The Babysitter Wants to Stop Dying

Chapter 4: Another Fine Day at the Center (4)

[For smooth gameplay, you are granted the following abilities.]

[Find the perfect ending through appropriate use and mastery.]

[Locked abilities need to be unlocked.]

[Perfect Immortal / Unlocked 75%]

[Ability bound to Arsen Neroro's body!]

[You will surely revive no matter how you die.]

[There is no perfection in the world.]

[Ardent Pro / Unlocked 35%]

[Best match when assessing the player's character! Efficiency will be extremely enhanced with active engagement.]

[Empathy with the protected target slightly increases.]

[Detailed abilities need to be unlocked!]

[Nat*** Wea / Unlocked 0%]

[Ability opposite to the player's past life!]

[Cannot be used without awakening as it is an unknown domain. Effort is required.]

[Detailed abilities need to be unlocked!]

[tip. Remember that all abilities become stronger the more they are honed!]

The ability window.

The rectangular, translucent blue window was just as I knew it.

The only thing that had changed was Ar*ent Pro** to Ardent Pro**.

"It's certain. The letters increased after I found Lottie."

I stroked the corner of my mouth and read the familiar sentences again. I had a vague guess, but my second ability was indeed ‘Protection’.

Ardent Protector. If I gather all the letters, it will probably be completed like that. I suspect this ability plays a big part in why Lottie follows me so well.

Of course, considering the unlock rate was 5% when I first met Lottie, it was certain that the child liked me as a person to begin with.

"No, but the more I think about it, all my abilities have nothing to do with combat."

I scanned the ability window a couple more times and waved my hand to make it disappear.

My mouth felt dry. To have zero combat power in such a harsh place.

The three abilities, my most important weapons given along with the quest.

But the only one I was using properly was immortality. It's already been half a year since I became a person of Astava, so I was starting to get anxious.

Even though I was gradually learning about ‘Protection’, it was too slow. I didn't even have a clue what the last ability was yet.

"At this rate, won't I die of old age before I even find the protagonist?"

Or the world's destruction would come first.

A groan escaped my lips on its own. The truth is, I should quit the Center as soon as possible. No matter how much I have to pay off my debt, I have to find the protagonist.

‘It would be nice if the protagonist made their own way to a remote island like this, but there's no way.’

But I have no plans to leave here, either. No, there's no way to.

"Aigoo, my head."

I couldn't think of any decent methods, and there was no one to help me. My head throbbed for various reasons.

"Please let the third ability be something useful."

Perhaps that's the only thing I can rely on.

"It would have been so much better if I had at least tried playing it before I died."

The same regret as always filled my head.

The game I was possessed into, ‘The Demon King of Astava’, was a kind of video game a friend gave me on our way home together.

In other words, it was what I was holding in my hand right before I died. I'd never played it. Of course.

I died before I could.

‘If I had known this would happen, I should have at least looked at the case properly.’

I think I vaguely saw a character illustration, but I can't remember it at all. Whether it was because of my bad memory or because I didn't get a good look. Anyway, the protagonist must have been drawn there, right?

‘My stupidity is holding me back even here!’

First of all, the information I had gathered about Astava over the past time was quite extensive.

The biggest feature was that, unlike other games, there were no stats for the player, me, or other characters. There wasn't even anything basic like an inventory or a game map.

I was given only two things. The quest and information about my given abilities.

That was all, with a single line being added from time to time when I unknowingly met some condition.

In a word, The Demon King of Astava didn't have a huge sense of disconnect when it came to accepting it as reality.

Because besides a few system windows, nothing else existed. Perhaps that's why I quickly adapted to the foreignness of this world.

Of course, I still get startled by things like monsters and superhumans.

I sat there blankly for a moment before getting up. The sound of straining from behind the wall had stopped.

"Lottie! Are you all done?"

"Uu!"

Another day began as I naturally cleaned the potty.

***

Of all the places in this needlessly large Center, I hate the hallways the most.

"How did you really find her?"

"...Lottie?"

"Yes! I'm sure we searched every corner of the infirmary!"

"As I said, she was behind the bed next to the window."

"No, that really doesn't make sense!"

Because even when a bothersome person stuck to me like this, I had to keep walking with them.

It was so wide and long that even with forty staff members, it wasn't easy to meet another person. In other words, there was no opportunity to shake off the person next to me.

I just shrugged my shoulders at the flailing infirmary doctor.

If he's not going to believe me, why does he keep asking? I don't know why he keeps saying no when even the Center Director just said, ‘I see, what a relief,’ and moved on.

‘I'm tired.’

After yesterday's commotion was settled, there was additional work to prevent similar accidents from happening again.

Blocking all the indoor spaces where children could hide. I finished the overtime work all night and went to bed at four in the morning.

‘This man worked with me too, why is he so energetic.’

I pressed my aching temples with my fingers. It wasn't particularly effective.

Lottie's disappearance case was concluded as a simple happening where the child hid in a corner because she didn't want to get a shot, and she just hid quite well.

The Center Director, who would rather die than report it to the higher-ups, seemed to have struck a deal with the Administrator, and the Administrator said he would report it just like that.

‘Come to think of it, that's definitely strange too.’

From what I heard, Lottie had caused a disappearance commotion a total of eight times, including yesterday, since her admission. It seems the higher-ups never found out because the Center Director thwarted it every time, but there was no way the current Administrator didn't know that.

‘There were seven previous incidents, and yesterday was the eighth. But why did that strict Administrator decide not to report it?’

I recalled that smiling face from yesterday again. And what was this ‘Professor’ that the Center Director was so afraid of.

