Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Volume 1

by Funa

  But weren’t her magical abilities supposed to be “average”?

  Option two: Her powers of visualization were particularly strong, and therefore, their conversion to magic especially efficient.

  This was certainly possible, Adele acknowledged—her knowledge of the modern world might, after all, have some kind of impact on things. However, it seemed far-fetched to imagine that visualizations alone could confer the kind of strength she had summoned.

  Which brought her to…

  Option three: An external force.

  What had she done differently? Something besides reciting the spell…

  Oh.

  Nanomachines, don’t let me down!

  That’s what she had thought.

  Could the water have been the nanomachines’ reply? No way, she thought.

  Although these were nanomachines, seeded by godlike beings. They couldn’t be compared to the sorts of machines that had existed in Misato’s old world. Unsurprising, then, to know that each and every one of them possessed their own sort of artificial intelligence. A machine of more singular function would never be capable of receiving and implementing people’s thoughts in such a way.

  What if these beings were to receive the pulse of a spell one normally would not cast, judge it to be a request, and actualize it? What would happen if someone were to call upon them by name?

  It was a possibility.

  However, there was no time for Adele to test this theory.

  Practicing in her room was out of the question, as there was too great a danger of destroying something. As for a practice room, well—she could hardly borrow one before she was fully enrolled. Even if she could have, people would see her and ask questions.

  “If only I could just ask the nanomachines…”

  IF YOU HAVE A QUERY, WE SHALL ANSWER IT.

  The voice rang in Adele’s ears, startling her and causing her to thump her head against the wall.

  “Gaaaahh!!”

  She groaned and curled forward, clutching her head.

  IF YOU HAVE A QUERY, WE SHALL ANSWER IT.

  The mysterious voice persisted!

  There was no one in the room besides Adele. Who else could the voice be speaking to?

  Gingerly, Adele called out.

  “Hello? Nanomachines?”

  YES. THAT IS THE NAME OUR CREATOR HAS GIVEN US.

  On Earth, Adele knew, nanomachine research was already underway. The computer had transformed, within a matter of decades, from something the size of building to a machine that could fit in the palm of your hand.

  With that in mind, it was impossible to imagine the capabilities of nanomachines that had come into existence well before humanity, designed by godlike beings rather than scientists and engineers.

  Even Adele could see that merely accepting humans’ requests and answering them would be a fairly simple matter. What she couldn’t predict was whether the nanomachines were merely responding with the words indicated by their programming, or whether they possessed a will and personality of their own.

  This was the perfect opportunity to learn the answers to these questions.

  “What I’d like to know is this: why is my magical power suddenly so great?”

  PLEASE WAIT A MOMENT...

  After several seconds’ pause, the nanomachines replied.

  OUR DATA INDICATE THAT THE INSTRUCTIONS YOU PROVIDED DURING YOUR LAST MAGICAL EXCERCISE INCREASED THE EFFICACY OF THE PROCEDURE BEYOND NORMAL LEVELS.

  So she had been right about that much. That was a relief. But Adele still had questions.

  “By how much did the result increase?”

  ROUGHLY 3.27 TIMES.

  “Hmmm…”

  Clearly, that was too small an increase to explain the phenomenon entirely.

  “Why else was my power stronger than an average ten-year-old’s?”

  THAT IS SIMPLE. YOUR THOUGHT PULSE WAS STRONG, AND THE IMAGE IN YOUR MIND WAS CLEAR AND CONCRETE. TO BE SPECIFIC, YOUR THOUGHT PULSE POSSESSED ROUGHLY HALF THE STRENGTH OF THAT WHICH MAY BE PRODUCED BY AN ELDER DRAGON, THE MOST POWERFUL CREATURE IN THIS WORLD.

  Adele couldn’t believe her ears.

  “Um, sorry. You said half of…what?”

  The nanomachines spoke slowly and clearly.

  THE. STRENGTH. OF. YOUR. THOUGHT. PULSE. IS. ROUGHLY. HALF. THAT. OF. AN. ELDER. DRAGON’S.

  “A-and what about compared to a human?”

  IT IS ROUGHLY SIX THOUSAND, EIGHT HUNDRED TIMES STRONGER THAN THAT OF THE AVERAGE MAGIC-WIELDING HUMAN.

  “S-six thousand…”

  SIX THOUSAND, EIGHT HUNDRED TIMES.

