Chapter 22: Human(1)
Chapter 22: Human(1)
If History was the major I was most interested in upon arriving at the Academy, then 'Anthropology' was a close second. In this world, Anthropology encompassed not just humans, but various other races such as Elves, Beastkin, Dwarves, and Demons.
Consequently, in Anthropology class, we were learning about the unique characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of each race.
However, Halo Academy followed an educational approach that centered on humans while comparing them to other races. This was likely because the institution was founded by humans and the majority of the students were human.
Even so, the international students—the other races who had enrolled in Halo Academy—seemed generally satisfied. They were well aware that while the world was vast and filled with diverse races, humans were almost always at the center of every major event.
"According to recent studies, the human population stands at approximately 1.6 billion, while all other races combined amount to only about 800 million. It is thanks to this massive population and an inexhaustible capacity for development that humans have been able to maintain their dominance until now. And..."
An elderly gentleman with strikingly thick, bushy grey eyebrows was lecturing fervently at the front of the classroom. I sat in the very front row, hanging on his every word.
This was Professor Roy Magnus. As you might have guessed, he was the professor in charge of Anthropology. Much like Professor Virius of the Humanities Department, his passion made it impossible for a single moment to be dull.
"Of course, other races possess their own unique strengths and are constantly keeping humans in check. Dwarves can manipulate the weapons market at will, and individual Elf warriors are as powerful as human knights. The same goes for the Beastkin. Finally, when it comes to magic, the Demons are peerless, rivaled only by the Elves. On the other hand, what about us humans? We have no such innate, exceptional traits. The event that laid bare all these strengths and weaknesses was the Race War."
By its very nature, Anthropology is inextricably linked to the 'Race War.' That conflict revealed the light and shadow of every race, and it was the moment humans truly seized the initiative. I fully agreed with that assessment.
However, I had a specific question of my own. When Professor Magnus paused his explanation to catch his breath, I subtly raised my hand. Seeing this, the professor's face brightened, and he looked toward me.
"Ah, yes. Student Isaac. What question do you have for us today?"
"... ..."
I let out a wry smile at his words. Since Anthropology was my second favorite subject after History, I had been firing off questions since the very first class. Because of this, Professor Magnus viewed me quite favorably.
Conversely, the looks I got from the other students weren't exactly warm. I had earned quite a few extra credit points through my frequent questioning. Regardless, I had to ask what was on my mind.
"Professor, you mentioned earlier that the human population is 1.6 billion, while all other races combined don't even reach 800 million, correct?"
"That is correct."
"I'd like to focus on the Elves for a moment. Elves have the lowest birth rate of all races, and consequently, the smallest population. I've heard that even by generous estimates, the Elven population is only about 100 million."
"And the Dwarves are at 250 million, the Beastkin at 350 million, and the Demons at roughly 100 million. Those are the approximate figures."
As Professor Magnus explained, the Elven population was quite small when looking at the overall ratio. One might ask if 100 million out of 2.1 billion is really that bad, but that's looking at it from the perspective of my previous life.
One must not overlook the fact that on Earth, only 'humans' existed. Considering the racial characteristics of Elves, their numbers were alarmingly low.
"Yes. Furthermore, Elves can live for about 1,000 years. Compared to humans, who barely pass 100 years even with extreme longevity, that's a staggering figure. Even by a rough calculation, they live ten times longer. Yet, even considering that, I find it strange that the Elven population remains so low."
"In other words, you find it odd that despite so many humans dying over those 1,000 years, the Elven population doesn't grow. Is that it?"
Professor Magnus neatly summarized the point I was trying to make. When I nodded, he made eye contact with Cecile, who was sitting next to me.
After holding her gaze for a moment, Professor Magnus looked away and scanned the rest of the room. Aside from Cecile, who was a Demon, the classroom was filled entirely with humans.
"Hmm... a very interesting question. Since we've started with the Elves, I shall explain their cultural characteristics following their biological ones. First, Isaac. How much do you know about... sex?"
"...Pardon?"
I was momentarily stunned by the sudden, blunt question. I might have expected anything else, but being asked about sexual knowledge so abruptly was flustering.
As the atmosphere in the classroom turned awkward, Professor Magnus quickly added an explanation.
"Ah, don't get the wrong idea, everyone. I need you to have a basic understanding of the subject to explain this properly. Anyway, Student Isaac. Your answer?"
"Uh... I know what I need to know."
I managed to answer, but I couldn't stop my face from turning red in real-time. I truly hoped the explanation would be worth the embarrassment.
While I harbored those inner thoughts, Professor Magnus cleared his throat and began his explanation.
"Ahem. Then I shall explain. You would learn this in a Biology major as well, but since some of you may not be taking that, please listen closely. First, humans—specifically human women—have the opportunity to conceive periodically once a month. However, for Elves, that cycle is much longer. According to research, it is once a year on average."
"Wow..."
I was genuinely impressed by Professor Magnus's explanation. That explained why the birth rate was so abysmal. In fact, it was more surprising that they hadn't gone extinct with such a long cycle.
"And there is one more thing: the cultural characteristics of Elves. Unlike humans, Elves tend to view sexual intercourse as a sacred 'ritual.' Furthermore, the libido of Elven males is quite mild compared to humans. Ah, perhaps it's more accurate to say that human libido is exceptionally strong compared to other races."
"... ..."
"The low Elven population is a result of these factors combined. Well? Does that answer your question?"
I nodded slowly at the professor's inquiry. As expected of a mystical race, even the reason for their low birth rate was mystical.
More than anything, it felt strange. In my previous life, Elves were always described as having low birth rates, but it never went beyond that. It was treated as a sort of 'common sense' that required no further explanation, so no one ever questioned it. I was the same.
