The atmosphere aboard the academy vessel had changed.
Completely.
A few hours ago.
Seraphina had merely been a beautiful mermaid wrapped in a blanket.
Now—
She had become something far more dangerous.
A genius.
A genuine genius.
Not the type people casually called talented.
Not the type praised by parents.
Not the type admired by villages.
A real genius.
The kind that made instructors excited.
The kind that made noble houses interested.
The kind that made academies compete.
And perhaps most importantly—
The kind that made everyone question their own life choices.
The male students suffered especially severe damage.
Several still remembered spending years learning basic sword forms.
Years.
Meanwhile.
Seraphina had copied them after watching once.
One time.
A single demonstration.
The memory continued hurting them.
The female students weren't much better.
Many possessed pride in their abilities.
Rightfully so.
After all.
Only exceptional individuals could even attempt entering Aetherial Institute.
Yet today.
A mermaid had casually shattered their understanding of talent.
The emotional damage spread equally among everyone.
Except one person.
Kel.
Naturally.
The young explorer sat near the railing.
Reading.
As usual.
The ocean breeze occasionally turned pages.
His silver eyes calmly moved across lines of text.
The title of the book had changed.
Now he was reading:
Foundations of Advanced Mental Discipline and Decision Making
A completely normal book.
For Kel.
Meanwhile—
The students were plotting.
Because after witnessing Seraphina's talent.
Many had reached the same conclusion.
Someone needed to talk to Aedon Flinth.
Someone needed to convince him.
Unfortunately.
Nobody wanted the job.
Eventually—
The boys sacrificed one another.
As all noble gatherings throughout history had done.
A small group approached.
Carefully.
Cautiously.
Like explorers approaching an ancient dragon.
Kel noticed them.
Then ignored them.
The boys stopped.
Then continued.
Finally.
One stepped forward.
The same noble youth who had previously introduced himself to Seraphina.
Victor.
He cleared his throat.
"Aedon."
Kel turned a page.
"Yes?"
Victor hesitated.
Then said:
"You should treat Lady Seraphina with more dignity."
Silence.
The ocean breeze blew gently.
Kel slowly looked up from his book.
His silver eyes calmly met Victor's.
Then he asked:
"Who is she to me?"
Silence.
Victor froze.
The nearby students froze.
The question seemed simple.
Yet nobody had an answer.
Because honestly—
What was Seraphina to him?
A stranger.
A mermaid.
A person he met yesterday.
Nothing more.
Victor opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Then opened it again.
No words emerged.
Kel nodded.
Then returned to reading.
The conversation had ended.
At least for him.
Unfortunately—
The students refused surrender.
Another boy stepped forward.
"You shouldn't call her uncategorized."
Kel turned another page.
"Why?"
The student blinked.
Then looked confused.
Because honestly.
He didn't know.
He simply felt it sounded wrong.
The student eventually replied:
"It hurts her feelings."
Kel looked toward Seraphina.
The mermaid sat among the girls.
Listening to their conversations.
Occasionally smiling.
Occasionally speaking.
She looked perfectly healthy.
Then Kel looked back.
"She survived."
The student suffered emotional damage.
Nearby.
Several sailors immediately turned away.
Trying not to laugh.
The captain wasn't trying.
The old sailor openly laughed.
Meanwhile—
The students retreated.
Defeated.
Utterly defeated.
The girls watched from afar.
Then collectively sighed.
"Useless."
The boys felt attacked.
Because unfortunately.
The statement was true.
Eventually—
The female students decided to handle things themselves.
The dark-haired girl stood.
Several others followed.
Together they approached Kel.
Unlike the boys.
They possessed a plan.
Mostly.
The group stopped nearby.
Kel turned another page.
The dark-haired girl crossed her arms.
"Aedon."
"Yes?"
This time.
Kel didn't even look up.
The girl sighed.
Then got directly to the point.
"You know Seraphina is talented."
Silence.
Then:
"Yes."
The girls blinked.
The answer came too easily.