‘It's all very suspicious….’

But it seems I'm the only one who finds this suspicious. Should I look into this by myself?

"There's space under the head of the bed, but you're saying we, adults, couldn't find her even if she hid there? Besides, I practically crawled all over the infirmary floor while searching at first!"

I wasn't in good shape because I hadn't slept. My thoughts were already a mess, but the doctor, who was bouncing around and spitting while he talked, made my eyes sting.

‘Someone please take this person away.’

I just kept walking, smiling wryly and hoping someone would appear. The doctor persistently stuck to my side.

"Doctor."

"No, I really don't see how we couldn't find her... Yes?"

"Are you perhaps not busy today?"

"Ah, yes, yes. I have no work today, so it's a day off. The sitters have a health check-up the day after tomorrow, so I just need to prepare for that in the evening. Why do you ask?"

"...Never mind."

I sighed at him as he started chattering away, making my ears ring again. Why on earth did this busy doctor have nothing to do today of all days.

"Oh? Mr. Arsen! Doctor!"

It was then. Someone waved cheerfully at us.

"Ms. Amanda?"

I kicked off the ground with a deliberately exaggerated voice. Nice timing, Amanda!

I glanced to the side and saw the doctor with a stiff expression bow his head slightly and disappear in a flash.

‘Just confess already, will you.’

It was pitiful to see him run away with his tail between his legs, but for now, it was a relief. As I stood in front of Amanda, she was holding a small tray.

"The doctor seems busy, doesn't he?"

Amanda asked brightly at the sight of the doctor disappearing in a hurry.

‘A one-sided crush is quite busy.’

I meekly nodded my head. All sorts of fantasies and trying to find the right moment to confess is no easy task.

"You came right on time. Helga and Casen just gathered too!"

Amanda, smiling brightly, gestured with her head.

"Let's go!"

At the end of Amanda's gaze was a small table outside the hallway window. Two people were already sitting there, deep in conversation.

‘Ah. I had a promise today.’

The four of us often made plans and had tea time together. I had forgotten about the promise, but it wasn't bad. The remaining hour of break was too awkward to take a nap anyway.

And I had something to ask them.

***

"This might sound a bit strange, but isn't the Administrator a little weird?"

After a few minutes of complaining about fatigue, which was almost a habit, I brought up the main topic.

The thought that the Administrator might be the ‘intruder’ the Center is so wary of keeps coming to me.

But I can't do anything with just a hunch. First, in Astava, where you can't trust anyone, I decided to gather information from the three people I trusted the most.

"The Administrator? He's not just a little weird. He's a real pain in the ass, a dog's dinner."

At my words, Casen, who was stretching next to the table, grumbled and sat down.

"K-keep your voice down...!"

"It's fine, it's fine. That guy doesn't even come this way. He only ever goes to his office and to see the kids."

As Amanda freaked out and looked around, Helga burst out laughing and soothed her.

"Taking care of the kids is our job, but he's way too interested. It's so annoying, I tell you!"

Casen tapped the table with his fingers and shuddered. I nodded my head, encouraging him to say more.

"When I'm playing with a kid, he's just staring intently, and when I looked away for a second, he even made contact with the kid! You know! Other than for scheduled classes, no one is supposed to approach the children except for their dedicated sitter!"

"That's right. It's been unsettling for me a few times too, but I don't know why the Center Director or the General Manager don't pay any mind to the Administrator."

When I subtly added a word, this time Helga spoke, stroking her chin.

"He's certainly different from the previous Administrators. He only needs to manage the Center's operations, but he's a bit too interested in the kids."

"Oh my. I thought he was a good person because of that...."

Amanda blinked with a bewildered face. I suppose it could look that way to an innocent person.

"That's right! The other day, I was passing by the Administrator's office, and I got goosebumps hearing him mumbling to himself inside. He always eats only greens, he's so weird. You know what they say, right? People who only eat salad have nasty personalities."

I tried to draw out more information, but Casen's words started veering into groundless gossip about the Administrator, and the conversation ended when Helga covered his mouth. I thought things were going too well.

"By the way, it would be really great if our Center had a detection-type ability user."

The direction of the conversation changed to yesterday's events.

Helga muttered as she downed the rest of her coffee in one gulp.

With a face full of fatigue, she was personally demonstrating that drinking a dozen cups of coffee a day was of little use. At this point, wouldn't it be better not to drink it?

"Would a person with that kind of ability bother to apply here?"

"I was just saying, just saying. If there was one, something like yesterday wouldn't have happened. Ah, I'm not saying I'm angry at Lottie or anything. Well, it's just that there's nothing to worry about that much."

Helga waved her hand once, worried that I, Lottie's sitter, might be offended. It didn't particularly matter to me, so I just nodded lightly.

Detection-type ability user. I had seen a few at the place I was at before coming to the Center. It was certain that none of them were below B-rank.

"Is it hard to bring such people here? Our Center is still an institution under the Association, isn't it?"

When Amanda tilted her head, Casen slammed the table—tang—and answered.

"Of course it's hard! Those kinds of abilities are not common. The number of superhumans themselves is small to begin with, and among them, special abilities are even rarer. That's why they're all considered B-rank or higher even if they're weak."

"Actually, it's strange that two A-rank Rankers, Cobe and Rowena, are even here. The Center Director and the Administrator are already A-rank, so why? That's why that rumor was going around among us."

Following Casen, Helga, with a furrowed brow, tapped the table. Then she leaned low over the table and whispered.

"That a child related to an S-rank Ranker is definitely here."

Amanda's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with a—heop—.