The Babysitter Wants to Stop Dying

Chapter 14. The End of the Tutorial (4)

The morning of leaving the island.

Under the clear sky, I visited the cliff hideout with Lottie in my arms. I had intended to come alone, but I had been so busy with work that I had to keep leaving her with others, and she got so sulky that I had no choice.

"Hot!"

"Hot? Hmm. It is a bit warm."

"Hoooot-."

It was cool since summer had passed, but it was inevitable after walking all the way up. When I put my hand on our touching bodies, it was hot.

She closed her eyes tightly as I wiped her beaded forehead with the tattered apron.

"There, right? It's even hotter for Hyung, walking while holding you. So please be patient now."

"Prinsh! Do the Prinsh!"

"You want me to sing? Here?"

Her blue eyes sparkle.

The highest difficulty mission in childcare. An out-of-the-blue request regardless of time and place.

I could refuse, but it's not easy to ignore this bright-eyed attack.

"...Deep in the mountains- the Tiger Prince-."

"Uu-uu!"

She even gives me a look for singing quietly.

"Deep- in the! mountain! The Tiger! Prince! A handsome beard! handsome teeth-!"

"Hansum teeth!"

Ha. What a life.

In the end, I had to hike while singing at the top of my lungs.

Hiking while holding a child and singing with the weakest body? Right. There's no better way to train my stamina than this.

...I had to console myself like that.

By the time my legs started to go numb, my mouth moved like an answering machine as I got lost in other thoughts.

'Hmm. I need to get a new apron.'

While repeating the Tiger Prince song for the fourth time, I fiddled with the hem of my apron with the opposite arm that was holding Lottie.

I remember when I first came to the Center.

I was flustered when they said it was mandatory for all sitters to wear an apron. I really couldn't get used to it when I first wore one.

Moreover, the only aprons provided were the lovely pink ones of a uniform color.

But aprons are the best when looking after kids.

The miracle of labor that gets dirty in an instant if you let your guard down, that is childcare.

'Gosh. Those were the days.'

A bitter smile hung on my lips as I already missed those times, even though it hadn't been that long.

I don't want to throw away my well-worn apron, but it can't be helped. The bottom is half gone, and the remaining part has a broken shoulder strap dangling, so it's a bit of a sight. Even the Greek gods would have been less revealing than me.

...Hmm?

'Wait. I've been wearing this the whole time?'

The wistfulness of a moment ago was gone, and my ears burned. Have I been meeting everyone in this state? In such a shabby state?

How come no one told me to take it off?

A small hand touches my cheek as I was fumbling in confusion.

"Hoooot!"

It was the moment we arrived at the hideout.

***

My hideout, which had been devastated like any other place, had a previous visitor.

Standing at the edge of the cliff I had climbed after several days, I blinked blankly.

A cool breeze and softly shining sunlight.

A sky so blue it could hurt the eyes.

And the songs of small birds heard from a distance.

I focused on each one. Peaceful, so familiar that they were rather dreamlike fragments, just like always.

Nothing could remind me of the tragedy from a few days ago.

As long as I didn't turn my eyes to the island that had become no different from a complete ruin.

"Amanda, at least have some of this."

It's not clean water, but it's fine as long as it's drinkable. I held out the water bottle I had brought without much thought.

If you ask if I wasn't shocked, or if the grief of losing a colleague wasn't that great, of course not.

Even as an immortal who has experienced death several times, I despise death.

Because there is nothing in the world as cold and cruel as dying.

Death divides people. The world of the living and the world of the dead, spaces are separated and the worlds they belong to change.

The living and the dead cannot meet, and the time to accept that harsh reality also comes.

I can come back from that threshold as I please, but most cannot.

It's not like I have the ability to pull the dead back, so the fact that I just have to watch the end of others might mean that death applies to me more cruelly compared to other people.

So I can't be buried in such things. Otherwise, I can't endure it.

"...It's okay."

The cracked water bottle I had carefully held out was pushed back towards me with a weak force. Amanda, with empty eyes, had bandages on various parts of her face.

Amanda's gaze was directed at nothing in particular, at the empty air.

"Is Mr. Arsen really leaving?"

Amanda asked.

"I don't have a choice in the first place. And I think it's the right thing for Lottie."

I'm a bit curious what would happen if I insisted on not following, but I don't particularly want to know the result. Because Camila Ingram was the kind of woman who would pull a gun out of her pocket with that expressionless face and shoot if something got on her nerves.

"I, I resent myself so much."

"Amanda."

"Because I'm so weak, I couldn't save anyone. A useless burden. Breathing, being alive feels so sinful."

Amanda was crying. It seemed she felt as if Casen's and the others' deaths were all her fault.

"Don't cry."

I know that feeling to the bone. Even though you know it's not true, you can't help but blame yourself; that's the homework of the survivors.

