Reincarnated Twins

"Where... is this?"

The girl opened her eyes and looked at an unfamiliar world.

Warm candlelight lit up the not-so-spacious room, and a soft embrace gently wrapped around her and another boy.

Was this for real...?

Was this what they called reincarnation in another world?

This was Buena Village, on the border of Fittoa Territory in the northern Asura Kingdom.

"Congratulations, madam. They're twins."

"That's wonderful."

"They were finally born safely..."

Lilia, dressed in a maid uniform, bowed and knelt on one knee, holding the two newborn children as she congratulated the weakened Zenith on the bed.

Zenith forced a faint smile.

Sweat had dampened the hair on her forehead, making her look frail and haggard, but her eyes shone with a motherly glow as she looked at the two children.

"You worked hard, Zenith."

Paul, who had just become a father, gently held Zenith.

He had not been able to help at all during the birth and could only watch as Zenith endured the pain.

The good news, though, was that the delivery had gone relatively smoothly.

"Still, I really didn't expect there to be two of them." Paul clicked his tongue in wonder.

Zenith wiped the sweat from her forehead and, propping up her exhausted body, took the children from Lilia's arms.

There were two children, a boy and a girl.

At that moment, both of them had their eyes wide open, staring endlessly at Zenith right in front of them as if filled with curiosity about the world.

"Ah, right, we haven't named them yet."

"Let's call the boy Rudeus. Rudeus Greyrat."

"That sounds nice. Then how about calling the girl Hilde?"

"Good idea. When they grow up, if they have the talent, we'll have the boy learn swordsmanship, and the girl learn magic..."

The couple held each other, whispering sweet words.

They did not notice that the two babies set aside nearby were now gazing at each other from close range, thoughtful looks on their faces.

In the blink of an eye, two years passed.

"Master Rudeus, Miss Hilde!"

"Breakfast is ready."

There was a knock at the door, and Hilde opened her eyes.

She glanced at Rudeus, who was still sound asleep beside her, and instinctively reached out to pinch his chubby little cheek.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

Rudeus sucked in a sharp breath.

He opened his eyes and saw Hilde looking at him with a wicked grin, and irritation immediately flared up in him.

"Hilde! What are you doing!"

"Waking you up."

"Can't you wake me up with your mouth? Did you have to use your hands?"

"I did call you. Several times. You just didn't respond."

"That still doesn't mean you can pinch my face whenever you want, right? I'm your big brother!"

"Oh, so you're getting cocky now, are you?"

"Hey, wait a second, I'm not—uh, aaaaaaah—"

At that moment, Lilia happened to pass by the door.

Hearing the screams coming from inside the room, she could not help sighing and knocked again, reminding the two of them to hurry and get up.

By the time the two of them had gotten dressed and shoved each other out of the room, the others had already been seated at the dining table, waiting for quite some time.

Early morning in the Greyrat household was filled with the wheaty aroma of bread.

Sunlight spilled beside the table laid with a cloth, and Zenith smiled as she beckoned to the two of them.

"Rudy, Hilde, come eat."

"Sleeping in isn't a good habit. Tomorrow morning, don't make all of us wait for you at the table."

Paul gave the two of them a brief scolding, then announced that breakfast was ready.

After breakfast.

Paul changed into his gear and prepared to make his routine patrol around the village.

He was the resident knight of Buena Village.

When he had first arrived, quite a few people had doubted Paul's abilities, thinking this carefree, unserious man must have used connections to become a knight.

But as they spent time with him day after day, the villagers came to acknowledge Paul's strength. At the same time, they also grew fond of this approachable, easygoing knight. In fact, because of Paul's handsome looks and bright personality, quite a few young girls in the village secretly fell for him.

"Well then, I'm heading out."

Before leaving.

Paul called the two children over and told them to listen to their mother during the day.

"Especially you, Hilde."

Paul tapped Hilde's little nose.

"Take it easy. Don't go tearing the house down on me."

"It's not like I do it on purpose."

Hilde looked away and muttered softly.

For some reason, she had been shockingly strong ever since she was little, and her body was unusually sturdy.

She could easily snap spoons and forks, lift objects heavier than herself, and fall from high places without suffering any injuries.

When she was even younger, there had even been an incident where she accidentally left bruises on Zenith's chest while nursing. After that, Hilde hadn't dared to touch anything for a long time.

And then Rudeus had mercilessly laughed at her.

Because the way that guy mocked her was far too infuriating, Hilde hadn't been able to hold back and beat him up. In the process, she accidentally learned how to control her strength, and only then was she finally able to live normally.

"Hilde really is a gorilla."

Rudeus muttered from the side.

Hilde glanced at him.

He immediately tucked his head in.

You're the older brother, yet you can't beat your little sister at all. You've got no dignity whatsoever...

Paul complained inwardly, but of course, there was no way he could say that out loud.

After rubbing both their heads, Paul left the house and began his work as the resident knight.

The two of them leaned against the window and watched Paul's figure disappear.

All right, what should they do next?

Hilde propped her chin up with one hand and sank into thought.

Because she was too young to run around outside as she pleased, and because she couldn't act in a way that didn't match her age, there really weren't many things she could do.

Being a reincarnator sure was hard work...

"Hey, Hilde."

Rudeus poked Hilde.

"What?"

"Come with me. I'll show you something good."

"What?" Hilde raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Just come with me!"

Rudeus dragged Hilde along, carefully avoiding Zenith and Lilia's line of sight, and plunged straight into the attic.

The attic was where they stored odds and ends. Normally, Zenith would tell them not to come here to play, since it was easy to get covered in dust.

But children were naturally curious about places like this.

There was nothing to be done about it.

"So, what exactly are you going to show me?"

Rudeus's mysterious manner made Hilde a little curious too.

"Heh heh. Watch closely..."

Rudeus raised his palm and took a deep breath.

The next moment.

A tiny ball of water appeared in his palm.

The water ball wobbled slightly in midair, as if it might fall at any moment, but some invisible force kept it suspended just above Rudeus's hand.

For a moment, Hilde stared in a daze.

"H-How was that?!"

Rudeus was practically glowing with excitement.

"This is magic! Magic, okay? Nobody taught me. I learned it all by myself!"

"Where did you learn it?"

Hilde could not hide her curiosity.

Though she had long known that magic existed in this world, actually seeing someone cast it...

It was still hard not to be surprised.

Rudeus let go and tossed the ball of water into the bucket he had prepared in advance.

Then he hurriedly dug a thick book out of a nearby box of odds and ends and presented it to Hilde.

"There are some simple spells recorded in here. I tried learning them, and it turned out I really could use them!"

Hilde flipped through a couple of pages.

Just as Rudeus had said, it was a magic textbook.

It recorded spells from beginner level to advanced.

Some of the lower-level spells even had detailed chants and notes on what to watch out for.

As long as someone could read and write, they could get the hang of most of it just by looking at this book.

"Heh heh. Well? I figured out magic through self-study alone. In this area, I'm way better than you, who only knows how to use brute force," Rudeus said smugly.

"...Not bad, Rudeus."

Hilde closed the book and turned to look at Rudeus.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"So, you're a reincarnator too, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

Rudeus's smile froze on his face.