Zenith Greyrat was a young woman born in the Holy Country of Millis, a nation with a long history, so beautiful and rigid that the word "purity" suited it perfectly. She came into the world as the second daughter of a Count's household; in short, a young lady of good breeding.
One of the teachings of the Millis Church was that a man and a woman should love only each other, one on one. Although Zenith had run away from home, that doctrine, repeated to her since childhood, remained deeply ingrained in her. That is why, one day, she told Paul that if he didn't touch any other woman, then she would sleep with him. He smiled and accepted.
Zenith knew he was lying to her. But she thought she didn't care. If he deceived her, then she could stop loving him. Back then, she was also naive, reckless, and foolish. Because with that single time, she ended up pregnant.
It never occurred to her that Paul would take responsibility and marry her. And so, the day of delivery arrived. The birth of her children was a moment she would never forget.
When the first baby was born—a boy with hair as black as night and eyes red as rubies—Zenith looked at him and felt an overwhelming wave of instant love.
She didn't care at all about his unusual appearance. He was her baby, her precious son, and she loved him from the very first second. Daiki's unique features were never a source of doubt or concern for her.
That day, her sons were born: Daiki Greyrat, with black hair and red eyes, and Rudeus Greyrat, with his father's brown hair and green eyes. Both perfect, both hers.
Now, three years later, she was tucking her little ones in, wearing a wide smile filled with pride.
"Goodnight, little ones." She kissed their foreheads and gently closed the door.
Zenith slipped into bed beside Paul, curling up against his chest as she did every night.
"Are they asleep?" Paul asked softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her hair.
"Like logs," Zenith replied, a smile evident in her voice. "Rudy was babbling in his sleep again; I think he was trying to say 'mama' or 'book,' I'm not sure. And Daiki... Daiki was clutching that old blanket as if it were his most precious treasure. They looked so... peaceful."
Paul let out a soft laugh.
"They're good boys. Sometimes I look at them and I find it hard to believe they're already three years old. Time flies, Zenith. Before we know it, they'll be running through the garden chasing chickens."
Zenith raised her head to look him in the eye.
"They are special, Paul. I feel it here." She touched her chest. "I don't know how to explain it, but when I hold them, I feel like... like they are going to do great things."
"Of course they are," Paul said with fatherly pride. "They have your noble blood and my irresistible charm. How could they not be great?"
Zenith rolled her eyes, amused.
"I hope they inherit something more than your 'charm,' Mister Greyrat. Maybe a bit of my common sense wouldn't hurt them."
Paul laughed, but then his expression softened, becoming more reflective.
"You know what I think about when I see them together?" he murmured. "I think about how they complement each other. Rudy is always observing everything with those curious eyes, as if he wants to understand how the world works before touching it. And Daiki... Daiki has a different energy. He is quiet, but intense. Those red eyes... sometimes I feel like they look at me and know exactly what I'm thinking."
Zenith nodded, recalling her eldest son's deep gaze.
"It's true. Daiki has an old soul. But he's always so attentive... To me, he is perfect. They both are."
"They are," Paul agreed, kissing her forehead. "Our little pack. And I promise I'm going to protect it. No matter what happens. I want them to grow up happy, Zenith. To have the childhood that... well, the one we perhaps didn't fully have."
"They will," Zenith whispered, closing her eyes. "As long as we are together, they will."
They remained silent for a moment, enjoying the peace of the house.
"Hey, Zenith..." Paul broke the silence. "Since the kids are sound asleep... and don't seem like they'll wake up anytime soon..."
Zenith opened one eye and gently swatted his chest.
"You are incorrigible, Paul Greyrat."
"I'm just a man who loves his wife and is very happy to have such a beautiful family."
"You're a terrible liar."
"But you love me anyway."
"Yes... I love you anyway."
And in that wooden house, beneath the stars of Buena Village, Zenith felt, for the first time in a long time, completely at peace.
-
#POV: Daiki Greyrat
"N-n... yamete..." (N-n... stop...) Rudy murmured.
I remained motionless, eyes closed but mind completely awake.
"Torakku... gakusei..." (Truck... student...)
Truck... student.
I opened one eye cautiously, making sure Mom had already left. The door was closed. The house was silent, save for the noises coming from our parents' room.
