Mushoku Tensei: Brotherhood
Some days later, Lilia POV
Throughout all her life as a maid in service, not once has Lilia ever seen children as… unique as the ones of Paul and Zennith Greyrat.
Her time in service in the Asura Palace taught her many skills and responsibilities befitting that of a royal handmaiden. After all, anything less would be a repulsive dishonor, especially when she was tasked in service of and in care of the princess.
Even today, she never understood why she had ever been put in such a position, especially with her having no noble background (at most, she was the daughter of an advanced Water God Style swordsman).
But still, she was trained with these handy skills for years, and as such she was well informed in the matters of raising a child.
However, while she was well-informed, she wasn't really that experienced. The birth of Rudeus and Darius Greyrat served to test all her understandings. From the very moment they left their mother's wombs, the two have been nothing short of an anomaly, especially for Rudeus.
Of the two, it was only Darius that had been wailing like any normal child, with Rudeus only wearily following suit with more tamer cries. No, they weren't even cries to begin with…just incoherent babbles.
He was utterly expressionless, and it frightened Lilia. It was as if he were a stillborn, and that was the last thing she wanted, especially when she was so early into her work as the Greyrat's maid. Even thereafter, Rudeus remained the quietest of the two, rarely making a fuss unlike his brother.
It made Lilia fearful of possible abnormalities that must've occurred during birth. There were things that her fellow handmaidens had taught her back in the capital—signs that indicated a birth defect—and Rudeus was really showing many of these signs.
But her worries began to alleviate as time passed… at least, to some degree. Paul and Zenith seemed to be completely indifferent on the matter—though, really, they seemed to be indifferent on a lot of things, as much of their time was dedicated to the notion of producing yet another batch of children.
The babies themselves were also completely healthy, and quite strong to boot. Very strong, in fact. It was only a few months before they were already crawling, then eventually walking around the house aimlessly, and they weren't shy in giving her quite the trouble looking for them.
Indeed, these twins were different from the rest, but they also shared their own individual differences… some of which Lilia didn't particularly like. She found Rudeus's expressions to be utterly repulsive. There wasn't a waking moment where he wasn't smiling, and when he was doing so, it morphed into such a grotesque grin whenever his eyes lingered on her, specifically her bust.
It was starkly similar to that of the nobility in the capital, whose lecherous intentions were as transparent as the open window of a wall-less house.
She tried her best to ignore it, but it had already deeply affected her perspective of the boy. He wasn't normal, at all, and it wasn't in a benevolent way.
If only he were like his brother, she would very frequently ponder. Darius was undoubtedly the most normal of the two, and whenever she caught him gazing at her, it was filled with awe and wonder.
He did sometimes inhibit his own strange behaviors, such as whenever he was feeding from his mother's breasts, but it was clearly better than whatever was possessing the less affectionate and more… perverse Rudeus.
Or was there truly anything possessing that boy? She's already attempted small charms of dispelling spirits on the boy, but his behavior never changed.
Could there be a demon in the boy, then? She's heard tales of such things happening to infants before, and she wasn't one to dismiss superstitions.
But as the year passed, so did these strange behaviors. The boys seemed to mellow out from their odd behaviors—especially Rudeus—and took on something akin to a mature stature. More so, she would occasionally find Rudeus in Paul's study, one of the few books in the household opened before him and seeming to simply be babbling noises while staring at the pages.
No one taught these boys how to read, so she found it very strange. She'd sometimes find Darius there as well, but he'd usually be near either her or his mother. As she's been right to judge for a long time now, Darius felt more… normal.
Nonetheless, Lilia wholly decided to leave the boys as they pleased, despite how irresponsible that sounded. Undisturbed, there was rarely any ruckus from the two, and she had seemed to come to terms with their odd personalities.
At the very least, Rudeus wasn't giving her those lecherous looks as often… he really took after his father.
---
Eighteen months later, Darius POV
And so another year and a half passed living with the Greyrats, and I've grown accustomed to my new lifestyle. The days of self-lamentation have passed, but I'd occasionally and unwillingly remember some stuff from my past life—trivial things, really, like remembering school assignments I was no longer responsible for—and it would sometimes mess up my mood.
