From Magical Girl to Robot Engineer
What the hell? Where am I?
I wanted to check my surroundings, but my body refused to move at all.
What was the last thing I was doing?
Beep—
Sudden pain stabbed through my head like a needle, and memories slowly rose one by one.
My name was Ian. A golem mage of the kingdom.
The last thing I remembered was being crushed by a massive boulder on the castle wall during the war with the empire.
A healing center? That seemed off.
I survived getting hit by a rock the size of a house?
My body should have been pulverized without a trace.
That’s it! Healer! Healer!
“Waaah! Waaah!”
“Aigoo. Did our Ian wake up? Are you hungry? Let’s have some milk~ Milk~”
Was that sound really coming from my mouth?
Waaah! Waaah!? What was that?
Had turning to dust caused some kind of infant regression?
And the words I just heard weren’t the common continental language used in the kingdom or empire.
A rather frightening thought crossed my mind.
They said mages hiding in dungeons kidnapped people for experiments….
The fear that I might have become a monster through some evil magical experiment.
My head spun with anxiety, but soon something was forced into my open mouth. Instinctively, I sucked with everything I had.
“Slurp. Slurp. Slurp.”
“Oh my~ You eat so well~ Eat plenty and grow up healthy~”
What is this? Why does it taste so good? But the situation… it feels like I’m drinking mother’s milk….
No way. Had I truly become a baby?
The sudden thought made me deny reality for the moment.
It was far from the rational, cool-headed mindset of a mage.
Th-that can’t be! It’s impossible!
No archmage or genius on the continent could perfectly manipulate souls.
Reincarnation? Why? For what reason?
There is cause and there is effect.
But not knowing the middle process was enough to drive anyone insane.
Absurdly enough, I had become a baby.
But am I at least human? It would be nice if I belonged to a race that could learn any kind of magic.
Still, the encouraging part was that the fact I could think this clearly already meant I was halfway there.
Wait? I think they called me Ian….
I was marveling at how my name was the same as in my previous life when my belly felt full.
“Our baby~ Time to burp too~”
“Burp—”
“Good job~”
With a trivial burp, I fell asleep once more.
…
…
…
And so, for countless days, I repeated the cycle of eating and sleeping.
The good news was that I was human. The problem was that I couldn’t feel any mana at all.
Maybe it was because of my previous life as a mage from the intellectual class?
I started speaking quite early.
“Ian. Momma. Dada.”
I tried the words I heard most often—‘Ian, mom, dad’—but it was a miserable failure.
“Oh my? Ian! Are you talking already!?”
Yet they were overjoyed even by that.
I gave them a little more as a bonus.
“Momma. Momma.”
“Honey! Ian is speaking already!”
“Already!?”
“Dada. Dada.”
“Gasp! She’s saying daddy too!”
“Is our child a genius?”
“Maybe she takes after you and is smart!”
I had only roughly said mom and dad, but they were delighted beyond words.
In the end, that day I had to repeat only “mom” and “dad” until I fell asleep.
By the way, why couldn’t I feel mana?
Was it some kind of insensitivity?
If there was no magic or golems….
Life would be truly boring….
I decided to grow a little more and look into it again once I could form circles.
Ah. Sleep is coming again….
“Looks like Ian is sleeping again.”
“How is she such an angel?”
“She’s so different from our first child.”
“She sleeps so quietly so mom and dad don’t struggle….”
…
…
…
Even at the earliest, I would need to be four or five years old to properly train in magic, yet time felt slower with every passing day.
Is it because my waking hours are increasing? I think I’m around two or three years old now….
My arms and legs were still too short and chubby.
“Alright~ Our daughter, shall we stop using diapers and start using the toilet?”
“Shall we?”
I had learned not long ago that this body was female, unlike my previous life.
Other than sitting down to do my business like a girl, there wasn’t much difference from when I was male.
Oops. I am a girl now….
I thought it would be quite a shock, but whether because I never met women in my past life or because I had experienced it from such a young age, I felt almost nothing.
Rather, I gained a few other expectations.
There was a thesis that said women have an advantage in delicate mana manipulation, right? It’s not entirely a bad thing.
I had specialized in magic items and golem production.
Improving my mana manipulation ability was definitely a strong point.
“Come here~ Ta-da~ I prepared something especially pretty for our princess~”
A yellow toilet shaped like a baby chick….
It wasn’t my taste, but since no one else would see it….