(Again...)
Rudeus jolted awake, agitated. His hands frantically felt all over his body. Desperate. As if he didn't believe this new life was real. As if he expected to wake up in that previous body he hated so much, trapped once again in that flesh that had been his prison.
I watched him in silence.
He touched his belly. Flat. Small. His fingers pressed against the fabric as if he needed physical confirmation of his current existence.
And I saw something in his eyes.
Relief.
[MY ANALYSIS INDICATES MY EVOLUTION POST-REINCARNATION]
(.....)
Rudeus looked at me. Just for a second. But it was enough to see what he expected to find in my eyes.
Disgust. Mockery, and perhaps pity.
He found none of that.
"Rudy? Are you okay?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"Yeah... I. I'm sorry if I woke you."
[RUDEUS HAS ELEVATED NERVOUSNESS]
[I AM YOUR CREATION, DAIKI]
"I was already awake, Rudy. Don't worry..." I sat up slightly. "I can tell you're nervous. Are you okay?"
Rudeus squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to block out a mental image.
"I... No, it's about my past life. It's one of the reasons why I don't go outside with you..."
"Do you want to talk about it?" It was the only thing my mind could process. I wasn't used to talking about feelings with anyone. In my previous life, those kinds of conversations simply... didn't exist.
"You see, I died saving three students from a truck..." He started, but stopped. He was afraid to continue, afraid to reveal too much.
"That was heroic," I said sincerely. "It's not bad; on the contrary. You risked your life for people you didn't know."
Rudeus let out a bitter laugh. Too bitter for a three-year-old.
"Heroic." He repeated the word as if it were poison. "If you only knew..."
-
#POV: Rudeus Greyrat
My brother had called me a hero without even knowing me fully. Without knowing my more than ten years of absolute shame. If he knew how much I hated myself. If he knew how many times I rejected help. That every day that passed was, for me, one step further away from any form of freedom... I am sure he would pull away. That he wouldn't want to look at me the same way again.
He doesn't know what kind of trash I was. What kind of human waste occupied that body before a truck tore it to pieces.
And that... that was eating me alive from the inside.
As if saving someone after so many years of seclusion was something worthy of respect. As if that last act could erase decades of filth. As if one second of bravery was worth more than years rotting in a dark room.
My stomach churned just thinking about it.
"You can't sleep." That sentence pulled me from my thoughts; at first, I thought it was a question because of how abrupt it was, but soon I understood it wasn't.
I didn't answer, not because I didn't know what to say, but because I didn't trust my own voice.
"Your breathing. It's too irregular. You've been awake for hours..." There was a brief pause. "You can talk to me, brother."
Brother.
That word hurt now. Much more than it should, as if someone were squeezing something rotten inside my chest. Because in my previous life, my siblings had hated me. They kicked me out of the house after our parents' funeral, while I still hadn't bathed, reeking of days of confinement.
And they had been completely right to do so.
More right than they would ever know.
"Rudeus." Daiki sat up in his bed. Even in the darkness, I could feel his gaze fixed on me. "Whatever you're thinking, say it. The secrets between us are over, remember?"
"No... not all the secrets," I whispered in Japanese.
"Then tell me."
"You don't want to know." I clenched my eyes shut. "If you knew... you would leave."
"Let me decide that."
Even with everything, it was impossible to refuse him. My brother was so stubborn he would sit there all night until I finally said something. And I precisely didn't want him to do that.
"I was a NEET. That's... that's the clean version. The one you can tell people without them spitting on you." I swallowed hard, tasting ash in my mouth. The truth is worse.
"I spent twenty years locked in my room. I didn't work. I didn't study. I lived off my parents. And when they died..." My voice cracked, but I forced myself to continue. "I didn't even go to their funeral."
"I was trash, Daiki. Human garbage. My siblings kicked me out of the house that same day, and they were right. I deserved nothing."
"And?" he asked.
I blinked, confused.
"What do you mean 'and'? Didn't you hear me? I was a parasite! A useless pervert who disgraced his family!"
Daiki sighed and ran a hand through his black hair.
"I heard what you were, Rudy. But I'm asking you: so what?"
"I..."
I had expected rejection, but the only thing I felt was a warm hug that I hadn't received since... since I used to see my grandmother.