I don't think I'll ever be free from this for a long time, but I nonetheless pushed it aside and tried to make the best of my current life.
Slowly learning as the days go by, I soon came to realize that me and my brother were definitely different from what was considered normal around here. Well, really… that was already obvious from the start, but I just had to establish that here and now. I mean, where in the actual world would you find a one year old who could walk and talk?
I wasn't blind to some of the befuddled looks we occasionally received, especially from Lilia, our maid. I think she was probably the most observant of the adults around here… and she definitely didn't seem to like Rudeus that much. I can't blame her; it was almost as if Paul's lustful behavior directly passed down to Rudeus with how he kept eyeing her chest.
It gets to a point where I even feel some second hand embarrassment from it… but I'd try to ignore it for my own sanity.
Speaking of my pervert of a brother… it's been long enough, and I'm pretty certain he's a reincarnate as well. I can just tell. He has always been unnaturally quiet all the time, and I could see a glint of understanding behind those eyes whenever our paths of sight crossed.
Even the way he treated me has been odd… it's not something I'd expect from a normal kid our age. And only recently after finding out that he was reading our parents books did I come to conclude that he definitely wasn't a baby in spirit.
Yet, even with my discovery… it only brought the question as to whether or not I should address him about it. I mean, he probably also suspects me, right? I've tried my best to act like a normal kid, but I'm sure there were a few slip ups on my end.
If he were truly a reincarnate, he'd definitely catch on as well. And… if that were the case… then, we should just get it out of the way… and maybe even work together. Right? Two foreign spirits, navigating this new world with our previous knowledge… maybe make a difference…
…okay, yeah, I get that that sounds sappy and poetic, but it's a path we could take, and probably the best one realistically. If things were going to get edgy, we'd at least be edgy for a good cause.
But… the problem is, I wouldn't even know who he was in his past life. He could be some twisted fuck for all I know, and if I'm out here taking careless decisions, I could be putting a target on my back. We might even end up like Cain and Able or something.
Call me paranoid, but when you're as in-the-dark as I am, there isn't much room for error.
So… with that said, I decided against bringing up the topic, for a long time. Even though I didn't really see him as my true sibling, we were still siblings by blood, and I didn't want to cause any irreversible trouble.
Sure, he was a dick at times… all the time… and definitely seemed to not like me, but I didn't want us to have a harsh relationship.
I never liked the idea of hating my own sibling in the first place. I've already had to deal with that sort of drama in my old life, and I didn't want to bring it here into this new life. It's a reflection of my own morals, and they aren't something I'll toss aside so easily, even now.
That's why I've gone so far trying to be nice to him, even if that meant not really interacting with him as much…
…or, that was the case until now, anyways.
---
While laying flat on the floor on my belly, idly watching Lilia prepare lunch, I suddenly heard a set of smaller feet approach me, and then a slight kick on my shin.
'Ow.' I looked back to see Rudeus, who—against his usual annoyed frown—gave me a somewhat of a hubris grin. "...nii-nii?"
"Come with me," Rudeus said—no, instructed with an insistent voice, clearly leaving no room for arguing. For whatever reason, it was clear he wanted me to come.
"...okay…" With nothing to hold me back, I stood up and followed my brother, not really sure about what he was planning to show me. Generally, I was never sure about him in the first place; he was like an everchanging kaleidoscope. I noticed Lilia giving us a sideways glance as we departed before resuming back to making lunch, seeming to not really care what we were doing. Was that normal for adults around here? I guess our family as a whole was weird.
Soon, Rudeus eventually led me to our dad's study room, the room he spent most of his time holed up in and reading books—something I still wanted to question him about. I quickly noticed the new addition of a wooden bucket at the corner, which was half filled with water. Did Lilia or Zenith maybe forget it up here?
"Sit down over there," Rudeus ordered, pointing at a particular spot on the floor. I sat down without hesitation, giving an inquisitive look at my brother. If he wasn't looking cocky before, he definitely was now, and with a touch of what looked like excitement. Just what was he planning?
'Maybe he's going to show me a trick? It's hard to tell with him,' I thought to myself, seeing Rudeus grab one of the books he was reading. Hoisting it up onto one arm, he extended his free hand towards the water bucket. A serious yet confident look came onto his eyes, his concertation at an all-time high. And then… he began to speak.
