Fated Women

"Maria Custard, on Rance's fated women."

- Why does he have more than one...?

About
While the lustful adventurer Rance has encountered countless women across his travels, some are bound to him by a supernatural force. These women are known as Rance's Fated Women (運命の女, unmei no onna; alternatively translated as Soulmates and Women of Destiny), and are connected to him through invisible red strings. Rance apparently has one of these red strings tied to each of his fingers and toes, connecting him to 20 women in total. As of Rance X, however, only the identities of 13 are known, leaving the remaining seven a mystery.

The exact meaning behind being considered one of Rance's fated women is unclear. Women in possession of the title first become aware of it after experiencing a dream in which they are visited by a strange yellow bird-like creature. This creature informs them that they are now eligible to enter the mysterious Calculator Cube dungeon alongside their soulmate and acquire their ultimate weapon. This dream can apparently occur at any time and is not dependent on how long the person has known Rance for, as Sheila Helman experienced hers in a matter of weeks after first meeting him, whereas Lia Parapara Leazas did not have hers until several years after falling in love with him. Miracle Tou theorizes that every woman that is recognized as being fated to Rance is destined to bear his child, but she admits that this is entirely speculation on her part and should not be taken as fact.

Trivia

 * Two of the known fated women, Pastel Kalar and the Devil Feliss, have not experienced the dream informing them of their possession of the title, and are thus currently unrecognized as fated women within the universe of the Rance Series. Their status as fated women is only known due to their presence among the "Fated Women" card set in Rance X.
 * In a Twitter Q&A, Orion, the Rance series' lead artist, revealed that the identities of the seven unknown fated women were deliberately left undecided by the development team to allow players to decide them for themselves.
 * The fated women being tied to Rance by an invisible red string is a reference to the well-known East Asian myth that states two individuals who are destined to be lovers are bound together by an invisible and unbreakable "red thread of fate" regardless of place, time or circumstances.