The Babysitter Wants to Stop Dying

Chapter 3: Another Fine Day at the Center (3)

"No matter how much I looked, I couldn't find you, Mr. Arsen...!"

Amanda burst into tears, perhaps relieved to have found me. Anyway, there's never a normal day at this damn job.

The tip of my nose stung. But what could I do? I had to solve it.

"Don't cry. Calm down, Ms. Amanda. How long has she been missing?"

"Almost three hours! D-do you think something bad happened? She was a child who often surprised us by disappearing, but it was twenty minutes at most! Besides, it hardly ever happened after you came, Mr. Arsen! D-d-d-don't tell me it's a kidnapping, right?"

‘Calm down? Fat chance.’

Amanda, who was spitting out words like a machine gun while panting for breath, already seemed to have lost her reason. It was understandable enough. A child disappearing from the Center was the worst-case scenario, second only to a terrorist attack.

"Why didn't the alarm go off? I would have returned immediately if it had."

Though I wouldn't have been able to today, since I was dead.

"It only rang indoors. Last time Lottie went missing, it rang throughout the island and a swarm of monsters appeared after hearing the sound. It was the first time, but they decided not to turn it on again."

Amanda sniffled, pushing back her flowing brown hair.

On the day I had just joined, there was an incident where Lottie hid in the grass. They sounded the alarm so loudly it seemed like a war had broken out, and monsters popped out of the sea. I still can't forget the sight of those huge, tuna-like creatures.

"Lottie will be fine. Now, Ms. Amanda. Hss hss- hoo hoo. Follow me."

I was lost in thought for a moment, but decided to stop the woman's crying in front of me first. My mind was all over the place because of her increasingly loud sobs.

"But, but!"

"Hss hss- hoo hoo. Come on."

"H-hss hss- hoo hoo...."

When I urged her firmly, Amanda followed the deep breaths for a while and finally seemed to calm down a little. In the meantime, I had already shortlisted a few places in my head where Lottie might have gone.

How far could she have gone with those short arms and legs? In any case, it definitely wasn't a kidnapping.

My other ability, ‘Protection,’ which I had vaguely realized while being with Lottie.

It allowed me to sense the presence of the target I was protecting within a certain distance. ...Probably.

‘I'm still just guessing since the ability hasn't been properly unlocked yet.’

I swallowed a short groan inwardly and hurried on my way.

"What is everyone else doing?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean the Center staff."

Amanda, who was almost running to keep up with me, spoke in a cracked voice.

"Four of the sitters are watching the other children in the indoor playroom, and the rest are all looking for Lottie. Ah! I don't know where Sir Cobe is, and Lady Rowena is searching the forest."

That bastard is probably slacking off in my hideout right now. My brow furrowed on its own.

I was about to mention Cobe, but I just clicked my tongue and let it go. To be honest, he wouldn't be much help even if he came, and I'd just slip a word into the suggestion box later....

...Wait a minute.

"Ms. Amanda."

"Yes!"

"What about the Administrator?"

"Pardon? The Administrator?"

Amanda was a good person, but her slight cluelessness was a problem. Amanda, with her bloodshot eyes wide open, looked up at me and chewed over what she had heard to see if it was correct.

"Who is the Administrator with?"

An unpleasant chill suddenly ran down my spine. Why? Even I felt a sense of wonder after asking the question.

"Well, from what I saw before I came here, I think he was with the Center Director."

"...Is that so."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I was just wondering if the Administrator was also searching."

I turned my head to the front, feeling a strange sense of relief. Why on earth did I suddenly ask about the Administrator? I couldn't tell.

"Haa."

I was already out of breath after walking for only a short while. Amanda was also panting heavily, but she had been looking for me for a long time. It was unreasonable to compare.

This damn body of mine, so inefficient.

"What was Lottie doing right before she disappeared?"

Even while panting, I didn't stop gathering information.

"I was taking a nap outside myself, so I don't know for sure, but I do know that the time Lottie disappeared was during her vaccination. The Center Director told me to find Mr. Arsen right away, so I came running."

I heard you go to the mountains often.... Amanda answered with reddened eyes.

It was obvious without even looking. Judging by her disheveled hair and trembling body, she must have run around until her feet were sweating to find me. She was a person with no knack for things.

