Chapter 4

My Stalker is a Magical Girl!?

Part 1

It was a perfectly normal morning in her everyday life.

Fräulein Floret finally awoke from her deep slumber. She took back all the sleep she lost thanks to Alice's attack the night before. Her own body was a weapon she had to maintain, so she couldn't afford to be careless.

So why?

It was the same barren dormitory room from last night. The same two beds, the same two wardrobes. Nothing has changed. So why were the warning bells inside her head being thrown into chaos?

Nothing has changed. The bed beside her own was too neat and tidy — as if no one has ever used it in the first place.

"Ah, I'm late."

That was right, she almost forgot. It was her first day at the Magical Academy. She and her sisters were supposed to officially begin learning magic today. That explained it, the uncanny tidiness of her little sister's bed. That must be it. She learned yesterday that Alice was surprisingly a neat freak — she polished her knives with fervent diligence, missing not a single stain. Just remembering that surreal scene lifted the corners of her mouth.

"Right. Hurry, gotta hurry."

She messed up. Being late was bad impression and would surely minus her brownie points with her other classmates like this. Looking at the spotless blue sky outside her window, she learned it was a little past noon.

She made like lightning and slipped into a new suit that gave her the usual mafia look. There was no time to comb her hair — its fluffiness made it an eternal bed hair, anyways.

"Okay, everything's set. Nothing forgotten...? Crap, I forgot to borrow a grimoire from Fraulein! Idiot me! I—I'll just share with Alice. But if it's her, she wouldn't bother bringing anything but her knives... Ah, my brownie points, don't go any lower!"

There was no time to loiter around. Making sure she had everything set within her suit, she headed for the door and into a new chapter of her life...

... That is, if her hand didn't falter before it could even touch the doorknob.

"W—what's this? Me? Hesitating?"

Indeed. Her hands were shaking, and she could feel beads of sweat forming on her eyebrows. The warning bells in her head still wouldn't settle down. She tried taking a step forward, but her body immediately took over and made two steps back.

"Geh. I'm just learning magic here, no need to be a wimp. I already know ice cube magic, it's too late to regret! Now... move!"

But no matter what she did, her body refused to listen. She tried crawling on the ground, but her feet dragged her back to the bed. She tried using her knife by stabbing it on the floor and slowly creeping up to the door like a horizontal mountain climber, but her free hand would not let go of the bedpost.

"Ha... ha... oh, you want to do this the hard way, Fräulein Floret? Let's do this the hard way then. Literally!"

She took a deep breath, and connected to her inner mind. Far beyond the murky darkness was a soft glowing light she likened to the moon. It was the world inside her. She reached, reached, reached for that glow, pushing away the darkness in her path. As soon as her fingertip stirred the figure of that cold light, her mind opened to endless possibilities.

This was a forbidden spell that lay waste on all it lands upon.

A spell that broke the already broken common sense of the world.

"Heed my prayers, spirits of the north! Heed to the cold darkness that resides in my soul. I call upon thee who brings chaos! Thee who brings despair! Thee who brings the madness inside our minds! Thee who... makes people sad! Heed and obey my words! SPELLCAST: ICE CUBE — TIMES THREE HUNDRED!"

A short silence. Then it came — an overwhelming shower of ice cubes rained on the pathetic girl. It was a gruesome scene, similar to a lone soldier bathing in the bullets of his country's enemies. Similar, because Fräulein was literally bathing in ice cubes. Her once unkempt suit was doused in the cold sweat of those hardened cubic water, her hair glistening with morning dew-like beads.

"... What am I even doing?"

Sense finally returned to Fräulein's mind, thanks to that cold hard splash in her face. She also noticed that the warning bells in her head has calmed down to a manageable level. Rather than tension, she was now shaking from the cold.

"Ha, I'll just go like this then."

Her brownie points with her classmates were already in the negatives, so there was no point in trying to give a good impression anymore. Ignoring the feeling of her suit that stuck on her skin, she headed for the door and into a new chapter of her life.

— or that was how it was supposed to go.

As soon as she took the first step outside her room, the world changed — literally.

The dormitory disappeared, and was replaced by an endless gray desert that stretched as far as the eye could see.

What once was the spotless blue sky was now a starless night, dyed in deep darkness.

A place where no wind blew, or flowers bloomed — a nostalgic place.

"... Not again."

She was once more on the moon.

Part 2

The moon. Yes, the moon, where the dead people go, or so Fräulein thought. She stood there like a statue, dazed at the sudden development. After a few blinks and a pinch on her cheek, she finally accepted that unbelievable fact.

