The Babysitter Wants to Stop Dying

Chapter 32: The Devil in the Deep Mountain Village (1)

Perhaps because he had slept so well in the wagon, it took quite a while to put Lottie to sleep.

The living room was dark, but thanks to the relentlessly burning fireplace, it wasn't completely pitch black.

Flames of gold, orange, and occasionally red. It was as if the evening sunset had been gathered and put into the fireplace.

The gently flickering light cast languid shadows on the walls and furniture. The sound of crackling wood and the slightly acrid yet sharp smell brought a sense of coziness.

It was the perfect atmosphere for a time of recharging.

Lottie was asleep, and it was already past midnight. Drowsiness was starting to creep up on me.

“Hey! Arsen!”

With her characteristic cheerful voice, the door to the large room, which had been closed, opened.

Romero, wearing a white shirt and still looking uncomfortable in her formal trousers.

Seeing that the room was dark, it seemed the others were still asleep.

“You're awake? I thought you were sleeping.”

“I’m done sleeping. This much sleep is enough for me.”

Was she saying she wasn't very tired?

Romero's way of speaking had some similarities to Camila's. A habit of talking at length about something, like just now.

Of course, Camila was a person who knew a lot, while Romero was usually intuitive and often spoke without thinking, so it was a bit of a stretch to compare them.

Romero, who had sat down next to me as I was blankly staring at the fireplace, was silent for a long time.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“Do I look like it?”

“Yeah. A lot.”

As Romero said, I had a lot on my mind.

I had been waiting for the day I would meet the protagonist all this time. But now that we were together like this, I felt at a loss as to what I should do, and I wondered if the world was really coming to an end. If it was, I was also curious about how much time I had left.

On top of that, I was pushed into this knighthood without any mental preparation due to Camila's unilateral decision, so I was worried about whether this had been discussed with these people, and it would be a lie to say I wasn't feeling troubled in many ways.

“Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I didn't think you would ask something like that, Ms. Romero.”

“Ahaha! What on earth do you think of me?”

At her, who was smiling and showing her white teeth like a child, I kept my mouth shut. I almost said what I really thought.

‘I think you're a dim-witted protagonist who's only strong, not even as good as Lottie.’

But I couldn't say that. If I said she was worse than her two-year-old nephew, even a lighthearted person like her might get hurt.

“If you're having a hard time, tell me. It's because you seem like a sensible person, Arsen. We all have rather peculiar personalities, don't we?”

This person, she knows the word ‘sensible’……?

And to ask like this, does that mean she's aware that she's definitely not sensible?

At her surprisingly objective side, I looked at Romero for a moment before turning my gaze back to the fireplace.

“Since you put it that way, I'll ask just one thing.”

“Anything! What is it?”

“You, Ms. Delphi, and Mr. Phillip are all treating Lottie and me so openly, aren't you? We practically just met today, but we're moving together like this.”

Tadadak-

A small spark from the fireplace flew and landed at my feet. I slowly rubbed it out with my foot and added my next words.

“So, I was wondering if this was discussed beforehand.”

“You mean if we knew in advance that Arsen and Lottie would be joining the Knights, you're saying? With Camila?”

“That's right.”

Romero, who had been speaking softly, wrapped her arm around my shoulder as if putting her arm around me.

“Of course! In fact, we were waiting. Maybe it's because I always said I wanted to see Lottie? Everyone was at the point of saying, if this is the case, please let's have the child with us.”

Romero's smile was truly flawless, as if she were genuinely happy to be with her nephew. Although, for some reason, I could also see the hollow, exhausted faces of the other members behind her.

“Ah. But in the first telegram Camila sent, she said she was only bringing Lottie to Eastbourne. I was a little surprised when the next telegram said a babysitter would be coming too.”

“So at first, there was no talk of me joining the Knights?”

So the initial plan was to only take Lottie. Then that means she changed her mind after meeting me.

“That's right. But in less than half a day, new news came. Saying that Lottie's sitter named Arsen Neroro would be the new Knight, and that we should be aware of it.”

“The sender would naturally be Professor Ingram.”

“Yeah.”

This was definitely because of the conversation we had on the yacht. I could still clearly see her face, greatly agitated after hearing my name.

“You all listen to the Professor well.”

As I slowly opened my mouth and muttered as if in admiration, Romero smiled brightly and nodded her head.

“It gets scary if you don't listen. And of course, you have to listen. It's Camila's word.”

“……Is that so.”

At Romero's answer, which was almost blind devotion, I quietly nodded my head. I suddenly remembered what the Center Director had said.

That 'that person' would do anything the Professor says.

That person was definitely Romero, who had now been revealed to be the protagonist.

But even if she is the nephew's mother, do people usually follow her that well? This was a field I wasn't familiar with, so it was hard for me to make a judgment.

Or did Camila have some huge weakness on Romero?

But I didn't get that feeling. In fact, it seemed like Camila was the one trying to keep her distance.

“What is your relationship with Ms. Camila?”

It was getting annoying to think about it anymore, so I just asked outright.

I guess she'll say they're family.

The answer that came back to me, who was thinking that, was truly unexpected.

“Hmm? I wonder……. Colleagues?”

