The sea breeze blew gently across the ocean.
The giant predator's corpse had already begun drifting away with the currents.
The Scarder Stone of Wisdom had returned to its rightful owners.
The negotiations had ended.
The rewards had been distributed.
Everything should have been finished.
And yet—
The atmosphere remained strangely complicated.
Because standing near the academy vessel was still the silver-haired mermaid.
The source of countless headaches.
The source of countless misunderstandings.
And apparently—
The source of an entirely new problem.
Kel stood upon the deck of the academy vessel.
The sailors were returning to work.
The students remained gathered near the railings.
Many still glanced toward him from time to time.
Others discussed the battle.
The Divine Spoon Art.
The giant monster.
The recovered artifact.
The mysterious explorer named Aedon Flinth.
Far below.
The mermaid tribe had begun gathering around their recovered treasure.
Yet the elder mermaid remained standing near the water's surface.
Her gaze fixed upon the silver-haired mermaid.
The younger mermaid floated quietly.
Her expression had become increasingly complicated.
After all.
Moments ago.
She had effectively been rejected.
Repeatedly.
And publicly.
The elder finally sighed.
Then spoke.
Her voice carried softly across the waves.
"My child."
The silver-haired mermaid looked toward her.
The elder's expression became firm.
Far firmer than before.
"Go."
The younger mermaid froze.
"What?"
The elder pointed toward the academy vessel.
Toward Kel.
The silver-haired mermaid immediately understood.
"No."
The answer came instantly.
The elder ignored her.
"From now on."
Her voice became solemn.
"He is your responsibility."
The younger mermaid stared.
The elder corrected herself.
"No."
A pause.
"You are his responsibility."
The silver-haired mermaid looked genuinely horrified.
Around them.
Several younger mermaids immediately lowered their heads.
Because everyone understood what was happening.
The elder continued.
"We already offered you."
The silver-haired mermaid clenched her fists.
"He refused."
"That changes nothing."
The answer came mercilessly.
The younger mermaid visibly flinched.
The elder's gaze softened slightly.
Yet she continued.
"You have already been given."
Silence.
The younger mermaid lowered her eyes.
The elder sighed.
Then quietly added:
"Even if he doesn't accept you today."
The older woman's gaze shifted toward Kel.
"He will eventually."
The silver-haired mermaid remained silent.
The elder smiled slightly.
After all.
The young mermaid possessed beauty capable of shaking kingdoms.
At least in the elder's opinion.
"A beauty like yours."
The elder continued confidently.
"Is not easy to ignore."
The younger mermaid felt strangely uncomfortable hearing those words.
Not proud.
Not pleased.
Uncomfortable.
Because for the first time—
The praise sounded less like admiration.
And more like a burden.
A commodity.
A bargaining chip.
Something valuable.
But not necessarily someone valuable.
The realization hurt.
Far more than Kel's earlier comments.
Because Kel had insulted her appearance.
Her tribe was reducing her existence to it.
The silver-haired mermaid slowly lowered her head.
A shadow passed through her beautiful eyes.
The elder noticed.
Yet remained silent.
The decision had already been made.
Eventually—
The younger mermaid turned.
Slowly.
Then began drifting toward the academy vessel.
The ocean currents followed her movements.
Her silver tail shimmered beneath the sunlight.
Students immediately noticed.
Several sailors noticed.
Many male students immediately straightened their posture.
Some attempted looking dignified.
Others attempted appearing mysterious.
The results were tragic.
Inside his mind—
Seiren observed everything.
Then spoke.
"The fish is coming."
"Mermaid."
"Persistent fish."
Kel sighed.
Because unfortunately.
Seiren wasn't wrong.
The silver-haired mermaid approached the vessel.
Then placed both hands upon the side.
Gracefully climbing upward.
The students became increasingly excited.
Several moved closer.
Many leaned over the railing.
Curiosity burned within their eyes.
After all.
Mermaids rarely boarded human vessels.
