Volzea’s brow furrowed for a fleeting second in response to my question.
Had I hit a nerve?
Getting a bit of payback felt good.
"Doesn't that seem like a contradiction?"
"Well, yes," Volzea nodded, but quickly added, "However..."
"My duty is to ensure the talented are enrolled in this Academy."
"Is that more smoke and mirrors?"
"No, I’ll tell you this much. Do you believe in destiny?"
Destiny.
That was the same word Volzea had used when he informed me that I had passed the entrance exam.
"To some extent," I replied.
In this world, destiny was synonymous with the scenario—a piece-of-shit product engineered by the developers. If I followed destiny, the Brave Territory would fall and I would die. Alicia would be possessed by a demon and meet a tragic end.
"I thought as much. That is why you are here."
He really needed to drop the ‘I thought as much’ act. It made him sound like he saw through everything, but at this point, it was just a running gag. Still, it was certainly true that I was here to prevent all that.
"Mariana Ocean is a child with a powerful destiny."
"I suppose she is."
She was the original Heroine destined to become the Saint, after all. Even as a former protagonist, her status as a Saint Candidate remained unchanged.
"But now, that powerful destiny has become twisted and erratic," Volzea continued while I listened in silence. "Those who wield great power are fated to be at the mercy of a powerful destiny."
High-ranking nobles were a prime example. Whether royalty or the House of the Duke, people were always gravitating toward them. Precisely because they held the weight of authority, their environment shifted of its own accord. Others moved to suit their own convenience. One wrong move with that power, and everything would crumble like glass.
"As long as she keeps her head down, won’t she be fine?"
The Mariana in this world hadn't done anything. In fact, she seemed to be trying excessively hard to ensure nothing happened. It felt like an instinctive attempt to distance herself from her original fate as much as possible. Was it instinct?
"Naïve. One’s own will has no bearing on destiny. Laguna Ver Brave, you of all people should understand that."
"I guess... so."
He glared at me when I tried to mimic his tone. My bad.
Getting back to the point, he was right—destiny was something that came for you whether you liked it or not. No matter how far you ran, it would catch up. To change it, you had to bend it with an even greater force.
"The destiny Mariana Ocean carries will decide the rise or fall of this kingdom."
"And how exactly did you learn that?"
"That is precisely why I brought her to this Academy."
He clearly had no intention of explaining his sources. It would be tacky to push. He’d already told me to stick to one question.
Precognition Magic was real. Most of it was fraudulent, but the genuine article existed. It couldn't provide granular details, but it offered glimpses of things to come. Volzea Gran Cascade—a man who forfeited the House of the Duke to become an adventurer and master magic. If he was one of the Sages, none of this was outside the realm of possibility.
"She is a child of strong destiny, but in this Academy, surrounded by others with equally potent fates, things should have balanced out eventually."
And because those destinies were drawn to each other, she would have ended up with Edward? The game’s difficulty was definitely tuned for that—forcing her toward Edward first. But Volzea continued.
"However, Mariana Ocean now stands outside the destinies intertwined here. Lacking any means of resistance, she is adrift and alone within the surge of her own massive fate."
Normally, Capture Target Characters like Edward would have acted as her shields, but Patricia had warped that dynamic.
"So, Patricia is the one who twisted it?"
"I cannot say," Volzea replied bluntly. "But Patricia Kindred is flagrantly keeping Mariana away from those with strong destinies. And Mariana is just as flagrantly avoiding them herself."
Like the former heroine and the current one. They were like matching magnetic poles. Wait, if one was real and the other a fake, shouldn't they be crashing into each other? Hmm...
"I have no idea where she came from, but I decided it was better to have her enrolled than to let her roam free."
"Fair enough."
It was better to keep a variable where you could see it, though I wasn't sure he could actually control her.
"Returning to the point—the Brave Bloodline carries a destiny that overrides others. It is so intense that it can warp the fates of those around it. To those with similarly potent destinies, it feels like an all-encompassing, offensive stench. That is why they call your kind the Smelly Monkeys of the Abandoned Land."
Excuse me?
I’d never been called a smelly monkey in my life, but... seriously? Dropping that in the middle of a serious conversation was uncalled for. I was genuinely taken aback by the sudden insult.
"And the Brave Blood naturally seeks to resist, just as you are doing. No matter how cruel the fate, your kind will sink their teeth into it until the very end—until your life or your destiny expires."
"Right."
As I listened, a bell chimed in the distance, signaling the end of lunch.
"Classes are about to begin. Let’s end our talk here. Don’t be late."
Adopting the tone of a proper educator, Volzea turned on his heel.
"Laguna, you must protect Mariana. She has no one left. If this Academy is not the battlefield, then you must watch her even more closely. Her destiny lies not in this Miniature Garden, but somewhere else entirely."
With that final word, Volzea swept off the library roof. He pushed through the moisture in the atmosphere, gliding through the air as if he were swimming.