"I died... from ice cubes?"

It was the only explanation she could think of. Somehow, her spell made so many ice cubes that she died from the cold without noticing it...? That sounded wrong. But it was the only reasonable one she could find right now.

She looked back and found the door she came from disappeared, replaced by an endless field of gray rock. She tried kicking the ground to hurl some dust into the air, and watched it as it settled down. Gravity was the same as earth. Her clothes were also magically dried, and was at its pristine state just minutes ago. The air wasn't too hot, nor was it too cold. The air... yes, she was breathing air on the moon.

When she looked above the endless dark sky, what greeted her was not the familiar blue crystal she has seen two years ago, but a dull orb covered in clouds. She could also see pieces of land floating around that white blanket.

She was on the alternate earth's moon.

"Hey, moon voice, did I die again? Did I really die from my own spell? But it makes sense! That's why I was so scared of magic. It was foreshadowing! Right? Right?"

Nothing but dead silence answered her.

"Hey... moon voice? Hello? This is the part where you answer."

This was a place were no wind blew, nor flowers bloomed. And in that place, she was alone.

"Hello? Anyone?"

Not even a small echo. In that endless tundra, she was alone.

"... Anyone?"

At that moment, something broke inside of her. Her breathing became rough, and tears formed in her eyes. Her posture wavered. She was tightly grasping her wrist, desperately holding the urge to grab the knife and slash her neck.

It was such a sudden change you wouldn't expect from the cheerful Fräulein just moments ago.

She couldn't die yet. Maybe, just maybe, there was someone else in this empty world, someone lost like her.

She had to convince herself that she wasn't alone.

"Someone... please be here..."

She began her first step in this never-ending colorless world.

Part 3

It has been an hour — or perhaps even a year — ever since. Time was a concept long gone in this unchanging gray Sahara.

Every step felt heavier than the last. There were faint traces of tears at the edge of her eyes. Her complexion was paler than normal, and her suit was tattered to bits. Her breath was short. Her eyes were bloodshot, her pinpoint irises darted all over the place. She was shivering, hugging herself from the nonexistent cold.

A step and another, Fräulein Floret did not why she was walking, where she was walking, or anything at all. A step and another, she was desperately searching for someone — anyone — who could fill the emptiness of this gray world. A step and another, she could not help but laugh at the thought of her pathetic state, and how moments ago was happily imagining her life along with her family, her treasured everyday life.

A step and another, a step and another, a step and another, yet nothing changed. It was the same gray desert, the same starless night sky.

No sound could be heard from this tundra, not even a peep, but such was not true for Fräulein Floret. In her mind, two words echoed themselves over and over again, not giving her even a moment of comfort.

'I'm Alone. I'm Alone. I'm Alone. I'm Alone. I'm Alone. I'm Alone. I'm Alone. I'm Alone. I'm Alone...'

No matter how much Fräulein closed her ears, it would not go away and give her the rest she desperately needed. She was alone, in a world devoid of love. A simple, yet terrifying fact.

A world devoid of love.

As soon as she entertained those thoughts, her frail figure finally crumbled.

Her tears were long gone, so the thick wetness she felt welling up at the edges of her eyes must've been blood. She clutched her frayed hair and pulled out a bundle of strands.

With the last of her strength, she tightly grasped the handle of the knife, pointing its blade to her neck. A soft stream of crimson flowed, but it was nothing compared to the many rivers her eyes cried out.

Out of all her love-filled memories that flashed in her mind, one particularly stood out. A memory from her childhood days.

A gaudy bedroom littered with gold. A king-sized canopy bed fit for royalty. Sleeping on it were two figures.

A man and a woman. A king and a queen. A father and a mother.

Blonde hair, a peaceful smile.

That fated night on Christmas Eve, where she was judged and sentenced to a life of loneliness.

Her judge was the suited man beside the bed, his hammer of justice — the ebony gun he gripped in his hand.

That fateful night where she learned that all were equal in the eyes of death — no matter how weak, no matter how strong.

That fateful day when the hammer struck.

There was no rising action, nor was there any premonition of this event. She was happily heading to school the other, and killing herself the next.

But Fräulein knew, that fate was outside those concepts. Fate was cruel. Fate was unjust. It trashed the world without reason or rhyme. She was not in a perfect fairy tale story where everything happened for a reason. This was the lesson — the sentenced she earned that fateful night seven years ago.

Fräulein Floret was not a hero who could fight cruel fate.

As hesitation left her shaking hands —

she dug the knife deep within her neck.

"Uwaa~ Do humans really kill themselves when they're alone? Aren't you weird? Are you human, or a rabbit? Hey, hey, which is it?"

