“I’ll be leaving for school, mother.”

“See you later, Sia-chan,” said my mother as I closed the door to my house.

The weather is so nice today~ The temperature is just right, the sun is out, and there’s a little breeze. What could go wrong on a day like this?

Oh? Curly blonde hair… is that Este that I see?

“Hello, Este!” I said as I tapped her shoulder.

“H-hello, Sia.”

She's walking while looking at the ground, as usual. How can you notice anything if you don’t keep your head up~

“It’s gonna be a great day today, I can feel it. That’s what the weather is telling us!” I said.

“I-is that so.”

“Yup!”

I’m smiling too much, I must look stupid. Ah~ I can’t help it though. How about we look at the clouds? That one looks like a marshmallow, that one looks like a toilet, and that cloud looks like it’s crying! I’ll call that cloud Shinji. Hm? I’m not sure where the name came from, it just popped into my head.

While I was thinking of names for each cloud, Este asked me something.

“...Sia, how are you so strong?”

That was a random question.

“Me? Strong? I’m just a five-year old girl.” An airplane flew threw the sky and pierced through Shinji-cloud. For some reason, that made me happier.

“That’s not what I mean," said Este.

I thought so. I'm not really strong... it's just that I'm older than you in spirit. It's not like I can say that though.

“Well, I don’t really think I’m strong. Why do you ask?”

She hesitated before giving me her response.

“...I want to be strong. You can speak up for yourself, you’re smart, and you’re beautiful too. I want to be like you, Sia.”

I feel my face becoming hotter. O-of course I’m not blushing, stupid!

“I don’t think I’d like having another me around. I think you’re fine the way you are," I said.

“Thank you, Sia.”

“I-I didn’t say it for you!”

I probably have a fever. That must be it. When I get home I'll ask mother to give me some medicine.

Hm?!

I feel a cold gaze piercing through my back.

It can't be... a stalker?! Last time it was just Este, but she’s right beside me. I knew I was too cute to live a peaceful life… They’ll sell me off to slave traders for money, and I’ll be a rich person’s slave, and I’ll have to wear a maid outfit everyday...

I turned around to see if anybody was there, but... there was nobody in sight.

"Is there something wrong, Sia?" asked Este.

"No. I thought that someone was staring at me, but there's no one there."

To be imagining that someone was staring at me...I wonder if I really do have a fever?

"I'm gonna be the pirate king!" Miu proudly declared as she wore a pirate hat, a hook, and pointed her hand towards the sky. She looked majestic as her cape fluttered. The determined look in her eyes showed her fervor towards her dream.... not. She just looks dumb.

It was recess, and the Strawberry Class was roleplaying as pirates. I think I'm supposed to be the navigator.

“Navigator, which way do we sail?” asked Miu.

The kids are really serious about this. Just a second ago, we won a battle against the boys in our class who claimed to be our enemies. A-kun was the captain and when he died by Miu’s hands, he said this really cheesy dying speech. It was something like, “Tell Amy that I loved her…” Very animesque.

“To the west, Captain. Niihau island is located on the—” For a split second I could feel someone staring at me, just like this morning.

“Navigator, what’s wrong? Doctor, take a look and see if there’s anything wrong with her.”

“Yes, Captain!” said the doctor, Honoka.

“I-I’m fine, Captain. As I was saying, the island is located to the west!”

“Understood. Did you hear that, Helmsman? To the west! In the meantime, take a break, Navigator,” said Miu.

“Yes, Captain.” I can't be strange enough to hallucinate like this twice... I think I should talk to Este about this just to be sure.

I called Este, who was playing as a normal cabin boy, into the corner.

"What's wrong, Sia?" asked Este.

"Have you felt anything strange today? Like someone staring at you, or..." I talked in a low voice so that only she would be able to hear me.

"No, I haven't felt anything like that. Is it like what happened this morning?"

I thought she may have the same problem as me, but I guess not, huh...

"Yeah. I couldn't feel it during class, but I could before school and just right now too,” I said.

"If you feel that you're in danger, then you should talk about it with Teacher."

"Yeah, thank you Este."

A cold chill ran down my spine as I felt another gaze staring at me. Not again... but different from the others, this one didn't feel as cold.

I called out to the person hiding around the corner.

"Who is it? Come out," was what I said, but the person who came out was the vice principal. I think her name was Rena Misonoo.

“I didn’t think you’d notice me. You’re quite perceptive,” said Misonoo-sensei.

“Would you please stop stalking me? It’s troublesome. Not only during recess, but on the way to school too...” I said.

“On the way to school…? I don’t quite understand what you mean by that, but it looks like I’ll have to leave. I'm a busy person as the vice-principal of this school,” said Misonoo-sensei as she checked her watch.

I waited for Misonoo-sensei to leave before speaking with Este.

“Isn’t that great? Since it was only the vice-principal, you don’t have to worry about it,” said Este.

If only it were that easy...

“Sia-chan, it’s time for your daily dose of medication!” said Daichi, who peeked into our classroom.

I dropped what I was doing and followed Daichi towards the principal’s office. Hm? Why aren’t we heading towards the nurse’s office? That’s because I’m a perfectly healthy child. The “medication” is only a lie so that I would be able to skip class to play with Fuyukawa-sensei. Seriously… Our principal has no shame.

