I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Friends 

Adele began the school week in high spirits. On the rest day, she had received another two silver pieces from her job at the bakery, and on top of that, she was allowed to take leftover bread with her, which she could store in the loot box without having it go stale. 

The moment she stepped into the classroom, she was bombarde d with questions. 

“Morning, Adele!” 

“What’d you do on your day off?” 

“Let’s eat lunch together today!” 

Attack of the boys! 

Adele was a bit of a hot commodity. 

She had the smarts to make it into Class A, the physical prowess of a lady knight, impressive magical talent—plus, a personality so demure as to try concealing all of this. 

Furthermore, though she was passing herself off as a commoner, she had entered the academy without taking the entrance exam, and it appeared that her family themselves had paid the full tuition. Most importantly, she was beautiful, too. 

Though they were only ten years old, in three years Eckland’s students would make their first steps into society, and two years after that, they would be considered adults. It was not strange that, in the midst of this gifted class, many were already trying to forge connections for the sake of their futures—romantic or otherwise. 

“Do you all never learn?! Look, you’re smothering her!” 

Once again, the girl with the chairman-like air—perhaps it was easier just to call her the chairwoman?—intervened on Adele’s behalf. 

“Th-thank you. I’m not really good at talking to boys, so…” 

As she spoke, Adele could sense the boys considering her carefully. Half, it seemed, might give her space, not wanting to intimidate such a retiring beauty. But the other half looked ready to press harder in order to take advantage of her inexperience, to test her reaction. 

The other girl smiled, and all at once, Adele realized something. What the girl had done—that was something a friend would have done. The girl might be…a friend! And if she were, she would be the first friend Adele had ever made—her previous life included. 

*** 

The first week of instruction took place in the classroom. 

As one might expect, the students didn’t launch directly into physical or magical exercises. Instead, they began with general education, as well as safety practices, and the theory behind their martial and magical training. They wouldn’t begin practical studies until the following week. 

For Adele, these classroom activities were a breeze. With the memories of an eighteen-year-old from a civilization that was centuries ahead of this one, there was no way she could possibly fall behind her classmates. 

Besides, Misato’s powers of reasoning remained a part of her. Did God assume that she needed intelligence in order to absorb Misato’s consciousness? Or had the intellects of humans in this world continued to advance, even though their civilization had failed to do so? 

Even when there were errors in the magical theory that their teacher was presenting, Adele didn’t point them out, and the week proceeded without incident. 

Then came the day preceding the next rest day. 

“Miss Adele, we would like to speak to you about something later.” It was Marcela, the third daughter of a baron, flanked by two of her friends. At her words, Adele’s heart leapt. 

“O-of course!” Adele stuttered. “But where…? Oh! My room should be big enough, shouldn’t it?!” 

“Uh… sure, that’s fine…” Marcela replied, bewildered by Adele’s eagerness. 

A friend! And an invitation! This was the moment she’d been waiting for. 

*** 

Viewed from afar, the three girls—Marcela, a baron’s third daughter; Monika, the second daughter of a middle-class merchant; and Aureana, a commoner who was attending the academy on scholarship—look like nothing so much as a noblewoman and her attendants. 

Marcela was a typical aristocratic type. However, she was also quite the generous spirit, and along with Monika, a friend of Marcela’s from before the academy, she had helped to relieve Aureana, the commoner, of a number of worries. It was, she claimed, a noble’s duty to alleviate the suffering of the powerless. 

This time, though, the three of them were acting together. 

“What could she mean by ‘my room is big enough’? All the rooms have the same layout, do they not…?” 

“Who knows? I guess we’ll find that out when we get there.” 

“Let’s go teach that cheeky girl some manners!” 

“Yes, ma’am!” 

Marcela could not stand her—that girl Adele. She hadn’t witnessed it for herself, but she’d heard about the impressive power Adele displayed during the assessment. That much was fine. Every person had her own strengths. 

However, what she could not abide was the way that one glance from Adele sent the boys into a tizzy. 

Once she returned home after graduation, Marcela would be groomed as a bride, and two years later, if things went well, she would become the second wife of a middle-aged aristocrat, a trophy bride, or—at worst—the mistress to a powerful noble. Until then, she needed to keep her options open. 

