The Babysitter Wants to Stop Dying

Chapter 25: Romero Rodeo

Romero Rodeo.

A name I had put on my list of protagonist candidates.

‘This person is Romero Rodeo…….’

Ranked 3rd.

The Knight of Pitch Black.

The Strongest of the Current Era.

The Black Maw.

The Hero of Rivarden.

A Ranker who holds all sorts of monstrous titles, Romero Rodeo.

Although she was ranked 3rd, it was publicly said that Romero was the unofficial 1st.

The rankings of Rankers were managed by the Association's Ranking Management Bureau. In recent years, the criteria for ranking were the Ranker's achievements, honor, and likeability, but the original fundamental standard was the Ranker Battle held once a year.

However, since it was an event with considerable damage, many Rankers in recent years did not participate unless there was a significant benefit.

And that was the same for Romero Rodeo. She was a monster who could destroy three A-rank Gates by herself, yet she never showed her face at the Ranker Battle.

Although it had only been about 3 years since she started her activities, she didn't even participate in the Ranker debut match. In short, she was a person who rose solely through achievements.

‘And yet she’s ranked 3rd. No, wait, if I look at this…….’

I gulped, swallowing dryly as I looked at the mangled corpses of the alligators.

For a moment, my mind had gone blank from Romero's formidable power, but then something started to boil within me.

‘What if I can copy Romero's ability?’

I clenched my fist tightly.

If I could just properly develop my ability, would I be able to use the power of Romero Rodeo, who is called the strongest?

I'm basically a safety-first and peace-loving person, but when necessary, I have to live with flexibility.

If I were to gain such power, what should I do?

There is only one answer.

‘I have to use it. The apocalypse? I can definitely stop it.’

Just as I was imagining drawing out the maximum communion to copy Romero's ability.

“Lottie!”

I flinched and took a step back as Romero burst into tears.

“Do you recognize me? You probably don't, right? We were separated when you were just a baby, after all.”

I was deeply flustered by her, who had started to wail, her previous crazed appearance completely gone.

Wait a minute. This atmosphere, could it be that Romero is the mother……?

“Come to your auntie! Huh? Lottie!”

Ah. I guess not.

Auntie. Auntie. Auntie…….

“Auntie!?”

That was even weirder, so I blurted out a question.

“Wow! You really wrecked them. As expected of the Vice-Captain! But why are you bawling?”

First, applause!

A man who suddenly appeared, clapping his hands, and,

“Ah. Is this that Lottie?”

A pink-haired woman with wide eyes, covered in the bluish blood of the alligators.

“You're already done?”

Romero, who was just about to reach for Lottie, widened her eyes in surprise at the two who had appeared.

“Hey, now. What do you take us for! The resident Rankers helped, but I took down two, and Delphi-sunbae took down one!”

The man puffed out his chest with a face full of pride, and the woman named Delphi next to him scowled.

“Hold on, Phillip. What nonsense is that? It was two for you, two for me.”

“You can't say you did that, sunbae. The resident Rankers had almost caught it, and you just delivered the final blow.”

“Hey, if you're going to be like that, then you didn't catch a single one!”

“Here you go again, picking a fight. If I hadn't trapped them, the other Rankers would've been a line of funerals!”

“The one with zero attack power is running his mouth again?”

“Sunbae, are you upset that you lost to me? You are upset, aren't you? Ah, you're upset!”

The man named Phillip, who was chuckling, seemed somehow familiar. And of all things, he had blue hair too.

‘Cobe. He's just like him.’

I jotted down a new name on my mental list.

Phillip. Do not get close.

“Enough, enough. What are you doing in front of a new family member? We have Lottie here too.”

Romero, who had already wiped her tears, calmed the two who were about to tear each other apart.

“I'm only listening because the Vice-Captain said so.”

“You'd be dead if it weren't for Ms. Romero.”

“Sunbae, the problem is your mouth is too foul. You'll probably live alone forever. Anyway, are we really letting this person join the order? Am I finally not the youngest anymore?”

Phillip, not forgetting to tease Delphi one more time, approached me.

“I am Phillip Anton. And you are?”

“……Arsen Neroro.”

“Well, I already knew that! Nice to meet you!”

What. Then why did he ask? As I shook his outstretched hand, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if I were seeing Cobe Alecman again.

Seeing me and Phillip shaking hands, Romero suddenly shouted.

“Wait a minute, Phillip! I haven't even properly greeted him yet!”

“You met him this morning, what's with all the fuss?”