And even fewer transformed into human form.
One student whispered:
"She's climbing aboard."
Another swallowed.
"She's really coming."
A third looked toward Kel.
Then back toward her.
Then toward Kel again.
The developing situation appeared infinitely more entertaining than academy entrance examinations.
Meanwhile—
The silver-haired mermaid reached the deck.
Standing near the edge.
Her beautiful tail still reflected sunlight.
Then—
Mana began gathering around her body.
Transformation magic.
The students immediately realized what was happening.
Their eyes widened.
Several sailors widened their eyes too.
One older sailor immediately slapped a younger sailor across the head.
The younger sailor looked offended.
The older sailor pointed toward the opposite direction.
The younger sailor immediately understood.
Then awkwardly turned around.
Because everyone suddenly remembered something important.
Mermaid transformation.
The process created human legs.
Which meant—
Clothing complications.
Many students immediately turned red.
Several female students rolled their eyes.
The atmosphere became chaotic.
And before anyone could react—
Kel moved.
A large blanket appeared within his hand.
Nobody noticed him retrieving it from his storage ring.
The next moment—
Whoosh.
The blanket flew through the air.
Perfectly.
Precisely.
Like a cloak descending from heaven.
The silver-haired mermaid blinked.
Then the blanket landed over her shoulders.
Completely covering her.
Moments later—
The transformation completed.
The silver tail disappeared.
Human legs emerged.
The lower body reshaped.
The mana faded.
Silence followed.
The students stared.
The sailors stared.
The mermaids below stared.
Because unlike what many had expected—
Nothing inappropriate occurred.
Nothing embarrassing occurred.
Nothing humiliating occurred.
The blanket covered everything.
Perfectly.
The silver-haired mermaid froze.
Her fingers instinctively grasped the blanket.
Soft.
Warm.
Comfortable.
The ocean breeze moved across the deck.
Several students looked disappointed.
Several sailors looked relieved.
The female students nodded approvingly.
Meanwhile—
The silver-haired mermaid slowly looked up.
Toward Kel.
The young man stood several meters away.
Already looking elsewhere.
As though the matter wasn't important.
As though helping her avoid public humiliation had been completely natural.
The silver-haired mermaid stared.
Confusion filled her eyes.
Because she genuinely didn't understand him.
He called her an uncategorized species.
Yet protected her dignity.
He rejected her repeatedly.
Yet noticed something nobody else had.
He claimed she was a burden.
Yet helped her without hesitation.
Nothing about him made sense.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed softly.
"You're confusing her."
"I gave her a blanket."
"Exactly."
Kel didn't understand the issue.
From his perspective.
The matter was simple.
A transforming mermaid.
A crowd of curious students.
Potential embarrassment.
A blanket solved the problem.
End of discussion.
Unfortunately.
People rarely operated according to Kel's logic.
The silver-haired mermaid slowly wrapped the blanket tighter around herself.
Then quietly lowered her head.
For the first time since meeting him.
She spoke softly.
"Thank you."
The words were almost lost beneath the ocean wind.
Kel glanced toward her.
Then nodded.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Meanwhile—
The students aboard the vessel looked increasingly confused.
One noble youth scratched his head.
"I don't understand."
Another nodded.
"Neither do I."
The first pointed toward Kel.
"He rejects her."
Reasonable.
The second nodded.
"He insults her."
Also true.
The first continued.
"Then protects her."
The second stared blankly.
The first concluded.
"What is wrong with him?"
Nobody possessed an answer.
Not the students.
Not the sailors.
Not the mermaids.
Not even the captain.
Only Seiren understood.
And unfortunately—
The Guardian was laughing too hard to explain.
As the academy vessel slowly prepared to continue its journey toward Aetherial Institute.
The silver-haired mermaid stood quietly upon the deck.
Wrapped in a blanket.
Far from her tribe.
Far from home.
And for the first time in many years—
Completely uncertain about what would happen next.