"..."

"But Ms. Rabbit, you can't die in this place~ He he, welcome, to a place where even death has died!"

"..."

As the voice said, even if she felt the sensation of the cold blade slipping through her neck, she hasn't lost her a bit of her consciousness yet. Things were happening too fast. There were too many questions. But that didn't register in Fräulein's mind at all. The three words that reverberated in her mind — the clanging bells of hope — made her forget all the pain she felt.

'I'm not alone, I'm not alone, I'm not alone, I'm not alone, I'm not alone, I'm not alone, I'm not alone...'

Colors flooded once more in her monotone world. Finally, it was again a world filled with love.

"T—thanks..."

"Thanks for what?"

"... I don't know. Just wanted to say it."

Fräulein drew the bloody knife from her neck with a wince, and returned it under her skirt. The dull pain in her neck was persistent, but she ignored it. Rather, it was more important to introduce herself, to face her new family. She had to do it properly, after all.

"G—gah... Sorry, I looked pathetic back there. My name's... ha, Fräulein Floret. Nice to meet... you... eh?"

"Uwaa~ you're not scared at all. Guten Morgen! I am Frau Klein, the magical girl sealed on the moon, ehe!"

What surprised Fräulein was not her sudden appearance.

It was that moonlight-silver hair she was so very familiar with. The girl was young, maybe thirteen. Instead of a heavy cloak, she wore a weird gaudy dark-themed dress overfilled with laces and frills. Fräulein remembered seeing a dress like that once. It was the same as the girls in one of her brother dear's games, Gothloli Panic.

"Will you call me onii-chan too like those games?"

"... Ha?"

Part 4

"Well, once again, I'm Fräulein Floret, fifteen years old!"

"I know~ I've been watching you after all. I'm the forsaken magical girl of chaos and depravity, Magical Frau Klein! Infinity years old!"

"You've been watching me... A stalker!?"

"Nein!"

"... Why are you stealing my German-speaking character trait?"

Fräulein was finally back to her usual cheery self — as if her previous breakdown was nothing but a dream. The wound on her neck was full recovered thanks to Frau's magic. Although the dark miasma she used was intimidating, Fräulein didn't want to look like a soldier of the undead. Unfortunately, nothing could be done to her tattered suit.

The both of them were sitting on their own expensive-looking cushiony chair that Frau materialized out of nowhere. As if that wasn't enough, she also pulled out a table made from high-class mahogany, a tea set and a platter of cookies. Of course, Fräulein clapped her hands as if watching a magic show, and Frau returned it with a respectful bow.

The tea party on the moon opens its curtains.

"But really, you look similar, too similar. Hey, do you know anyone called Alice Frey?"

"Alice Frey...? Alice, Alice... Frey... Nope! Not a clue!"

"Well, can't be helped. The both of you look the same, but you're completely different."

"Just like that, that! You know, your twin sister. Even you don't really know her, because you're from another world!"

Fräulein couldn't help but widen her eyes. This was the first time meeting someone who knew the existence of the 'other world'. A small sip of her warm chamomile tea calmed her nerves.

"So you're some sort of super-powerful magical girl of evil that knows the existence of other worlds? Aren't you like, the perfect last boss character?"

"Nein, the only reason I know other worlds was because I've heard them all from World Euphonics onee-sama!"

"World Euphonics 'onee-sama', huh? I've only heard that phrase in games... World Euphonics, that sounds kind of familiar."

"Ha? You don't know about World Euphonics onee-sama? She was the one who sent you here, though..."

"The one who sent me here was... m—moon voice! Yeah, I remember, two years ago, on the moon! She didn't even show up after all these years! That idiot! You can talk to her here?"

"Ja, but only when she visits. She's super scary! But that's why I love her! Kyaa, onee-sama~"

"H—hey, Frau, you wanna call me 'onee-sama' too? I don't know what it means, but it sounds cool! 'Onii-chan' works well, too."

"Hmm... but I'm older than you by infinity years!"

"You can't fool me, kid. Infinity is not a number! Which means you don't have an age, which can be considered as zero. Which means I'm older than you! Checkmate!"

"!? YOU'RE RIGHT! But since I still have my German character, I shall call you grobe schwester!"

"Grobe? W—why don't we stop with the German and just call me onii-chan?"

Then, I shall call you onee-chan! Fräulein onee-chan!"

"T—this piercing in my heart, could it be your dark magic? But it's okay, 'cause you're cute!"

"I know, I know!"

They both took a small sip from their warm cup.