"Let the vast and blessed waters converge where thou wilt, and issue forth a single pure stream thereof… Waterball!"
Suddenly, in front of Rudeus's extended palm, a translucent sphere of clear water formed, seemingly out of nothing. My eyes, having gradually widened with each word spoken, now bulged out my skull with a jaw-dropped, gobsmacked look of pure, unadulterated shock.
'W-What the fuck?!'
The grin on his face widened further as he looked over at my shocked expression, a sense of utter euphoric pride flooding his form. Wordlessly, and slightly startling me, the floating waterball then shot out, arching in the air before splashing right into the bucket with a spray of water droplets.
And just like that, the magic spell was completed, and a silence soon fell between the two of us. I was left utterly and wholly speechless, words failing to come from my mouth; not just because of the fact I saw magic for the second time in my life, but also for the fact that I saw it from Rudeus, my brother of the same age of two and a half, who seemed to do it so effortlessly!
"...n-nii-nii…"
"Hehehe, yes yes, be amazed, little brother," Rudeus spoke haughtily, a nose stuck up so high I could see all that snotty junk, "I, your older and wiser brother, am able to use magic!"
'...wow… just… wow,' as the shock waned, it gave way to an amazed exasperation. Despite his cocky comment, I just couldn't help but be impressed. Ever since our mother healed our wounds, I had been so attentive in search of yet another episode of magic, but it never came. Now here was my twin brother, seemingly out of nowhere, giving me that second show of magic, and arguably even more cooler. This guy… as much of a douchebag as he can be, he just might be a prodigy.
To be able to cast a magic spell at this age, I have no doubt that it was probably a crazy idea in this world. And I suppose that's why he wanted to do it here, in secret… which meant he must've been doing this a lot already, judging by the water I already saw in the bucket earlier.
'Geez… this guy is getting at it early, huh?'
"Think that was cool? Wait until I've shown you what else I've got," Rudeus then continued, riding on the waves of pride while flexing his fingers in what seems to be yet another spellcasting. With nothing more to say, I simply watched patiently, waiting to see what else he had in his pocket of incantations.
And so, extending his hand out once more, he let out yet another magic spell.
However, this time around, there were no fancy incantations. The ball of water simply appeared once more, and was thrown into the bucket like the one before, slightly overspilling. He then looked back at me, grinning. "So, notice anything different?"
"...you didn't say the magic words," I pointed out.
"Yup! It's chantless magic. At first, I hadn't even meant to do it, but the second time I tried this spell, I managed to do it without saying anything!" Rudeus explained proudly. So he really has been practicing a lot, then.
"Wow… does that make any difference?"
"Nope. Other than saying nothing, it's just the same spell, same effects."
I hummed, nodding slowly. So not only did he figure out how to use magic, but he also figured out a shortcut? And the way he talked about it was as if it was… easy. For a moment, I contemplated his words before hesitantly asking. "...so… can I also do it?"
Rudeus took on a conflicted look, clearly reluctant about the idea. "Hm… I dunno… you're too young…"
…
…really now?
"We're the same age, nii-nii."
"Still, you're younger by a few… and even then, I still won't teach you."
Huh? What sort of reasoning is this? "Why not?"
"Because, it's already a pain having to deal with the mess from my own practice," Rudeus huffed, pointing towards the bucket that was overfilled. "And while we're talking about that, go get a towel and clean that spill up."
My eyebrow twitched. "That's your mess, do it yourself!"
"If you don't do it, then I won't teach you."
"Liar! You already said you wouldn't teach me!"
"Ehh… I can change my mind, you know" Rudeus scratched the back of his head, a tongue stuck out with a ditzy expression. An expression that really pissed me off.
My fists clenched as anger built up inside of me. I know I was too old for this sort of behavior, but the way he was so… patronizing just ticked me off. Why was he even doing this? There was no way he wasn't doing this on purpose!
But…before I did anything rash, I took a deep breath, then exhaled, calming my nerves. No... there was no point acting childish right now. So, I simply gave him a frown before stomping to the nearest cloth and snatching it. Paul's shirt be damned, I can always blame it on Rudeus anyways.
