I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Wonderful, Miraculous, Magical Girls 

“ Y ou couldn’t find her?” 

“No. I am truly sorry…” 

Bergl, the guard captain, stood in the king’s office and gave his shame-faced report to a grim-looking king and the third princess, Morena. 

Nearly a month had passed since the young daughter of Viscount Ascham—no, actually, the true head of the Ascham family, Adele—had gone missing. 

“She’s only a young girl. We thought that with half a day’s lead, we could catch up easily. But our search parties have scoured the roads and every town and hamlet in between, and turned up nothing… 

“We even sent several people ahead to places that neither a young girl’s legs nor a carriage could carry her. Still we found nothing. Perhaps she’s been forging her way through the forests or mountains away from towns and roads—or, heaven forbid, a young girl all alone—she’s already been snatched up by bandits…” 

“That’s impossible. If she were to fall victim to an attack, surely that thing would intervene.” 

“Well.” 

The king was quite bold, referring to a goddess as a “thing.” 

“And then, of course, there’s the message that she wrote to her friends: ‘I’m going to live a happy life somewhere in the country, so please don’t worry . ’ But we combed a number of towns and villages throughout the countryside and still could not find her. 

“She may be living alone in the forest or the mountains somewhere, or perhaps she’s already managed to make it beyond our borders…” 

If she had left the country it would be difficult for soldiers to continue the search or even spread word in another land. Even if they found her, trying to bring her back by force could be a nightmare for international relations. Quietly abducting her was also out of the question. If they angered the goddess again, she would surely lay their country to ruin. 

“The girl ran away because she had no idea that the problems with her family have been taken care of, didn’t she?” asked the princess. “If we let her know the facts, she might change her mind. We could issue a proclamation. Tell her that the bad people have been apprehended, and it’s safe for her to come back.” 

The king and Bergl grimaced. 

“It’s impossible,” said the king. “This incident shames our entire country. We can’t stop the rumors from spreading, but we can’t do anything to expressly acknowledge the matter, either.” 

Bergl continued his report, “We’ve already inquired with a number of the girl’s classmates at the academy in the hope that we might find out where she’s heading. However, the results were…” 

“Were what?” 

“Well…here is the transcript of what they told us.” 

The princess took the report that Bergl pulled from his breast pocket and looked it over. 

“That girl could make it anywhere!” 

“Her special skills ? Breaking boys’ hearts, you mean?” 

“Somewhere she could live? As a guest in Heaven, or an overseer in Hell…” 

“I want to know!” 

“But I was supposed to be looking after her!” 

“She finally found her freedom. Would you expect a bird to return to a cage of its own free will?” 

“She’s long gone—you’re never gonna catch her.” 

“She could blend in perfectly with commoners. I wonder if she really was a noble…” 

“Wh-what is this?” 

“Just what kind of girl is she?” 

The king and his daughter were dumbfounded. 

“I want to meet with her close friends!” the princess exclaimed. “I want to ask them what kind of person she is. I want to ask them all sorts of things!” 

“Hmm…” the king said after thinking for a while. “Perhaps that is a good idea. It might help us to find her, and perhaps Morena may get something out of the experience as well.” 

Bergl nodded silently. 

*** 

Three days later, eleven figures sat around a table in a small room at the palace. 

In truth, the room was only small in comparison to the rest of the palace. Otherwise, it was a gorgeously furnished chamber, with splendid chairs and décor, and a table overflowing with sweets, fruits, and teacups. 

Among the assembled parties were four members of the royal family: the king; the first prince, Adalbert, age sixteen; the third princess, Morena, age fifteen; and Morena’s younger brother the second prince, Vince, age thirteen. Along with them were the prime minister; the captain of the guard, Bergl; and Count Bornham and his wife, who had been specially invited. 

The presence of the Bornhams showed foresight on the king’s part. Count Bornham had played a large role in the king’s fateful audience with Adele’s family. And the count’s wife, a former classmate of Adele’s mother, knew much about the Ascham family. Both of them wanted to know about Adele, the orphan child of their dear friend. 

The last three invitees were the ones who knew the most about Adele: the girls known as the Wonder, Miracle, or Magic Trio. 

“U-um, th-thank you most k-kindly for your…” 

“Don’t worry,” said the king. “This is just an informal tea party. Please don’t bother yourself over formalities. Just think of me as a father who’s sitting in on his daughter’s first meeting with some friends.” 

“A-all right…” stammered Marcela, attempting to offer an appropriate greeting on behalf of the three. Although she was of low rank, she was still a noble. 

Monika and Aureana, who were both commoners, could not muster up a single word. 

However, their nerves were not the only reason that Monika and Aureana did not speak. 

