“Mollan.”


  “Mollan.”


  I worked hard to earn a reputation for myself.

  It wasn’t easy since the local beliefs were deeply rooted in the Central Continent’s people, but not all of them were believers.

  Heroes and their possible companions were prime examples.

  They relied on themselves, believing in their genes instead of depending on a god.

  Mermaid Aqua was one such case.

  “The wonderful Green Cake told me you’re a Hero, so I’ll believe it. But I must warn you now that I won’t follow a weak Hero such as yourself.”


  I went to the large lake near Noebius’s nest, doing missionary work along the way.

  Lake of Sorrowful Songs. Home to the largest population of freshwater mermaids in Fantasy.

  The stupid fish in front of me dared say something nonsensical.

  Weak Hero.

  There was some truth in it, though. After all, the vessel those dastardly inspectors provided me with was absurdly useless.

  “But I am stronger than you.”


  “Hohoho! I see you’ve decided to bluff. Since our meeting gave me the chance to gaze upon Green Cake’s handsome face, I’ll forgive you this time, but if you try to put pressure on my pride again, I can’t promise I’ll be able to hold myself back…”


  “Did you not understand me the first time? I am stronger than you.”


  “Ho ho ho! I will make you greatly regret your words, Hero.”


  “I’ll make a great seafood dish out of you.”


  ? Sieg: This teacher is always in conflict with everyone…


  ? Isis: Oh, look who’s speaking. Where’s the photo you promised us?

  ? Luna: He’s not in conflict. He’s telling the truth, isn’t he? Do you have no brains at all, Mr. Sieg?

  ? Piko: Long live the Mollan’s Teachings! Long live Mollan!

  I was behaving as I was supposed to.

  I shared my knowledge about Master Mollan’s wisdom and greatness for free, but instead of thanking me, this fish provoked me, calling me a “weak Hero.”


  My sense of justice boiled up in me!

  “Come on, little fish.”


  “Oh? Fish?!”


  “I’ll save you from your idiotic habit of judging men by their level.”


  A man’s attractiveness should be assessed not by their level but by the muscle keeping their spine straight.

  If it were out of order, they would suffer from a hernia, rendering them unable to use their lower back normally.

  What was stupid Aqua’s level?

  ? Race: Ultra Mermaid

  ? Level: 2059

  ? Job: Hero (Experience 200%)

  ? Skills: Spear Mastery ZZ, Heat Resistance Z, Speed Z, Singing MAX, Versatility MAX…


  ? Status: Taunted

  Did she dare taunt the G-Class Righteous Hero while merely being level 2000?

  Her level was only five times higher than mine.

  ? Allah: That much level difference is impossible to overcome in combat, isn’t it?

  ? Zeus: Weren’t you going to go to sleep?

  ? Amon: Don’t mind him. The problems of weaklings do not concern us. What’s important is we can easily defeat Aqua.

  ? Odin: Our level has jumped past 2000, so our victory is assured. Nobody’s arguing against that. But that teacher’s only level 400.

  The tertiary education course students who tirelessly communicated in the mollanphone community seemed to have learned nothing at all.

  I was the G-Class Hero.

  Since I was in the Fantasy dimension, I had information on most heroes and named monsters. Only the rarely occurring random variables could get in my way.

  I wasn’t fighting blindly.

  “You have chosen your fate yourself. Even if you beg, I will no longer forgive you.”


  “You better worry about yourself.”


  We went to the shore of the lake to avoid damaging the environment and stood face to face.

  “Don’t you have any weapons, Hero?”


  “My bare hands are more than enough.”


  “… Then I will also fight barehandedly.” Aqua threw the spear she was holding into the ground.

  The mermaids’ slippery skin did not only enhance their swimming and shine in the sun to help them seduce men, but it also served as natural armor against physical attacks.

  I made fun of the women’s armored bras, which could barely protect them, but mermaids were an entirely different matter. Even if they were naked, it wouldn’t make fighting them any easier.

  In addition, their kind was twice as strong as humans of the same level, given they were both naked and unarmed.

  “Are you afraid to attack first?”


  “I should be the one saying that…”


  Fshuh!

  I threw myself into battle without hearing the rest of Aqua’s reply.

  Unlike the fish, who had given up the spear that was supposed to give her maximum advantage, I planned on using all my skills.

  By all skills, I meant Faith and Divinity. Those two alone would be enough.

  We had a fivefold difference in level.

  However, my body, which had absorbed Master Mollan’s teachings, slightly compensated for this difference.

  “In the name of Mollan!”


  “Hmm?!”


  My dexterity surprised Aqua, who thought of me as a weakling. However, being the best warrior among the freshwater mermaids, she still reacted quickly.

  Spear Mastery was her best skill, but she was very talented and had developed Versatility to MAX rank even without it.

  We grappled in close combat, exchanging fierce punches and kicks.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Unlike me, who lacked skills since I used them to overcome my Cooking skill’s limits, she possessed several S-rank and higher combat skills. If she didn’t, our battle would have ended already.

  But I didn’t care.

  Fshuh!

  “Tsk.”


  My punch, aimed at her forearm, slid off her skin.

  “What a pity!”


  Noticing an opening in my defenses, she decided to strike into it.

  It was just as I expected from a stupid fish.

  I carefully activated my Divinity’s reflection effect, which symbolized the sanctity of an angel.

  She probably noticed something strange since she had good instincts. However, she no longer had the time to stop her clenched fist.

  Flash!

  Her attack was deflected away.

