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.