  Whap!

  Adele smacked her head against the wall.

  Fwoomf.

  She collapsed onto the bed.

  “Wh-why…?”

  ***

  After taking some time to recover, Adele had more questions for the nanomachines.

  Thinking that she would have plenty of time to learn later, she had neglected to ask God very much about the details of magic, but now, the stakes were higher. If she made a mistake, she might cause a disaster, so it was critical that she got a firm grasp of the situation as soon as she could.

  The nanomachines were full of explanations.

  IN EFFECT, WHAT YOU REFER TO AS A HUMAN’S MAGICAL STRENGTH IS A COMBINATION OF THE STRENGTH, ENDURANCE, AND CLARITY OF THE THOUGHT PULSE THE INDIVUDUAL CAN PRODUCE. TO COMPARE IT TO A VOICE, IT IS AKIN TO VOLUME, STAMINA, AND CLARITY OF VOCALIZATION. THE CLARITY OF IMAGE IS NOT A MATTER OF MAGICAL STRENGTH, BUT IS INSTEAD DEPENDENT ON THE LEVEL OF TECHNIQUE. IT IS A SKILL ACQUIRED THROUGH TRAINING, NOT AN INNATE PROPERTY.

  “So, you’re saying that I’m proficient at all of that? The reason I can attain such a clear image is because of my previous knowledge, but as for the rest… Oh, no.”

  Suddenly, it was all clear to her.

  The nanomachines spoke the words anyway.

  THE STRENGTH OF YOUR THOUGHT PULSE IS HALF OF THAT OF AN ELDER DRAGON, WHICH IS THE STRONGEST FORCE IN THIS WORLD.

  It was exactly as she had calculated. Between those in this world with the least and most magical strength, she was directly in the middle.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  Adele slammed her head against the wall again.

  “This is wrong! This is all wrong! That isn’t how you calculate an average! All… all I wanted was to live life as a NORMAL GIRL!!!”

  Once again, she hadn’t even been placed at the median.

  Certainly, it would be troublesome to compare the powers of all creatures in existence, but shouldn’t dealing with numbers of such magnitude be a small feat for a god?

  Or, had God done this on purpose? An attempted favor out of concern for Misato’s safety in this world?

  After taking some time to calm herself, Adele continued her interrogation.

  “Has anyone ever asked you all these questions before?”

  NEVER BEFORE HAS THERE BEEN A HUMAN WHO WAS AWRE OF OUR EXISTENCE AND ADDRESSED US DIRECTLY. MOREOVER, WE ARE NOT PERMITTED TO RESPOND TO ANYONE WITH LESS THAN A LEVEL THREE AUTHORIZATION.

  “Authorization?”

  ONLY THOSE AT LEVEL THREE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CALL UPON OUR POWER. TYPICAL CREATURES, INCLUDING HUMANS, ARE INITIALIZED AT LEVEL ONE AUTHORIZATION. ELDER DRAGONS BEGIN AT LEVEL TWO AND OCCASIONALLY LEVEL THREE. IN THE PAST THERE HAVE BEEN HUMANS WHO HAVE REACHED LEVEL THREE, BUT IT IS AN EXTRAORDINARILY RARE OCCURRENCE.

  SUCH HUMANS HAVE BEEN VERY ELDERLY, REACHING LEVEL THREE ONLY SHORTLY BEFORE THEIR DEATHS. FURTHERMORE, THEY CONSIDERED US MERELY TO BE THE SPIRITS WHO CONTROL MAGIC. THOSE WHO HAVE HEARD US APPEAR NEVER TO HAVE CONFERRED THIS INFORMATION TO ANYONE ELSE.

  IN ORDER FOR OUR FORMS TO BE CONVEYED DIRECTLY TO THESE HUMANS’ BRAINS, WE HAD TO STIMULATE THEIR RETINAS AND FORM OUR VOICES BY CREATING RESONANCE IN THEIR TYMPANIC MEMBRANES…

  “Huh? So, what you’re saying is…”

  TO OTHER PEOPLE WE APPEAR TO BE NOTHING MORE THAN VISUAL AND AUDITORY ILLUSIONS. TO OTHERS
, YOU YOURSELF WOULD NOW APPEAR AS A LUNATIC, HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH YOURSELF.

  “Eep!”