“Sit down and pee~”
“Pee~ Pee~”
My pronunciation was going to drive me crazy….
And as I walked around the house, I learned there were many mysterious objects like televisions and vacuum cleaners that could never exist in the kingdom.
No, even the empire didn’t have things like this.
Was this a different world?
…
…
…
“Hic. Hic.”
“Huh? Why is our Ian so upset? Did your brother tease you?”
“No. No….”
And right when I was about to begin proper magic training around age four, I learned a truly shocking secret about this world.
I had felt something was off from a young age, but this world had no mana.
Without mana I couldn’t make golems, and without golems there was no point in me being here.
Send me back!
…
“Ian, you have to eat.”
“Come on~ Say ah~ Just one bite~ Daddy’s arm is falling off~”
Dad tried hard to feed me with a spoon decorated with a pink character, but right now my eyes refused to focus.
“Don’t want….”
“Why is that? Our princess?”
The problem was this reality where, no matter what I did, I couldn’t feel mana—to the point I was refusing meals.
I despaired.
How could there not be even a single speck of mana?
According to my mage thinking, a world without mana could not exist.
It was the power that allowed matter to form.
Just how did this world exist?
Was there some other force?
“Sigh… I’m worried. She’s still at an age where she needs to eat well….”
“Let’s find a way.”
“Yes. I’ll look into it too.”
I couldn’t give up, so I continued searching for mana. Then, the year I turned five, I found the answer on a thing called television!
“Ugh! Magical Witch!”
“We won’t forgive the villains! Magical Beam!”
“Kyaaak! I’ll be back!”
Humans with eyes taking up half their faces were using magic on the television.
Did learning magic in this world turn you into that?
I had no choice. For the sake of magic, I would endure anything!
“Mom!”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Magical girl!”
“Pffft. So our Ian really is a girl?”
There was some unknown laughter mixed in Mother’s voice, but that wasn’t important.
“Magic!”
“You want that?”
“Yes!”
There were magical girls in this place.
That was it! Since it was a different world, it must operate on a different system! Of course it wouldn’t work if I kept thinking in the ways of my previous life!
As it was a different world, I needed to learn the tools and methods unique to this place.
“Mom! Dad! I want that!”
“Okay! Dad will buy it this evening!”
“Ehehehe~”
Laughter burst out naturally at the thought that I could make golems.
“Gasp! As expected! Ian is prettiest when she smiles!”
“Pretty?”
“Of course! Later, men will be lining up for you?”
“Eung. Don’t want. Want magic!”
“Oh! Shall we skip marriage and live with Daddy?”
“Like magic!”
Our conversation was a bit off, but whether it was marriage or anything else, I only needed magic.
More precisely, the magic to create golems.
And that evening, the magic items that came into my hands.
Magic items are supposed to be expensive, so my parents must have quite a bit of wealth? Well, the house is quite large just by looking at it.
“Hoo. Hoo.”
“Why? Aren’t you going to try it on?”
“Slowly.”
“It’s amazing….”
Whether Mother found it amazing or not, I began preparations for the magic demonstration with a reverent attitude.
It was a shame there were no magic books, but first I just needed to use the tool to realize the source of power corresponding to mana.
A pink uniform covered in frills and lace.
If I were still male, I would have thrown it away in shame, but now I had nowhere to back down to.
Among them, I carefully picked up the magic wand with a heart-shaped jewel embedded in it.
There’s a switch? Does that mean I can turn magic on and off as needed?
Just like the various convenient home appliances, it seemed magic here was reasonable too.
It might secretly suit my tastes?
“Hup!”
With a trembling heart, I prepared for the first magic demonstration and pressed the button on the magic wand’s handle.
Brrrrring—
Something tickled my spine from the magic wand, and a sound that would be embarrassing if done outside rang out.
“Heee!”
“Aww! Ian finds it interesting~”
“Wow!”
Ugh! If this is the law of this place, I have to overcome it! Magic is waiting for me!
Eventually, lights started twinkling.
That mysterious light was like casting a hypnosis.
I was unknowingly falling under its spell when it happened.
Click— Bubble bubble bubble
“Aaah!”
I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
The heart opened and soap bubbles started gushing out and flying everywhere!
“Kyaaaa!”
“Oh dear! You like it that much?”
“Ahahaha!”
It was so much fun!
Huh?
Wait?
Why was this fun?