Three days earlier, after the departure of the palace messenger extending a tea party invitation from the princess, Marcela had been the first to speak. 

“They must be looking for information. We can’t betray Adele’s secrets!” 

Monika and Aureana nodded. 

“Adele might be blessed with many talents, but she’s still a normal girl. She doesn’t use weird magic, and she doesn’t tell absurd stories. She’s completely average. Just like she always said… Of course, a truly normal girl wouldn’t go out of her way to point that out every single day, but let’s put that aside for now.” 

The girls nodded again. 

“We need to get our story straight. Decide what we can and can’t talk about. For the sake of simplicity, if they ask us any questions, I’ll answer. The more we all talk, the more contradictions will arise, and the more we might slip up and mention something that we shouldn’t. Does that sound like a plan?” 

Monika and Aureana nodded emphatically. 

And so the day of the party arrived. 

They were to leave the questions to Marcela, while Monika and Aureana only offered acknowledgments and brief, carefully-prepared statements. 

Around the table, the king and the other adults sat a small distance away from the children, establishing the pretense that they could talk on their own. Marcela and the other girls, the princess and the princes, all faced one another. 

Ostensibly, the princes were present because it would be difficult for the princess to speak to three girls on her own, but naturally the adults had an ulterior motive. They hoped the two princes would find out more about Adele indirectly, in case she should ever be found. 

The fact that both princes were in attendance made the plan fairly obvious. 

“Um, I am Morena, the third princess…” 

“I’m Adalbert, the first prince.” 

“And I’m Vince, the second prince.” 

Marcela and the other girls introduced themselves after the royals. 

“I am Marcela, a second-year at Eckland Academy.” 

Although she was a member of a noble family, they had made the decision to introduce themselves as academy students and give only their first names. 

“I’m Monika, and likewise.” 

“And I am Aureana.” 

A hush fell over the group. Since the adults were there only as observers, they neither introduced themselves nor intervened. At least, no more than necessary. 

“Um, the reason we invited you here today was to ask you some things about Miss Adele…” 

There it is! 

Of course the three girls already knew this, so they weren’t really surprised. They couldn’t think of any other reason why they would have been invited to the palace, and someone here had obviously been carrying out a relentless investigation into the disappearance of their classmate. First there were whispers that the palace was searching for someone, and then of course, the rumor of a scandal surrounding a certain viscount… 

Although Eckland Academy was considered the lesser of the city’s two schools, there were still members of many noble families there. If something was happening, the rumors were sure to work their way through the school. More than that, the girls had some hint from Bergl when he returned Adele’s letter to them, and the borrowing of the letter in the first place came with the promise of an explanation. 

So far, they’d only heard about the turmoil surrounding the Ascham family, with the details about Adele’s possession by the goddess carefully left out. But, given that aligned fairly well with what Adele told them herself, the girls had a pretty accurate grasp of the situation. On top of that, Marcela knew of other rumors—nonsensical stories about how Her Highness, the third princess, met a servant of a goddess. By this point, Marcela had heard about it from several different sources. Apparently, it happened on a rest day, around the time when Adele was returning home from work at the bakery, and on the same road that she would have taken home. Then there was the mention of a young girl with silver hair, this divine messenger. 

Yes, this was most definitely Adele’s doing. Marcela realized it the moment she heard the story. She knew it was only a matter of time before this day would come. 

Honestly, what’s the point of telling others to keep quiet if you run around doing that sort of thing yourself? 

Right from the outset, Morena didn’t hold back in her questioning. “Could you tell me what sort of person Miss Adele is? What sorts of things she talked about?” 

As a princess, Morena had a diverse education, so while she appeared relatively straightforward at first glance, she was by no means stupid. Although speaking to girls who were three or four years her junior, she maintained the level of politeness she’d offer an equal, taking care not to belittle them. Perhaps this was only because she thought of them not as academy students, but as “that girl’s dear friends.” Still, it made a difference. 

Seeing Morena’s serious expression and sparkling eyes, Marcela thought, We must protect Miss Adele’s secrets! I will do everything in my power to give the third princess a good impression of Adele. 

Marcela’s body ceased its subtle trembling, and her usual confidence returned. 

Okay, third princess Morena , she thought, let the battle begin! 

Morena cut right to the chase. 

It was only natural. There was nothing else she was interested in asking the girls and no other shared topics of conversation. 

Marcela, too, was fully aware of this. She’d already decided to present a pre-prepared story. 

First, they’d speak of Adele during her time in the Ascham household, offering guesses based on the stories Adele had told them and the contents of her letter. 

However, they could only go so far with that. Adele never spoke very much about her time at home, so there wasn’t much to go on. 