'Tch, jackass…'
"We… well, I'm not even supposed to be doing this anyways," Rudeus continued as if he were reasoning, shaking his head sagely, "this is stuff you learn at an older age, I bet."
"Then why are you still doing it, hypocrite…" I grumbled.
"Heh, it'd be a waste to restrict a prodigy such as myself~"
"...whatever," I scoffed, standing up and tossing the soaked shirt aside, "there, it's clean. Now start teaching me."
"Not so fast… you have to make a few promises to me," Rudeus revealed, holding up three fingers, "specifically three promises."
"What? Don't add more rules, I did what you asked already!"
"Hey, the only one in obligation here is you. Just do what I say and I'll teach you."
My teeth gritted. This guy just knew how to tick someone's nerves. "...Fu… Fine… what else do you want?"
"One, don't tell anyone about this. Otou-sama, oka-sama, and even Lilia," Rudeus began.
"That's already a given, dummy."
Rudeus snorted. "Dummy? Between you and me, I'm hardly a dummy."
"Just get on with it," I huffed, rolling my eyes.
"Two, you will do everything I say without question."
Everything he says? What is this, slavery? "...that's way too broad, nii-nii."
"... okay, fine, everything I say in relation to magic," Rudeus rephrased, although I noticed the faint look of disappointment.
"Fine then, what's your third rule?"
"Thirdly, you won't ever use your magic outside of this room," Rudeus said, nodding to himself sagely, "I don't want us to bring so much attention to ourselves. Like I said, I believe we really aren't supposed to be doing this."
For a moment, I went over all of his requests. Keep this a secret, do as he says, and only do it in this room. When I really thought about it… those rules didn't seem so bad to follow. All he really seemed to be doing is putting a leash on me… which, well, I guess would make sense in his case.
Having control gives you a lot of opportunities and safety precautions, especially when doing something like this.
Though, even with that said… he pretty much just confirmed himself to be a reincarnate. Whoever he was, he seemed pretty smart about handling this whole thing.
'But I'm not trying to be rash here. He's offering to teach me magic… so the last thing I want to do is get on his bad side,' I thought to myself, gazing at him as he awaited my response.
This... was starting to feel weird. Knowing that the kid in front of me was actually some random adult. Probably older than me even. But I decided to push the thoughts aside, and just focus on the now.
I wouldn't be losing much from this, and I think the idea of using magic is a reward befitting the restrictions. "...okay, I promise to do all of that, nii-nii."
A look of approval washed Rudeus's face, and the boy then placed a hand on my shoulder, nodding slowly. "Good, that's what I want to hear! I knew you'd be obedient~!"
"...d-don't make it sound weird…"
Ignoring my comment, he then moved the supposed spellbook in his hands, flipping through a few pages. "I guess we can begin your lessons now." He stopped, however, at a specific page, staring at its contents with a hum. "… or actually… I think I can… yeah, I want to show you one more thing before we start."
I tilted my head. "What thing? Another spell?"
"Yeah, so far I've only shown you Waterball, which is a beginner-level spell. But there are higher tiers of magic, and I want to show you one called Water Cannon. It's an intermediate-level spell, and I've been thinking of trying it out soon."
My eyes widened at his revelation. Intermediate magic spell? He was already that good at magic that he's gone beyond beginners level? "...you're strong, nii-nii."
"Hehe, thanks," Rudeus grinned, extending a hand out towards the wall towards the outside world. He then took on a concentrated look, and it seemed like he was going to do another chantless spell.
"Are the spell words unnecessary?"
"Ehh… yes and no, but I'll explain it later," Rudeus said, seemingly prepared to release the spell, "alright, this is my first time, so step back Darius."
Wordlessly, I stood back, and waited patiently for the spell to release. Sure enough, the Water Cannon spell was activated, and a blast of water erupted from Rudeus's palms. However, it seemed that he had completely underestimated the strength put behind the spell.
The stream of water was massive, scoring the air like a wall of water and blasting clean through the actual wall in a spray of water and wood splinters. Rudeus almost immediately deactivated the spell, but the damage had already been down.
Through the massive gaping hole in the wall, we watched as the streak of water flew into the distant grass fields surrounding our home.