“No, back then I didn't even know Arsen was Arsen!”

“What does that mean? Ms. Romero, are you not fully awake yet?”

At Romero's words, Delphi asked as she wiped the alligator blood from her face. Then,

“You received the files before coming to Eastbourne. ……Don't tell me you didn't read what the Professor sent?”

“Ah, that……”

“You didn't read it!”

“……”

“Please, at least familiarize yourself with the basics before starting a job! I told you, if you act up relying only on your fists, you'll end up with nothing!”

“Sorry……”

“That's why she couldn't even recognize the sitter's face. Anyway, the Vice-Captain needs to be taught a lesson.”

Phillip shakes his head at Romero, who is getting an earful from Delphi.

Is this, right?

The hierarchy is a complete mess.

I watched the protagonist getting lectured by Delphi for a while, and then Romero, seeming to be done with her scolding, approached me. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly and gave a clumsy smile.

“Uh, um. Shall we reintroduce ourselves? I'm Romero Rodeo. The Vice-Captain of the Rodeo Knights, and these are my friends, Phillip and Delphi. They're also part of the Knights.”

Phillip, who had already finished his greeting, was now looking at Lottie, and only Delphi gave me a nod.

I gulped at the words I heard.

Rodeo Knights.

So it really did exist.

The term 'Knights', an organization that didn't quite fit in Astava, which had a setting around the modern era, if not the present day.

From what was known, they had only been formed for about 2 years, but they were a union of supernatural beings who were self-proclaimed and publicly acknowledged as the strongest.

However, information about the Knights was extremely scarce, and in reality, only a few people knew about them. At best, only Rankers or Remble students could pretend to know a little.

The Rodeo Knights were monsters who were only spoken of through newspapers or eyewitness accounts, like a legend.

Some even put forth a conspiracy theory that it was a fictional hero created by the Association, named after Romero Rodeo, which speaks volumes about their status.

Romero, Delphi, Phillip.

Anyway, a bunch of precious talents have rolled in.

I don't know exactly what abilities they possess, but the number of people I could try to copy from has increased. Just as I was imprinting their faces and names one by one into my mind amidst the laughing atmosphere.

“You were here! Urgent! It's an urgent request!”

Mago, running at full speed from afar, clutching something. His pale face was visible even from here.

He arrived right in front of us, panting heavily, and Phillip burst out laughing. He didn't seem to care at all about the urgent news he brought.

“Heyyy! Mago! You were alive? I thought you'd be cut down in no time when I heard you were taking care of the Professor!”

“Heok, heok, still, heok, rude as ever, Phillip.”

“Hey! You shouldn't condemn a friend's concern like that!”

As Phillip laughed boisterously, Mago gagged as if he were about to throw up his insides.

“It's been almost half a year. Have you been well?”

“Greetings, Vice-Captain.”

Unlike with Phillip, Mago stood at attention at Romero's greeting and replied politely.

“Anyway, what urgent request? You didn't say anything about that earlier.”

Delphi tilted her head, saying it was strange, as she seemed to have met Mago during the alligator commotion.

“Well, it seems the Knights will have to provide support to the 3rd Continent.”

“What!?”

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

Phillip and Delphi shouted in succession. Romero showed no reaction, simply waiting for Mago's next words.

“Support, my ass! How long has it been since we got back from our business trip!”

Delphi, who had jumped up, snatched what Mago was holding. It was an official document stamped with the Association's seal.

“You are all aware of the simultaneous monster swarm outbreaks on the 3rd Continent for the past few months. The branch over there has urgently requested support from the Rodeo Knights at the headquarters. It has already been processed as an official document.”

“Have these bastards gone senile? How long has it been since we got back from the 2nd Continent, and now what? The 3rd Continent? Do they think we're some kind of traveling circus?”

Delphi, who had crumpled the paper in an instant, growled, and Mago broke out in a cold sweat and bowed his head. I thought she would be a gentle person because of her cherry blossom-like light pink hair, but she was quite belligerent.

“However, since we also refused the last large-scale subjugation, I believe we have no choice but to comply. Even for the Knights, we need a cause.”

“No. Why is that story coming up here? What does that have to do with anything.”

“In any case, the Knights did not participate. Whatever the reason, the Association will push for it.”

“Then, what were we supposed to do when the Vice-Captain was asleep after destroying two Gates…… Keok!”

Phillip's body staggered.

At the absurd situation that had happened in an instant, I stared blankly at Delphi, who was next to Phillip.

