The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 47
Aseph always spouted long-winded, incomprehensible things to Bea, but what he just said about the homunculus was something she couldn’t comfortably accept.
If something is useless, it should be discarded.
It’s only efficient.
One must prove their usefulness to survive.
That’s the law of life.
Yet, Aseph Vilkanos claimed that the homunculus, merely by being born, is a “miracle” and doesn’t need to do anything.
It was the first time she had heard such a thing. She couldn’t understand how such words could come so easily.
If that were true, Bea wouldn’t have been left alone in the wasteland or had to constantly prove her worth under her master.
“People believe in superstitions and create religions for phenomena they can’t understand or accept. In reality, everything is just a game of probability with cause and effect.”
“…”
“The same goes for when you met me. You attribute excessive meaning to it, calling it a miracle, but I simply saw a subject to research and experiment upon right before my eyes.”
The day Bea saved Aseph wasn’t a miracle. It wasn’t magic. It was akin to a technician fixing a broken machine that just happened to have rolled in front of them.
Though the probability of occurrence was low, the cause and effect were clear; it wasn’t something to be termed a miracle.
Aseph cast his eyes down. His long eyelashes created a dark shadow.
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
In her eyes, he was unable to grasp this. Aseph always treated Bea as if she had some grand motive, as if she saved him with a noble purpose. He even imagined her as a mystical forest fairy or an angel from the heavens who appeared to save him.
But such things didn’t exist.
Yet, he already knew that it was merely an action taken by an indifferent human who just happened to be there.
“Still, Bea, understanding the mechanics of a blooming flower doesn’t diminish its beauty.”
Aseph’s view, however, was different.
Even if something was a completely natural occurrence within the grand framework of nature’s laws and probability, the emotions felt by those who experience it couldn’t be controlled.
“No matter what you say, I see that event as a miracle. You are my goddess of fortune. That’s why I can’t help but love you.”
“…You can’t seem to understand.”
She thought she had explained enough, but Aseph said something contrary again.
“No, I do fully understand.”
❖
The western region was a place of distinct environmental causes for drought and famine. It was not the gods who demanded children to be sacrificed to the sandstorms.
What happened there since then? She did not know.
Had they now clearly distinguished causes and consequences? She had no further interest.
However, she became aware that they started calling her ‘Zephyr’ or ‘Westwind’ as a nickname. Surnames of alchemists were often coined in such a manner, and that name became Bea’s.
She never again experienced the sandstorms of the west.
Instead, on rainy days like these, she often reminisced.
Because of the wind-blown sand, not droplets of water, she was left alone in the wasteland and became an alchemist under her master. She survived only by continuously proving her worth.
Here, she was the result of myriad causalities. With careful thought, she understood that situations and probabilities played a role.
But what about the homunculus being treated as a miracle just for being born? She could not comprehend. It was an inconceivable cause and effect.
When she asked Aseph why, he said it was natural because the homunculus resembled her. Why was that natural? To her, doing things in the ‘natural’ order was to discard a useless entity like the homunculus in the desert.
The first thing a family does upon one’s birth was such. Yet, while tying them with the word ‘family’, Aseph continued to act beyond common sense.
Every time Aseph treated the homunculus that way, she involuntarily frowned.
Was it because his thinking was beyond her comprehension?
—Is there some yet-to-be-deciphered reason or principle behind my love for you?
In fact, she too had been acting against common sense. Despite recognizing the homunculus as useless, she had kept it alive.
She also could comprehend her own actions.
Then, she must decipher it.
But how does one research such a thing?
One thing was clear: Aseph’s attitude was extremely uncomfortable for her. So much so that it was hard to keep facing him. Similar to a sense of crisis, she almost wanted to flee.
The sound of rain always kept her awake. That’s why she often made progress in her research on such nights. As she was tossing and turning, unable to sleep, the door opened and the sound of long legs walking approached.
“Bea, may I have a moment?”
“What is it?”
Aseph often placed excessive importance on her sleep. Sometimes even disrupting her research.
He was not the type to wake her up at such an early hour.
