Chapter 8: You mean Aiko-San is?!!

Chapter 8: You mean Aiko-san is?!....

Earlier...

Hitoshi let out a deep breath, wiping the sweat off his brow as he surveyed the scullery. Every single dish, from the towering pile in the sink to those scattered on the floor and countertops, had been scrubbed spotless. The once grimy floor sparkled, reflecting the pale torchlight flickering on the walls. Even the air smelled fresher, like soap and lemon scent rather than the usual damp, metallic scent of the place.

His small chest puffed with pride. "Yeah!, I'm finally done!."

" Took me long enough too.....this place really was dirty, I can't believe no one ever thought of cleaning it before."

" But who cares, now that it's clean, I wonder whether Eri Onee-san will like it?" he whispered to himself, biting his lip nervously. What if she found a single spot he missed?, When he thought about it, He just couldn't bear seeing her disappointed face.

As if in response to his silent plea, a glowing blue screen materialized in front of him, hovering mid-air with shimmering letters.

«[Congratulations!]»

«[You have acquired the S-class skill: Admiral Squeaky Fingers!]»

Hitoshi's jaw dropped. "Admiral... squeaky fingers?" he muttered incredulously. His face scrunched up in disbelief. "Your Kidding me....what sort of skill is this supposed to be?" Hitoshi's face quickly turned irritated, feeling as if the system was intentionally trying to mock him.

" You bully~!" He puffed up his cute little cheeks angrily and reached out his right hand impulsively, slapping the glowing screen with a small palm, hoping it would vanish yet, Instead, it shimmered and displayed detailed stats about his newfound skill. 

[Skill Description: With the boundless charm of the legendary Admiral Squeaky Fingers, even the most stubborn messes tremble in fear. From mischievous dust bunnies to unruly grime, all impurities shall be washed away by the gentle yet unstoppable might of these adorable, squeaky-clean hands.]

«[Skill Requirements: Non]»

«[Cool down period: No cooldown period required.]»

«[Skill type: Passive skill.]

" Why do I always get the weird useless skills...." The absurdity of it all made him pout with indignation, Still, as much as he wanted to complain, this was a high-class skill, and that fact made him pout stubbornly, trying to suppress his embarrassment. "A skill's a skill... I guess," he grumbled under his breath.

Just as he was lost in thought, a raspy voice echoed from the hallway.

"Aiko-san? Young Miss? Where are you?"

Hitoshi flinched. His heart thumped in his chest as he turned toward the door only to see something that caught him completely off guard.

A skull....

Yes, you didn't hear wrong, before the boys bewildered gaze was an actual skeleton skull or to be specific, an undead skeletons head which poked into the scullery. 

Its ghoulish green glowing eyes, like eerie flames trapped in hollow sockets, scanned the room. The bony jaw moved as it muttered hurriedly, "Not here." Then it vanished just as quickly, the clattering sound of skeletal feet echoing down the hall.

Hitoshi stood frozen for a moment, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. "W-what the heck was that about...." He wondered, he felt that it was best to brush it off but like a cat.

His curiosity got the better of him. In the blink if an eye, he darted out of the scullery, his small feet pattering against the polished floor. "Wait!, Hey, Skeleton-san!"

The bony figure stopped abruptly and turned around, its green eyes flickering in confusion. "Is something the matter?."

Hitoshi gulped in fear from being stared at so closely by its chilling ghoulish eyes but in the end when he thought of why he'd rushed out in the first place, he forced himself to speak. "Uh, you said you were looking for someone, right? Maybe I can help!"

The skeleton tilted its head skeptically, the bones creaking audibly. "Help?, You?"

"Yeah!" Hitoshi puffed out his chest with an eager grin. "I'm really great at finding stuff. Like back home, when my father hid my food, I'd sniff it out no matter where he stuffed it. He got super mad when I found it, but I was too hungry to care!"

He scratched his head thoughtfully, still beaming. "Oh!, And there was that time he locked me in the dark basement for messing up. I figured out how to find the stairs even though it was pitch black you see!."

" I just had to crawl past the splinters and the weird bugs hehehe, pretty smart right?." Hitoshi flashed a first ever sleazy smile, seeing such a thing on his face unconsciously made the skeleton shiver slightly, not expecting a cute and adorable little human child to suddenly seem so different and creepy.

Hitoshi who noticed the skeletons weird look chuckled nervously, shifting his weight, his smile vanishing. "And when I lost one of my shoes after running... y'know, to get away from my father under the heavy falling snow."

" I tracked it down by following my own footprints. Pretty clever, right?, So yeah, finding your Young Miss should be no problem at all!" Hitoshi said happily not knowing that the skeleton was a bit surprised by the hidden meanings behind his words.

The skeleton remained silent, its expression unreadable, probably because it didn't have much of a face to express anything with.

"Who are you, anyway?" the skeleton finally asked, its voice flat and dubious.

Hitoshi beamed proudly. "You can call me Hitoshi!, I'm the new servant here."

The skeleton's bony shoulders rattled as it tilted it's head to the side. "A new servant, huh?..." 

' Why do I get the feeling this brat is nothing but a walking ball of trouble....' the skeleton thought as he remembered the unnatural smile he'd made earlier.