The fact was that the academy was filled with girls in search of romance, and any individual who threatened to monopolize the attention of the school’s male students was breaking an unspoken rule. Marcela, the poor baron’s daughter, was determined to make this apparent. 

Without the expectations that came with noble blood, Monika and Aureana were not as troubled by all of this. However, for the sake of their friendship with Marcela, both girls offered their support. 

At the sound of knocking, Adele jumped up, rushing to open the door. 

“W-welcome! Please come in!” Her heart fluttered with joy and nerves. Even in her previous life, she had never had the experience of welcoming a classmate into her own space. 

But as her guests entered, Adele realized… I don’t have any chairs but the one! 

Why had she been so careless? 

Having a visitor sit on one’s bed was surely bad form. Moreover, having three friends on the bed while she sat in a chair would create an odd sort of one-versus-three situation. 

“I-I’m so sorry! I forgot to prepare any seating! Please wait a moment, while I borrow some chairs from the common room.” 

She flew from the room without waiting for a reply. 

“What a scatterbrain!” Marcela said. 

Monika nodded. “She certainly is. But at least I understand now what she meant when she said her room was big.” 

It was true: the space felt large. But in fact, Adele’s room was the same size as everyone else’s. The difference was that, in this room, there were no chests, no luggage, and no lamps. There wasn’t a single decoration, accessory, or stuffed toy. The room was practically vacant. 

Even Aureana, the commoner, had outfitted her room with a cheap, used chest that she had purchased in town and decorated using trinkets gifted to her by her fellow villagers. 

Looking around Adele’s room, she spoke in a stunned voice. “It’s amazingly empty…” 

Marcela seized the handle of the built-in armoire. 

“Milady! You musn’t—” 

Ignoring Monika’s warning, Marcela flung open the doors. “She has no clothes!” 

All that hung inside were the uniforms the school had provided. 

Next, Marcela reached out to open the drawers below. 

“W-we can’t! It’s not—” Monika tried to grab Marcela’s hands, but the drawers had already slid open. 

Once again, there was nothing inside. 

“Empty…” 

Just then, there was a pained shriek. Marcela and Monika pulled back their hands and turned to see Aureana standing over the desk drawer, an awful expression on her face. 

“What is it?!” 

Marcela drew closer to peek inside the drawer, and Monika followed suit, looking apprehensive. 

They looked inside the drawer and gasped. 

Marcela stood, stunned, and Monika had tears in the corners of her eyes. Aureana was already weeping. 

In the drawer was one thick bone. 

It was on a plate, but there were no scraps of meat. The bone was clean, covered in knife marks, as though it came from a kitchen. 

Marcela’s eyes were wide. “Is this…her snack…?” 

*** 

By the time Adele returned from the rec room, carrying a pair of small chairs, they had returned the room to its former state and dabbed away their tears. 

“Sorry to keep you all waiting.” 

“I-It was no bother…” Marcela cleared her throat. “Anyway, there is something I would like to ask you.” 

Adele arranged the two chairs she had brought in a semi-circle next to the one that had already been in the room. She herself sat down on the bed. Even in a room as empty as hers, there was not much space for seating. 

“What is it?” 

“It seems that you didn’t sit for the entrance exam when enrolling at the academy. So we’d like to know—are you, in fact, a noble?” 

So, Adele thought, they’ve found me out. However, she couldn’t bring herself to lie to her new friends, and so she answered frankly. 

“Well, yes… It’s true. But if I were to use my family name, it’s likely that I would be killed—by my father and my new stepmother, whose child is meant to take my place.” 

Marcela fought desperately to remain composed and do credit to her noble pedigree. 

Aureana was silent, her face white as a sheet. 

Finally, Monika gulped, her voice wavering. “I-I see… W-well, are you gifted at sports or magic, then?” 

“Hmm?” Adele asked. “No, I’m fairly normal. Even during the assessment, I only performed as well as whoever was in line ahead of me…” 

Marcela began to understand the rumors that were circulating. This girl was clueless! 

