"Shauwn ARKYNAS," he replied, complying with their demands.
The two statues remained silent for a few seconds, analyzing the information. Once the verification was complete, they cleared the path previously blocked by their weapons and returned to their lifeless, inanimate state. Inside stood the receptionist — an anthropomorphic rabbit.
If he hadn't already seen a headless woman talking and a slime earlier, he would've sworn it was a costume. A feminine body covered in light black and white fur, long ears characteristic of her species, four fingers with retractable claws, and soft pads in her palms.
Her wide eyes seemed somewhat unreal. Shauwn could only see half her body, but he could've sworn she was standing on the balls of her feet. Her silhouette was slender and tall, yet broad and powerful where her most-used muscles were.
She wore a black uniform consisting of a polo shirt with an insignia printed on the chest, and pants that hugged her curves while keeping a loose fit at the bottom.
"Welcome to the Aegis Residence. How may I help you?" she said cheerfully.
"I'm new. The director told me my housing was here," Shauwn replied impassively.
However, inside, he was restless.
[Mask of Neutrality has been activated!]
[Emotional Filter has been activated!]
[Both skills are reacting strongly to your inner state!]
His fist clenched while his fingers twitched erratically. His whole body restrained itself from touching her — or even pinching her cheek.
Too cute.
It was a rather new feeling for him to describe someone like that. It was true he had seen pets before, but he never owned one to make such a remark. Seeing one in a more or less humanoid form had completely disarmed him.
"Oh! A new resident! A new resident!" the bunny woman continued excitedly, even bouncing on the spot.
Shauwn watched her with a neutral gaze, his eyes following her from head to toe. He cleared his throat to bring her back to her senses.
"Sorry, sorry! This year we've had a lot of new residents, and I'm so happy about it! You're Shauwn, right? I was already informed of your arrival. Here are your apartment keys — and I'll give you a quick tour!"
The key slid along the receptionist's counter toward him. It was marked with the number 505 — his apartment number. The bunny hopped over the counter that separated them to show him around the building.
The rabbit woman sometimes walked while hopping and humming softly. She really seemed cheerful and overly energetic. Aegis was a three-story building. The ground floor housed a common room — a minimalist lounge with couches, a few tables, a screen, and two vending machines in the corners. However, the space didn't seem much used, as most residents apparently didn't enjoy spending time together.
There was also a shared laundry room, a kitchen, and a small cafeteria.
"So, if you ever need me to cook something for you or help you with anything, you can always come see me or contact me from your apartment. But you're not really required to eat on the ground floor — you have almost everything in your individual rooms. Almost no one eats down here anyway..." she said, sounding a bit sad before quickly perking up again.
"I'm not a maid! I'm more like a caretaker or a nanny? I take care of you all as best as I can, so if you have any problems, you can come see me. I'm not that busy!"
Shauwn walked behind her as she spoke, and with each hop or sway of her hips, her round, pompom-like tail wiggled slightly. Staring at it distracted him; he sometimes had trouble following what she was saying, forcing himself to look away from her lower back.
The receptionist, noticing this, turned her head to see what was distracting him. When she realized it was her, she started panicking. Her body began trembling, and her fingers nervously found their way to her mouth, bitten by her two protruding front teeth.
"I... I-I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have taken this form! I thought it would make things easier... I can take a more human form if you'd like! I'm sorry, so sorry, I didn't know it would disgust you that much!" she pleaded, her voice shaky and breaking.
She couldn't keep her gaze steady, turning her head in all directions before finally burying her face in her hands. He wasn't disgusted at all — far from it. He actually found it rather cute. But he avoided saying anything to prevent any misunderstanding.
"No... it's fine."
"Really?!"
"Yes."
"Okay."
With that, Shauwn left without another word, taking the stairs to the upper floors. There were four apartments on each of the three floors. His was on the second, at the end of a brightly lit hallway with embedded ceiling lights.
Shauwn's apartment was fairly standard — a living room already furnished, connected to a small kitchen, a comfortable bedroom, and a bathroom — the bare minimum for a student.
He walked through each room, inspecting every corner to familiarize himself with his new home. The place where he lingered the most was the bathroom, where he finally understood what the director meant by "tint." His originally black hair now had streaks of deep crimson red. Not only that — his eyes also bore the same red hue.
How could he possibly go unnoticed when his very body screamed to be seen? Of course, he had tried to wash it off, but the change was permanent. Shauwn sighed deeply as he thought back to the situation. It was surely due to the awakening of the Antithesis Gene, and if that gene could affect his physical appearance, he wondered what else might have changed more deeply within him.
Then there was the part of the apartment that affected him the most — the balcony. It could only be accessed from the living room through a double glass door. From there, Shauwn could observe the sky — a calm place where he could relax.
Now that he was settled, he could finally focus on the mysterious voice and the interface he had seen earlier. Sitting cross-legged in the living room, he concentrated, and with a simple thought, it reappeared.
[Would you like to view your system-related information: 𝔄:]
"Yes," Shauwn said curiously.
[Please pronounce the command 'Status.']
"Status."