“Didn’t you ask me about destiny before?”

“Destiny…?”

“It was written in the diary.”

Ian flipped over a few pages and began to read it aloud.

“While I was joyfully drinking alcohol, drunk on the wonderful tale I just heard, I felt a gaze staring straight at me. ‘Master Ian, I’m curious about something,’ Seol asked. ‘Do you know what destiny means?’ It was an unexpected question.”

Seol Jihu did a doubletake.

It must have been after the Banquet.

After Ira opened up the right direction of his Nine Eyes, he asked Ian, who came to hear what happened at the Banquet, about the possible meaning of ‘Choice of Destiny’.

“Apparently this was what I said back then.”

Ian heaved a dry cough before assuming a talking posture. It was then that Seol Jihu muttered in a calm voice.

“Destiny refers to a fate that is determined at birth. You might think fate is something amazing, but that’s not the case at all. It’s not that complicated. There isn’t just one predetermined fate; there are multiple. Even a seemingly trivial choice can affect a large fate like your life and death.”

Ian’s eyes widened as he heard Seol Jihu reiterate his past words.

“Now that’s a surprise! Thank you! I’m surer of my thoughts now, thanks to you.”

“You can ask more if you’d like.”

Seol Jihu spoke quietly.

“Every one of your advice became a part of my flesh and blood. How could I forget them?”

“Haha, don’t embarrass an old man like me. But since you say that, I’m curious what kind of a person I was to you.”[1]

Seol Jihu smiled in response and looked back at Jang Maldong.

“Master, can you let him know he can talk at ease? I’ll be more comfortable with that too.”

Jang Maldong relayed the message, and Ian smiled.

“Fufu, alright. Talking to you in a polite way feels weird to me too. Now let’s see… do you remember what we talked about next?”

“Humans always make choices while they live. Whether that be in the...