— Rudeus POV —
I’ve already decided to live this life seriously and work hard.
However, I didn’t expect that besides me, there would be another reincarnator, and it’s my twin sister.
Even though we’re twins, she doesn’t look much like me.
She looks more like Zenith, though her eye color is the same as mine and Paul’s, and she has a beauty mark under her right eye.
This person is from Dongda.
She’s been very familiar and friendly with me, trying to get close, and she wants to learn magic from me.
Out of consideration for continuing to live in this house, I reluctantly taught her.
I really dislike this person.
Even though she has the soul of a man, she always puts on a disgusting and affected performance of a cute little girl.
“Rudy, what kind of person do you want to be when you grow up?”
During dinner, it seems all parents ask their children about their future aspirations, and even those in another world are no exception.
The lively Zenith always enlivens the atmosphere at home with a smile.
I already had an answer to her question.
“Mother, I want to become a person like Father.”
“Ah, that’s wonderful, Rudy!
Then work hard with me as your goal!”
Paul’s stupid face was filled with pride.
Heh, he was fooled by just one sentence from me.
He really is quite a fool.
“Luna-chan, what do you want to do in the future?”
“Conquer the world!”
…
Everyone in the house fell silent, and Zenith looked especially awkward.
What on earth is this person saying?
Is that something a child would say?
“Lu…
Luna-chan, conquering the world is a bit too difficult.
Besides conquering the world, what else do you want to do?”
“Hmm…” This person even pretentiously put a finger to her chin to think.
“Build a harem!
And marry lots and lots of beautiful women like Mama!”
“Haha, Mama is so happy to be praised by Luna-chan!
But you know, Luna-chan is supposed to marry a boy in the future.”
Zenith happily gave that person a kiss.
Is saying things like that how one gets parents to like them?
“Then I want to be Papa’s bride!”
Ugh…
She can even say things like that.
I’m about to throw up.
Does this person have any integrity at all?
“Haha, then Luna-chan must find a boy as handsome as Papa when you grow up.”
Paul very happily lifted that person onto his shoulders and affectionately rubbed his cheek against hers, making her giggle.
If I didn’t know that inside this person was also a thirty-something-year-old uncle, I would think this scene was very heartwarming.
— Luna POV —
“You…
how could you even say things like that!”
It was time for secret practice again, but it seemed that because of my overly affectionate behavior with Paul and Zenith yesterday, Rudy was very upset.
“What’s wrong?
Isn’t it normal?
I think this is how a normal child behaves.
You’re the one who’s too mature.”
“But…”
“No buts.
Isn’t it good to be like me?
Since Paul and Zenith treat us as their own children, then let’s treat them the way children do and satisfy them.”
“But they aren’t my real parents after all…”
Rudy seemed to remember something unpleasant, and his words trailed off.
“Did something unpleasant happen between you and your parents before you reincarnated?”
“None of your business!”
Rudy said this and ran out without looking back.
He must have had some unpleasant past with his parents.
Mentioning Paul and Zenith just now touched his old scars.
It didn’t seem like his parents owed him, but rather that he owed his parents.
As a result, this guy ignored me for several days straight.
“Rudy-onii-chan, I was wrong.
Please forgive me, okay?”
Rudy was sitting alone in an empty room on the second floor, flipping through a magic book.
This guy is as stubborn as a real child; I have to be the one to proactively coax him.
“…”
Even acting cute doesn’t work?
Right, this guy knows what I really am.
“If you don’t speak, I’ll take it as you’ve forgiven me.”
Plop.
I sat down beside him to read the book together.
He didn’t drive me away, which meant our conflict could still be resolved.
I could only switch to a mature tone and say, “I’m sorry, Rudy.
I hurt you by saying those things yesterday without thinking.
I didn’t know about your past, so can you forgive me?”
Rudy was silent for a while, then said in a low voice, “It’s not about forgiveness.
Actually, it’s all my own problem.”
“Alright, I won’t pry into your past anymore.
