The ocean had become silent.
Not because the waves had stopped.
Not because the wind had disappeared.
But because everyone present was still trying to process what had just happened.
A giant predator that terrorized the merfolk for centuries had died.
The sacred Scarder Stone of Wisdom had been recovered.
An academy applicant had somehow accomplished what generations of warriors could not.
And then—
He had rejected one of the most beautiful women anyone had ever seen.
Twice.
The priorities of the audience immediately shifted.
The giant monster became secondary.
The Stone of Wisdom became secondary.
The ancient mystery became secondary.
Because people were people.
And people focused on strange things.
Especially students.
Especially young students.
Especially students who had just witnessed a beautiful woman practically offered to someone.
Then watched him reject her.
The atmosphere aboard the academy vessel became increasingly bizarre.
Students stared at Kel.
Then stared at the silver-haired mermaid.
Then stared at Kel again.
Then repeated the process.
Several sailors looked equally confused.
The captain silently rubbed his forehead.
Meanwhile—
The silver-haired mermaid stood frozen.
Completely frozen.
Like a statue abandoned in the middle of the sea.
Her silver-blue hair drifted gently with the ocean currents.
Her beautiful face remained blank.
Emotionally.
Mentally.
Spiritually.
She had stopped functioning.
Because moments earlier—
Someone had looked directly at her.
Called her neither fish nor woman.
Then accurately exposed years of political manipulation inside her tribe.
The emotional damage was catastrophic.
Inside his mind—
Seiren sounded delighted.
"She is still loading."
Kel glanced toward her.
The mermaid remained motionless.
"..."
"You broke her."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
The Guardian laughed.
Meanwhile—
The students aboard the ship had entirely lost focus.
One young noble grabbed his friend's shoulder.
Hard.
"Did you see that?"
"I saw everything!"
"No!"
The noble pointed dramatically.
"I mean the beautiful mermaid!"
The friend immediately nodded.
"I know!"
"How could he reject her?"
The question echoed through the crowd.
Several nearby students immediately joined.
"Exactly!"
"She was gorgeous!"
"Was he blind?"
"Impossible!"
Another student folded his arms.
"I think he's insane."
Several people nodded.
Reasonable conclusion.
One young man looked toward the sea.
Then toward Kel.
Then sighed.
"I would have accepted immediately."
The student beside him snorted.
"You would've accepted before she finished speaking."
"...That's true."
The surrounding students nodded.
Honesty deserved respect.
Nearby—
Several female students rolled their eyes.
One crossed her arms.
"Men."
The others nodded.
Meanwhile—
The sailors weren't much better.
One sailor scratched his head.
Another sailor looked genuinely troubled.
Finally—
One of them spoke.
"I don't understand."
The others looked toward him.
The sailor pointed toward Kel.
"He jumps into mermaid territory."
Reasonable.
"He fights a giant monster."
Also reasonable.
"He finds an ancient treasure."
Still reasonable.
Then the sailor looked profoundly confused.
"But how does he reject that?"
The entire group immediately agreed.
"Exactly."
"That's the real mystery."
"I understand the monster."
"I understand the treasure."
"I don't understand that."
The captain slowly covered his face.
Because somehow—
This had become the primary topic.
Not the centuries-old mystery.
Not the sacred artifact.
Not the battle.
The mermaid.
Only the mermaid.
Far below—
The mermaids themselves were having a similar discussion.
Several younger mermaids whispered among themselves.
Their eyes occasionally drifting toward Kel.
Then toward the silver-haired mermaid.
Then back.
One finally spoke.
"He rejected her."
The statement carried genuine disbelief.
Another nodded.
"He really did."
A third looked confused.
"Why?"
No one had an answer.
Because honestly—
They didn't understand either.
The silver-haired mermaid represented one of the most desired partners within their entire tribe.
Beautiful.
Talented.
Intelligent.
Strong.
Even many noble merfolk sought her attention.
Yet somehow—
The human had looked at her and called her an uncategorized species.
The emotional damage spread through the tribe.