A long time ago, in my previous life, when my younger sibling died, I was also in a deep pit for a very long time. Though it's faint now.

I held Lottie up and sat down next to her.

"You don't have to save someone to be useful. Everyone was happy because you were there, Ms. Amanda. Because there aren't many people who are as endlessly kind to others as you are."

"That's all it is. That's, that's all it is."

"That's right. That's all it is. And yet everyone liked you. Even knowing that you had no particular abilities."

Amanda said nothing. She just lowered her head and her shoulders occasionally shook.

We looked down at the collapsed ruins below for a long time. Like that, for a long while.

"I should get up now. I wanted to see this place one last time before we leave. Because Professor Ingram seems like the type of person who hates waiting."

It was a pity, but it was time to part. As long as we both exist in Astava, there will be a day we meet again.

It was when I was getting up from my spot.

"Mr. Arsen."

"Yes?"

Amanda, who had grabbed the end of my shabby apron, had her gaze fixed on the dirt floor.

"Don't die."

"...."

"Don't die. Don't die, and please take care."

I just nodded my head at Amanda's words, which were close to a contradiction.

***

Only five of us boarded the yacht: me, Lottie, Camila, and Mago and Renie.

Bernard remained at the Center. It was for a more detailed investigation into this terror incident.

Well, since Mago's subspace was full of corpses, including the Administrator, maybe I can't say there were only five.

"We're all set."

Mago, who had been fiddling with the sails, came down at some point. Camila, who had nodded her head, gave a light nod towards the pier and went inside.

I, who was holding Lottie next to her, headed to the pier with a slightly heavy heart.

"Ms. Amanda didn't come...."

The departure was simple. It was just saying goodbye to Helga and the Center Director who came to see us off at the completely destroyed pier. I had already said my goodbyes last night to the other sitters who couldn't come because of the children. Who cares about Cobe.

"So many things happened at once, I honestly still don't know what's what. The terror attack, and this situation of leaving."

I didn't think I was that attached, but seeing it like this, my throat feels tight. I might miss these faces.

"Everyone, take care. Thank you so much for everything."

"Goodbye. Lottie, you have to be well too."

I wanted to offer more words of comfort, but there was nothing I could say to the gaunt and haggard Helga. I was sincerely grateful that she even came out here. I just bowed my head deeply and gave my final farewell.

"Remember, Arsen. Even if you don't believe it, be careful."

The Center Director warned me to be careful until the end. Since it was kindness offered even while being anxious, I also smiled and nodded my head.

"Uueueu-."

As if the atmosphere was strange, the quiet Lottie started to whine. Her chubby cheeks puffed up as if she were sulky.

"There, there, it's okay. We're going on a trip. Oh! Look there, a seagull!"

"She must know we're leaving. Lottie, you rascal, this ahjussi had a lot of troubled moments because of you."

As she showed signs of bursting into tears, I soothed her, and the Center Director playfully poked Lottie's cheek.

"But be well. Grow up well. Seeing you, I'm jealous because you look like you'll make many women cry later, kid."

"You're saying all sorts of things to a child."

"Handsome guys like you don't know my heart."

"Haha."

"It's annoying that you're not denying it."

We were not close at all, a relationship no different from a Ranker and a nobody superhuman, a representative and a low-level employee, but to finally speak informally when it's time to part. This is when they say you never know about people.

"Please board now."

Mago, who was standing on the bow, called us. My feet wouldn't move.

"Let's say goodbye-."

I held Lottie's hand and waved it towards the two of them, and took in the view beyond them once more.

The scenery of the island filling my vision.

I thought I had composed my heart a lot. Still, a corner of my heart feels heavy.

'Goodbye. I've been well.'

It was only three months, but it was an island I had grown quite fond of.

The first place I gave my heart to after waking up in Astava. I will never be able to forget it.

"Then let's see each other again!"

I shouted as brightly as I could and hurried onto the yacht.

"You can enter this way."

Mago and Renie were starting the engine on the yacht, and following the guidance, I entered the cabin where Camila was.

The Professor was already sitting on the sofa, flipping through documents even before departure.

"Did Mr. Masimo leave? I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"No. He's probably handling the work I entrusted to him on the island. You probably didn't see him because he likes to move alone."

Camila answered while flipping through the papers.

Come to think of it, she's a kind person. It's just that her expression is blank and her tone is a bit overbearing, but she answers everything you ask.

Hmm. Anyway, I wanted to see Masimo one more time before leaving, but unfortunately, it didn't happen.

'I was curious if I could try using Masimo's ability.'

My copying ability is currently random. I'm afraid of the side effects, but it's human nature to want to try something if you have it. I was thinking of touching Masimo's hand once, but it's a shame.

Smacking my lips, I took a seat on the opposite side of Camila.

Kureureung-

Before long, we gradually moved away from the island.

It was a farewell to my first workplace.