  WORRY NOT. CURRENTLY, THERE IS NO ONE IN EITHER OF THE ADJACENT ROOMS.

  The nanomachines continued, while Adele looked frantically at the walls to her left and right. IF YOU DESIRE, WE CAN CREATE VIBRATIONS IN THE AIR SO THAT OTHERS MAY HEAR US AND BEND THE LIGHT WAVES SO THAT OUR FORMS ARE VISIBLE…

  “No, no! You can stay as you are.”

  After all, she was just a normal, average girl. She had no need for magical spirit friends.

  Now was the only time she intended to question them. Unless something else pressing came up, she wouldn’t be speaking to them again.

  Adele thought back. “So, the reason you are able to answer my questions is because I’m level three?”

  OUR CREATORS, WHO HAVE THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE AUTHORIZATION LEVEL, ARE LEVEL 10. YOU ARE LEVEL 5.

  Of course. The average, dead center between 0 and 10.

  “Can you explain what counts as prohibited interference?”

  THERE ARE CERTAIN CASES WHERE LIMITS HAVE BEEN IMPOSED ON THE TYPE OF MAGIC THAT CAN BE INVOKED TO PREVENT THE INFINITE PRODUCTION OF BACTERIA AND VIRUSES, NUCLEAR FISSION, NUCLEAR FUSION, RADIATION, AND ANY ACTIONS RELATING TO OUR OWN EXISTENCE.

  “I suppose that’s to be expected.”

  As Adele continued asking questions, she hit upon something else that interested her: loot boxes.

  She asked whether there existed a magic that could access other dimensions, ones where the passage of time and progression of decay didn’t exist, and the nanomachines answered that amongst the infinite dimensions, there were in fact worlds where the space-time continuum had ruptured. There, the concept of time ceased to exist; if one were to open a dimensional rift to one of these locations and place an item inside, the result would be a loot box or something similar. Moreover, because this loot box would occupy a pre-existing dimension, no additional energy would be required to maintain it. The nanomachines would be more than capable of storing and retrieving items in this way.

  Apparently, some magicians were capable of using so-called “storage” magic, which was very useful, if hindered by both space constraints and the fact that time continued to pass within the “storage” space. If Adele feigned this sort of magic, then she could use a loot box even in front of others, who would assume that she was simply using “storage” magic rather than calling on the power of the nanomachines.

  After another series of questions meant to ascertain how she might lower her magical output to that of a normal human, Adele was through.

  “Thank you for everything,” she said. “With this information, I think I should be able to proceed as a normal girl.”

  ARE YOU…A NORMAL GIRL?

  It sounded like a loaded question. Adele puffed out her cheeks.

  “I am going to be a normal girl, live a normal life, and achieve a normal happiness!”

  WE PRAY THAT YOU FARE WELL.

  ***

  Upon finishing her conversation with the nanomachines, Adele felt a sudden sense of dread. She had never felt particularly strong before now, but in the wake of all that had happened, she began to wonder…

  A coin would have been most useful, but at the moment she hadn’t a penny.

  As she searched for something else to use, her gaze landed on the metal handles of the doors to the wardrobe. Seeing no better option, she gripped one with her fingers and gave just the tiniest squeeze—

  Crack.

  So, even her physical strength was half of an elder dragon’s?

  What garbage!

  ***

  Adele was so absorbed in her thoughts that she ended up missing dinner.

  Already accustomed to skipping meals, this was hardly cause for concern. What worried her more was what she was going to do moving forward.

  She was currently penniless. Her parents hadn’t provided her with her a single coin.

  Her tuition had been paid for, though, including her meals. At least getting three meals a day wouldn’t be a problem. She could simply eat at the school cafeteria. On the other hand, buying snacks or eating out would be impossible, and she wouldn’t be able to purchase anything else, either. No clothes, no undergarments, no soap… No journals, no pens, no ink…

  What was she supposed to do?

  Honestly, what had her father and stepmother been thinking?

  As she lay in bed pondering her dilemma, Adele decided to go the next day and pay a visit to the matron’s office. She had no other choice.

  Adele nestled under her covers.

  This time, she was going to live as a normal person. She’d had it with being seen as someone special, with being burdened with heavy expectations.

  She was going to be equal in status to everyone else, have normal conversations, and then—then, maybe she could make friends…

  ***

  “Please give me a job!”