But not anymore. Thanks to this clear and logical explanation, I felt once again that I had truly been reincarnated into a fantasy world.
"Thank you. That really clears things up."
"No, I should be the one thanking you. I haven't seen many students ask such interesting questions. I hope you'll continue to bring such inquiries to class."
"Then what about the Beastkin?"
"Hmm?"
That wasn't my question. Nor was it Cecile's. I turned my head toward the source of the voice.
Looking in that direction, I saw a beautiful woman with auburn hair holding her hand up. Her expressionless face, devoid of any emotion like her stiff tone, was her most striking feature.
As the attention of the room focused on her, the auburn-haired woman repeated her question.
"I would also like to know why the Beastkin population is so low."
"Your name is... Leona. Student Leona, correct?"
"Yes. That is correct."
"And what is it you are curious about?"
"Beastkin have a high libido like humans, and their cycles are similar to humans as well. Yet, the Beastkin population is only 200 million. I am curious as to why."
Leona's question was also valid. Beastkin had an appearance that looked like a half-and-half mix of human and animal. While they had insisted on a primitive lifestyle in the past, they had established their own nation about 300 years ago.
Even so, their numbers were strangely low compared to humans. Even accounting for the fact that their nation was relatively young, the numbers were still quite small.
Professor Magnus stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought after hearing Leona's point, and gave an answer that was a bit more nuanced than before.
"That is a rather complex issue. There are cultural characteristics, but during the Race War, the Beastkin were practically slaughtered by us humans. At least tens of millions of Beastkin perished. Because of that, relations between humans and Beastkin remain quite hostile."
Professor Magnus was referring to the horrific war crimes committed by humans during the Race War. While the Holy Nation 'Savior' had a history of indiscriminately massacring Demons, that was limited to one nation. The event he was referring to was a crime committed by the 'Human Alliance.'
When the Beastkin, whom the Human Alliance had used as slaves, sided with the Elves, the humans killed them on sight. In my eyes, it was several times more severe than the 'Holocaust,' the Jewish genocide committed by Nazi Germany during World War II. What was even more appalling was that rewards were even paid out for killing Beastkin.
Due to this madness, the Beastkin population was cut in half, eventually dropping to a quarter of its original size. It was a piece of history that showed just how cruel humans could be.
"Furthermore, Beastkin are a race that is passionate about combat from birth. From a human perspective, they might be called barbaric; from a Beastkin perspective, they see themselves as honorable warriors. Due to that cultural trait, many die in battle rather than of natural causes. There is even a trend of despising Beastkin who die of old age, claiming they did not die honorably."
"... ..."
"Still, compared to 300 years ago, their population growth rate is similar to or even higher than that of humans. Since the answer Student Leona seeks is still a work in progress, I cannot give a definitive conclusion. Please keep that in mind."
"I understand. Thank you for the explanation."
Leona sat back down after her characteristically blunt reply. Hearing her story, I suddenly recalled the state of relations between humans and Beastkin.
'It's... quite dangerous, actually.'
The relationship between humans and Beastkin could be defined by two words.
Sworn enemies and slaves.
The Beastkin harbored a one-sided hatred for humans, while humans looked down on them as insignificant. I had even heard rumors that Beastkin were frequently sold as slaves on the black market.
Simply put, humans viewed Beastkin as inferior beings. This phenomenon only seemed less prominent because the Demons were the common enemy; if one looked closely, the discrimination against Beastkin was just as severe.
"Isaac. Are humans and Beastkin on bad terms?"
Cecile, apparently curious about that point as well, whispered to me. Her red eyes were full of curiosity.
I glanced at Professor Magnus before answering quietly.
"Yes. Humans view Beastkin as inferior, and Beastkin treat humans like demons who mercilessly slaughtered their kin. As the professor said, it's a vicious cycle that has continued since that incident during the Race War."
"Like how we Demons are treated like ticking time bombs by every race?"
"It's similar, but unlike the Demons, only humans treat the Beastkin like slaves."
"I see."
Perhaps she felt a sense of kinship, having faced harsh discrimination as a Demon since birth. Cecile nodded with a complicated look in her eyes.
She looked down for a moment as if thinking, then spoke up tentatively.
"Then, if a story about humans and Beastkin appears in the Xenon Biography, do you think they could reconcile? It's already completely changed the perception of us Demons, so it's not impossible, right?"
"I wonder..."
I rubbed my writer's callus and thought deeply. As she said, it was true that the Xenon Biography had changed the perception of Demons, but that was something even I hadn't expected.
Furthermore, the relationship between humans and Beastkin was bound by a chain of 'hatred.' As the saying goes, revenge breeds revenge; breaking a chain forged in hatred is an incredibly difficult task. Even for something like the Xenon Biography.
"Would the Beastkin even read the Xenon Biography? Perhaps because the protagonist is human, I've seen reviews from Dwarves and Elves in the newspapers, but I've never seen anything from the Beastkin, no matter how hard I looked."
"You never know. They might just be keeping quiet while actually enjoying it."
"Well, if that's the case..."
I replied with a small chuckle.
"That would make for quite an interesting story."
Contrary to the words I spoke, my inner thoughts were different.
'What if they really are reading it?'
Cecile couldn't possibly know, but there was a plot point where Xenon and a Beastkin prince build mutual trust and become friends.
Through that development, the humans offer a sincere apology to the Beastkin, and they form an alliance to stand against the demons.
'It's not realistic at all...'
No, wait. To talk about realism, I had a living witness right in front of me. A Demon, who had been despised not just by humans, but by every race.
Cecile tilted her head when I just stared at her blankly.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"
"...No. It's nothing."
"You know your face is turning red again, right?"
"... ..."
"Be honest. Were you thinking about how pretty I am?"
I just kept my mouth shut.