  It would’ve been easier if I used it right from the beginning, but then Aqua would’ve used her D-rank Divinity.

  “Aghk?!”


  She screamed, the bones of her hand tearing through her slippery skin until they peered out.

  “A pity, really.”


  Aqua should’ve assumed that I had Divinity when she found out I was a religious person.

  SS-rank was quite rare, but if someone worthy of the Hero title was engaged in any religious activity, one needed to be careful.

  She could have avoided this by simply enveloping her hand with her D-rank Divinity, but she was reckless.

  As a result, I made an opportunity to counterattack.

  I wrapped my left arm around Aqua’s neck like a scarf, then squeezed as hard as I could.

  “Kh?!”


  Panting, she struggled to break free from my tight grip; her slippery skin worked against her this time.

  She tried to hit me with her other hand, but her pathetic Divinity couldn’t harm me.

  “Well? Death or surrender?”


  “Have you been hiding your skills?”


  “No. You just don’t know how to evaluate men.”


  Aqua destroyed all the chances she had against me when she dropped her spear.

  Reflection, Divinity’s SS-rank effect, was very difficult to deal with, but if one knew about it from the start of a battle, they could work around it and win against its user.

  They just needed a weapon infused with divine or magical power. There were other methods as well.

  “This Hero…”


  “Mollan’s Teachings…”


  “A true miracle…”


  The mermaids watching our confrontation on the lakeshore out of boredom began raising a fuss.

  Those stupid fishes were perfectly aware of Aqua’s capabilities, and they could roughly estimate my level with the help of their instincts.

  Therefore, they believed in my defeat and her victory.

  “Have you realized the greatness of Mollan’s Teachings now?”


  “Hmph! A cunning trick…”


  “What did you say?”


  “If I had my spear, your deception wouldn’t have worked… Kkh?!”


  Compressing her neck, she turned pale.

  But she didn’t give up.

  “You just can’t admit defeat, can you, stupid fish?”


  I constantly pushed her pride to keep it from happening, after all.

  When I deliberately loosened my grip slightly, she shouted, “Hero! I demand a rematch! An honest one this time!”


  “I’ve already won, so why should I? You must now believe in Mollan.”


  “Hmph! Do you think I’ll accept the outcome of such an unfair battle?”


  “Then die.”


  “Kh!”


  But I gave her yet another chance.

  This stupid fish would fall for my trick again, repeating her humiliating fate during my first round.

  SKRRR!

  Beforehand, I gave her a herniated disc in her cervical spine, applying strong pressure between her 6th and 7th vertebrae.

  Done.

  “Then let’s do it.”


  “What?”


  “Let’s have a rematch. If you win, you can forget about Mollan’s Teachings. But if I win, you will live like an ornamental fish defeated by a weak male. What do you say?”


  “I agree!”


  Mermaid Aqua, in my 1st round, considered me weak. Hence, she agreed to the same risky deal.

  And I won again.

  Back then, she had a hernia in her lumbar spine. This time I applied it to her cervical spine.

  Thinking she could win by using a spear, she was unable to show 100% of her strength due to her injury, suffering yet another humiliating defeat in front of her sisters.

  “Aqua.”


  “Yes, Hero?”


  Afterward, I used her to promote Mollan’s Teachings.

  “You’re really stupid. I told you not to use human language.”


  “… Mollan.”


  “Over the next year, you will not be a mermaid but a pitiful tadpole. If you can’t stand it, feel free to kill yourself.”


  “Mollan.”


  She was supposed to remain a tadpole forever in my first round, but after some time, she committed suicide, unable to stand the humiliation.

  That was how mermaids were.

  They were ready to do such shameful acts voluntarily if it meant obeying a strong male, but doing it for a weak male disgraced and dishonored them.

  Currently, they thought of me as the latter.

  Even though I won, my level was low. Hence, in their eyes, I was still just a feeble man.

  Aqua’s expression contorted out of the sheer humiliation she felt.

  Ironically, however, she was a proud “Hero,” so she didn’t dare break her promise regardless of the conditions I set.

  Nevertheless, I had learned my lesson. To avoid treating her life as lightly as I did in my first round, I limited her punishment to just one year.

  “Hey, get down on all fours.”


  “Mollan?”


  “What did you just imagine? Hurry up.”


  “Mollan.”


  Sitting on her back, I looked up to the skies.

  “Don’t use this as an example since our conditions are different. After all, your level has to be much lower than that of Aqua for this to even be possible. Don’t worry, though. If your level is high enough, this fish will voluntarily follow you.”


  Pretty simple, wasn’t it?

  Their MAX-Class senior didn’t use any sophisticated techniques to avoid confusing his juniors.

  I only demonstrated how to effectively use what one had at their disposal.

  ? Odin: Hey, what the hell is that teacher talking about?

  ? Zeus: Don’t ask. He’s a madman who’s overcome a fivefold level difference.

  ? Amon: I told you not to mind it. This has nothing to do with us. After all, our level is higher. Aqua will be a simple bonus for us.

  ? Allah: Really? Can you easily beat Alex too?

  Aqua was just the beginning.

  In the distance, I saw a man approaching me in a boat drawn by many mermaids.

  Former Commander of the Holy Kingdom’s Holy Knights.

  Judging by his expression, losing Aqua, who he desperately wanted to dominate, angered him.

  “So you’ve come on your own, Tomato.”


  “My name is Thomas!”


  Now that I had finished making a seafood dish, it was time to make myself tomato juice.