“You have a tendency to say useless things. You need to reread your contract.”

Delphi, who had struck Phillip's Adam's apple without a moment's hesitation, looked up at him with cold eyes.

A woman who had just planted her fist into the throat of Phillip, who was two heads taller than her.

“Delphi-sunbae!”

Phillip clutched his neck as if he were about to collapse at any moment and glared at the woman. But his lips only twitched further, and his words stopped there.

The atmosphere was strange, as if the one who was really at fault was not Delphi who had hit him, but Phillip. It also felt like everyone was kind of watching me.

‘But it feels like Phillip said something a bit strange, is it just me?’

Delphi turned her head from Phillip and spoke to Mago.

“Whatever. Go and get the Professor. Does the Professor know? That we're about to go to the 3rd Continent to perform a feat of strength?”

“I went to the Professor first after the official document arrived, but she wasn't there, so I came here. I thought I should at least let someone know.”

“What? Where did she go again?”

“Well, that, I'm not sure……”

“Mago.”

It was Romero, who had been leaning against the wall without a word until now. Mago flinched and looked at her.

Mago had been troubled by Phillip and Delphi's onslaught until now, but he hadn't looked like this.

His head was bowed low, and he looked terrified. The air around them instantly grew heavy.

“What do you mean, you don't know Camila's whereabouts?”

A voice that was suddenly boiling hot.

My protagonist, I thought she only knew how to smile brightly and thoughtlessly, but she could also make a chillingly stiff face.

Her red eyes did not blink once as she approached Mago.

“I believe you were also in charge of Camila's protection. You don't know where she is?”

“I-I'm sorry.

My skin prickled. It was all flowing from Romero.

No, I've seen her for a few days, and that professor is an incredibly willful person, so isn't it possible that he wouldn't know?

Romero's behavior was a bit baffling, like a sudden outburst. And it was the same for the others.

“Vice-Captain, why are you suddenly being like this again.”

“Yeah, the Professor might have acted on her own……”

Phillip and Delphi, who were trying to stop Romero, shut their mouths again when she glared at them. As if something like this had happened before.

“I trust you're not telling me that Camila is alone right now.”

Kkudeudeuk-

Just by clenching her fist, an eerie sound was heard.

“Stop it.”

It was when the pressure emanating from Romero had grown even thicker. As if opening the floodgates of a dam filled to the brim, the pressure that had been weighing on my skin disappeared like a lie.

“……Camila?”

The light in Romero's eyes, which had been gleaming like a beast's, subsided.

“Professor!”

Delphi calls out to Camila with a look of relief. Judging by her neat coat, she fortunately seemed to have escaped this big commotion without any harm.

“It's been a while, Professor!”

To Delphi and Phillip's greetings, Camila replied by closing and opening her eyes.

“I told you it was excessive. Romero.”

“Ah, no, I was just worried about Camila……”

That was all Camila said as she passed through the middle. At her cold voice, Romero fidgeted, then clamped her mouth shut and returned to her original spot.

They were definitely a strange group.

The 3rd in the rankings was getting pushed around as if it were some kind of hidden camera prank. Except for the incident with Mago just now. No, thinking about that, is it even weirder?

“Tell them to contact the other Rankers. We have more urgent matters.”

Camila, who had read the crumpled official document from Delphi's hand, ordered Mago, and his face became extremely bewildered.

“B-but Professor. The official document has already been delivered. The Association……”

“I will take responsibility, so do as I say.”

It was then.

Kkieeek-

With a long cry of a bird, a bundle of paper dropped from the sky. The large carrier pigeon, having completed its task, immediately soared back into the sky.

“What? Is there more to come?”

Phillip, with a frown, snatched the falling mail and threw it to Mago.

“Read it quickly. And summarize it in one line.”

Mago, who unfolded the paper, fell silent for a long time. However, judging from his distorted expression, it didn't seem to be ordinary news.

“Th-that is……”

Mago broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't seem to open his mouth easily, as if he were in shock.

After hesitating for a long time, he squeezed his eyes shut and said in a crawling voice.

“It says that Ranker Cavris is dead.”

“……What did you say?”

Camila's voice rose a beat late. At the same time, the smiles disappeared from everyone's faces.

“Cavris, the 9th ranker, that old man? ……What? Whaaaat?”

“Didn't you misread it? We met and had tea just the month before last?”

Everyone was adding their two cents, but only Romero remained silent. I couldn't help but naturally look at her. For some reason, her quietly shining crimson eyes gave me a sense of déjà vu.