A stillness came afterwards as the both of us were frozen stiff in our spots, gawking with chilling horror at the massive hole that was left in the wake of the spell, droplets of water dripping from the damaged wood.
No words were needed to emphasize just how much of a fuck up this spell turned out to be, and it was pretty clear that there was no way to cover this up.
"...so much for not bringing attention," I muttered to myself, an invisible weight laid on my body. I glanced over at my brother, but the pure expression of terrified helplessness on his face made me grimace. Yeah, he knew as much as I did that we were cooked.
There was no escaping this one… and sure enough, we could hear the thumping footsteps of our father approaching.
'...oh boy…'
"What happened?!" Paul instantly bursted into the room, a visible rush in his form. His worry was quickly overlapped with jaw-slacking shock as he stared at the hole in the wall. "Woah, what the hell?! Wait—boys! Are you two alright?!"
I gave a weak smile towards our dad. He may be one hell of a womanizer, but when the time calls, he really was a good guy. "Y-Yeah… we're okay…"
"Oh…goodness," Zenith entered the room as well, followed by Lilia. Characteristic to her nature, our mother was much calmer, even when she saw the sight of the hole.
It's this calmness I liked about her, one that has been helping me in this world since the beginning; it was helping now, too. Her eyes scanned the scene like a detective, trying to figure out what had happened.
She eventually noticed the book that Rudeus had dropped from shock, and she read the opened page intently.
'Shit… this might be it.'
I tried to hold back a grimace and maintained my frightened expression. Even then, I doubt that would change anything. To my worst fear, we were about to get our identities revealed in the worst possible way imaginable. Because, honestly, was there really any justification for this?
Two two-year-olds in a room with a magic book, casting spells before we were even taught to read? We were done for.
Our mother then knelt down to Rudeus, her face leveled with his. The poor guy was like a deer caught in the headlights, and for a rare instance I was feeling some remorse for him. Really, he hadn't even meant to destroy the wall deliberately… or, at least, not deliberately to this degree.
He just wanted to show off, and I couldn't even blame him for that. Maybe we should've thought it more thoroughly... but it was no use to think of what-ifs at this point.
"Rudy… did you speak some of the words from this book out loud?" Zenith asked. I kept my mouth absolutely sealed, watching with a bated breath to see just what this guy was going to say.
Was he going to try saving our skins, or fold and rat us out? Now, it was up to him where this would lead us.
Eventually, Rudeus nodded weakly, tears streaking his eyes. I wasn't sure whether they were real or not. "...I'm sorry…"
"Sorry?" Paul said, curling a brow. "That right there was an intermediate-tier spe—"
Cutting off our father, Zenith suddenly took me—well, everyone—by surprise. With an elated squeal, the humbled and solemn Rudeus was suddenly engulfed into our mother's tight embrace. She jumped to her feet, hopping around with Rudeus's cheek nuzzled against hers, excited giggles singing from her lips.
'...huh?'
"Oh, honey, did you hear that?! Oh, I just knew our Rudy was a genius!" Zenith exclaimed excitedly, must to the contrary of the dire situation.
Amidst Zenith's thrilled enjoyment, Paul appeared to be completely lost. "Wait, hold on for a moment. We haven't even taught—"
"Eee, this is simply delightful! We'll have to hire a tutor right away for him!" Zenith then gasped, and her attention was suddenly brought towards me. "Darry, did you also do the same as your brother? Did you speak a spell from this book as well?!"
I was taken back from the rapid-fire questions, though wearily shook my head. "N-No… only nii-nii…"
"Hm, is that so… well, no matter. If Rudy is capable, I'm all but certain you are as well~" And with that, I tagged along with Rudeus, the two of us now swung around in our mother's excitement. "Oh, you two are going to grow up to be wonderful magicians! I just know it!"
Well… wow. It seemed that our worries were placed wrong. It didn't even feel like we were in trouble right now… more like in celebration. That… that definitely brought some relief.
So kids our age were also using magic? I guess that shouldn't have been a surprise in the first place, and they also didn't seem all that bothered with the large-ass hole in the wall.
This… okay, if anything, it seemed our reincarnate identities are still a secret. That was definitely one helluva relief.
