I Was a Dropout Who Couldn’t Use Magic for 16 Years, but Then I Remembered My Past Life as a Scientist and Became OP in Another World - Chapter 7

“Huh?”

Both the floating blue snake and I said it in unison.

It was a small, blue snake—about half the size of what you’d typically imagine a snake to be. It had two tiny white protrusions on its head, and its back was adorned with what looked like a faint golden mane. In short, it was a strange snake.

“Uh, wait a minute… Can you actually see me?”

The snake opened its small mouth and asked in an oddly human-like voice.

“—”

I couldn’t process the existence of this creature in front of me. Let’s be clear: just because magic exists in this world doesn’t mean bizarre creatures like this do.

Sure, there are dogs, cats, horses, and cows—just like in my previous world. But there are no demi-humans, magical beasts, or monsters, like those you often see in fantasy. In fact, those kinds of beings are considered myths in this world.

Yet, the thing floating before me undoubtedly belonged in one of those fantastical categories. In my shock, I blurted out:

“…I-I can’t see you.”

“No, you can totally see and hear me!”

The floating snake exclaimed, clearly making eye contact with me.

“D-don’t respond. It’ll just make it more believable. If it’s a hallucination, it should be saying something more random.”

“Can you not try to dismiss my existence as a hallucination? It’s been hundreds of years since I’ve had anyone to talk to, you know? That’s just plain cruel. But, seriously, how can you see me? I shouldn’t be visible, audible, or tangible to humans. That’s what makes us spirits superior.”

“…I should leave. Maybe I have a fever. Or perhaps there really is something wrong with my brain…”

I pressed my hand to my forehead and staggered toward the entrance of the shrine.

But a panicked voice called out from behind me.

“W-wait, wait, wait! You can’t just walk away like that! It’s been centuries since I’ve had a conversation with anyone! I’ll cry! Seriously, I’ll cry! And wouldn’t it sound bad for you to be known as the guy who made a spirit cry? Come on, stay for just a little chat. I don’t have tea or anything, but still!”

“…”

“Please! Don’t ignore me! It hurts! Silent treatment?! This must be some form of bullying, right? I can’t leave here, you know!”

“…”

“And hey, about those mutterings of yours earlier, I’m really curious! I’d love to hear more about that!”

“!”

I stopped in my tracks and turned around instinctively.

Seeing this, the small blue snake smiled broadly. It floated in the air, drifting lazily, as if urging me to return, lightly brushing against my neck as it did so.

The sensation of something soft brushing my skin confirmed that this wasn’t just a bad hallucination.

With a resigned sigh, I gave in.

“…What do you want?”

“Well, you were mumbling some pretty interesting things earlier, weren’t you? And while you were holding that sacred crystal, no less.”

The snake gestured toward the crystal behind me with its head. Bitterly, I responded to the accusation.

“Well… Okay, I admit I picked up the crystal, but I wasn’t talking to myself.”

“You totally were! You said stuff like, ‘Wait, this doesn’t make sense,’ and something about zero-gravity and directionality…”

“If that’s true, that would mean my thoughts were leaking out from the very beginning…”

I frowned. I vaguely recalled that muttering to myself was a bad habit pointed out to me back when I was still a scientist.

“Fine. So, snake, what do you mean you’re interested?”

“I want to hear more about your thoughts. Who knows? I might even be able to help you.”

“…Help me?”

“You’re investigating Water magic, aren’t you? That’s what it sounded like to me.”

“Well, yeah, that’s right, but what does that have to do with you?”

When I asked, the snake blinked in surprise before sighing in exasperation.

“Well, duh! I’m a water spirit! Who better to talk to about Water magic than me?”

“…Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me you’re a spirit? Are you kidding me? I was barely starting to accept the idea of a floating, talking snake, but now you expect me to believe that spirits actually exist? Spirits are just a concept humans came up with.”

“Uh, I’ve been saying I’m a spirit this whole time, haven’t I? Sure, I know I might be hard to believe from your perspective, but hey, I’m also shocked that you can see me! So, I’d say we’re even.”

“Even?! Are you seriously telling me that the creature floating in front of me—this… snake-like thing—is a spirit, one of the beings that supposedly created magic and this world?”

“Exactly! And come on, you’re at the shrine of a spirit! If a spirit shows up, it’s not that weird, is it?”

“But that’s because humans created the concept of spirits and built this shrine to honor them…”

“No, no. The shrine exists because spirits exist. We’re real. And by the way, I’m not the only one.”

“…! T-that’s absurd! There’s no way…!”

I shouted in denial, refusing to acknowledge the snake—this spirit—that was slowly inching closer to get me to accept its existence.

In response, the snake’s cheeky grin faded into a neutral expression.

“‘No way,’ huh?”

“—…”

I immediately realized what I had just said.

And I understood that I had just contradicted my own beliefs.

“Why not?”

“…Ah, no, sorry… That was… a slip of the tongue…”

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m not upset. I just want to know why you think that.”