The dark-haired girl continued.
"Very talented."
"Yes."
Again.
No resistance.
No disagreement.
The girl suddenly felt suspicious.
Then asked:
"Then why aren't you doing anything?"
Kel finally looked up.
"What should I do?"
The girl pointed toward Seraphina.
The mermaid currently listened to another explanation regarding academy life.
"Take responsibility."
Silence.
Kel stared.
The girl stared back.
Several female students nodded.
One blonde student stepped forward.
"She was given to you."
Kel immediately replied.
"I declined."
The blonde froze.
The response came too quickly.
Another girl joined.
"But her tribe considers her your responsibility."
Kel closed his book.
The students became hopeful.
Perhaps.
Finally.
Progress.
Then Kel calmly asked:
"And why should I care what her tribe thinks?"
The girls collectively suffered damage.
Because once again—
The question made sense.
A frustrating amount of sense.
The dark-haired girl rubbed her forehead.
Then tried another approach.
"You have money."
Kel nodded.
Reasonable statement.
"You could invest in her."
Kel blinked.
The students immediately noticed something.
Interest.
Not much.
Tiny.
Yet present.
The girls noticed too.
The dark-haired girl immediately attacked.
Like a shark sensing blood.
"Think about it."
Kel listened.
"She gets accepted into Aetherial Institute."
Reasonable.
"She studies."
Reasonable.
"She graduates."
Still reasonable.
Then the girl smiled.
"Imagine the return on investment."
The surrounding students froze.
The merchant students immediately became interested.
Because suddenly.
The conversation sounded familiar.
Very familiar.
The dark-haired girl continued.
"She's talented."
Kel nodded.
"Exceptionally talented."
Kel nodded again.
"One of the most talented people we've ever seen."
Again.
A nod.
The girl smiled triumphantly.
"Investing in her now could produce enormous returns later."
Silence.
The merchant students looked thoughtful.
The noble students looked thoughtful.
Even several sailors looked thoughtful.
Because somehow—
The argument made sense.
Inside his mind—
Seiren immediately laughed.
"They figured out your weakness."
"I don't have weaknesses."
"Investments."
Kel remained silent.
The Guardian laughed harder.
"They found it."
Meanwhile—
The girls watched carefully.
Waiting.
Observing.
The entire deck observed.
Even Seraphina had begun listening.
Curiously.
Because honestly.
She wanted to know too.
What exactly would Aedon say?
The ocean breeze moved softly.
The academy island loomed closer.
Ancient towers shined beneath sunlight.
Silence stretched.
Then—
Kel opened his book.
The students immediately suffered emotional damage.
Again.
Then he calmly answered.
"I will think about it."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The girls froze.
The boys froze.
The sailors froze.
Even the captain blinked.
Because compared to every previous answer—
This one was different.
Very different.
Not a rejection.
Not dismissal.
Not refusal.
Not indifference.
He would think about it.
The statement spread rapidly.
Several merchant students immediately looked impressed.
Because they understood.
For someone like Aedon Flinth.
Thinking about an investment was practically a compliment.
Meanwhile—
Seraphina sat quietly.
The blanket remained wrapped around her shoulders.
The sea breeze moved strands of silver hair.
Her blue eyes unconsciously drifted toward Kel.
The young explorer had already returned to reading.
As though nothing important had happened.
Yet somehow—
The simple words remained in her mind.
"I will think about it."
Not acceptance.
Not rejection.
Something in between.
A possibility.
A future.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed softly.
"Congratulations."
"What now?"
"You just accidentally adopted a project."
Kel turned another page.
"I said I would think about it."
"Exactly."
The Guardian sounded far too entertained.
Far ahead.
Aetherial Institute continued growing larger.
The island of geniuses.
The academy of legends.
And aboard the approaching vessel.
A future monster of talent sat wrapped in a blanket.
While a future monster of strategy pretended to read a book.
Neither realizing.
That before classes had even begun.
Half the ship had already started viewing them as an inevitable pair of troublemakers.