But she was just as good to the kids, so she was definitely a good person.

"Vaccination, you say...."

My eyes narrowed. I had a rough idea of what had happened.

"Let's hurry. Lottie will be fine, so don't worry too much."

"How can you be so sure...."

"You don't trust me? Have you already forgotten that I was the one who found Lottie on my first day?"

I gave Amanda, who still had a gloomy face, a light smile and picked up my pace a little.

‘This kid, causing such a commotion over this.’

Somehow, my conviction that Lottie would be fine grew stronger the closer we got to the Center.

***

"Mr. Arsen!"

"Arsen!"

"Lottie's disappeared...!"

As we neared the Center, I saw other sitters searching everywhere, from bushes to streams. On one side, I saw someone digging through the sandy beach, and I entered the building without a second glance.

‘Are they looking for a mole or something.’

Shaking my head, I strode inside, and Amanda, who followed, shouted.

"We've checked inside several times!"

"You did well."

It wasn't sarcastic. It was just that I didn't have a particular reply. Of course, they must have all searched hard.

Amanda made a groaning sound and opened the door next to her, calling out, Lottie-. I paid her no mind and continued on my way.

‘She said it was during vaccination time.’

The vaccination time Amanda mentioned. According to my past experiences, that is, if my prediction is not wrong, there's only one place our little one could be.

The infirmary.

"Khm."

I cleared my throat as I carefully opened the door to the infirmary on the first floor.

"Lottie. Are you here?"

Silence filled the room, as if the infirmary doctor had also gone out to look for the child. The inside was quite spacious.

I stared blankly at the line of pure white beds and then turned my head. A cool sea breeze was blowing in from the half-open window.

Outside the infirmary window was all lush green lawn. In the distance, I could see Helga, a sitter, climbing a tree.

Everyone was hard at work. I had to lend a hand soon too.

‘Is there a possibility she really went outside?’

She couldn't walk well yet, but she was very good at standing or crawling.... Could she have gotten out by stepping on the chair next to that window?

That would be a bit troublesome.

"Lottie-."

I looked around and entered further, but as expected, only the quiet sound of the wind returned. I closed the door slightly.

"Lottie?"

Is she really not here? I moved cautiously and called her name several more times.

"Hmm-hmm."

No response. Well then, I have no choice. If she really did go outside, I should hurry out as well.

I cleared my throat with a dry cough. This was the last resort.

"Hyung is going to sing a song. What happens to a person who sings alone? They can't get married. It wouldn't be good if Hyung can't get married, right?"

Anyone who heard this would wonder what nonsense this was, but I put strength into my stomach with a rather serious face.

"Here I go-."

I checked the closed door once more for no reason. I still needed a little more courage.

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

My clear voice echoed over the sound of the wind. The only Astava children's song I could sing well, The Tiger Prince. In this, at least, I was confident I could out-sing a nightingale.

"The little rabbit- at the foot of the mountain! Always- the Prince's place!"

The song was slowly climbing to its climax. Just before the rabbit went into the cave to slit the tiger's throat,

"...wanned to habe-."

That's it.

My eyes widened at the ‘wanted to have’ that sounded like an answer. I didn't stop singing.

"That's right! Let's continue! But the handsome Tiger- Prince-! The wicked rabbit- grrr, rawr!"

"Rawr!"

"His handsome beard- flashes-flashes! The deep mountain- is peaceful again- became! it! is-!"

The moment the rabbit's fate ended and the song concluded, I turned my head in the direction of the sound, and Lottie crawled out from behind the bed next to the window.

"Lottie!"

Even though she had chimed in so well with the song, her tiny lips were tightly sealed. As she crawled out, I could tell from her appearance alone that she already knew she had done wrong.

"You little rascal!"

When I snatched her up and held her in my arms, she immediately buried her face. Looking at the situation, it was obvious she had been hiding because she didn't want to get a shot.

Whenever we played hide-and-seek in our room, Lottie was always fantastically good at hiding. The places she was found were usually places I had already searched. It seemed she had an amazing knack for knowing where people let their guard down.

"The whole Center was turned upside down because of you."

In any case, a sigh of relief escaped me at the resolved incident. Even though I thought I wasn't too worried, it seemed that wasn't actually the case.

