Why magic?
You could call it superpowers instead. The reasoning and process didn’t matter. It could be a mutation, some kind of genetic damage from an external factor, or whatever. There were infinite possibilities, and the important thing was the results.
The first thing was to find a “me” who suspected she could use magic. As soon as I found her, all the “mes” were like that. Next I looked for a “me” who could actually do something. As soon as I found her, all the “mes” were like that.
Logic? Understanding? That didn’t matter.
Who needed that when the results led to the process? Whether it was the Copenhagen interpretation or the Many-worlds interpretation, the results were the same in the end. Whatever was convenient and useful would be adopted. (In physics, the Copenhagen interpretation was dominant just because it was more convenient than the many-worlds interpretation.) So I had to think flexibly. I had to just look for the results with innocence.
The next thing was to find a version with a useful power. Through repeated tries, I’d gain practice with its implementation. I had to find it first, but I had so many worlds and so much time, who cared? It would be fine. I would definitely get there eventually.
I got caught emitting fire and taken to the hospital.
I teleported into a wall and died.
I got spotted flying and taken into custody by the Self-Defense Force or something like that.
I needed a costume so that no one would catch me and so that I’d be fine even if someone did. I utilized my experience of all the worlds, exploited every possibility until…
“Here I am: Magical Girl Magical Multiple Mana-chan!”
Carrying with her a fervent hope to meet and make friends with Yukari as soon as possible, Magical Multiple Mana-chan sprang into action.
To tell the truth, in some worlds, I couldn’t hold back and went straight to Yukari. (What’s with that judgmental look? Let me repeat, I was five. I couldn’t help but be true to my desires.) But the result of that was that no matter what I did, it would just cause trouble for Yukari and Nanami. They’d get taken hostage or caught in the crossfire or whatever. So, unhappily, I gave up on meeting them at this time. I decided to meet them once everything was finished. If I could just get everything over and done with, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything. We could be friends without holding back.
I had to wrap things up—and fast.
“I have no mercy for evildoers!”
Jaunt was a powerful organization, but even a lion or an elephant was powerless as a child. It was just like taking candy from a baby.
I went around defeating the people who would later be Jaunt’s founders, the ones with the initials of JAUNT. I also carefully took care of Jaunt’s future executives. None of them seemed to understand why this was happening to them, and that annoyed me a bit, but what could I do?
I also punished Alice’s mother while I was at it—thoroughly. I’d had a lot of things I wanted to say to her.
Alice, of course, went into an institution. A proper one that looked good; a trustworthy institution, not like Jaunt. I probably wouldn’t meet Alice in the future this way, but what choice did I have? Oh, right, I could still go see her. It was strange to me how little Alice glared at me as if I were her enemy, but I was satisfied anyway. Now, there would be no Jaunt.
I returned to Japan and retired from being Magical Multiple Mana-chan.
I met Yukari, became friends with her (that’s right, in this world, I was childhood friends with Yukari just like Nanami!), went to the same elementary school, got into the same junior high school, and even though I’d already met her, we had the same run-in and kiss in the hall.
The events that resulted in my left hand becoming a cell phone still occurred. (I didn’t particularly work to avoid it, so it came as no surprise. By the way, Nanami also still got hurt and had to be fixed with jungle gym parts, but I intervened so that it didn’t spoil her relationship with Yukari.)
And I became a third-year in junior high school.
And Jaunt never showed up.
✦ ✦ ✦
Even so, Yukari was abducted by some organization other than Jaunt with a completely different location and membership.
Back to the drawing board.
I kept living like that for a while, researched what I had to about this new organization, and returned to the past. This time, I crushed that organization as well as Jaunt.
✦ ✦ ✦
Yet another organization appeared and abducted Yukari.
Back to the drawing board.
✦ ✦ ✦
I don’t believe in fate.
✦ ✦ ✦
I didn’t die.
I couldn’t die. That was how I went. Even if I died, “I” took over right away. And no matter what, “I” never lost sight of my mission.
So what? There were still more things I could do. There were infinite worlds, infinite possibilities. There was an endless supply of things I could do.
More. More. More. More.
However much it took.
Trial and error.
“Hey, I just thought of something. You know what ‘I’ said earlier…”
Trial and error.
“Oh, about fate or something? Yeah, ‘I’ was saying that ‘I’ came into existence after Yukari died, so there would be a time paradox if ‘I’ were to save Yukari, so the ending would always be the same.”
Trial and error.
“Come to think of it, that kind of makes sense. I see. Maybe it’s worth giving some thought.”
Trial and error.
“Yes, that’s true. It’s not as if we have anything else to do, so maybe it’s worth trying. But how in the world would we do it?”
Trial and error.
Trial and error.
“Beats me. I mean, if we decide we’re gonna do it, we just have to charge ahead like light does, right?”
Trial and error.
Trial and error.
Trial and error.
“Yes, exactly.”
Together we said, “If ‘I’ can’t do it, I just have to not be ‘me.’”