Wait, What You Mean I Got Reincarnated As A Heroine In Another World? Chapter 21 - 17 - Destiny

"So, did you understand now?"

Her words had snapped out of the whirlwind of questions that had been spinning in my head. Even so, what I still doubted was... whether there had been a hidden purpose, so sort of ulterior motive, behind all of it. That had seed crucial—villains usually possessed deep, concealed motives that drove them toward their goals. And it had been entirely possible that Selene, the so-called Wicked Witch, was just like them.

"Leech Maniac, stop calling that—even in your head."

Nope. Not that pair of eyes you used to act all motherly in front of .

Her drowsy gaze had begun to darken, as if it were about to devour as a whole. Seriously, how long was she planning to keep using that sickening nickna—just because I’d done the sa with hers? Ridiculous.

"Alright, let’s move on. What do you really want with my vessel?"

"Not your business."

Okay, did she just pull that UNO reverse card to ? That hurt.

My heart bled upon hearing that such a precious weapon had backfired against .

"I was kidding."

She let out a slight smile, with a small dark chuckle—perhaps thinking it was funny.

Girl, are you alright? Like normal, basically? Clearly. Sothing is wrong with you.

I didn’t know what was more surprising: her pulling the reverse UNO card, or backtracking it and calling out for reacting—as a joke.

That was like... getting stabbed back and forth.

"Okay, enough with your dramatic monologue. Ti to discuss my goal."

Ah yes, your goal.

"No, you clearly don’t know what you are talking about. That actually hurt—and it was personal. Next ti, maybe don’t even throw around phrases you clearly got no idea on how to use it, even if they fit your weird sense of humor."

She propped her chin up, perhaps considering what I had said earlier.

"I’ll keep that in mind. So, shall we continue?"

I nodded imdiately, not wanting to waste this conversation with endless banter.

"Sure. I have a question for you. Are you familiar with a concept known as Fate?"

Instead of bantering, I found myself deep in thought, reflecting on how complex one’s understanding of such a concept might have been. From what I had co to understand, Fate referred to sothing that would necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future—regardless of whether they wanted it or not.

"You’re probably right. But here, Fate implies the pathway of magic carved by an entity beyond the magician’s control. Every magician in this world possesses it—for it serves as a guide map that leads them to cultivate their own developntal path."

Wait, so doesn’t that an it’s similar to a levelling system or sothing?

"I don’t get what you’re trying to say here, but the thing is... Destiny determines Fate as a concept. Destiny is the ability to realize what is going to happen when one chooses a certain path. And if we’re talking about it this way, Destiny can still be controlled—because it’s tied to Science, and therefore, should be considered miraculous."

To be fairly honest, I tried my best to sound serious, but... what the actual f*ck was she even talking about?! I couldn’t wrap any of this around my head.

Am I this dumb?

"It looks like you are struggling at discerning all of these."

Ain’t that obvious? I’m a fu*king atheist!

Theological concepts had never been my expertise. In Japan, there were many religions—Shinto being the most popular belief in my region. But I’d never really believed in Kami-sama, let alone in sothing higher than human beings. However, I believed that humans were nurtured by nature itself—and if you really wanted to, you could call that so sort of higher entity, I guess.

But had I been to shrines before? Of course I had—it’s just what people here usually did, typically done out of respect for others—we Japanese people value this bowing down form of respect deeply. You toss a coin, ring a bell, bow twice, clap twice, bow again as a form of prayer. But to , it had always felt... empty. You know, mimicking other’s belief without ever holding it. I never really believed in gods. Not Kami-sama, not anything beyond. If anything, I believed in nature—how it shaped us, broke us, fed us. And maybe that’s enough. Maybe that’s the only "higher" thing I’ve ever needed to believe in.

"Uh, I suppose that’s quite a na for a religion and a place to pray in your previous world. Anyway, shall we get to the point imdiately?"

I know, right...

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Keep going," I sighed, not wanting to ruin her explanation.

"Very well." She offered a polite, faint smile.

"Now, where were we? Ah, yes... here’s the point I wanted to stress—if Science is considered a miracle here, then that further implies its connection with Destiny. In other words, the way magicians forge their path to reach the end of a maze, through countless possible turns..."

Upon hearing that, I couldn’t resist the boredom anymore. In Selene’s stasis, I sohow managed to drift into a half-dreamy nap, until—

"Kairi? Ka-i-ri..." She nudged my shoulder.

"Oh... sorry. So, what was the point? Summarize it for ."

She let out a heavy sigh, perhaps the heaviest one so far.

"You really prefer the easiest way, don’t you?"

"No, I prefer shortcuts."

"I will continue from the ti where you were fast asleep."

Oh no, not again.

Seriously, this was quite a "sleeping on my pillow" material for a lecture. Yet, I coudn’t help but try my best to stay awake as if I got my eyes boosted by my favourite black coffee. No, wait... did she just cast a spell on so I could stay awake? This girl... just how sly she is.

"This path then leads to nurous branches, each serving as a choice to cultivate your own developnt. However, most—if not all—magicians, except , haven’t realized this. Instead, they classify each magician using the rank system. And you must be familiar with that one, right?"

"Well, if you’re thinking I ever paid attention to the class, consider it as a yes."

She exhaled once more, way deeper than before as if losing her patience.

"You never did. I’ve already figured that out. However, don’t play the fool’s ga when you received all that knowledge from the mont you entered Aethelgarten."

"Right, you got ."

"Always." She rolled her eyes, noticing this painfully predictable behavior of mine.

So, for the context: Aethelgarten Akademiya was no ordinary magic academy. There were rules—tons of them—and the students weren’t just expected to perform magic during the combat in one way, but three. Yes, three. You heard that right: wand, sword, and empty-handed.

This was considered special because it implied we were expected to master every single one of them—no exceptions. But let’s be real, "mastery" here ant passing the expected grades more than a full-blown expertize.

For the rank system then, it is determined by all of these aspects required to be mastered before you granted the pass for so kind of final exam thus becoming like Selen— I an, the Arcanist Mage. This final exam then would carve the path for to be, let’s say, a prodigy healer, the one that ntioned by her when she explained about Destiny and Fate.

"I have been wondering about this... but who are you talking to, really? It seems as if you’re explaining sothing to soone."

"Ah, that... let’s just say it’s the way I think for myself."

Did I just break the 4th wall? Funny.

"Alright, I don’t understand what it ans, but fair enough. Anyway, never take that exam lightly. It has three phases, each testing a different combat skill, plus a special exam after you pass all of them. But it gets more difficult every year because those judges—they won’t blink an eye if you get murdered or eaten."

"And I’m here to guide you—by ntoring yourself through all of it."

"Wait, now? Also... what does any of this have to do with your goal?"