"... So, onee-chan, don't you have any questions for me? You've got a lot, right? Ask away!"

"Hmm, let me think... ah, that's right. What's a freaky evil kid like you doing on the moon? Shouldn't you be heading your skeleton army to conquer the floating islands or something?"

"Eh, that's your question!? If you only read history books back in the world, you'd know, though. I wonder what cheat you used to pass that Eli Magical Academy...."

"S—shut it, if you're not caught, it's fine! Anyways, continue with your story."

"Ha... okay. Umm, it went like this. You see, onee-chan, this Frau Klein was so super-powerful that everyone got scared when they saw me! So, so my other six sisters, the magical girls of 'light' and stupid stuff like that, joined forces with some hero that came from your world, and tried to kill me! This cute little me! Evil, right?"

"I agree, I agree! What was that idiot hero thinking when she wanted to hurt such a cute little girl like you?"

"Yep. Then, since I'm super-strong, they couldn't do it, and instead sealed me here on the moon! The end."

"Whoa... what a cool backstory! If only mine was as cool... I'm here because I got buried in tons of ice cubes. Ha."

As if to prove the point, Fräulein summoned an ice cube with a 'Spellcast: Ice Cube' and dropped the newly-made ice to her cup of tea.

"... Onee-chan, don't you want to return back to the world?"

"Hmm? Why? I'm dead, right?"

"Why? I mean, aren't you sad? Aren't you lonely? Don't you have a family back in that world? Don't you love them?"

"Of course I do! I really do! Even little Alice who I just met yesterday. But I'm already dead, as fate dictates, so what can I do?"

"... Aren't you angry about that stupid fate? Why won't you fight it?"

"Tsk tsk, you really are a kid, Frau. Did you know? All are equal in the eyes of fate — No matter how weak, no matter how strong. So even if I become the most powerful girl around, it's useless to fight against it. Whatever happens, happens. And besides, I'm not lonely anymore, because you're here!"

"... 'A girl who yearns for nothing but love', huh. Uwaa~ That human was right! You really are a boring character! A freak! You aren't even upset at your fate, only living to feel the emotion of love! Ah ha ha!"

"W—what's freaky about that? It's normal, normal!"

"Hypocrite onee-chan, you really are a hypocrite! Saying things at your own convenience! Ah ha ha! That human was right when he said you should just have been left dead! Ah ha ha!"

"H—hypocrite? Y our words are getting scarier, you know?"

"Ha... ha... I wonder what World Euphonics onee-sama had in mind when she sent you to this world. Well, it's fine! I was lonely too because Euphonics onee-sama hasn't visited me lately, so I welcome you to an eternity to the moon! I shall love you, and you shall love me, in this unchanging barren world! Your dream has been granted, onee-chan!"

"Well, it can't be helped. Thanks for having me, Frau! Let's have a good time here in the moon!"

And thus began Fräulein Floret's eternal life on the moon with no one but the Magical Girl of Chaos and Depravity to sustain her with love.

Part 5

It has been aeons— or perhaps even a second — ever since. Time was a concept long gone in this unchanging gray Sahara.

Fräulein Floret was touring the dark side of the moon for the 3,478,302nd time. It has been long since Frau Klein has left, and she was eagerly waiting for her return.

Maybe out of boredom — maybe out of fate — that young blonde girl decided to dig a hole on the moon, wondering if she could dig, dig and dig to the other side.

She had all the time in the world to do it, after all.

With the dull knife she always hid under her skirt, she dug.

She dug to nowhere in particular. A random spot on the gray ground.

She dug, dug and dug.

Dug, and dug.

Dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, dug, du—

Clink.

"...Hmm?"

Her knife hit something metallic.

It was a wonderful surprise for Fräulein, a welcoming addition to the unchanging world. A treasure box to reward her fervent digging, like the many story books about treasure hunting she has read ages ago.

She pulled the metallic silver box out from the ground. It was a box as big as a large book. It was a strange box with no inscriptions on it. It was a mystery how it got on the moon in the first place.

Without further ado, she opened the lid and discovered a bundle of papers bounded by metal rings. It piqued her interest as to what it may be. A grimoire, a story book, or even a text book — anything was fine. It would serve as a great refreshing topic for Frau.

She turned the bundle over to see what it was. The cover was nothing but a plain cardboard cut to serve as a cover. It was getting more interesting.

She opened the cover, and read the words she could not believe she was reading.

"... Fraulein's Diary — dedicated to her dear sister Fräulein."

---

The contents of the diary and the events after Fräulein's moon adventure!

Stuff about the magical girls... yeah. Believe it!

And Frau's secret!?