'Talk about a close call…'
While we were like helpless dolls wrapped in our mother's surprising strength, Lilia had silently started to clean up, showing no signs of shock or excitement. Well, I probably shouldn't even be surprised about that. It was pretty clear she had her suspicions on the two of us, and was very observant.
Maybe she already knew Rudeus could use magic? She must've seen it before, maybe when he had been careless, or simply connected the dots all together. Nonetheless, she wasn't making a fuss either, so I guess that was good.
"Honey, let's head into Roa tomorrow and post a job for a tutor!" Zenith suddenly said, a certain twinkle in her eyes. "We need to make sure Rudy can hone his talents, and I'm more than certain Darry shares the same potential!"
As the suddenness of her excitement settled, Paul seemed to be less enthusiastic about the notion. "Hold up for a moment, Zennie. Didn't you promise that if we had a boy, we'd raise him into a knight?"
Huh? A knight? Woah... that was new. So they had already made an agreement about our future careers? Huh… in that case, what would they have wanted their daughter to be?
A magician, then? That's probably what Paul is implying here, I think… but, why not both at once?
"But Rudy can already use intermediate magic at his age!' Zenither rebutted with a pout. "Given the right training, he'll be an amazing magician."
"You made a promise, though! A promise is a promise!"
That comment got an eye-twitch from our mother. Oh shit… that's a rare one. "Don't you talk to me about promises. You break your promises all the time!"
Paul winced before—against better judgement—fanning the flame further. Bad move there, buddy. "W-We aren't talking about me right now, though! We're talking about our sons!"
And so, as our parents entered into an argument, both Rudeus and I were trapped helplessly right in the belly of the beast. I glanced over at Rudeus—maybe for some guidance or something—but he seemed too dazed to even understand what was going on at the moment.
Made me wonder what was going on inside his head.
Suddenly, Lilia approached us after cleaning the mess, finally becoming the voice of reason that was much needed. "What if we had the two study magic in the morning, and practice swordplay in the afternoon?"
Bam, and just like that, her suggestion settled the argument altogether, and the future of Rudeus and I were determined by our parents without an ounce of our thoughts and opinions.
Really, they could be a bit silly at times, but I guess they only meant the best for us two.
---
Nighttime
Our father's "study" room was closed until further notice thereafter, and he spent the rest of the day repairing the damage from Rudeus's spell. Though, given that he was a one-man army, and wasn't really the most skilled carpenter, there was only so much he could do in one day, and so an actual local carpenter would be coming in tomorrow.
I still sort of felt bad about the damage, but our parents weren't mad about it, so I guess it was all fine in the end.
Soon, night came, and me and Rudeus found ourselves nestled in our shared room. I stared up at the ceiling of our dim room, faintly lit by the moonlight from the curtains.
As per usual, it was a struggle to sleep, and not just because of today's predicaments. The night was abuzz with activity almost on a daily occurence; the quiet hums of nightcrawlers, the gentle bristle of leaves, and the not-so-subtle sounds of creaking and moaning reverberated across the entire house.
Yeah, those two were something else.
Curiously I glanced over at Rudeus, seeing that he was awake as well. It seems neither of us were able to sleep, and that's a given. Today had been hectic; one moment, I was revealed that my brother could use magic, who then gave me the hopes of learning it for myself, and then the next thing we knew, our parents were in on it as well, and now we'd be getting a tutor for further training.
It… despite everything, it might've actually been the best possible outcome from our little fuck up back there.
Really, I was so on the edge of the seat back there that I really thought things were going to be permanently affected in this family. But it was all thanks to our mother's enthusiasm that we were lucky to get out of that unscathed. God bless that woman.
The real question now is what to do. I mean, yeah, it's pretty obvious we had no option but to get the tutor, but I meant like… what should we, the two strangers possessing the bodies of these twin brothers, do from now on?
We had been this close to getting our asses revealed, and now that we were seen as prodigies—Rudeus more specifically—,we may come across more instances where our identities would be at risk of being revealed.
That… didn't really settle well with me. I didn't want to live a life of so much suspense a worry… so… it was about time I faced my fears and got this apprehension out of the way.
"...hey, nii-nii," I called out, though unsure if I was going to get a response. Fortunately I did, though as usually dismissive.
"...what?"
