The Residents

AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Somebody help me! There's a psycho after me!

Well she's not really a psycho but it's not wrong to call her one if she's being obsessed at hugging me since she called me cute.

I AM NOT CUTE!

The psycho, I mean woman, after me is called Himeko Natsume, a twenty-five years old. She's apparently a professional psychic and is on demand with the big shots of society. She's one of the residents of Plum Blossom Mansion.

She has the looks, wealth and brain, but she's got a weird obsession with children.

And apparently, I classify as one because of how I look.

"APRIL! COME TO ONEE-SAN! I will treat you with cake!"

"I don't like cake! Leave me alone!"

An hour before dinner, which was about a half an hour ago, she arrived from work. She had not been home for two days and was apparently exhausted. Sylvia, Klint and I decided to introduce ourselves. Once she landed her gaze on me she started squealing and then started running after me.

Of course, being me, I ran away and that's where we are now.

It's impossible to think that she was exhausted.

And it's my displeasure to say that she got me.

Hands off me woman!

"Himeko. Stop scaring the new kids. And April does not like to be manhandled."

Manhandled? Sakura! This is more humiliating than being manhandled!

"But! But he's so cute! Even when he's glaring at me!"

By the way, they're speaking in Japanese.

"Let go of the kid Himeko. Don't you have to go under the purification process? I already had the basement prepared."

"Eeeehhh…"

She reluctantly lets go of me and I can finally breathe.

"Thank you Sakura."

"You should call me Onee-san April."

Huh? Onee-san? Big sister?

"Why?"

"I'm your guardian now. It's also awkward to call me aunt since I'm only twenty-five years old. Onee-san would be fine."

Is she serious?

"That goes the same to you Sylvia, Klint."

Don't just agree to it guys!

*SIGH*

Fine.

"Sakura-onee-san."

It's awkward.

"Good! The others should be home soon. They'll probably introduce themselves to you. Find something to do before you're called for dinner."

The mansion has a live-in chef that's in-charge of preparing food. Her name is Hinata Hase. I don't know if she's human or not yet. Other than her, there's a cleaner that cleans the house once a week and a person in-charge of laundry.

It's a pretty luxurious life. Very different from the life Sylvia, Klint and I had lived in Hope Orphanage.

Hope Orphanage.

Damn, I miss them.

I should do something to get my mind off of sad thoughts.

Wait… I feel like I'm forgetting something.

[Reminder. Only 13 hours left to perform [Daily Mission].]

AH! That's it! I forgot to do the exercise this morning!

Well, I was in the plane then. And then I got caught up with the whole travelling and conversation with Sakura-nee-san's father and brother.

Huh. I'm really calling her Sakura-nee-san.

I should probably head to the back of the mission and do the exercise before dinner. I have never really missed the [Daily Mission] before, but considering the consequences if I don't do it, I don't want to miss it.

Well then, let's-

Hmm? Someone's watching me.

I take out a dagger from by boot and throw it to a nearby tree where I'm sensing the presence of someone.

*THUD*

"Ow!"

That voice sounds like a guy. Did I actually hit him?

From the shadows, a figure emerges.

Who is this guy? Is he one of the residents here?

Wait… sky-blue eyes, dirty-white hair, pasty-white skin and a tall stature. Is he the foreign resident Sakura-nee talked about?

What was his name again?

Hmm…

Ah! Niklaus!

"You're Niklaus, right?"

"Ooh! You know about me? How can you tell?"

"Sakura-nee mentioned you. It's not that hard to identify it since you don't look like a local."

Eh? Why is he silent? Did I somehow… upset him?

NOOOO!!!! I did not mean to upset him!

I-

"Amazing! You can speak Russian?"

Ha? What is he talking about?

[Notice. <Language Arts> is effect.]

Right. I should probably try to control myself in terms if language. I seriously can't tell if I'm already switching.

[Notice. <Language Arts> is a passive skill. Would you like the system to inform you if the other person is talking in another language?]

Ooh! You can do that?

[Affirmative.]