Can we say we’ve made up?”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t help but ruffle Rudy’s hair.
“Luna…” He didn’t look up at me, just spoke with his head down.
Maybe he was embarrassed or had some other thoughts.
“Hmm?”
“Maybe you should be the older sister.
I feel like you’re more mature than me.”
“No way.
There’s no benefit to being the older sister.
If anything happens in the future, I’d have to solve it.
So it’s better for you to be the older brother.
Paul and the others have high expectations for you too.
I’ll just hide behind you.”
“Haha, you’re really cunning.”
Rudy looked up and gave me a faint smile.
With that, our little conflict came to an end.
???
Time flew by, and spring arrived.
The spring breeze was warm and gentle, and everything was coming back to life.
We were still in the upstairs room, practicing magic.
Rudy’s magical attainment was very high.
He could easily cast various elementary spells, and without incantations.
“By the way, how do you manage to cast without incantations?”
“Well…
once I got used to it, I just imagined the feeling of the magic being cast, and it worked.”
Imagination?
The ‘I fink, therefore it is’ method?
“Is that so?”
I also continuously simulated the feeling of casting a Water Ball in my mind.
Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate…
Okay, that’s it.
Fire!
Whoosh, a Water Ball shot out…
“Yay!
I can do it too…
What’s wrong, Rudy?”
His expression was a bit complicated, looking somewhat dejected.
Perhaps he felt that this talent was unique to him alone.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“But then again, my mana capacity still isn’t as high as yours.
I can’t use magic many times a day.”
“Haha, that kind of thing will improve with training.”
Don’t think I don’t know you’re feeling a bit smug, kid.
“Pia!
Pia!
Take this, Spirit Gun!”
Ever since I learned chantless casting, Rudy and I had been shooting water guns at each other in the room, just like typical naughty kids in the summer back in the modern world.
“What are we going to do about being soaking wet later?”
“We can just use magic to dry off.
Keep going!”
The two of us played with reckless abandon.
Anyway, with magic available, he would cast Fire Magic, and I’d blow it with Wind Magic.
The room and our clothes would dry in no time.
???
“Rudy, Luna, come downstairs for dinner!”
Splat!
Zenith, who opened the door to call us for dinner, was hit by my Water Ball right in the face.
She froze in place with a smiling expression.
Generally, Zenith just calling for us would be enough, but since the two of us were only three-year-olds, she was afraid Rudy and I might fall down the stairs.
So every time, either she or Lilia would come to carry us down.
Things remained frozen like that for a moment.
A Water Ball was still floating above Rudy’s hand.
“Ah!
Darling, come here quickly!”
Zenith let out a joyful scream; it should be a good thing.
But Rudy panicked and stood there at a loss.
I felt like he was overreacting a bit.
A moment later, Paul came thumping up the stairs.
“What’s wrong, Zenith?”
Paul had been practicing his swordsmanship again.
His body was covered in lean muscle and a six-pack.
I’m so envious of that kind of physique; in my past life, I could only watch a few fitness videos and fantasize, never having trained systematically.
“Ah!
Darling, Rudy and Luna can use magic!”
Zenith excitedly grabbed Paul’s hand and jumped up and down.
Mr.
Paul had a look of bewilderment, then looked at the two of us suspiciously.
“Rudy, Luna, when did you two learn that?”
“The other day, Rudy found a magic book, and then we just…
learned it.”
I tried my best to cover for Rudy; I couldn’t exactly say he’d already learned magic a year ago.
If I did, Paul and Zenith would probably send Rudy to some place like the Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital.
Moreover, I generated a water ball in front of Paul to demonstrate.
Paul’s eyes lit up upon seeing it, and Zenith let out a loud scream of joy.
They didn’t find the idea of their child being self-taught or learning to read too shocking; they simply thought their children were geniuses.
Even though this is a Western fantasy world, there might be institutions like the Inquisition that hunt witches and wizards.
But looking at Zenith and Paul’s expressions, they seem quite familiar with magic—at least they don’t view it as some kind of demonic power like ignorant people might.
