Sticking to the areas with poor lighting, I moved around the first floor of the two-story mansion, getting a lay of the land with my Perception. Soon enough, I ended up under the grand staircase in the direct center of the house.
From here, I could surmise that all eight of the bedrooms were on the second floor; meanwhile, the first floor had a kitchen, dining room, front room, sitting room, den, and living room.
The place reeked of wealth, with expensive paintings and sculptures here and there, and even the rugs looked to be antique, at least a hundred and fifty years old.
’Luckily, from Henry’s mind, I know that they haven’t been living here long, at the very most, three months, and it is one of the MANY homes they own in the area; heh, what’s one less house for them, I doubt they’d even know…hm…’ scanning around the mansion with my eyes closed I suddenly picked up on something faint, in the farthest bedroom on the second floor.
’Particles, well, well, well, it seems she did, in fact, return to the past, and based on her being only level three of the Non-Rank, I guess she hasn’t been back that long.’
’Either that or she is taking her time leveling up….or she’s just a plain old coward and doesn’t want to venture into the instances before she is confident enough that she won’t be killed.’ Leaning forward, raising my hand in that direction, I felt something off. I began focusing on the density and makeup of that faint particle signature, and my face scrunched up as I felt less aversion toward the person emitting the faint radiation.
’I see…so that’s it… she’s at third Classification… that’s interesting, and here I was thinking that I won the lottery, allowing me to carry over my Racial Classification.’ Snapping open my eyes, I noticed the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the staircase under which I was hiding.
’I didn’t put much thought into the fact that other people may have brought their Racial Classification with them to the past, but maybe there was some hidden requirement to do so, like being past 3C or something.’ Tapping my chin with my index finger, I delved deeper into that thought process.
’If that’s the case, then there is a good chance that Brenden will be significantly higher than Basic Human when he returns. Well, here she comes; let’s see if the rumors about her having a sixth sense for danger were true.’ Smirking under my mask, I felt the presence of particles strengthening as the little girl who wielded them came running down the upstairs hallway.
Tucking away from sight, I lay prone under the stairs and drew in my particles; although I had no way of knowing how good her sensory technique was, that didn’t mean I was going to purposely out myself early; as such, I entered my "Stealth mode" the very same one I had used when Slater was trying to find me on the train, and observed the little girl as she hopped up and slid down the long banister before dropping down onto the final step of the stairs and freezing in place momentarily.
It was only a single moment of hesitation. Still, in my mind’s eye, I perceived the stutter in her movement. I watched as she slowly walked down the final step before experiencing a noticeable transformation in her body language.
’Ah, so that’s what it looks like when I do it; well, I suppose there is no point in hiding from her; she already knows I’m here and is Cycling her Particles, readying herself for combat.’
As I do, Renni had shifted from playing the part of a normal five-year-old child to that of a graceful and mature woman. The casual change of maturity was something I had perfected over the years, but it was still strange for me to witness someone doing the same thing.
Shrugging my shoulders, I barrel rolled out from under the staircase and bounced up to my feet before dusting off my hoodie and pants, then walking to greet the other returner.
’How about we have a little Chat, Ms. Henrietta Harriot Harrington, or would you prefer me to call you Renni as everyone else did back then…Oh, yeah, just think your words; don’t speak them. I’m sure you can understand my Talent from the fact that you can hear me in your head.’
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Stepping around the corner, I grinned under my mask as I came into view of what I could only describe as a little princess. From the way her hair was done to the frilly pink dress, Renni was the picture-perfect storybook princess.
So much so that I couldn’t resist the temptation to tease her, my thoughts leaking into her mind.
’Or maybe I should just call you Princess Harrington; I mean, you do, after all, fit the title, at least from an image standpoint.’
’Creepy mask, glowing icy blue eyes, telepathic abilities…it seems either someone used necromancy to bring the most infamous Villain the world has ever seen back to life long enough that he could get his hands on a returner’s pill, or you weren’t dead to begin with…so which is it… Xipher.’ Speaking back through the telepathic connection I had formed and tilting her head to the side cutely, there wasn’t a hint of fear or dread in her mental voice; instead, she seemed to be rather excited that I had shown up.
Her words and tone made me pause for a moment before bursting out into laughter through the connection between us.
’Well, I’ll be damned, is the princess a fan of mine, huh… of all the possibilities I came up with, when I realized it was your house I stumbled into, I never saw that one coming. You are correct in the latter half of your deduction; I was never dead, only bored and in a relaxing environment, at least until those alien fucks attacked.’