The Villain Is Destined to Die: But as the Creator, I know All Endings-Chapter 215: To Merlin Kingdom [1]

Opinion is the space between knowledge and ignorance.

Back in his old world, a Greek Philosopher named Plato named this terminology doxa.

It was the state most humans lived in.

They accepted what they were taught as children, repeated what their teachers repeated, and mistook familiarity for truth. If enough people said the same thing for long enough, it stopped being questioned.

Like believing the sun revolved around the world, simply because it always appeared that way.

Like thinking heavier objects fell faster, because that was what the eyes suggested.

Like trusting a rule not because it was proven, but because it had never been proven wrong.

That was doxa or simply knowledge based on ’opinion’.

An opinion reinforced by repetition.

But the true knowledge which he called episteme, was different.

It demanded structure, a solid proof, a cause and an effect. It asked why it’s this way? instead of how long it was this way?. It did not care how many people believed something, only whether it survived scrutiny.

But to Plato, most people did not lack intelligence.

That was the brutal flaw that held most of them back.

Humans trusted what survived time more than what survived scrutiny.

And so, when something new appeared all of a sudden, something that did not fit into the old opinion, it was dismissed, labeled impossible. Not because it was wrong or anything, but because it forced them to admit that what they believed for so long was actually incomplete.

Knowledge threatened pride. And opinion protected that pride.

— — —

[Fifteen minutes after the presentation]

The cafe was as busy as yesterday.

The afternoon sunlight filtered through the glass windows, casting soft reflections across the wooden tables.

Alice leaned forward slightly, holding her ice cream cone with both hands. The white surface melted as she tilted it and took a slow lick, entirely unbothered by the heat.

Leon sat across from her, with his own ice cream in hand. He was staring at her, and the way she was acting today.

She stared back at him for a moment, then spoke.

"So," Alice said calmly, licking the edge of her ice cream again. "What did you do to make Madam Haibara cry?"

Leon looked at her. "First thing first, she was not crying, her face was like this. Also, even if she cried, why do you think I made her cry?"

Alice smirked. "Am I wrong?"

He sighed.

"Haaah... you are so nosy, you know that."

"Thank you."

"That was not a compliment."

"I know." Alice smiled. "So?"

Leon glanced out the café window, watching people pass by, then looked back at her. After a second, he gave up.

"After Madam Ayaka finished," he said, "she asked me questions."

Alice blinked. "That’s it?"

"Well," Leon continued, taking a slow lick of his own ice cream, "she didn’t like the answers I gave her."

Alice frowned slightly. "Huh? But the others looked pretty pleased. Especially Madam Ayaka."

Leon paused.

"Ah... well," he said, "she didn’t like the way I treated her."

"The fuck?" Alice straightened. "What did you do?"

Leon hesitated.

He really didn’t want to phrase this poorly. He knew Alice well enough to understand that once she smelled blood, she wouldn’t let it go for the rest of the day.

[Fifteen minutes earlier — During Presentation]

"I have a few questions." Madam Ayaka raised her brows. She gave Leon a made-up polite smile.

’I knew she was going to ask.’ Leon sighed in his mind.

He glanced at her, and then at Esther. She looked tense.

’Must be because of Alice...’

She must be thinking Leon would end up in the same situation as Alice, because Ayaka Rudward loved to play around with the minds of newbie researchers.

’Well, I feel sorry for you Madam Ayaka.’ Leon confidently stared Ayaka’s purple eyes back.

’For the next few minutes,’ he thought calmly, ’you’ll be questioning the one who built the world you live in.’

"Yes madam Ayaka." Leon projected the same confident smile.

"Let’s make this simple," she said. "You claim that during core transition, resonance weakens naturally. And during that moment, you’re saying the body becomes vulnerable to other affinities. This is the case of your proposed papers. Am I right?"

Leon smiled, "that is correct. If you want a proof or demonstration, I am willing to participate, but for that I need someone who would—"

"No need for that." Ayaka raised her palm, "that fact was already mentioned in the old theories, I get it and I have no complaints regarding it. What I am really bothered about was that you stated that we needed to have a reaction requirement that exceeds human limits. A billionth of a second. To actually awaken the second time? This is not practical Mr. Valentine."

Leon didn’t answer her directly. Instead, he asked.

"Madam Ayaka, when lightning strikes, does the ground react first, or does the lightning complete first?"

Ayaka frowned.

"The lightning."

Leon nodded. "That’s your answer."

She narrowed her eyes. "You’re implying the body doesn’t initiate the resonance? That’s another bold claim."

"I’m stating it never did," Leon said calmly. "The one initiating the resonance with affinities was mana core. Your body didn’t need to have that absurd reaction rate, it was meant for your mana core, of how fast it seizes with the mana around it."

Leon noticed the others getting serious too, they found Leon’s answer somewhat thought provoking.

It could be very much possible.

Ayaka pressed on. "Huh. So the human body doesn’t choose the affinity."

Leon turned slightly, addressing everyone now.

"Choice is a luxury that exists after stabilization," he said. "During transition, the core follows the strongest compatible signal. I even mentioned this part on page thirty-three."

It was true, Leon had given an example of how it actually works.

During pregnancy, a child did not possess a mana core of its own. What it did possess was a body forming under constant exposure to a single, dominant mana source.

The mother’s.