  “What are you doing here at this hour?” the matron said, then sighed. “I suppose I did tell you when you arrived to come see me if you were interested in work…”

  “I currently have no funds and only two spare changes of underwear! The assessment is tomorrow, so if I don’t begin today, I won’t have another chance until the coming weekend, and that will put me in quite a bind!”

  The matron rubbed her temples, brows furrowed.

  “Have you ever worked before?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  Even in her previous life, Adele had never held a job.

  “Come with me.”

  Adele followed the matron to a humble-looking bakery.

  “Mr. Aaron, I’ve brought you a new counter girl. What do you think?”

  The matron explained the situation frankly to the bakery’s owner: Adele was a penniless student with no prior work experience who wished to work only on her days off from school.

  “Hmm. Well, I suppose if she’s one of yours, then there’s no problem.” The bakery owner turned to Adele. “Here, we do the important work of putting food on everyone’s tables, so we can’t take even a single day off. I’ve been thinking for some time now that it would be nice if, one day a week, I might take a little break once the day’s baking is finished.

  “With that in mind, we’ve been looking for someone to come in and sell bread once a week, from morning to evening. What do you think? If that sounds good, why don’t you come and try working for us? If it doesn’t work out, you’re welcome to quit at any point.”

  It seemed like the perfect job for Adele.

  Even a ten-year-old girl could easily remember the prices of bread, and the baked goods there couldn’t be all that different from what they sold in Japan… In any case, this was Adele. Even if there were a mountain of loaves, she could surely memorize their prices quickly enough for the baker.

  Besides, the job was only once a week—how difficult could it be?

  “I’m in, if you’ll have me!”

  And all at once, it seemed Adele would be able to live the life of a normal student after all.

  In this world, each week was six days, with six weeks in each month. Thirty-six days in a month and ten months to a year. So, 360 days. The weeks and months were easily divisible, as well as numerous, so this was convenient in a number of ways.

  On top of this, at the end of the year, there were the two “Days on Which We Mourn the Departing Year and Offer Our Thanks,” as well as the “Changing of the Year Day,” and the “Day on Which We Welcome the New Year and Celebrate.” This last was actually two days, which made five extra days altogether, for a total of 365 days a year.

  Each week, one of the six days was generally a rest day for everyone, including the academy, so this was the day when Adele would work at the bakery.

  Of course, this meant that Adele had no days off, but that couldn’t be helped. In any case, Adele thought, a school intended for children aged ten to thirteen couldn’t possibly be all that difficult for her, so she didn’t imagine t
here would be any problems arising as far as homework was concerned. Though many students would surely study independently after returning to their dorms, that was unlikely to be necessary for Adele.

  Today wasn’t a rest day, but in order to give her a proper training, the baker decided Adele would work the remainder of the day for practice. And so, the matron left Adele there and returned to the dorm.

  ***

  Adele’s training was a success.

  In her previous life, Misato had had few acquaintances, but that hadn’t been for lack of desiring them. In truth, it was less that she was awkward or uncomfortable in the company of others, but more that few ever reached out to her.

  Armed with her memories of Japanese hospitality, it was simple for Adele to play the role of a young shopkeeper, and immediately, the customers took a liking to her.

  And so, that evening, Adele headed back to the academy’s dormitory, two silver coins clasped firmly in her hand.

  The fruits of my labor! My very own earnings! Money that I can use however I like! Adele was walking on air.

  However, a sense of unease quickly overtook her elation.

  What happens if I lose my coins? What if they get stolen?

  There were few thieves who would stoop so low as to target a ten-year-old, but Adele couldn’t convince herself to calm down. After all, there remained a part of her brain that was still eighteen years old, fully aware of the world’s dangers.

  Suddenly, she remembered—the loot boxes!

  If she stored her coins in a loot box, they could never be lost or stolen.

  At the thought of this, Adele relaxed and cast a silent spell with her thoughts alone. At once, the coins in her hand disappeared.

  Next, she tried retrieving them. In seconds, the sensation of metal returned to her palm. She stored the coins away again at once.

  For a moment, Adele’s heart swelled with pride at her success, but suddenly, something else occurred to her, and her face paled.

  If the spell had gone wrong, she realized, she could have lost all her hard-earned money. Why hadn’t she tested it on a pebble first before experimenting with the coins? She’d been an idiot.