Hitoshi didn't notice the skeletons change in demeanor, instead he huffed, placing his hands on his hips. "Yeah, I just got hired today!, pretty amazing right!." Hitoshi beamed, completely forgetting that he was a slave not too long ago and was technically still one though Eri Onee-san never seemed to treat him as one.

" I'm super good at helping out. Just give me a chance." He begged the Skeleton.

The skeleton sighed, or at least made a noise that sounded like a sigh. "Fine...you can come along."

" From now on, you can call me Skeleton No. 4."

Hitoshi blinked. "Skeleton No. 4? That's your name?"

"Yes..." the skeleton said bluntly.

"...That doesn't really sound like a good name.... sounds like something a lazy person would pick" Hitoshi muttered underneath his breath, scratching his head, not noticing the annoyed glint in the skeletons eyes.

"Do you have, like, a nickname or something?" He suddenly asked.

"No." The skeleton replied bluntly.

"...You sure?" 

"Yes."

"Well, that's kinda boring," Hitoshi mumbled under his breath but quickly perked up. "So, who's this Young Miss you're looking for anyways?"

Skeleton No. 4 clacked his jaw as if contemplating whether to indulge the boy's curiosity. "Young Miss Aiko. The Countess's daughter."

' Wait!, does he mean the Countess?! ' Hitoshi's eyes sparkled with excitement. ' like the one I read about in that book of rule's Eri Onee-san gave me to read?.'

Skeleton No. 4 grunted. "Less talking, more walking. The longer we take, the harder she'll be to find."

Hitoshi grinned smugly, feeling extremely lucky. If he were to help this skeleton find the Young Miss, Eri Onee-san would surely be super proud of him right?. Maybe she'd even give him another pat on the head!.

' Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes!!!' Hitoshi screamed inwardly, feeling completely excited at the thought.

With newfound determination, Hitoshi hurried after Skeleton No. 4 as they ventured deeper into the estate's winding corridors. The torches lining the walls flickered, casting long shadows that danced ominously across the stone floors.

Despite the eerie atmosphere, Hitoshi couldn't help his curiosity. "So... why are you called Skeleton No. 4 anyways..."

' Are there, like, three other skeletons before you?"

"Yes."

"...Do they have names?"

"Yes, the eldest is No 1, No 2 is second, No 3 is third and I'm the fourth." Skeleton No 4 answered plainly.

"...." Hitoshi didn't know what sort of expression to make when he heard their supposed names, inwardly, he couldn't help feeling that whosever gave them such names was a really lazy person.

"Uhh...Do you all just go around looking for this young miss, or do you have other real jobs?"

' Real jobs?, Why you little!–' Skeleton No 4 felt like smacking the human boy beside him for such visible disrespect but in the end he decided to hold it in. What use was there in beating him here and now when it would only diminish his image for falling for a childs foolish antic's he thought.

"We have other jobs, this is just occasional" He said after some moments of silence.

"...What kinda jobs?" Hitoshi immediately asked.

"Guarding, patrolling, helping run errands, find things"

"Oh, cool!, Like detectives?"

"No not detective's...."

Hitoshi pouted at the skeleton's blunt replies but didn't let it dampen his enthusiasm. "Well, I think you're kinda like a detective. Skeleton Detective No. 4!"

Skeleton No. 4 made a rattling noise that might have been frustrated laughter of someone about to lose his rationality or just his bones creaking.

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Several moments later....

As they walked further, the air grew colder, and the flickering torchlight dimmed. Hitoshi shivered, hugging himself for warmth as he came to a stop. "Is it just me, or is it getting spooky around here?"

" If you're already tired just head back, I'll continue looking for the young miss on my own." Skeleton No. 4 didn't stop to wait for him, his bony feet clattering steadily against the floor.

Despite the unease creeping into his chest, Hitoshi couldn't help recalling his father's disappointed gaze all of a sudden. His heart ached while his body trembled a little as if skeletons No 4 words had reminded him of his past life.

Seeing Skeleton No 4 getting farther and farther away he clenched his little fist.

" Hey who said anything about being tired, it was just a bit chilly ok~!." Hitoshi grumbled as he pressed on, seemingly determined to prove himself useful.

"Besides" he said after a moment, "if I head back now who's going to help you look for that young miss huh?" Hitoshi puffed his chest while raising his chin as if he was doing skeleton No 4 a favour by offering his assistant.

Skeleton No 4 didn't reply instead he continued walking forward as if he just couldn't be bothered to take this little brats antic's anymore. 

" Hey wait up will ya!" Hitoshi pouted as he ran to catch up again.

' Just you wait" Hitoshi thought to himself while running to catch up with his cute little legs. "I'm gonna find this Young Miss and show you just how useful I can be. Then you'll see that Hitoshi is the best super awesome servant~! '

And with that thought, he continued to follow after Skeleton No 4 as the headed deeper down the dark corridor.

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[AN: "Slack-jawed" refers to having one's mouth open in astonishment, shock, or confusion, often due to being surprised or dumbfounded. It implies a lack of awareness or composure in response to something unexpected.]

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