Six months had passed since they were both reincarnated. Listening to their parents' conversations had helped them understand better, though each was progressing at his own pace.
Rudeus's English grades in his past life had been mediocre. He'd never been good with languages. But now... it was different. Perhaps this new body was exceptional. Or maybe it was simply age: being so young, his memory seemed absurdly good. Like a sponge.
Daiki had figured it out even earlier. In his previous life, he'd been a polyglot. Now that ability combined with a baby's virgin brain, and the result was... unsettling. He learned too fast. After six months of listening to their parents, both already understood the basics of the language. And by then, they could crawl. Being able to move was wonderful. They'd never felt such gratitude for the simple fact that their bodies could move.
"If I look away for one second, they're off somewhere..." Zenith complained, exhausted.
"Both of them?" Paul asked with a nervous laugh.
"Both of them. Rudeus heads to the library, Daiki to the kitchen. I don't know which is worse."
"It's good that they're so active. When they were born, neither of them cried and we were worried." Paul tried to sound reassuring.
"They still don't cry, you know?" Zenith murmured.
Their parents said this while watching them move around everywhere. Of course, they weren't at an age where they'd scream just from being hungry anymore. Though when it came to... down there... no matter how much they tried to hold it, they'd still end up wetting their diapers, so they didn't hold back and just let it go.
Even if it was just crawling, being able to move around had allowed them to understand many things.
First, this house was well-off. A two-story wooden building with more than five rooms. They even had a maid. At first Rudeus thought she might be his aunt, but since her attitude toward his parents was extremely respectful, he concluded she wasn't family.
Daiki, for his part, had noticed something strange about his brother for weeks now. The way Rudeus moved through the house wasn't... normal. Not for a baby. There was a certain deliberation in his movements, a certain intention. And the way he looked at Lilia, the maid, or even at their own mother... Daiki knew that look. It was the look of someone older trapped in a small body.
‹Could he also...?›
Rudeus had occasionally caught Daiki's penetrating gaze on him. His twin brother was too observant, too still when he should be exploring mindlessly like any baby. There was something uncomfortable in those eyes. But he couldn't be sure. Maybe he was just being paranoid.
The location was rural. Through the window, they could see a peaceful countryside landscape. The other houses were very spread out; between the wheat fields, you could only make out two or three. This was deep country.
There were no electrical poles or streetlights. Maybe there wasn't a power plant nearby. Rudeus had heard that in foreign countries they buried electrical cables underground, but then it wouldn't make sense for this house to have no electricity. This was just too rural. For someone like him, who'd lived immersed in civilization, it could be a bit rough. Even if he'd been reborn, he'd at least like to be able to use a computer.
That's what he was thinking... until one afternoon.
Since they had nothing to do, both decided to look at the countryside landscape. As always, Rudeus climbed onto a chair and looked out the window. Daiki followed him, climbing up beside him with disconcerting fluidity, almost no visible effort.
Rudeus watched him out of the corner of his eye.
‹How the hell...? That balance isn't normal. Not even for me.›
The way Daiki had distributed his weight, his body control... it was too precise for a baby.
‹There's definitely something weird about him.›
Daiki noticed Rudeus's stare and kept his expression neutral. ‹He already suspects,› he thought. They shared a brief glance before turning their gaze back outside.
And that's when they got a surprise.
Their father was in the garden, wielding a sword.
‹Huh? What? What's he doing?›
Rudeus blinked, confused.
‹That guy swinging a sword around at his age is my father? Is he stuck in his chuunibyou phase?›
Daiki observed the scene with narrowed eyes. His father was wielding the sword with... real technique. The grip, the stance, the hip movement.
‹That's not a game. He knows what he's doing.› Daiki thought with curiosity; he didn't think it was a syndrome.
‹Ah, shit...›
From the shock, Rudeus slipped off the chair. His clumsy hands couldn't hold on, and he fell backward to the floor, neck first.
Kyaa!!
Daiki reacted on instinct, stretching out his small arm toward his brother, but it was too late. His baby body didn't respond with the speed his mind demanded.
‹Damn it...›
At the moment of impact, they heard a scream.
Zenith had dropped the clothes she was hanging, her hand over her mouth and a pale expression as she looked at the scene.
"Rudy!!! Are you okay!?"
She ran toward him desperately and picked him up in her arms. When their eyes met, her face filled with relief and she let out a sigh.
"...Phew, you seem to be okay."
‹When someone hits their head, you shouldn't move them too much, ma'am...› Rudeus scolded her mentally.
Daiki watched them from the chair, his hands still extended in a frustrated gesture.
‹I should have grabbed him. This body...› He looked at Rudeus being examined by their mother. ‹Will he be okay?›
From how nervous Zenith got, Rudeus must have fallen pretty badly. And he hit the back of his head.
‹Maybe I've become an idiot. Though it wouldn't be that different anyway.›
His head was throbbing. Even so, he'd tried to grab onto the chair, so he didn't fall too hard. Since his mother didn't seem too alarmed, he probably wasn't bleeding. Probably just got a bump.
She carefully examined his head. She had an expression that said:
‹If there's a wound, this is serious›
Finally, she placed her hand on Rudeus's head and recited:
"Just in case... May divine power, rich and fragrant nourishment, grant strength to those who have lost it and make them rise again... Healing!"
Rudeus almost choked on his laughter.