"Lottie, we promised we wouldn't play hide-and-seek secretly."

When I spoke in a deliberately stern voice, the hand gripping my chest tightened. Well, it's not like a two-year-old would listen if I said, ‘Getting a vaccination is good for your health,’ and reply, ‘Yes, I understand.’

But education is necessary.

"If you just hide away like this, other people will worry. They'll worry that you got hurt, that you got lost."

I grabbed Lottie by her sides and lifted her up in front of me. The little one's eyes, now face to face with me, were welling with tears.

"Stop. It was Lottie's fault. You broke your promise."

"Uu-."

Ttok. Two teardrops like chicken droppings fell on my finger. This was difficult. My heart was softening.

"Are you going to do it again?"

"Uueu-."

"Properly."

"Nooo-."

Another drop fell with a sniffle.

This was enough. There must have been all sorts of chaos in the Center, starting with the emergency alarm, after Lottie disappeared. The surroundings got noisy and serious, so she probably got scared and couldn't find the right timing to come out.

Anyway, this little thing is so good at hiding.

"It's a promise. Hyung and Lottie made a promise. This is the second time now."

I hugged the small, nodding head. Now it was time to calm down the panicking people outside. For example, the Center Director sitting on the slide with a deathly pale face.

"Stop. Don't cry anymore."

Lottie rarely shows tears usually, but it feels like she's always crying in my arms.

Before leaving, I headed to the sink on one side of the infirmary. She was quite cute, closing her eyes tightly without a word of complaint even though it was a cold water wash.

I maintained a poker face as much as possible, wiped her face with a handkerchief, and then held the child again.

‘By the way, they would have found her if they had searched properly, so why couldn't they?’

As I came out into the hallway, a reasonable question crossed my mind.

I didn't know the space behind the bed was big enough for a child to get into, but Lottie had come out from there. As the saying goes, it's darkest under the lamp. Did they not search the infirmary properly because she disappeared from there?

‘There's no way they wouldn't have found her if they had searched every nook and cranny.’

For the best facility the Association boasts of, this was such a lapse. I tilted my head at the Center, which sometimes showed such surprisingly lacking work, and went outside.

"Lottie...!"

The Center Director, with a face full of emotion, rushed over and swept Lottie into his arms. Even though the child struggled, saying she didn't like it, the bearded Center Director rubbed his bushy beard all over the little one.

Lottie reached out to me with a 'save me' expression, but....

‘Sorry.’

There was nothing I, a mere employee, could do.

"Hyung-ah! Hyung-aaaah!"

"Aigoo, Lottie! Do you know how worried I was! I really thought I was going to die this time!"

"Center Director, please give her to Arsen quickly. The child is about to cry."

Helga, who arrived after the Center Director who was making a fuss and wailing in a half-crying voice, slapped his shoulder. But instead, the Center Director began to whine, shaking his body in a way that didn't match his large frame.

"You don't know! If Lottie had really disappeared, my head could have really flown off!"

"Who would kill the Center Director, who is a Ranker? Put Lottie down quickly."

"What are you talking about! The Professor, that scary woman would have... in one fell swoop!"

‘Professor?’

"Stop."

The Center Director, who had been jumping and stamping his feet, stopped mid-sentence. The gazes of the Center staff, who had been gathering one by one with relieved faces, turned to one side. Without even a moment to pay attention to the strange word that came out of the Center Director's mouth, my gaze followed theirs.

"That's a useless thing to say, Center Director."

‘...The Administrator?’

I unknowingly scrunched up my face and then flinched, putting all my effort into managing my expression.

"Please be careful with your words and actions."

While I was trying to smooth out my furrowed brow, the Administrator, who had approached us at some point, said while pressing Lottie's cheek, who was in the Center Director's arms.

"We found her like this, didn't we. Where on earth did you go, Lottie."

But the corners of his mouth were raised to a bizarre degree. Was he really happy that Lottie was safe?

The hair on the back of my hand stood on end. All the sensory organs in my body were desperately telling me.

The Administrator's face was not like that just because the child was safe. It was as if he had a prey in his hand and wanted to swallow it right away....

‘The Administrator might be an intruder.’

My tightly clenched fists gained strength.