The elder mermaids looked particularly tired.
Meanwhile—
The silver-haired mermaid herself slowly returned to reality.
Unfortunately.
The first thing she heard was:
"...neither fish nor woman."
Her eye twitched.
Immediately.
Inside her mind.
A small voice screamed.
Then screamed louder.
Then continued screaming.
Far away—
Kel remained completely unaware.
Or perhaps he simply didn't care.
The difference was difficult to determine.
Then another discussion began aboard the ship.
This one centered around something else.
Something equally mysterious.
A sailor looked toward the captain.
Then asked:
"Captain."
The older man immediately regretted being noticed.
"Yes?"
The sailor pointed toward Kel.
"How does he know the Divine Spoon Art?"
Silence.
The nearby students immediately became interested.
Dozens turned toward the captain.
Then hundreds.
The captain suddenly felt trapped.
The students advanced.
Curiosity burned within their eyes.
"He used it."
"We all saw it."
"That was definitely Divine Spoon Art."
"The original version."
"The legendary version."
"The underwater version."
The captain physically flinched.
Not that name again.
Please.
Anything but that name.
Unfortunately—
The students refused mercy.
One stepped forward.
"Captain."
Another joined.
"You know him."
A third followed.
"You spoke with him the whole journey."
The captain sighed.
Long.
Deep.
Painful.
Then finally answered.
"He's an explorer."
The crowd became silent.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The captain continued.
"He traveled extensively."
More silence.
Then—
The captain delivered the fatal sentence.
"He worked under Nameless."
The ocean froze.
The students froze.
The sailors froze.
The mermaids froze.
Even Kel froze.
Inside his mind—
Seiren immediately exploded into laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"HE SAID IT!"
The Guardian completely lost control.
Meanwhile—
The students aboard the ship erupted.
"What?!"
"No way!"
"Under Nameless?"
"The Nameless?"
"The explorer Nameless?"
"The Divine Spoon Sage?"
Kel nearly fell into the ocean.
The captain looked confused.
"Divine what?"
Several students nodded seriously.
"The Divine Spoon Sage."
"No."
Another corrected.
"The Hidden Spoon Immortal."
"No."
A third objected.
"The Sage of Infinite Utensils."
The captain stared.
Then slowly looked toward the horizon.
Because clearly something had gone wrong with this generation.
Meanwhile—
The rumors multiplied instantly.
"He worked under Nameless!"
"No wonder!"
"That explains everything!"
"The technique!"
"The combat ability!"
"The confidence!"
"The insanity!"
Several people nodded.
The last point felt especially convincing.
A young noble immediately crossed his arms.
"Pupil of Nameless."
The title spread rapidly.
Kel felt his soul leaving his body.
Inside his mind—
Seiren could barely speak.
"Pupil..."
Laughter.
"...of..."
More laughter.
"...Nameless..."
The Guardian completely surrendered.
Meanwhile—
The captain unknowingly continued.
"He said Nameless recommended him to study."
The crowd exploded again.
Students looked at Kel with awe.
Respect.
Envy.
Curiosity.
Excitement.
As if he had suddenly transformed into some hidden genius.
Not far away—
The silver-haired mermaid also looked toward him.
For the first time.
Not with embarrassment.
Not with frustration.
Not with emotional damage.
But curiosity.
Genuine curiosity.
Because apparently—
The strange human who called her an uncategorized species...
Was somehow connected to the most mysterious explorer currently known throughout the Empire.
And standing amidst the waves.
Holding the Scarder Stone.
Completely unaware of the disaster unfolding around him—
Kel realized a terrible truth.
The Divine Spoon Art had infected the ocean.
The academy.
The sailors.
The students.
The mermaids.
And now—
Thanks to the captain—
His identity as Aedon Flinth had somehow become connected to the legend as well.
Inside his mind—
Seiren finally managed to speak.
Barely.
"Congratulations."
"What?"
"You have become your own disciple."
Silence.
Then for the first time that day—
Kel genuinely considered throwing himself back into the ocean.