“It seems that at the start, she lived a very normal life with her parents and maternal grandfather. Then, when she was eight, her mother and grandfather were both killed by bandits. There are a number of mysteries surrounding that attack, but I believe an investigation has already been carried out about the circumstances. 

“After that, Adele was all but under house arrest on the grounds of the Ascham mansion. She was neglected and bullied by her father and his mistress, whom he brought to live with them along with her child. At the age of ten, Adele was banished to Eckland Academy without a copper and forbidden to carry even her own surname so that her father’s stepdaughter could take her place as the heir to the Ascham line… 

“She received nothing from the Ascham family—no allowance, not even a letter. Impoverished, she worked at a bakery on her days off so that she could earn a living. 

“That is the extent of her relationship with the household.” 

The king, the prime minister, Bergl, and Count Bornham already knew this much and wore grave expressions, but the eyes of Morena, the two princes, and the Countess Bornham were wide with shock. 

The countess choked back tears. “N-no…her only daughter…went through such horrid things… why wasn’t I more attentive?” 

For their three years at Ardleigh Academy, and even after graduation, Mable, the only daughter of Viscount Ascham, was the countess’s closest friend. When she heard the truth about Mable’s untimely demise, the countess was filled with rage, sorrow, and a sad sense of inevitability. 

Of course, it gave her some satisfaction to know that the former viscount and his new wife, who’d orchestrated this foul deed, were imprisoned. But to think that Mable’s daughter endured such tragedy while the countess sat by… 

She hadn’t known, but there were still not enough words to apologize to Mable in heaven. She knew that if their roles were reversed, Mable would have done everything in her power to help the countess’s children. 

When her husband said, “We’re going to go hear about her daughter,” the countess overflowed with emotions she could not hold back. Her eyes sparkled with tears of apology and regret. 

The princes and princess remained silent, their faces dark. At length, Marcela began her tale of the day that they first saw Adele. 

“We met on the day of the entrance ceremony…” 

She told them all sorts of amusing stories: Adele’s introduction and the tale of how they confronted her for hogging their classmates’ attention. She made sure to omit the details of Adele’s peculiarities, wanting to give the impression of Adele as a fine, interesting girl. 

“…and then, she offered to make me a pair of the underpants like the ones she’d made for herself, but that was…” 

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” 

The princess let out a peal of laughter, and none of the adults even bothered to scold her. The first prince, Adalbert, remained impassive, but the second prince, Vince, looked away, red-faced. 

Wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, the princess asked, “So, I suppose she granted you divine magical protection, too? Just like she tried to grant you underwear?” 

“Huh…?” 

The Wonder Trio were speechless. The princes and adults whispered to one another. 

“Well, you all suddenly knew how to use magic one day, didn’t you? Or were improved in it? All three of you, close friends, all at the same time. Can you believe the coincidence? Isn’t it natural to wonder if it was the doing of one particular person? 

“Of course, you helped Miss Adele out of sympathy at first, but you very quickly grew close to her and covered for her in a number of ways, far beyond mere sympathy. It was almost like you were returning a favor… 

“You all know Miss Adele’s secret, don’t you?” 

From the stories she’d just heard and the reports she had read beforehand, the princess reached a far too accurate conclusion. 

“Wait!” 

Just then, the king’s panicked voice resounded through the room. 

“You must all leave!” 

“Huh?” 

The prime minister, the Bornhams, and the princes all raised their voices, surprised at the king’s sudden order. 

“B-but…” 

“Go!” 

With a wave of his hand, the king dismissed all five of them: the protesting prime minister, the bewildered Bornhams, and the princes, annoyed to be chased out just when the conversation was getting good. 

“How careless can you be, Morena?! You were told to never discuss this matter.” 

“Ah…” 

The princess blanched, suddenly aware that the only people left in the room were the ones already aware. 

“What’s already been said cannot be helped. Thankfully, you did not touch at the core of the matter. However, you must be more careful in the future!” 

“I understand.” 

Having narrowly missed throwing the kingdom into ruin, the princess looked back to the girls, still pale. 

“So, you do know it, don’t you? Miss Adele’s secret…” 

Th-this girl! She has such a soft face but an iron fist! Marcela feigned calm, even as she broke into a cold sweat. 

Monika and Aureana entrusted the full burden of this conversation to Marcela and sat silent as stones. Marcela tried desperately to come up with an excuse that might hide the truth of Adele’s abilities. 

“You know, don’t you? About the goddess residing within Miss Adele?” 

“Wh…” 

With that spectacular piece of self-sabotage, the princess continued. “As reward for hiding the fact that Adele is an avatar of the goddess, for aiding her and covering for her, she gave you the divine blessings of magic, isn’t that right? You can tell the truth. Everyone here already knows about the goddess…” 

What in the world is she talking about? 

