Kaname pondered her future plans.
At the same time, a somewhat heavy sound of footsteps came from the hallway.
Eevee, who had crawled out from under the bed at some point and was lying by the bedside listlessly licking its paws, noticed the abnormality even earlier than Kaname.
It pricked up its large ears, catching the sound of hissing friction in the gaps between the messy footsteps.
The sound of scales sliding across the floor instantly triggered memories.
Eevee’s fur bristled all over in an instant.
“Vui…
Vui?!” But the little fellow still remembered the instructions; it suppressed a whimper in its throat, its expression deeply uneasy.
Kaname raised an eyebrow, her gaze instantly using Lock-On to the tightly closed door.
[Pokédex scanning…] [Warning: Dangerous Pokémon detected approaching.] [Target: Ekans] [Danger Assessment: High.
Recommendation: Maintain distance.] A cold light screen flickered on her retina, and a red exclamation mark clearly marked the silhouette of the creature slithering along the ground outside the door through the wall.
Kaname gained a deeper understanding of the pokédex system.
As long as a Pokémon appeared nearby, the system would immediately provide a notification even if it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye.
In this regard, it was very much like the biological radar function of a Pokédex.
However, her pokédex system was often very passive; aside from crisis warnings and basic scanning, its subjective initiative still relied more on Kaname making decisions.
That was why Kaname didn’t rely entirely on the Pokédex, thinking instead to actively digest and absorb more knowledge to enrich her own mind.
Thoughts whirled rapidly in her mind as Kaname continued to grasp the most critical issue at hand.
Why would an Ekans appear inside the Daycare Center?
Her actions were faster than the answer surfacing in her mind.
The little girl kicked off her slippers and, before Eevee could react, unceremoniously kicked it with her bare foot.
“Gu?!” Caught off guard, Eevee was kicked and rolled several times like a ball, straight back into the shadows deep under the bed.
It was just about to let out an aggrieved Growl, but then came Kaname’s instruction.
“Hide well, don’t leave any openings.” With that, Kaname had already sat back down at her desk.
She casually flipped open the book she had been reading, her back straight and her expression serious, not forgetting to time her page turns as if truly immersed in the sea of knowledge.
Only a few seconds later.
A cold gaze passed through the small transparent observation window on the door and projected into the room.
Kaname did not look back.
But the muscles in her back instantly tensed.
The feeling of being scrutinized as if thorns were in her back immediately made her clearly realize—the person outside the door was observing her.
The air seemed to freeze.
There was only the slight sound of Kaname turning pages in the room.
After a while, the uncomfortable gaze finally moved away.
But the footsteps in the hallway did not disappear for a long time; instead, they lingered at the door, accompanied by the rustling sound of fabric rubbing.
Pricking up her ears, Kaname already sketched a psychological profile of the person outside the door based on those slightly messy and impatient footsteps.
Nervous and flustered, in a foul mood, like a gambler who had lost a million-dollar lottery ticket and was searching everywhere with bloodshot eyes.
—That’s right.
It was definitely someone looking for Eevee.
Using the motion of turning a page, Kaname casually glanced toward the area under the bed.
These people’s movements were much faster than imagined, and they had actually found their way to the Daycare Center so quickly.
But thinking about it carefully, whether they were mercenary poachers or some shady underground organization, their team would certainly not lack Pokémon responsible for tracking.
For example, the Ekans currently lingering in the hallway and making hissing sounds.
And the Rattata, very common in the wild and possessing a keen sense of smell.
This type of Pokémon has an instinctive craving for food; with some training, they can link the scent of a search target to food, thereby conducting efficient searches.
Kaname considered it briefly from the other party’s perspective; in just a few moments, she could think of countless ways to use Pokémon characteristics to find the missing Eevee.
At the same time, she also had to consider a more severe problem.
…When she rescued Eevee yesterday, did she leave many openings available for tracking?
There most likely were.
Although she hadn’t left footprints on the way back with Eevee, scents could not be completely eliminated.
They likely tracked it all the way to the abandoned greenhouse, found the residual bloodstains and traces of harvested herbs, concluded that someone had rescued Eevee, and then followed the clues all the way to the nearest Daycare Center.
Therefore.
The so-called “government personnel” who came to the Daycare Center today are very likely imposters.
A pack of wolves in sheep’s clothing are currently faking smiles while dealing with the Director and the young daycare workers.
These dangerous villains are still swaggering around the Daycare Center full of children, separated from her by only a single door.
Kaname did not act like a protagonist in a horror movie, trying to open the door to peek or being even bolder by walking straight out to confirm the situation.
Although it wasn’t her intention, she was forced to keep Eevee, and thus faced a series of potential risks.
But precisely because of this.
Kaname knew better than anyone how capable she was.
Perhaps the previous guesses were just paranoia, and the cold gaze she felt wasn’t necessarily full of malice, but just Teacher Chinatsu worrying that she might ruin her eyes reading in the room.
That Ekans outside the door might just be a wild Pokémon that slipped in from some sewer, just passing by.
—But ultimately, these reasons were similar to the “worst-case scenario” deduced in her mind; they were just thinking in a positive direction and forcibly comforting herself.
And right before her eyes, there was at least one thing Kaname could confirm as real.
“…Are you still afraid?” She turned her head slightly, her gaze passing over the back of the chair to meet the eyes of Eevee, who was cautiously poking its head out from under the bed after sensing the dangerous aura recede slightly.
The little fellow’s large, moist eyes were filled with lingering fear.
Even though the source of danger had temporarily left, Kaname could still feel the lingering unease deep in Eevee’s heart from its uncontrollably trembling body.
“Ee-vui…” Eevee lowered its long ears.
It seemed to feel unseemly about its own cowardly behavior; it wanted to put on a fierce front but simply couldn’t muster the spirit.
It could only droop its head dejectedly, its front half slumped limply on the floor.
However, in the next second.
Eevee heard the little girl’s voice, which had now become soft and gentle.
“Mm, me too.” Kaname withdrew her gaze, letting it fall back onto the book, though the fingers gripping the pages were pressed white with effort.
Her situation was actually not much better than Eevee’s.
After all, the current Kaname was only five years old.
This body had absolutely no ability to deal with any real crisis situation.
If someone had forced their way in just now and conducted a violent search of the room, what could Kaname have done?
She couldn’t even run fast enough to escape.
This sense of powerlessness, of having her fate in the hands of others, made Kaname feel suffocated.
“Ee-vui…” Hearing Kaname admit so frankly that she was also afraid, Eevee was stunned for a moment.
It had originally thought the little girl before it was a cold-hearted monster, never expecting she would have moments of fear too.
This feeling of shared plight finally allowed Eevee to recover quite a bit, even making it feel that the human cub in front of it was somewhat more human.
A warm atmosphere quietly filled the room.
However.
The atmosphere didn’t even last for three seconds.
Eevee saw the human cub, who had her back to it, close the book, her voice suddenly turning cold.
“—Therefore, I must eliminate all of them before they truly become a threat to me.”