Every nourishment passed through her mana core first. To the developing fetus, this was not mana.

The child’s body adapted to it instinctively.

That was why, upon birth, a newborn’s body already showed a natural inclination toward a specific affinity. Not because the child had chosen it, but because its body had never known anything else.

The other’s called this phenomenon genetics.

"Though, it resonates with other affinity works differently. Here, take a look...."

Leon moved to the board.

For the next ten minutes, Ayaka questioned him further.

"Hm."

She rested her chin on her hand, when she was done.

"That was believable," Ayaka said at last. "You didn’t invent anything., you rearranged what already existed and forced it to say something new."

She smiled faintly.

"Well done, Leon Valentine. I am truly impressed. These are high quality papers."

She turned her head slightly.

"Professor Esther, you should be proud. Your students are doing very well. The first years have a bright future."

Esther straightened at once, clearly enjoying herself.

"Thank you, Madam Ayaka. It is only because of their hard work."

Leon glanced at Ayaka.

She was... done?

He blinked once.

’That’s it? I thought she’d push some hard questions.’

Ayaka Rudward.... Her understanding surpassed even Esther’s in several domains. In the future, she would play a crucial role in guiding Ethan.

And yet—

’Is she going easy on me?’ Leon wondered. ’Or is there something else she was upto?’

He almost felt disappointed.

He had more prepared.

But before that thought could settle, Ayaka turned to her side.

"Haibara," she said casually. "You had questions too, didn’t you? Go on. Don’t be shy."

"Huh?!" Haibara jolted. "W–wait, you’re done already, so—"

Ayaka’s eyes flicked toward her.

Haibara froze.

"...Alright," she muttered.

She adjusted her glasses, and looked toward Leon.

"So," she said, hesitating only for a moment. "Do you mind if I say something?"

Leon stared at her, genuinely surprised.

This was not the reaction he had expected.

"...Go ahead, Madam Haibara," he said.

She took a breath, pushed her glasses up, before asking.

"If I go by your theory, can I conclude that we could force an awakening? By exposing a fetus or a newborn to a desired mana affinity stronger than the mother’s. In other words, could affinity be engineered?"

Leon adjusted his glasses.

"That question is exactly why I stopped short of explaining further."

Haibara frowned. "Why?"

"Because you jumped to the application before understanding the limitation."

"You’re treating affinity like paint," he said. "As if more exposure automatically means control. That assumption alone tells me you’re not thinking from the fundamentals."

Ayaka’s smile thinned, but the other’s startled.

Leon had just called Haibara, and she lacked the fundamentals.

Her?! Who gave twenty plus papers under her name?!

Haibara’s mouth hung open.

"What did you just say?"

— — —

[Present]

"Huh? Why did you stop?" Alice leaned forward, practically hovering over the table. "What happened next? Why did you make her cry?!"

Leon did not answer.Instead, he looked down.

A thin white line slid off the edge of his ice cream cone and dripped onto the table.

"...My ice cream melted," he said flatly.

"SCREW YOUR ICECREAM!" She hissed, "I’ll buy you a new one. Just tell me!"

Leon slowly raised his eyes to meet hers. She was glaring at him.

For some reason, it amused him.

"Heh." The sound barely left his mouth.

SMACK.

"Oof."

Leon jerked slightly as something connected with his leg under the table.

"The hell are you laughing at?" Alice hissed. "Are you going to continue or not?"

He straightened his back. That kick made him irritated.

"No," he said. "That’s it for today."

"...Huh?"

Her eyes twitched.

"What do you mean that’s it?" she snapped. "You can’t just stop there!"

Leon glanced at the café clock on the wall.

"Oh," he said casually. "Look at the time. I have to leave."

He stood up.

"Seriously?" Alice looked like she was about to flip the table. "You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"

Leon paused and looked back at her.

"See you soon," he said. "And don’t forget about my weapon."

She blinked.

"I’ll tell you the rest," he added, "if I like the first prototype."

"...You—!"

Alice opened her mouth, clearly preparing something violent and creative.

Leon did not wait to hear it.

He turned around and walked out of the café, quickening his pace just enough to escape whatever curse was coming next.

Behind him the words reached his ears either way—

"...ASSHOLE!"

He ran, but on his face, a satisfying smile was there.

"Hahaha, live with the suspense psycho."

Alright, this was evil. And Leon was well aware of this, but he had no other choice, after all it’s about to be evening.

And Leon hadn’t made any preparation from the trip to Evana City. Ethan had called both Cyan and Leon to meet at exactly midnight today.

From his memories, Leon remembers that they need to pass through Merlin Kingdom first.

Although he was well familiar with the geography, he was still cautious about the wild beast or any bandits on the way.

They can be a real pain in the butt.

In his head Leon calculated the number of days it will take them to travel, and the number of days it will take them to stay and short things out in Evana City.

"A whole week..." He muttered.

It will take them five days to reach the location where Evana was located.

And only ’one’ to ’two’ days to stay and short all the things out at Evana.

There are plenty of things which needed to be done in Evana, that included his physical training, learning their ways of using Astral-matter, and clearing the quest.

It was a lot, but all of them will take Leon a single day to finish.

He paused, and looked up at the sky.

"A city experiencing the same day for the past several centuries...."

A grin appeared on his face.

"What’s a better place than that to plan things out?"

He will have plenty of time.