Marcela thought hard. 

This had to be the result of a ruse Miss Adele concocted after overdoing it in front of the princess. There was no doubt in Marcela’s mind. But, just what would she… 

She probably let herself be seen using some kind of impossible magic. If I were her, how would I try to cover that up? 

If Marcela lowered her general knowledge to Adele’s level, and matched her lack of common sense and her inability to read people, then multiplied her carelessness by five, and tried to imagine what Adele could have been thinking… 

Marcela had become quite adept at deciphering Adele’s actions thanks to this Adele Simulator, which allowed her to emulate her friend’s thought process. 

Marcela was able to sense—sometimes right in the middle of conversation—“Oh no, she’s about to say something weird.” And she would clamp a hand over Adele’s mouth or grab her by the arm, just before Adele could make a move, thus preventing in the nick of time an undue tragedy…or comedy. Now, once again, the “Adele Simulator” was running at full tilt. 

All the rumors I’ve heard up until now were about…the descent of a goddess, or the servant of a goddess. And now, there’s this talk. An avatar of the goddess? What might Adele have said to lead them astray? 

She was surrounded by people making unreasonable demands, so to protect herself… What could she have decided with that tricky brain of hers? 

That’s it! 

“What?!” Marcela exclaimed. “You all know all about the goddess too?!” 

“I knew it…” At Marcela’s cry, the princess nodded, satisfied to have her own suspicions confirmed. 

“Then,” Marcela continued, “you should also know that it’s forbidden to meddle in her affairs…” 

“We are not meddling! I merely want to be her friend—and properly thank the girl who put herself in danger to protect my reputation. Where is the harm in that? It has nothing to do with the goddess. Don’t tell me the goddess ordered Miss Adele not to make friends!” 

There was a triumphant ring to the princess’s voice. 

This girl! She doesn’t really want to make friends. She just wants Miss Adele all to herself! 

Marcela glanced the king’s way, but he and Bergl merely nodded in agreement. 

Are they all in on this?! 

Inside, Marcela was grinding her teeth, but she would never show such feelings in front of the royal family. But if she said nothing, she wouldn’t be able to contain her anger. 

“But if you can’t find Miss Adele, there’s nothing you can do about it, is there?!” 

“Grngh…” 

“I-In that case—” The king interjected as the circumstances looked grim. “Do you have any idea as to Adele… as to the Viscountess Ascham’s whereabouts?” 

“WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!” 

The three girls answered in unison. Just as they had practiced, many times before. 

After that, they were asked many things: if the names of any towns or countries had come up in their conversations with Adele, or whether she mentioned any acquaintances. These were all things that the girls truly knew nothing about, so they answered straightforwardly. 

Then, after quite some time had passed, the Wonder Trio were finally released. 

No matter how good their magic had become, they were nothing without Adele. Therefore, as things stood, Marcela and the other girls were of no value to the palace. 

They had not accomplished their plan to win the princess over and someday open a useful avenue for their friend, but at the very least they had managed not to hand over a single detail about Adele beyond the incorrect reports the palace already had. 

I’d rank that quite a good performance , thought Marcela, as she, Monika, and Aureana stood to leave. Just then, a voice called to her from behind. 

“Um. Could I trouble you for another talk sometime?” 

“O-of course! I would be happy to…” 

There was no way that the third daughter of a poor noble could possibly refuse a request from the princess. 

*** 

Several days later, Marcela was in her dorm, chatting with Monika and Aureana, when suddenly there came a knock at the door. 

“Miss Marcela, your father is here to see you!” 

“Oh! All right, I’m coming!” 

Marcela scrambled from her seat and opened the door to find the dormitory supervisor and her father, who appeared flustered and out of breath. 

“What’s the hurry, Fath—” 

“M-Marcela! I-Is it true that you were called to the palace?!” 

“Ah, yes! That is true…” 

“Wh-why did they summon you?! What’s going on?!” 

Her father’s panic was understandable. If his daughter had been summoned to the palace and the visit went well, it would mean a magnificent fortune, but if it went poorly, or she had been impolite, then woe betide their family’s legacy. 

Paying no mind to the presence of her friends, Marcela continued. “Well…it seems Her Highness the third princess was very interested in becoming my friend…” 

“Wh-what?! Wait. If that’s true, that’s an enormous blessing—but, why? Why someone like you, without connections?” 

“Who knows?” 

“Wh-who knows, my foot…” 

“If you really want to know, then perhaps you should ask the princess herself.” 

Marcela pointed, and her father’s gaze followed her finger to… 

“I am Morena, the third princess. Please, pardon the intrusion.” 

There stood a girl of around fifteen years old, bowing her head politely.