Was it possible that she really had no idea that the people ahead of her had been top of the class in each of their respective fields? Could she truly not know that everyone had noticed the way she deliberately held back in order to match the others? 

Perhaps her parents had instructed her to conceal her exceptional abilities, so as not to cause trouble for this stepsister. 

“I-I see. Normal, yes. Normal…” 

“Yes! It’s nice to be normal, isn’t it?” 

“………” 

In the long pause that followed, Marcela remembered the reason she’d come to Adele’s room in the first place. 

“Miss Adele,” she began. “You seem to get along awfully well with the boys…” 

Adele leapt at the bait. “That’s true! Although I can’t figure out why… I’m awful at talking to boys in general. The only man I’ve ever really spoken to before is my father.” 

Adele continued: “I certainly have no plans of getting a boyfriend right now. I’d be perfectly content just to find one once I’m out on my own, as an adult. I just wish there was some way of getting them to leave me alone…” 

“Wha…?” 

The three girls were dumbstruck. There was something very wrong with this situation. 

The thing that they had originally come to speak to her about no longer seemed important, after all. 

To break the silence, Marcela asked the first question that popped into her head. 

“Well, do… do you have any plans for tomorrow?” 

“Oh, yes. I spend the rest days working. I have no funds and receive no allowance… With the pay I get tomorrow, I should hopefully be able to buy at least one more spare undergarment!” 

The way that she said these words—so cheerfully!—was too much for the three girls to bear. 

Aureana trembled, her face pale. 

Monika was bright red, her teeth clamped down on her lip as tears welled in her eyes. 

Marcela, meanwhile, prayed desperately for serenity. 

“W-well, we won’t trouble you by overstaying our welcome. Perhaps we should get going…” 

“Oh, you’re welcome to stay…” 

Marcela replied, standing, “There will be plenty of time for that later. We still have three years here, after all.” 

“Of course!” 

The girls bade farewell to their classmate and returned to their own rooms, leaving Adele overjoyed. 

“I did it! I can finally cross ‘having friends over’ off my list! Three of them, no less!” 

What Adele didn’t know was that the three of them had walked home in complete silence. 

Meow. 

“Oh, you’re back!” 

A little black cat slipped into Adele’s room through the open window. 

Adele pulled the plate from the drawer and set it atop the desk, as the cat jumped eagerly for the bone. 

“You really like that bone, huh? I’ll try to get you a new one next time.” 

*** 

It was the beginning of the second week in the Class A homeroom. 

“Miss Adele, do you have a moment?” 

“Oh, Miss Marcela!” 

Adele bounded happily toward Marcela, who shoved a paper bag in the other girl’s direction. 

“I wasn’t sure of your size, but I purchased this thinking that you may be able to wear it.” 

“Huh? For me?” 

The bag was rather large. 

“Thank you! Can I open it?” 

“N-not right now! Please open it when you return to your room!” 

Judging by the redness of Marcela’s face, Adele was able to form some idea of the bag’s contents. 

It wasn’t something that a girl would normally misjudge the size of. 

“Miss Marcela…” 

Adele inched closer, then hugged Marcela tightly. 

“St-stop that! Miss Adele, let me go this instant!” 

Marcela struggled, turning bright red—but there was no escaping Adele’s inadvertently forceful embrace. 

Their classmates looked on, envious of Adele’s attentions. 

From the next day on, Adele’s classmates began bringing her gifts of sweets and dried meat, girls and boys alike. 

Adele found this odd but accepted the presents gratefully. Still, there were no more joyful embraces. 

“Why didn’t I get a hug from Adele? Hey, tell me!” 

“I-I don’t know anything about that.” 

The other girls in the class pressed Marcela for answers, with more and more students joining in. 

“Marcela, what exactly did you give Adele that time that she hugged you?” 

“I-It was nothing!” 

“It wasn’t nothing! What on earth did you give her?” 

“I-I don’t remember!” 

“Please, tell me! I want a hug from Adele!” 

“Me too! I want Adele to hug me!” 

“And I want to hug her!” 

“Me too!” 

A male voice piped in. “Me too…” 

“YOU BOYS STAY OUT OF THIS!”