A few months have passed since our outing and now, the end of my first year of kindergarten was approaching.

I spent most of my days playing with Aiko, dining out with Theo, and reviewing elementary school knowledge.

Due to that, I’m basically free for the next 7 years, it feels weird to think about.

Dad didn’t forget about his promise as well, a couple of months into the year, he transformed a room in our house into a library containing hundreds of books.

He pointed out some bookcases in the room that he thinks would be suitable for me to read.

Not losing any time, I went through every single one of them and pinpointed the subjects that would be beneficial to learn.

Zoology unsurprisingly took first place, As the only scientific topic with direct applications in the other world, it is by far the most important.

Of all things, second place surprisingly went to herbology, which turned out to be a lot more complicated than zoology for me.

Knowing about plant characteristics could help me make medicines or poisons, it also allows for differentiating between edible and non-edible plants which is crucial in finding a stable food source.

It’s a branch with incredible utility in wilderness survival as well, aiding in both survival and combat aspects.

However, plants have numerous species according to different factors like environmental surroundings, temperature, light exposure, etc…

Some species look exactly the same, yet one could be a great medical tonic while the other contains deadly poison.

Wilderness survival got third place, followed by languages for obvious reasons.

Starting a fire before getting access to magic, things to watch out for in the wild, equipment to increase odds of survival, and many more are under wilderness survival.

Mastering different languages including electronic ones can hasten cracking new languages should communication issues arise.

Becoming some monster race that doesn’t use language as means of communication is a possibility after all.

I mean, I am pretty much fine with being any race except for an elf.

Being found by that teacher from the get-go would mean losing all freedom and having to waste at least five years analyzing teleportation magic to escape instead of leveling up and just analyzing it in months.

Getting spatial magic with skill points would even shorten that to a few days.                                                         

The elves are really obnoxious with their pride as well… They also seem to be the enemy of the world for some reason.

Learning all about these topics will be my long-term goal after getting {Spatial Awareness}.

Other knowledge can only be found in the other world.

Ah! Can’t forget about cooking … Otherworld food might be unpalatable.

“All right, princess, let’s go”

Theo calls out to me, and we head out.

As for where we’re going? To a restaurant of course! Today’s my fifth birthday and we’ve reserved a private room in a high-end place to celebrate.

I’ve already invited Aiko and Mom spoke to her parents about it over the phone.

We hop in the car, then Theo picks calls dad to check on the preparations.

“Hey, Leo?... We’re ready over here, should we start moving?... You know princess wouldn’t be able to hold herself back from tasting the cake if we arrive early Hahaha.”

My dad replies with something, and Theo ends the call and starts the engine.

Over the course of this year, Theo has become more of a big brother to me rather than an uncle, just like he wanted.

He’s been taking me out to different places every week.

My parents have acquiesced to this as it’s better for my growth.

We arrived at our destination 30 minutes later.

Mom was standing at the entrance, I got out and ran to her while Theo was parking the car.

“You’re here, baby. Second floor, Room 5. Hurry up, your friend’s waiting for you.”

I give her a quick peck on the cheek and excitedly run upstairs.

Entering the room, My attention is attracted by a huge three-layer cake placed on a center table.

Suddenly feeling someone approaching, I turn around and catch Aiko’s rushing body moving a few steps back in the process.

“Boo, you always care about food more than me, Tomoko.”

She puffs her cheeks while looking at me resentfully, am I raising a cat or something…?

“Sorry sorry. Nothing’s more important than Aiko-chan for me.”

I say while avoiding her eyesight out of guilty conscience. Sorry Aiko-chan, I love food more than anything…

“You’re lying again, you always look away when you’re lying.”

She looks down and tugs on her shirt with wet eyes, I start panicking and try appeasing her.

“Please don’t cry, I’ll give you some of my cake, okay? Just for Aiko-chan.”

She looks up at me and she’s smiling?! Damn—I was tricked!

What the heck’s up with kids nowadays, are they all so smart?!

 

A few minutes later, everyone was seated while Aiko’s holding my hands and singing happy birthday in her sweet voice, everyone else unconsciously stopped singing and was charmed by her voice.

“Happy birthday to Tomoko, Happy birthday to you--”

Finally realizing that she was the center of attention, she looks around the room doubtfully.

“Is there something stuck on my face?”

Theo is the first to snap back to reality and replies.

“Nope, It’s just that your voice’s too good, lass.”

Huh, is this the first time they realize it? I told them about it before though.

“Do you like singing, Aiko?”

Aiko’s mother suddenly asks to Aiko’s surprise.

“Umm, noo…”

Your eyes are dodging around, that’s clearly a lie, Aiko-chan …

“Don’t lie, Aiko, I won’t do anything to you.”

Aiko looks down and stays silent for a while, then starts crying?!

Tightening my hand around hers, I try to appease her unsuccessfully.

“Waah Waah…”

“Aiko-chan, don’t cry! Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll solve it for you.”

