, and humans look down on such beastkin. I’ve heard that beastkin are frequently sold as slaves in the black market.

Simply put, humans consider beastkin inferior to themselves. Because demons were the common enemy, this phenomenon seems less pronounced, but if you look closely, discrimination against beastkin is also significant.

“Issac, are humans and beastkin on bad terms?”

Cecilly must have been curious about this too, as she asked me in a whispered voice. Her red eyes were filled with curiosity.

I glanced at Professor Roy and then quietly answered.

“Yes. Humans view beastkin as inferior beings, and beastkin treat humans as demons who mercilessly massacred their kind. As the professor mentioned earlier, it’s a vicious cycle that has continued since that incident during the Racial War.”

“Like how we demons were treated as time bombs by all races?”

“It’s similar, but unlike demons, beastkin only treat humans as slaves.”

“I see.”

Perhaps she felt a sense of kinship as a demon who had faced harsh discrimination from birth. Cecilly nodded with a subtle look.

Then, as if thinking for a moment, she lowered her gaze and then spoke with a hopeful tone.

“Then, if the story of humans and beastkin appears in the Biography of Xenon, couldn’t they reconcile? It even completely changed the perception of us demons, so it’s not impossible.”

“Well…”

I rubbed my pen hook thoughtfully. As she said, it’s true that the perception of demons changed through the Biography of Xenon, but even I didn’t expect that.

Moreover, humans and beastkin are bound by a chain of “hatred.” As the saying goes, revenge begets revenge, and breaking a chain bound by hatred is very difficult. Even if it’s the Biography of Xenon.

“Would beastkin even read the Biography of Xenon? Since the protagonist is human, I’ve seen reviews from dwarves and elves in the newspapers, but no matter how much I look, there’s nothing from beastkin.”

“You never know. They might be enjoying it secretly without saying anything.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

I chuckled as I answered.

“That would make for quite an interesting story.”

Contrary to what I said out loud, my inner thoughts were:

‘What if they’re really reading it?’

Cecilly probably doesn’t know, but there’s a development where Xenon and the beastkin prince build trust and become friends.

Through that development, humans sincerely apologize to beastkin, and they form an alliance to fight against demons.

‘It’s not realistic at all…’

No, that’s not right. There’s a living proof right in front of me to judge its realism. The demons, who were despised by not just humans but all races.

Cecilly tilted her head as I just stared at her.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

“…No. Nothing.”

“You know your face is red again, right?”

“… …”

“Be honest. Did you think I’m pretty?”

I just kept my mouth shut.