Yes to that! Wait, can you also tell me what language they're speaking?

[Answer. Reach Level 4 in Authority Level to activate that function.]

Ugh. So I have to level up huh.

"HELLO?!"

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

Shit! He scared me! Did I somehow zone out? I apparently tend to do that when I talk to the system.

[Yes.]

I wasn't asking you.

"Sorry Niklaus. I got lost in thought. Uhm… You could say I know a bit?"

"A bit? You're practically fluent at it!"

Are we still speaking in Russian?

"Let's switch to Japanese then."

"Okay."

Wow. He's so easy to convince, isn't he?

"Wait. How did you know my name?" he asks, tilting his head to the side to show his confusion.

"Skura-nee mentioned you."

"Oh! Sakura-nee! I see, I see!"

Yeah. He goes with the flow.

Hmm… I wonder what kind of person he is?

He lives in Plum Blossom Mansion and Sakura-nee said the residents here are involved with the supernatural somehow.

I should probably use <Appraisal> on him.

Name: Niklaus Kei Makarov

Age: 16

Level: 5

Title: [Hunter Apprentice] [Ninja]

Stats:

>Strength: 370

>Intelligence: 400

>Agility: 670

>Stamina: 586

>Defense: 180

Skill List:

<Flash Step>

<Shunpo>

<Ways of the Shinobi>

<Throwing>

<Sakura Short Sword Techniques>

Eeehhh… A Russian who has those skills. I guess he's a half? His second name is Kei too.

Although his stats are lower than mine, I don't think I should underestimate him.

"My name is April Frost." I say to introduce myself.

It's good to have friendly relations on others. Of course, I know not to go overboard.

"I'm Niklaus Kei Makarov! I'm half-Japanese half-Russian! I arrived from Moscow last year! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too."

"Uhm… Niklaus-san-"

"Just call me Nik, April."

"Oh. Uh Nik, why were you hiding behind the tree? I also have the feeling you were watching me."

"Ah, that. I apologize for that. I just arrived from school but then I remembered that the new residents will be arriving today! I saw you on my way inside the mansion so I decided to observe you."

Seriously?

Wait… Heading inside the mansion? Did he jump from the wall of something?

"So April, there's you and two others! Introduce them to me!"

*SIGH*

Despite his height, he sounds a little childish. Is he really a ninja and a hunter?

But then again, we will be living in one house together starting today, so maybe it's not bad.

"Sure, let's go!"

Just in time too! It's dinner time!

***

"My name's Shizukou Tachibana. You can call me Shizu or Shizu-chan! I'm currently a second year high school student!"

And since Klint and Sylvia can't speak Japanese, I translated that to them.

"""Nice to meet you, Shizu."""

Klint calls her Shizu-nee. Well, he is still sixteen.

But isn't he only a year younger than him?

Never mind.

I activate <Appraisal> on her.

Name: Shizukou Tachibana

Age: 17

Level: 9

Title: [Shrine Maiden] [Spirit Vessel of Raijin]

Stats:

>Strength: 360

>Intelligence: 540

>Agility: 388

>Stamina: 578

>Defense: 679

Skill List:

<Purification>

<Raijin's Blessing>

<Lightning Strike>

<Robes of Divinity>

<Shield of Protection>

Whoa. Her skills are awesome. She definitely gives the shrine priestess vibes! Wait, who's Raijin?

[Answer. Raijin, the Japanese god of lightning, thunder and storms.]

Seriously? She looks like a sweet girl too.

Wait, I just noticed something. [Title]?

Why don't I have that?

[Answer. Reach Authority Level 5 to see your [Title].]

Seriously?

"We have another resident, Hiiro Wakaba. He's a detective. He just called a while ago and said he's going to Hokkaido for his new assignment." Sakura-nee says in English. Obviously, she's mindful of Sylvia and Klint since they can't speak Japanese.

Maybe she will have them learn the language before letting them go to school?

As for the detective… assignment huh. What kind of assignment? And I wonder what kind of skills the detective has.