POV: Daiki Greyrat
I hugged my brother while he sobbed against my shoulder.
[RESPONSE?]
I patted him awkwardly on the back. I was never good at comforting people, not in my previous life nor in this one, but I knew that sometimes you just need to know you aren't alone in the dark.
"That person doesn't exist anymore, Rudy," I whispered close to his ear. "That man died. You are here. And what matters is what you do now."
"But... what if I become like that again?" he murmured through tears. "What if I fail again?"
"Then I will correct you... That's what I'm here for. If you stray, I'll beat you until you get back on the path."
"Thanks... Daiki. You're... you're tough."
"I... I wasn't perfect either; on the contrary, my life was much worse than that to me. You, at least, remained human."
"Eh? What are you talking about?"
I let out a sigh, looking at him from the darkness.
The sounds behind the walls had stopped; that could only mean our parents had fallen asleep.
"I was nine years old when I lost my parents..." I said at last. "A fire. I watched them die. I heard their screams while the fire consumed them. I tried to go in, but someone stopped me."
Rudeus didn't say anything.
"They put me in a foster care center," I continued, staring at the wall. "Families would come on Saturdays. They looked at me. They saw a 'handsome', 'intelligent' boy. But then they looked into my eyes."
"And what did they see?" Rudeus whispered.
"Nothing. They saw a boy who stared into corners for hours. Who didn't blink. Who didn't react. An empty shell in human form."
"Daiki..."
"I haven't finished," I interrupted him. "One day, in the center's courtyard, I saw some boys bullying another kid. Five against one. And something in my head went... click."
I swallowed.
"When I came to, the leader was on the ground. His arm was bent at an unnatural angle. The other four looked at me as if I were a monster. And they called me that. 'Monster'."
"Since then, everything got worse. I became... efficient. Too good at everything I did. Kendo, martial arts, anything involving fighting. People called me a prodigy."
"But the truth is, I had become a machine. My mother had taught me that 'the strong exist to defend the weak.' And I turned those words into my only reason for existing."
"I forgot my father's words: 'Live your own life.' I erased them completely. Because living meant feeling. And feeling hurt too much."
Rudeus watched me with a mixture of horror and understanding.
"For eighteen years," I continued, "I was an automaton. I saved people. I fought. I protected. But I never lived. I never had real friends. I never had a home."
"And that day in the rain, I saw a girl about to be hit by a truck. I stepped in. And the truck..."
I didn't need to finish.
"So no. I wasn't a pervert. I was something worse in a sense. I was empty. A ghost in life. I took many lives thinking it was just, that I was protecting the weak. Maybe I was. But I never stopped wondering if someone was waiting for them at home."
"The difference between you and me," I continued, "is that you recognize your mistakes. You carry them. You hate them. That means you have a conscience. Morality. The capacity to change."
"And in this life," my voice softened, "I've seen my brother be kind. Careful. Loving with Mom and Dad. Yes, you look at Mom from time to time, but you are literally a baby she breastfed. It's... well, weird but understandable."
I gave a dry laugh.
"The point is... You aren't that person. Not anymore. You are actively choosing to be better every day. And that... that counts. Just like I am trying not to be that empty machine I was."
Rudeus looked at me. "How can you say that? How can you just... accept it?"
"I'm not going to push you away. I'm not going to hate you. I'm not going to tell you everything is fine... But I'm not going to abandon you either. Because you're my brother. And brothers don't give up on each other. We both have a second chance. We both carry shit from the past. But here, right now, we can be different."
"Do you really not... not hate me?"
"Never, brother. How could I? When I myself need forgiveness."
"Daiki... Thank you. For telling me. For... for everything."
"Say you're going to keep moving forward. Say you're going to be the Rudeus you WANT to be, not the one you WERE."
"I'm going... I'm going to be better. I'm going to be the brother you deserve."
I smiled.
"And I'm going to be the brother YOU deserve. Someone who lives, not just exists."
I let out a relieved sigh.
"Sleep, Rudy. Tomorrow... tomorrow will be a good day."
"Yeah... goodnight, Daiki."
"Goodnight."
I lay back down.
[ANALYSIS: BONDING LEVEL: STABLE. PROBABILITY OF EMOTIONAL RELAPSE: LOW.]