“No, it’s not like that. What I said was… I didn’t want my hypothesis to be challenged… If I acknowledge the existence of spirits, it would invalidate my scientific approach…”

“Scientific? What’s scientific?”

“That… is a bit hard to explain…”

The spirit snake’s questions didn’t stop.

I was starting to lose my grip on my thoughts, and my head was beginning to throb.

In any case, I was embarrassed by how thoughtless my earlier statement had been.

Clinging stubbornly to my own assumptions and dismissing inconvenient information is something no true scientist would ever do. A hypothesis is just that—a hypothesis. Until it’s properly proven, it’s always subject to revision, something I should’ve remembered.

“My current line of thinking is that magic isn’t some mystical power bestowed by spirits but something that follows logical, explainable rules. That’s why your existence is… inconvenient for me… Wait, why am I even saying this in a shrine dedicated to a spirit? Am I going to get cursed for this…?”

“Haha, if that’s something you’re worried about, it’s way too late now. But don’t worry! I didn’t appear to refute your ideas. In fact, I might even say the opposite is true.”

“The opposite?”

“I support your way of thinking. Well, I can’t deny that I’m a spirit, but as for the rest—magic isn’t just some mystical force.”

“W-wait, what? I don’t understand.”

“I’m saying you’re on the right track. I don’t know what this scientific thing is, but honestly, if I were to call anyone unfaithful, I’d accuse the rest of the world. Even after centuries, all they see is the surface of magic. It’s so frustrating.”

“…Huh.”

I was so shocked by the spirit’s unexpected words that I stood there with my mouth agape. The being whose existence I had considered my enemy was telling me that my theories were actually correct.

What kind of contradiction was this?

“I don’t think it’s a contradiction at all. Just a hunch, but I think there’s a way for this scientific thing and me to coexist.”

I frowned, unable to immediately grasp what the spirit meant by “coexist.” The snake, however, seemed to enjoy itself as it began spinning in circles around me.

“Hey, hey! Don’t you have any questions? I’m in a really good mood right now. As long as time permits, I’ll answer whatever you ask. Oh, and if you want, I can even give you that crystal to take home! You could decorate your room with it, and then we’d both be happy—I’d have someone to talk to, and you’d get a sweet new interior piece!”

“No, no. There’s no way I can just steal the shrine’s crystal… The last thing I need is to become infamous as the count’s son who stole a sacred relic.”

“Hm? Hm? Count’s son? Wait, are you from the Narazario family?”

“Yeah, you even know the local count’s family, huh? I’m the eldest son, Ronnie.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of you! You’re that famous dropout and ne’er-do-well, Ronnie! Wow, so you’re him! Don’t you have a super-talented little brother?”

“Can you stop rubbing salt in my wounds so cheerfully…? But yeah, that’s me.”

“Really? I heard you were so hopeless at studying and were beyond saving. Is that really about you?”

“…Yeah, it was.”

To be accurate, that was the Ronnie from two weeks ago.

“So I guess the rumors aren’t always reliable, huh? Oh well.”

“Questions, huh?”

“Yesss, everything is welcomeee!”

“Even though you say that, it’s not like I was prepared to ask anything, so I’m not sure where to start…”

I scratched my head, thinking about what I should ask.

Whether this floating being was truly a spirit or not, I decided to set that question aside for now.

Maybe it was an unidentified creature. Maybe it was some unknown form of magic. Perhaps it was a highly sophisticated trick devised by someone. Or maybe it was a higher-dimensional being beyond the reach of science… Even science itself isn’t absolute.

Science is a method, not the ultimate truth.

What mattered was that this snake existed, could communicate, and claimed to be a spirit. It would be foolish to let an opportunity like this slip by due to stubbornly clinging to preconceived notions.

Still, the theories I’d been developing over the past two weeks were based on knowledge from my previous life. Concepts like gravity wouldn’t even make sense to someone from this world. That severely limited the types of questions I could ask.

What isn’t written in this world’s books?

What can’t Johann answer for me?

What lies outside the realm of scientific theory?

Is there something only a spirit would know?

—

“Oh.”

“Oh? Did you think of something?”

“I did. I know exactly what to ask…”

“What is it? My measurements, perhaps? From top to bottom, I’m 6, 6, and 5!”

“Why would I care about the measurements of a snake-like creature?”

“Then what is it? Make sure it’s something I can actually answer, okay?”

“If you really are a spirit, a being who created magic and is higher in rank than humans, then you should know the answer to this.”

“If you can answer this question, I’ll officially recognize you as a spirit.”

“Oh, I haven’t been officially recognized yet…”

The small blue snake floated quietly in front of me.

Its translucent, shimmering scales gleamed in the sunlight, and the two small white protrusions on its head wobbled slightly with its movements.

This wasn’t a question from the scientist Yoichi Yamada.

It was a question from the 16-year-old boy Ronnie F. Narazario, born and raised in this world.

—

“Why… can’t I use magic?”