"I wanna ask you something."
Rudeus glanced over at me, giving me an annoyed yet attentive look. "...what, about magic?"
"No… not that… about us, nii-nii…"
His eyes narrowed into something between a half-conflicted and half-disgusted look. I guess that did sound a bit gay… probably should've reworded it. He turned his back to me, muttering with disinterest.
"You make it sound like we're in a bishojo game… dumb kid…"
I paused like a switch, his words bouncing in my head like a rubber ball. Did he… did he just…
…
…yeah… yeah, he sure as hell did!
'Just like that, he chose to slip up in the best possible moment!'
This, this was it. This was what I needed! Did he do that deliberately? Who knows; what really matters is that this gave me the perfect window to get out what's been bugging my mind for a while. And so, I got up from my bed, dramatically pointing at him with a start.
"That! That right there! That's what I meant!"
He winced at my voice, glaring at me. "Keep it down, idiot… and what do you mean 'that'?"
"That thing you said," I persisted, leaning forward with a suspicious look, "you shouldn't know that. You shouldn't know what a bishojo game is!"
My words hit home. Gradually, his annoyed behavior turned into one of shock. He turned back to me, sitting himself up and gazing into my eyes. He stared for a while before speaking. "...what are you…"
I smirked. This was it right here… the big reveal. In a daring attempt, I switched from the common language, reverting back to Japanese just so I could seal the deal. The veil was off.
"Nii-nii… no… whoever you are… you're just like me, aren't you? We aren't just Darius and Rudeus Greyrat…"
The apprehension fell into something of a shocked confliction. It was clear he wasn't expecting such a direct question from me, but now I know for sure that he definitely knew what I was talking about.
Yet again, we fell into a silence, simply staring at each other as I awaited his response. But… he never gave a response. Maybe it was just too much for him, or maybe he was formulating a plan.
Whatever it was, it didn't really matter. His silence was enough of an answer.
"...I…" Rudeus eventually started, huffing with an unreadable expression. Here, he spoke in clear Japanese. "... that was already obvious from the start."
My smile brightened. It looks like he was comfortable enough on the topic to talk. Great, at least that meant we could get somewhere. "Really? Well, good to know at least… when did you suspect me?"
"Since the beginning. Your acting is terrible."
I scoffed, though harmlessly. "You're one to talk. You nearly got us exposed back there."
"That…!" A flash of anger briefly crossed his face before it softened into guilt. "That was… that was just a misjudgement on my part. I miscalculated how strong that spell would be!"
"Whatever the reason, that's not the problem anymore," I rebutted, "the problem now is how we're going to make sure we don't get into anymore of these close calls ever again."
"...what are you saying? That's obvious."
I sat into a criss-cross, giving him a serious look. "We need to form a plan, Rudeus. Something like a back up to crutch on in case we're put in a situation that questions our actions. We're too young right now to be careless… we have to work together."
"...you make it sound easy, but we don't even know each other," he narrowed his eyes, taking on a guarded suspicion that I had feared about, "and I don't plan to know anything about you, either. I left everything about me behind."
I didn't respond to that immediately. His response was… revealing. We were strangers, but this alone told me that something bad must've happened in his previous life. Or maybe he just didn't live up to his own expectations, and wanted to move on.
Either case, I knew that this meant I couldn't be pushy. He was done with the past.
"... that's completely fine with me. I'm not going to dig in your past…because, stranger or not, we're in this situation until we're much older. I want us not to be on bad terms, and I think it'd be best if we were in this together."
My reasoning looked to be acceptable. He seemed to ease his guard down, but the conversation had already made its turn, so he still held a not-so-friendly look.
"...why are you so insistent on us working together?"
"Because… like I said, I don't want us to be on bad terms. Even if we're just mutual accomplices, I'm fine with that. But I don't want any hate on you, and vice versa."
"...alright… sure then. I also don't want things in my past to affect the new me. But…" Rudeus huffed, closing his eyes. "...There's no need for a plan or whatever you're saying. If you have as much common sense as I do, then we both know what we should be doing from now on."
"..."
"..."
A sweat drop ran down my temple. "...uhh…"
"...so you don't have common sense," Rudeus deadpanned.