(Shut up for a bit. Let me sleep.)
[UNDERSTOOD.]
I closed my eyes. For the first time in this life, the void in my chest felt a little less cold. Maybe... just maybe... this second opportunity wouldn't be a waste after all.
-
-
_
_
After a while, this is how Rudeus's secret magic training ended:
It was just another afternoon. Since he'd increased his mana reserves quite a bit, he thought it was time to try an intermediate-level spell. Casually, he recited the water cannon incantation.
Size: one. Speed: zero.
He thought the bucket would just fill with water, like always. At most, it'd overflow a bit. That's all he expected.
But what came out was a colossal amount of water that exploded forward, blowing a huge hole in the wall.
He stared in shock as water droplets fell from the hole's edge and hit the floor with *plop, plop*.
He was in shock, but it didn't occur to him to do anything about it. The wall had a huge hole in it. It was clear he'd used magic. There was no fixing that now.
From the doorway, invisible to Rudeus in his state of shock, Daiki observed the scene. He'd silently followed his brother when he saw him carrying the magic textbook under his arm.
‹ Intermediate magic. It was only a matter of time. ›
Daiki silently moved away from the door just as he heard hurried footsteps.
He positioned himself near the stairs, watching.
"What the hell happened here?! Uwaaah!"
Paul was first to enter. Seeing the hole in the wall, his jaw dropped.
"Hey... what the hell... You okay, Rudy...?"
Paul was a good guy. Though there was no doubt Rudeus had done it, the first thing he did was worry about his safety. Now he was muttering things like "A monster...? No, there aren't any around here...", while cautiously surveying the surroundings.
"Well, well..."
Then Zenith entered. She was calmer than Paul. She meticulously observed the destroyed wall, the puddle on the floor, and so on...
"Hmm...?"
And then, with sharp eyes, she noticed the open page of the magic manual Rudeus had in front of him. She looked at the book, then at Rudeus, then back at the book, and finally crouched in front of him, getting to his eye level, with a gentle expression.
It was scary. Her eyes weren't smiling at all.
Rudeus made an effort to keep his gaze fixed on hers, even though all he wanted was to look away. In his years as a hikikomori he learned this: if you do something wrong and get defensive or resentful, the situation only gets worse. So you should never look away.
In moments like this, what counts is showing a sincere attitude. Just maintaining eye contact, without looking away, already makes you seem sincere. Even if you're trembling inside.
"Rudy, were you... reading out loud what this book says?"
"Sorry..."
Rudeus nodded slightly and apologized. When you do something wrong, it's best to apologize frankly. No one else could've done it. Lying when you know you'll be caught only destroys your credibility. He learned that in his past life.
He wasn't going to repeat the same mistakes.
"Hey, but this is intermediate-level mag..."
"Kyaaaa! Did you hear that?! I knew our son was a geniusss!"
Zenith interrupted Paul with a shriek of excitement. She clenched her fists tightly and started jumping for joy.
"But wait, we haven't even taught him letters yet..."
"We need to hire a private tutor immediately! He'll definitely become a great mage in the future!"
Paul was bewildered. Zenith, euphoric.
It seemed Zenith was thrilled that Rudeus could use magic. In the end, the idea that children shouldn't use magic... was just his own concern.
Lilia, the maid, started cleaning calmly and silently. She probably already knew, or at least suspected, that Rudeus could use magic. And since it wasn't a bad thing, she simply didn't make a big deal of it.
"Honey, we need to post an ad tomorrow in the city of Roa! We have to develop this talent!"
Suddenly using an intermediate spell and they already called him a genius... Was it overenthusiastic parenting, or was using intermediate magic at this age really that impressive? He wasn't sure. No, it was probably the former.
Zenith never saw signs that Rudeus was using magic in front of her. And yet she said "I knew it," as if she'd already assumed it. Without any proof... Well, no, she had some basis.
A genius, no doubt. Even Rudeus would think that if he had a kid like this.
And as always, as soon as they see talent, parents jump to impose special education on the child.
In Rudeus's past life it was the same. His parents thought his younger brother was a genius and filled him with classes.
And so, Zenith proposed hiring a magic tutor. But Paul opposed.