And who knows, there might even be magic schools in this world, complete with cliché plots like school arena tournaments.
“Kyaa!
Darling, did you see that?
Luna and Rudy are geniuses!
Let’s hire a tutor for them!”
“Alright, they’ve reached the age where they can start learning.
Let Rudy study swordsmanship with me, and the hired tutor can teach Luna magic.”
“Eh?
But Rudy can use magic too.
Wouldn’t that be wasting his talent?”
“Didn’t we agree that boys would learn swordsmanship from me and girls would become Magicians?”
“But Rudy can already use magic at such a young age.
Shouldn’t he be allowed to study it too?”
“But a promise is a promise!
Boys should learn swordsmanship from me!”
Ugh, this couple, who were just acting all lovey-dovey, were now bickering over their children’s education.
And the point of contention was a career path decided before the children were even born.
“Daddy, Mommy, can’t we learn both swordsmanship and magic?”
“…” The silly parents suddenly realized something and then—smack—they hugged each other.
“That’s right!
We can let both children learn together.
Magic in the morning, swordsmanship in the afternoon.”
“Exactly, darling!
Why didn’t I think of that?”
Having such a sappy couple as my parents…
I feel like I’m going to lose years off my life.
Later, the maid Lilia took a public carriage to Roa City to post a recruitment notice for a home tutor.
Speaking of which, the fact that this country has things like public carriages suggests it’s a very prosperous nation for its era.
From a geography book Rudy found somewhere in the house, I learned that the country we live in is called the Asura Kingdom.
Our home is in Buena Village, located on the northern border of the Fithea Territory.
It’s a village with a modest population but a very peaceful life.
The only trouble the village faces might be the occasional monster attack from the forest.
My father, Paul, is the resident knight of the village, similar to a tribune.
During seasons when monsters are rampant, he organizes the village men to defend against attacks.
During the monsters’ dormant seasons, he organizes the villagers or hires Adventurers to go into the forest to exterminate monsters and keep their numbers in check.
From the chatter of passing villagers, I gathered that everyone respects Paul.
After all, he is powerful, skilled in martial arts, and fairly upright.
He’s always the first to charge in when trouble arises, making him a truly outstanding man.
He’s also very handsome.
In his spare time, he swings his sword in the yard with his shirt off, making the village girls who peek at him scream in excitement.
However, Paul has no interest in those common women.
With a wife as beautiful as Zenith by his side, there’s no need to offend his lovely wife for the sake of those others.
Besides Zenith, the maid Lilia is also quite attractive.
She wears glasses, always has a cool expression, and never panics, appearing very steady.
Of course, she seems very bad at dealing with Rudy, because that guy is always looking at her with lecherous eyes.
Every time Lilia looks at Rudy, her expression is quite strange.
But Lilia is very good to me.
She feeds me, tucks me in, mends my clothes, knows what I like to eat, and so on…
Maybe it’s because I’m not as overtly perverted as Rudy.
Although I like women too, I don’t stare at them so blatantly.
Besides, I’m still young and don’t have those kinds of feelings yet.
Maybe I’ll find a girl who shares my orientation in the future.
Finally, regarding Zenith, she is very lively and playful.
She doesn’t look like a mother of two at all, carrying a youthful, maiden-like aura.
With blonde hair and blue eyes, she has a great figure.
But when I think about how I’ll eventually have a pair of ‘airbags’ about the same size as hers on my own chest, I feel a sense of powerlessness wash over me.
Also, Zenith seems to believe in…
the Millis Church, which is very similar to Christianity from my past life, advocating monogamy.
She is very devout, but not in a blind way.
She truly practices the Millis Church’s vows of saving the weak and spreading kindness, working all day at the village clinic.
It seems she’s the only Healer in Buena Village—no, the only Healer in the entire surrounding area.
Many sick or injured villagers from nearby settlements come to her for treatment.
I get the feeling that my parents are actually hidden masters who got tired of their previous adventuring life and decided to live in seclusion here.