Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Schrödinger
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"...So?"
"Yes?"
"I'm just wondering why you're following me like this."
I stopped walking and turned around.
A blonde heroine candidate was trailing me from a safe distance. Her name was... Amelia, I think?
Maybe it was because she used a spear, but her long, slender legs really stood out.
A strange sense of defeat washed over me.
For some reason, she seemed taller than I had been back when I was a guy.
...No, it wasn't that I was short—it was that she was tall!
"I want to be friends."
"...Friends? You and me, Amelia?"
"Yes, yeah. Can't we?"
Friends, huh.
It hadn't been long since enrollment.
If a classmate I hadn't even talked to before came up asking to be friends, what was I supposed to do?
"Sure!"
"R-Really?"
What else? Of course I was going to say yes!
[The reader made a friend...! And it's a heroine candidate! Oh my god.] The Writer-nim's voice, brimming with surprise and admiration, rang in my ears.
Be even more amazed!
Today marked the historic day I finally got a friend!
Ha, of course, I hadn't been a total loner back in my old life with no friends or anything.
But still, I'd been worried about going through academy life without a single friend, and now a heroine candidate herself—
Approached me directly!
To become friends. I was thrilled.
"Y-Yeah, of course. I never turn away someone who approaches me."
"Then... can I drop the formal speech...?"
"Of course. Ah, don't mind this—it's just more comfortable for me."
"Uh, okay. Got it."
Beaming.
Grinning ear to ear.
Those were probably the only words to describe my face right now.
"Arte, have you thought about any clubs you want to join?"
"Clubs, you mean?"
"Yeah. W-We’re friends now, so I was kinda curious."
...Uh-huh. But Amelia's movements seemed a bit stiff.
Was she nervous? Why?
No way...?
"You don't have to be nervous, Amelia."
"Eek?!"
"The first conversation with a friend is always nerve-wracking."
Yeah, talking to a friend for the first time always felt tense.
But with time, it melted away like it had never been there.
So I just needed to help Amelia relax.
Where was it again?
I vaguely remembered reading online that deep breaths helped with nerves.
"Alright, take a deep breath in..."
"H-Huuuuh..."
"And out."
"Huuuuuh..."
...Was she hyperventilating now?
She wasn't relaxing at all!
The internet really was trash.
It sounded plausible, but zero help.
"No helping it. You seem too tense, so let's talk next time."
Did Amelia not have any experience making friends?
Her vibe was a bit sheltered young lady-ish...
I'd ask the Writer-nim later.
"Cl-Clubs... where are you...?"
"Haha, you're more persistent than I thought."
I'd sat Amelia on a park bench and was about to leave when her words stopped me.
Asking about my club even while that tense?
Amelia really wanted to get close to me!
But what to do.
I didn't have any club in mind.
No choice. Time for the truth.
"It depends on what club Yoo Siu joins."
"Wh-What?! Wait! Let's talk more..."
"Then hurry so you're not late for class!"
She was tense because of me, so she'd loosen up soon enough.
Once I judged I'd put enough distance between us, I asked the Writer-nim my question.
"Writer-nim."
[Yes?] "Does Amelia not have any friends?"
[I don't know. It hasn't been established yet.] "...Yes?"
What did that mean?
If you don't know, who does...?
As I stood there dumbfounded by the absurd answer, the Writer-nim seemed to realize something and asked me a question.
[Ah, do you think I created all the characters myself?] "...No?"
[Not at all?] Things were starting to get confusing.
From everything I'd seen of the Writer-nim's behavior so far, I'd assumed she created all the characters herself.
...Apparently not?
[Hmm, how should I explain this... Ah! Schrödinger... you know, that thing?] "You mean Schrödinger's cat?"
[Yeah, that.] The example the Writer-nim brought up to explain was one most people had heard of at least once.
Schrödinger's cat.
The thought experiment where the cat in the box exists in a superposition of dead and alive states until someone opens the box and observes it.
But why bring that up here?
[Hmm, you probably know the gist, so I'll skip the details... The key in that thought experiment is the observer.] "The observer..."
[Without an observer, you can't know the cat's state in the box. The cat stays in superposition forever.] "What does that have to do with you not knowing Amelia's past?"
[I'm not as omnipotent as you think. If I were perfect, I wouldn't need to send you down—I could just write the novel from Yoo Siu's perspective.] "...Ah."
Right, that was true.
The Writer-nim's novel followed Yoo Siu's point of view.
But the Writer-nim couldn't even read his mind, let alone know what he was doing—she'd tasked me with stalking him.
An all-knowing god wouldn't need that.
[Amelia's past hasn't been observed yet.] "So her past is a blank slate...?"
[Exactly. I just overlay whatever I want on the empty box.] What a total scam.
I was speechless at the absurdity.
[But once it's been observed, I can't change it. So I'm not omnipotent.] "Ah, so that's why you won't change my ability..."
[Hehe, you caught me... I'd already set it that way.] She could've just said from the start that she couldn't change it.
It wasn't her throwing a tantrum—it was that she literally couldn't.
[Amelia's past hasn't been observed yet, so I don't know.] "...Once it's set, it can never be changed?"
[Yep. I can tweak minor things, but the big plot points... a bit tricky.] Got it, roughly.
The Writer-nim wasn't a true creator god, but she had cheat-level powers close to it.
[Easy to create something from nothing, hard to erase something that exists. Think of it that way.] "So, who's the observer?"
[You, obviously? I told you—it's hard without your viewpoint.] "I didn't know that...?"
[I didn't tell you.] You crazy bitch, how am I supposed to handle such a huge role with zero heads-up?!
...I desperately swallowed the urge to scream that.
[So, shall we set Amelia as a loner?] "No, make it that she had lots of friends but no one she truly opened up to. She always wanted a real friend someday..."
[Got it, as you wish~] Ah, wait.
I'd accidentally blurted out my desire to be Amelia's close friend.
Sorry, Amelia...!
[Okay, reader. Looks like you get it, so let's move on to clubs... What kind sounds good?] The Writer-nim's question snapped me back to attention.
Right, she'd said once something was set, it was hard to change.
All I had to do was become Amelia's true friend.
For that, we needed a club first.
"How about Exploration?"
[Exploration?] "Yeah. The plot needs a 'secret room' discovery arc... Something easy to tie in would be that."
[Hm, not bad. Exploration club it is?] "It'll be easy to get permission for outside trips too. Sound good?"
[Great!] ...But wait, a sudden doubt hit me.
I'd gotten the gist of the Writer-nim's powers.
Which only made me more curious.
"Writer-nim."
[Yes?] "What happens if there's a setting inconsistency?"
Yeah, setting inconsistencies.
Humans make mistakes—no one's perfect.
It wouldn't crash the world or anything, right...?
[Dunno. Probably nothing good. But don't worry.] "You can finish the novel without any inconsistencies?"
[Nah? I said it's hard to break established settings, not impossible?] "Ah."
[A little tough, but... I can force it.] I see.
For a second, I'd imagined the world ending or something scary, but thankfully not.
Though I'd hoped for a 'no inconsistencies' answer.
Setting errors weren't a big deal then...
[And that's why you're here—to prevent that. If an error pops up, you fix it for me?] "...Yeah, I get it."
Three things I learned from talking to the Writer-nim.
First, this ability of mine that could turn me into a total slut if I'm not careful can't be changed. It's already set. Damn it.
Second, because of me, Amelia now has lots of shallow friendships but no one she can truly share her heart with.
Third, if the Writer-nim shits the bed, I have to clean it up.
I wasn't thrilled about the first and third.