Daiki froze on the chair, eyes wide open.
‹It can't be...›
...But they didn't have time to process it. Just as Zenith's hand glowed faintly, Rudeus's pain disappeared in an instant.
Daiki observed Zenith's hands over little Rudeus. The green light wasn't part of some show. There were no magic powders hidden in her sleeves, no illusionist tricks he knew of.
It was healing magic. Real.
‹...Huh?›
"There, you're all better now. Still, your mother used to be quite a famous adventurer, you know?"
Zenith said it with an air of pride.
Rudeus was completely confused. Sword, warrior, adventurer, healing, spell, cleric...
Those words wouldn't stop spinning in his head.
‹What was that? What did she do?›
From the chair, Daiki continued processing what he'd just witnessed. The light. The glow in his mother's hand. The pain that instantly disappeared from Rudeus's face. His analytical mind began to work.
‹I see... Another world. My hypothesis has been confirmed.›
Daiki had wished not to have that ability when he was reborn. He wanted to start from zero, be normal. But now... now it would prove useful.
Since opening his eyes in this body, he'd been analyzing the inconsistencies. A two-story house, several rooms, a maid... but no electricity. No technology. The language was completely different. Nothing matched any country he knew.
But magic was the definitive proof. He wasn't on his Earth.
"What happened?" Paul, hearing Zenith's scream, poked his head through the window from outside. He was sweaty, probably from swinging his sword so much.
"Listen, dear! Rudy climbed on a chair and almost seriously hurt himself!"
"Well, it's healthy for children to be that active," Paul said calmly.
A slightly hysterical mother, and a father who took it easy. It was a scene you'd see often. But this time, perhaps because Rudeus had fallen on his back, Zenith didn't give in.
"Look, this child hasn't even been alive for a year yet. You should worry more!"
"Even so... children get stronger by falling and getting hurt. And if he gets injured, you can heal him every time, can't you?"
"But what if one day he gets hurt so badly I can't heal him..."
"Don't worry."
Paul said that and entered the house. He walked toward them and hugged all three: Zenith with Rudeus in her arms, and extended an arm to pull in Daiki, who was still on the chair observing everything.
Daiki let himself be carried without resistance.
‹A family,› he thought, feeling the warmth of the embrace. It was strange. Comforting. Something he'd forgotten long ago.
Zenith's face blushed.
"When they were born, I worried that they didn't cry... But if they're this mischievous, then they'll be fine..."
Paul gave Zenith a quick kiss.
‹Hey, hey, what a way to show off, you two...› Rudeus thought.
Daiki discreetly looked away.
‹Too sappy.›
Afterward, they left them in the adjoining room to sleep, and went upstairs... to make them a little brother (or sister).
Even though they were upstairs, you could hear everything.
Rudeus mentally covered his ears.
‹Damn happy couple...›
Daiki lay awake in his crib, staring at the ceiling. The sounds didn't disturb him. It was a huge contrast with Rudeus, who seemed uncomfortable... or was it envy?
‹Magic.›
‹Swords. Adventurers. Maybe here I won't be so abnormal.›
In his past life, he'd mastered his body to inhuman limits, had seen things most would consider impossible. But this... It was a relief.
Next to him, in the other crib, Rudeus also stared at the ceiling.
From that moment on, both began to pay careful attention to the conversations between their parents and the maid. And then, they realized there were many words that weren't familiar to them. Especially names of countries, territories, regions... All the proper nouns were completely unknown.
For Rudeus, it was a gradual process of acceptance. The pieces fit together one after another: the absence of technology, real magic, the strange names, the unknown language.
‹This isn't Earth. It's another world. A world of swords and magic.›
For Daiki, confirmation came with Zenith's healing magic.
‹Reincarnation. Another world. Verifiable magic.›
But where their thoughts diverged was in what this new opportunity meant.
Rudeus, lying in his crib, stared at the ceiling with a mixture of hope and determination he hadn't felt in decades.
‹If it's in this world... maybe I can make it too.›
In his previous life, he'd been a waste. A total failure. But now, with this second chance, in a world with different rules...
‹Maybe I can live like a normal person. Try hard like a normal person. Even if I stumble, get back up and keep moving forward.›
The memories of his death still haunted him. The helplessness. The anger at himself for not having done absolutely anything with his life. But now he had knowledge, experience, and above all...
‹This time I'll do it right. This time I'll be different.›
In the crib next to him, Daiki was processing the situation with a completely different perspective.
‹Another life. Another world. And this ability is still here.›
He'd wished it would disappear when he was reborn. That superhuman analytical ability that had distanced him from everyone in his previous life. A calculating machine in the form of a person.
But it was still there. Stronger than ever, combined with a baby's virgin brain.
‹I wanted to be normal. I wanted to start from zero. But will I be able to here? With magic in the equation, maybe I will.›
He observed Rudeus in the other crib. His twin brother stared at the ceiling with an expression Daiki recognized: hope. The hope of someone who believes they can change.
‹He reincarnated too. That's obvious. The way he moves, how he observes everything... He's not a normal baby.›
Daiki had noticed Rudeus's occasional glances toward him. The suspicions were mutual. Both knew the other was... different.
‹Should I...?›
‹No. Not yet.›
Rudeus noticed the unsettling tranquility of his older brother, though technically he was only older by a few minutes. He wasn't completely sure, but the probability that he was also a reincarnator was high.