I opened the door to the principal’s office and see a checkerboard that has already been set up. Fuyukawa-sensei was on the red side, and Daichi sat in the spectator’s seat. Daichi doesn’t always come because second graders have more work to do than kindergarteners, but I guess he was bored today.

“Sia, hurry up! I’ve been waiting for five minutes, y’know! Five minutes!” said Fuyukawa-sensei.

...You’re just like a child. And when did you drop the “-chan” from my name?

“Sia-chan, today’s game is checkers! Isn’t that fun?” said Daichi.

You say that everything is fun. How can anyone trust your judgement?

“Daichi, do you even know how to play checkers?” I asked.

“Eh? Isn’t it just like Connect 4?”

So it’s true that stupidity is passed down through the family.

“Then let’s get started,” I said as I sat down on the side opposite to Fuyukawa-sensei.

Fuyukawa-sensei nodded and started the game.

Since the thing that happened with the vice-principal gave me a lot of stress, I decided to tell him about it. Why should a child have to worry about someone watching over them, or anything really?

“Fuyukawa-sensei, could you please tell Misonoo-sensei to stop stalking me?” I asked.

When I glanced at Daichi, he was brewing some tea.

“Huh? Rena? Stalking you? That’s really funny,” said Fuyukawa-sensei.

It’s really funny, huh? Even though I’m stressing so much over this.

“I’m not joking. It wasn’t only during school, but on the way to school too,” I said.

“Sia-chan, you’re narcissism is coming out again! You’re just being self-conscious,” said Daichi.

Does some kind of mute magic exist in this world? Can somebody please teach it to me? Wait… did you just use the word “narcissism”? I’m surprised you know what that means.

“...On the way to school, huh? Why do you think it was Rena?” asked Fuyukawa-sensei.

“She came out during recess when I was talking with Este. Because of her, I’ve been having a headache the whole day,” I said. I took the cup of tea that Daichi served me. Perfect timing. Tea is a good stress reliever.

“Hmm~. To be able to tell if someone is watching you, you must have good talent for detection magic. Well, don’t worry about it. Rena probably doesn’t mean any harm, but I’ll talk to her about it later today.”

“Thank you.” I took a sip of the tea. It was sweet, probably because I’m still a child. Even though Daichi is stupid, he’s a generous kid.

When I looked at the checkerboard it seemed like the number of red pieces had multiplied. I could’ve swore that there were only two red pieces left…

“Fuyukawa-sensei, isn’t there something wrong with this checker board? I thought I had the advantage…”

“Hm? What are you talking about? You’re going crazy.”

I’m going crazy, huh… First the stalking, and now this. I’ll consult mother later.

“...You must be right. That means it’s my loss. I don’t see how I could beat you the way my pieces are set up right now.”

It’s my first loss against him. I guess that just means he’s getting better at games.

“...Dad, that was cheap.”

I think I heard Daichi say something. Hm? Why is Fuyukawa-sensei sweating? Am I missing something?

In the end I pushed that feeling aside and continued playing. After Fuyukawa-sensei’s first win, he never beat me again after that. Yup, this is how it’s supposed to be.

I went back to class after beating Fuyukawa-sensei ten times.

“Rena, you’ve been keeping watch over Estelia Cana, right?” asked Kazu Fuyukawa.

“Yes.”

“Have you noticed anything strange recently?”

Rena Misonoo was confused by the sudden question. She stopped filling out her paperwork and looked at Kazu.

“Anything strange? What do you mean by that?” asked Rena.

Kazu knew that returning the question meant she hadn’t noticed anything strange, so he tried approaching from a different direction.

“Have you been watching her outside of school?” asked Kazu.

“No, sir. I have only been watching her during school hours. I thought it would be in your best wishes to give her that much privacy. If you wish, I will keep watch of her before and after school hours.”

“And what about her friend, Sia?”

“Sia… you must mean that girl that you always lose to, correct? I do see her and Cana-san together pretty often. Is there something I should know about her?” Rena couldn’t see where this conversation was heading. Why was he asking about Sia?

“...No, nothing.The thought that I want to give Estelia Cana some privacy isn’t wrong. Keep watch of her after school just for today. I have a feeling that something will happen if you do.”

“Something will happen? To Cana-san?” Rena's body stiffened.

“No, to Sia.”

She breathed a sigh of relief and continued to fill out her paperwork. She was concerned since the topic included Estelia Cana, but when she heard the victim would most likely be Sia she lightened up.

“Understood.”

“Tch. That teacher is in the way.” The boy clicked his teeth in frustration. They didn’t want to capture the target during school hours because there were too many people. The best situation would be if the target was alone, but she was always accompanied by someone. Also, that one woman was watching her.

“True… It’ll be difficult to capture our target with her around. I’ll distract her, so use that time to kidnap her. Got it, Keith?” said the woman.

“Yeah, I got it.” Keith was looking at the target from a tree. She was leaving her classroom with a girl that had curly blonde hair.

“Do you really? I won’t be able to keep her busy for long, so you have to capture her quickly. No wasting time.” The woman had to make sure the boy would do his job correctly. He was known for causing trouble due to his hotheadedness.

“I said I got it already!” The boy was glaring at the woman. He wanted to reassure her, but unknowingly got mad instead.

“...Alright. Don’t disappoint me.” The woman changed her outer appearance into that of an old man’s before teleporting off into the distance.