She isn’t listening.

I imploringly look at mom, but she just shakes her head and turns her sight to Aiko’s mother, Iijima-san.

A family problem should stay in a family, huh…. But Aiko-chan looks so sad though…

Looking at Iijima-san, she seems stunned by the sudden development, she stands up and hugs Aiko while trying to figure out the reason.

“What’s wrong, Aiko dear? Can tell Mommy what’s upsetting you, please?”

That seems to get a response out of Aiko as she starts sniffing and muttering in a low voice.

“Please don’t hate me, I like singing, but mama and papa hate people who sing.”

Aiko’s mother goes quiet, trying to understand why Aiko would think of this.

Ahhh, I think I get it; parents may talk ill of someone due to old-fashioned thoughts or just due to that person having a bad habit, that person may just be coincidentally a singer, writer, or else…

Although it is a normal thing for adults to gossip, when children listen, it seems that whatever’s being spoken about is a huge taboo.

Judging by Iijima-san’s reaction, I’m guessing it’s the latter this time.

Seeing Aiko’s mother still puzzled, I offer a timely interjection by asking mom about it.

“Uhmm, Mommy, are all singers bad people...?”

Iijima-san hears my question and realizes the problem.

“Aiko, do you think mommy would not like you anymore because you heard us criticizing teenagers who leave behind everything and become idols?”

Aiko sniffs and hums in agreement.

“Err… Aiko dear, we would never hate you for such a thing. You misunderstood our conversation, we don’t hate singers Aiko, we meant to criticize them for leaving everything else behind for it.”

“Really…?”

Aiko looks up at her mother and asks doubtfully.

“Yes, as long as you’re not lagging in your studies, you can sing as much as you want, Aiko.”

Iijima-san smiles softly while tightening her hug around Aiko.

Aiko’s crying halts, then her face bursts into a joyful smile while wiping her tears.

I believe Aiko’s parents will be more careful in their future conversations, at least until Aiko is old enough to truly distinguish the truth of their words.

“Let’s eat then…?”

My question results in a roar of laughter filling the room.

While trying to figure out why, mom touches my head with a soft smile.

“As long as the problem’s solved, you leave everything behind in favor of food, huh?”

Uhm, that’s fine, right? The problem’s solved so we should bring our focus back on the important things, right…?

Seeing my confusion, the laughter intensifies.

Afterwards, dad sliced the cake while mom handed him the plates.

We enjoyed the cake, then the adults got together and started chatting.

 Aiko started singing while I listened with rapt attention.

 

A few hours later, mom and dad left for home first while Aiko and Iijima-san had left earlier.

As for me, I was standing under a lamp post waiting for Theo to buy me some snacks from a convenience store.

Suddenly, Manager-san’s voice pops up in my head, startling me.

{Analysis succeeded: “Spatial Awareness” ability obtained}

{Analyzing “Telepathy”. Estimated time till completion: 3 Years}

Woaah! This is amazing, it feels as if there’s a sphere around me where everything can be seen, even underground!

The vision mode can even be changed to god’s perspective, and it follows my movement!

I abruptly stop in place seeing three people entering my sphere of vision.

Mh-hmm, those people’s faces scream bad news, I immediately try to find a hiding spot, but I seem to have wandered into a deserted alley while testing my new ability.

To make things worse, the alley is a dead end with no hiding place in sight.

I can confirm that due to {Spatial awareness} having a sphere radius of nearly 500 meters.

Shrinking myself in a dark corner, I hope they overlook me as some sort of bag.

Nevertheless, my hopes are dashed when I hear the voice of the man who seems to be the boss of their group.

“We can see you, missy, we were following you, after all.”

I yelp and attempt to scream, but they were faster than me and my mouth is covered with a cloth.

My struggles also come to a stop when I see a knife pointed at me.

Tears pour out of my eyes and despair starts to fill my heart.

“You should fetch a good ransom, missy. Or a price, depending on what your guardians think hehe”

I froze and my blood ran cold, I had hoped they would only be after the jewelry mom had put on me for the celebration, but it seems my luck is not that good.

My powerlessness overwhelmed me; A child’s body is simply not strong enough to contend with an adult’s much less my body which is weaker than the average.

When all hope seemed lost, I hear Theo’s voice nearing my location and immediately spot him in my sphere of vision.

Even though I could barely move a muscle out of fright, I decided to wait for him to get close enough and try to escape.

Right when he’s about to cross in front of the alley, and when the kidnappers were distracted, I suddenly kick the one holding me in the nuts, then fall down and run towards Theo’s location while calling out to him.

“Help! They have a knife!”

Informing him of the presence of multiple people with one or more weapons, I hear footsteps getting closer behind me and see them getting closer in my sphere.

Suddenly, Theo bypasses me and knocks all of them out with one hit somehow, I may be hallucinating, but I think I heard the sound of an electric spark.

I turn back and give Theo a last look, then promptly lose strength in my legs and fall down, passing out in the process.