Hitoshi sat on the chair beside the desk, in the dimly lit room, a faint green glow from the ghoulish lantern casting eerie shadows on the concrete walls all around him. Dust swirled lazily through the air, illuminated by the soft, unnatural, Ghoulish light of the only lantern in the room. 

" The beds covered in so much dust..... better get to cleaning...." He sighed dispassionately, glancing around at the gloom-filled room that still smelled faintly of mildew.

Dragging his small finger along the desk's surface, he grimaced at the thick layer of dust that clung to his skin. "Gross," he muttered, shaking it off. "This place is like a haunted house but messier."

 "How's anyone supposed to live like this?" He mumbled beneath his breath. " You know what, who cares!." A hint of motivation suddenly returned to Hitoshi's face.

" All that matters is that I clean it before that nice Onee-san returns!." He added,

Determined not to let the depressing state of the room defeat him.

Without wasting a second more, Hitoshi pushed himself up from the rickety chair he was sitting on and scanned the area.

" Yes, I found them!." His sharp eyes soon found an old, brittle broom leaning in a dark corner and a dustpan lying haphazardly on the floor nearby.

A look of melancholy couldn't help surfacing on Hitoshi's face as he stared at the old brittle broom in his hand as if staring at a long lost friend. In all his years of living, the memories of him always having to clean up his home and all the broken furniture or utensils his father used to beat him flashed through his mind.

".....No..I don't think I should be thinking about that right now...., all that matters now is making sure I don't repeat the same things in this life." A rare hint of maturity could be seen in Hitoshi's mind. Deep within his heart, the once all encompassing space his father had taken, shrunk a little bit, allowing the small yet more visible image of Eri-Onee-san to take shape. 

Though he still couldn't completely let go of his father who he had always sought to get acknowledged by, he still felt the sudden need to prove himself to this new elder sister who had saved his life and given him a new chance to live. Even if she still ended up hating him in the end like his old man, he still wanted to at least try, even if there was only a small chance of success, he still felt like he owed it to her to try his very best.

When he was about to begin cleaning, a sudden thought suddenly came to his mind. If he were to begin cleaning up all this much dust, he would really be risking getting his lungs clogged or worse dying of suffocation.

He placed his left hand against his chin in thought, after a brief moment an idea quickly came to mind. His eyes glanced downwards, giving his tunic a quick inspection. Hitoshi frowned a bit but said. "Guess this'll do." 

He then tugged at the worn linen until it ripped, tearing a sizable amount of fabric from it, fashioning a makeshift mask to cover his nose and mouth. "Now I look like one of those ninja guys or should I say the legendary cleaning ninja!." he said to himself with a small, determined grin, the fabric muffling his voice as he spontaneously struck a flashy pose, broom in hand.

Gripping the broom with both hands, he got to work. Dust billowed into the air as he knocked it off the ancient wooden bedframe, causing him to cough despite his mask. "Geez, it's like this place hasn't been cleaned in a hundred years," he muttered between sweeps.

Yet, despite his age, Hitoshi's cleaning skills were surprisingly meticulous. With each precise stroke of the broom and careful wipe of surfaces, the room slowly transformed from a dusty, decrepit space into something more livable.

Half an hour passed before the door creaked open, revealing Eri Onee-san with a wooden tray in hand. The aroma of cooked meat soup wafted into the room. Her sharp eyes widened slightly at the sight before her. The once gloomy room now gleamed faintly under the lantern’s eerie light, the bed neatly made, the desk cleared of grime, and the floor spotless.

Eri blinked in disbelief, her composed demeanor faltering for a moment. "What... happened here?" she murmured under her breath.

Hitoshi, seated at the desk with the servant manual open before him, noticed her presence and quickly stood up. His small frame straightened as he greeted her politely. "Welcome back, Eri Onee-san!" he chirped, his voice filled with innocent enthusiasm.

Eri's brows furrowed. "Did you... clean this room by yourself?"

Hitoshi's face paled, thinking he might have done something wrong. "I-I didn’t mean to mess up anything!. I just thought it was really dirty, so I cleaned it. I swept the floor, wiped the desk, made the bed—oh, I’m sorry if that was bad!" His voice trembled as he dropped to his knees, bowing repeatedly. "Please forgive me, Eri Onee-san!. I promise I’ll fix whatever I did wrong!."

Eri blinked, stunned by his panicked reaction. ' What's wrong with him, he seems even more frightened than usual.' For a moment, she lamented inwardly at how easily frightened he was.

' But he does look even cuter than before, a bit charming even.' She couldn’t deny how adorable he looked with his flushed, tearful face, even she was stunned by his cute yet charming visage, not expecting to see such features in a scruffy looking human slave.

 "It's ok I'm not going to punish you so get up," she said firmly but not unkindly. "It’s fine. You did well." She added with a light smile.

Hitoshi’s wide eyes sparkled with relief. "Really? Thank you, Eri Onee-san!"

' He seems even more energetic with just a little words of praise....so easily manipulated...' She let out a small sigh, thinking to herself that she would make an effort to educate him in the near future.

"Forget it. Here." She held out the tray with the bowl of steaming soup. "Eat this." She offered.

Hitoshi’s lips trembled as he stared at the bowl. A flood of emotions crashed over him in that instant.

Memories of hunger, cold nights, and the cruelty of his former life felt like a growing tsunami of emotions that threatened to topple him over. Before he knew it, Tears welled up in his eyes before he could stop them.