"N-No, I do, but like… at least let us be on the same page, dude," I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing my neck, "sure, we'll keep up the act we've been getting at until now, but there's other things we've gotta worry about. For one, I haven't even figured out whether or not we have a cheat system."
Voicing my concerns, Rudeus shook his head, almost in an admonishing way. Oh, no, he was definitely admonishing me.
"Tch tch, do you even have an ounce of knowledge in reincarnation? Not every reincarnation trope involves a cheat MMORPG system… and I can tell you that we aren't in that sort of trope. This world has a sophisticated degree of magic with actual research. It's more detailed than whatever generic slop you've consumed before."
"...oh… well, okay then," I gave a slow nod of understanding. There was really no retort I had here. He was right, I didn't know all that much about isekais other than what my NEET brother used to tell me. And on top of that, he's actually read books from this world, and has actually used magic for himself.
If it wasn't clear already, he had a better grasp than I did. Which is exactly why I'm so keen to not let us become enemies.
"Then… did you get some divine revelation? Like a reason as to why we were reincarnated?"
This question tripped Rudeus over for a moment, and he shook his head. "...no… I didn't. Anything you didn't experience, I probably didn't either. I was thrown in here mere moments after…"
His voice died out, but I understood where he was coming from. "Yeah… same here…"
"..."
"...look, let's not dwell on that stuff," I huffed, jumping off my bed and walking towards him. I extended a hand out with a friendly smile, "If you'd rather not, then let's not bring up the past. Right now, you're Rudeus, and I'm Darius. That's all that'll matter in the end. We cool?"
Rudeus stared at my extended hand for a moment before he grew his own smile. He reached out his own hand, taking mine in a firm handshake. Well, as much of a firm handshake a two-year-old could give.
"Yeah, I'm cool with that. I… I want to live this life to the fullest. You seem like a nice person… so I want to reciprocate your kindness."
I grinned. "Great! Then… I hope you're cool with me still calling you nii-nii, haha."
"Not a problem," Rudeus chuckled, "I used to have a younger… no… nevermind. I'm used to that nickname, and I feel like I'm probably older than you in all senses, so it's really no problem."
"Whatever you say, unc… but I doubt we're that far off."
"Have you ever listened to Boøwy?"
"...to what?"
"And my point stands," Rudeus laughed, flicking my forehead out of nowhere. Ow, the hell? That was cringy… I nearly forgot this guy could be an ass. "Let's head to bed, it's getting late."
I rubbed my forehead with an unamused look. "Seriously? I'm barely tired… and, gosh damn, those two are still going at it as we speak. Who could sleep in these conditions?"
"I sure can," Rudeus sighed contently, a strangely blissful look in his eyes, "let them do as they please. You don't get to live your youth twice… except for us, of course."
"...geez, you sound really old," I huffed, walking over to my bed and flopping on it like a fish, "well, then, good night then."
"Good night… little brother~"
"Don't say weird shit like that, man..."
"Ah, right right. Good night then."
And like that, it seemed everything was settled, and it went surprisingly better than I had thought. Now, it felt like a certain weight was lifted off my shoulders… and I was feeling pretty great about it. I now knew Rudeus as an older man.
By how many years, I don't know, but certainly older than me. It was kind of a relief… unfortunately, I died pretty young, so I probably don't have as much knowledge as Rudeus has. And we're allies now… meaning, I had a trusted source of information.
Wherever this new life is going to take me, I had someone I could go back to in case of anything. That was the type of insurance that put some ease to my soul.
Still, we were strangers. Rudeus seemed pretty avoidant about his past life, which is exactly why I had decided to also avoid it altogether. There was no need to know about it, anyways… at least, not to me right now.
What really mattered is what we'd be doing now and what we'd be doing in the coming future. There was no time to dwell on those finer details when we had the prospects of magic tutoring and even swordsmanship. It was clear that Rudeus wanted to live a new, different life, and I'd be a jerk to not respect his wishes.
I'm unsure of whether or not that sentiment was the same for me… but I was certain that I wasn't going to let this opportunity be a waste.
Slowly, my young body gave way to fatigue, and allowed these thoughts to lull me into a deep sleep. Then and there, life seemed to feel a little bit more exciting, and I was a bit elated about what would come next.