Was it magic? It must be magic, right?
No, it was fun anyway, so I decided to play a bit more.
…
…
…
After that, I diligently studied about magical girls and researched the clothing called dresses and the magic wands.
There was this very convenient thing called the internet, so even with my short fingers I could press one by one to look things up. It was quite easy.
It really was a convenient world.
However, a fatal problem arose.
“What??? It’s just a toy?”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“There are no magical girls?”
“There are~ Our Ian is a magical girl right here~”
“Ah….”
That wasn’t what I meant, Mother….
I needed real magic….
And so I started digging another tunnel. Those scammers.
What anime? Manga? Just creations of imagination?
Since the world abandoned me, I would abandon the world too! Aaaargh!
“Honey, I’m here~”
“Sigh… Honey… Ian is doing it again….”
“Gasp! Why is our princess like that!”
When I, having realized the truth, sat in the corner of the room drawing gloomy doodles, my parents freaked out.
I knew those two loved me, but I needed time….
It was too sad….
“Ian… Why are you like this?”
“Golem….”
“What?”
“There are no golems….”
“What is that?”
Dad quickly searched something on the computer, perhaps not knowing what it was.
“Huh?”
“Honey, what is this?”
“Hmm… Is it like a robot?”
“Eh? She liked magical girls until this afternoon?”
“Who knows? There might have been robots in it too.”
“There aren’t many girls who like robots, though?”
“There are boys who like dolls or magical girls, so maybe it’s a special case?”
My parents seriously discussed something I didn’t understand.
Sorry. I can’t pay attention to that….
“Does our daughter like robots?”
“Robot?”
“Yes~ They’re thankful friends that do people’s work for them.”
“Huh? Robot?”
So there was another name for golem! Robot!
It was a cool name just like golem!
But there were golems without magic?
What kind of world was this!?
“What is that?”
“Oh! Are you curious? Come here.”
They operated the computer and showed me something.
Surprisingly, there was a real golem there.
A guy carrying and moving things!
It was small, but it was definitely a golem.
This was the real thing! I had finally found my path!
“This! I want to make this!”
“Huh? You don’t want me to buy it?”
“Yes! I have to make it!”
“This requires a lot of studying, you know?”
“I’ll do it! I can do it!”
My previous life was as a mage.
It was a profession that basically required a good head.
I was confident in studying.
After that, while I was awake, I devoted myself to studying.
It helped a lot that Dad’s major was robotics engineering.
“Ian? You should go out and play with your friends too?”
“Don’t want to. Robot.”
“Sigh….”
I gave my parents other worries, but the more I studied, the more I fell for the charm of robots.
It had a different driving method from magic, but everything I wanted was inside it.
Since I studied in earnest, elementary, middle, and high school studies were too easy for me.
…
…
…
I entered university at an age when other friends were entering their third year of high school, receiving everyone’s expectations.
I wanted to come earlier, but due to my parents’ opposition about making friends, I only entered one year early.
But what of it? I ended up with not a single friend anyway.
“Sigh… So you really came here?”
“Why? Don’t you want to study with me, Dad?”
“No~ I’m happy to always be with our pretty princess, but there were many better opportunities, weren’t there?”
“They’re meaningless.”
Numerous universities that one would know just by searching the name sent me study-abroad offers, but I chose a domestic university.
My goal wasn’t to get a degree.
I just wanted to make golems. That is, robots.
So wasn’t the university where Dad was a professor much more convenient for me to do what I wanted?
To make robots at the university, I studied mechanical engineering, materials engineering, basic mechanics, and everything else I could get my hands on.
Then, in my second year of university, when I became a twenty-year-old adult, another unbelievable thing happened.
“Ha… Fuck….”
I had never sworn out loud before, and this was probably the first time I ever did.
Something called a gate had opened. Monsters came out and there was a new ecosystem inside or whatever—I didn’t care about any of that.
As long as I could make robots, that was enough.
Shhhht—
“Why is this happening now….”
What confused me was the blue smoke-like substance gathering in my hand according to my will.
It was a power, energy, and material containing the mysteries of the world that was more fitting to say “felt” rather than “saw.”
Mana had returned.
The thing I had searched for while following magical girls until I was five, creating dark history.
No? Is this better? What if I combine robots and golems?
My spine tingled, and goosebumps rose all over my forearms from the thrill.
Perhaps I could create a powerful super-giant golem that no one in my previous life could make?