Romero, who had tilted her head, had answered with just that.

“Oh, oh, that's right. What is our relationship? Commander?”

Why is she questioning it herself? And colleagues? Commander?

“No, not like colleagues, but family……”

“Uu-uung-!”

Just as I was about to ask if that was all there was to it, Lottie, who had been sleeping well, tossed and turned as if our conversation was bothering him. Not just me, but Romero also clamped her mouth shut.

“Uu-uung-.”

“Shh. Let's sleep. Let's sleep-.”

Fortunately, Lottie quieted down again after I patted his chest.

Lottie, sleeping like an angel with his mouth smacking as if eating something. And so we watched the child sleep for a long time with the fireplace as a backdrop.

Romero, who was watching the completely asleep child, muttered to herself.

“I don't know if you know, but Lottie is a very pitiful child.”

“Pardon?”

What she said as she stroked Lottie's cheek was quite shocking.

“He lost his parents not long after he was born. There was a big accident.”

“……”

“Lottie is my older brother's son, but a Gate happened to open where my brother and his wife lived. A very large-scale Gate at that.”

Actually, I don't know the exact details either.

Romero's eyes, staring at the fireplace, sank deep. Undeterred by the crackling sparks, she continued to speak as she pushed a few branches stacked next to the fireplace deep inside.

“I heard the news later. People said I was too far away at the time, so I couldn't have saved them even if I had known. My brother was my only family.”

Romero's expression as she said that was the most gloomy I had ever seen on her.

But, that was it. She didn't look seriously pained or filled with guilt.

It was just a recollection of a painful piece of the past. It seemed that even though he was her only family, they weren't very close.

I, who was wondering if I should offer some words of comfort, just quietly nodded my head.

“I didn't know about that.”

I gently stroked the cheek of Lottie, who was fast asleep next to me.

Anyway, you've had a rough life too. No mom, no dad…….

……What?

“Y-y-yes!?”

“Shh! What are you doing! You'll wake him up again.”

A high-pitched sound escaped me without my knowledge, and Romero covered my mouth. My thoughts came to a halt for a moment.

Lottie's parents, they're gone?

Both of them?

Why?

“Wait a minute. The Professor, I mean, isn't Ms. Camila Ingram Lottie's mother?”

I pushed away Romero's hand and asked urgently.

“Hm? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why would Camila be Lottie's mother?”

Romero's face, which had been drooping just a moment ago, crumpled ridiculously. As if she had heard the most bizarre thing ever, she even burst out laughing, coughing.

Through the corners of her eyes, narrowed from laughing, her red eyes, reflecting the bonfire, shone strangely.

‘……?’

Then,

Why did you, put the Professor, on the 2nd place of your most precious list……?

***

Eastbourne District 1, Astava's top superhuman professional academy, 'Remble'.

At the top of the grandest tower there was the President's office, which managed everything in Remble.

“President!”

“Come in quietly! My head is about to explode as it is!”

Brandt, who had been scribbling his signature on a flood of reports and requests, burst out in irritation at the secretary who had thrown the door open as if to break it.

It must be another request for additional support troops. They were gathering every student they could possibly deploy right now, so how many more did they want!

No, in fact, he didn't even know which students in Remble were available for deployment right now. He was just making do with the students who had been recommended on short notice and those he had his eye on.

“Damn it!”

Brandt wanted to kill yesterday's self. Even if it was the first time in a long time that he had been entertained, he had enjoyed himself too much, not even realizing that the sun was rising.

By the time he had barely opened his eyes, naked, the sun was already high in the sky. Eastbourne District 3 was a pulp from a swarm of giant alligators.

Remble, in its role as a training ground for superhumans, had a duty to dispatch students in serious situations. And all this authority belonged only to the President.

But since the President was unreachable, Remble had urgently deployed its students after going through the approval of the Vice President and even a student meeting.

Thanks to that, the monster situation, which could have been resolved sooner, was delayed, and the scale of the damage was by no means small.

He would not be able to avoid responsibility for this.

‘How did I get this far!’

Brandt, who had ground his teeth, glared at the panting secretary who couldn't even speak properly. He had run so fast that he was still leaning against the wall, coughing violently.

“Stop coughing and just tell me what you want!”

“Th-that person has arrived!”

The shout he had let out was followed by a breathtaking answer.

“……What?”

The President's face instantly turned white. Even with the unspecified pronoun, Brandt immediately knew who it referred to.

“They are currently forcing their way in, ignoring all procedures, saying they need to see the President. W-what should I do?”

“What do you mean what should I do! Go and tell them I'm not here right now……!”

“Where, are you going to jump out that window or something?”

Brandt, who had been hurriedly grabbing his coat, could only freeze. A cold voice with no inflection came from right in front of him.

Silvery hair that seemed to cool the surroundings and ominous, shimmering violet eyes.

“Uh, uh……”

At the woman who had bypassed him and entered, the secretary could only stand frozen, his lips agape. The President also stood there, his mouth agately open, as if someone had zapped him with electricity.

Camila Ingram.

It was the appearance of a person he never wanted to meet here.

TL Note - Lottie is a boy. Sorry for the translation mistake.