"No, wait! We said if it was a boy we'd make him a swordsman!"
They'd made that agreement before birth: If it was a boy, they'd teach him swordsmanship. If it was a girl, magic.
"But he can use intermediate magic at this age! If we train him, he'll be a great mage!"
"A promise is a promise!"
"Promise, you say? You always break them!"
"That's not the point right now!"
It was then that Daiki appeared on the scene, calmly munching on a sandwich he'd grabbed from the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway, observing the argument with an impassive expression while taking another bite.
Munch munch
The sound of his chewing momentarily cut through the fight. Paul and Zenith turned to look at him.
"I want to be a swordsman," Daiki said simply, before taking another bite of his sandwich. "I feel something... an energy calling me toward swords."
[PARTIAL TRUTH: RESONANCE WITH BLADED WEAPONS DETECTED SINCE BIRTH]
Paul blinked, clearly surprised. Inside he was proud.
"Daiki?"
"Yeah." Another bite. *Munch*. "I've been watching you train, Dad. I'm interested. A lot. You know I've always wanted the sword."
Zenith opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked at Rudeus, who seemed as surprised as his parents by his brother's sudden appearance, then back at Daiki.
"But Daiki, honey, are you sure? The sword is..."
"I'm sure. Something draws me to them. Like... like my body knows them."
"Besides." Daiki continued, finishing his sandwich and wiping his hands on his clothes. "Rudeus clearly has talent for magic. I have affinity with swords. Isn't that convenient? One can focus on magic, the other on sword."
"It's... it's true." Paul murmured, scratching his head. "That would make sense..."
"The promise was for ONE son." Daiki pointed out with implacable logic. "You have two. Technically, both can fulfill different roles."
Rudeus watched his brother with a mixture of amazement and gratitude. He knew exactly what Daiki was doing. He was dividing the expectations. Taking the pressure off.
‹ Thanks, brother. ›
Lilia, who had been cleaning in silence all this time, stopped and sighed softly.
"If I may offer an opinion," she said in her usual respectful tone. "Why not train both in both disciplines? Rudeus can study magic in the morning with a tutor, and swordsmanship with Lord Paul in the afternoon. Daiki can do the opposite: sword in the morning with Lord Paul, and magic in the afternoon."
The room fell silent.
"That..." Paul rubbed his chin. "That makes sense. That way neither falls behind in anything. Excellent, my son will be the best swordsman!"
"And that way they can complement each other," Zenith added. "A mage who can defend himself with a sword, and a swordsman who can use support magic!"
Daiki nodded slightly.
"Sounds good to me."
Rudeus, recovering from his surprise, also nodded.
"Me too."
"Then it's settled." Paul declared, hugging Zenith by the shoulders. "Tomorrow we post the ad for a magic tutor."
"And we start sword training as soon as we have the tutor!" Zenith added cheerfully.
That night, after Zenith tucked them in and closed the door, Rudeus spoke in the darkness.
"Thanks. For today."
"You don't have to thank me. I told the truth. I really want to learn the sword," Daiki responded calmly.
"Still... you knew I was nervous about the expectations."
"We're brothers," Daiki finally said. "Brothers support each other. We already talked about this, remember?"
Rudeus smiled in the darkness, remembering that night when they confessed their darkest pasts. When Daiki didn't reject him. When they both promised to be better.
"Do you really feel that 'energy' with swords?"
"Yeah." The answer was immediate. "Since I was born. It's... hard to explain. Like something in me recognizes weapons."
"Interesting." Rudeus murmured. "I never felt anything like that with magic. I just... did it because it was in the book."
"Everyone has their affinities." Daiki settled into his bed. "You with magic. Me with swords. Together we'll be..."
"Unstoppable?" Rudeus suggested with a small laugh.
"I was going to say 'competent,' but your version sounds better."
Both laughed softly in the darkness of the room.
And so, the household decided to hire a private tutor. Apparently, working as a tutor for nobles' children paid pretty well.
Paul, being one of the few knights in this region, held—it seemed—a position equivalent to a low-ranking noble, so he could offer pay matching the average.
However, this was still the farthest edge of the country: a rural area. In other words, resources were scarce, typical of a frontier region. Not only was qualified personnel scarce, but there weren't even many mages available.
No matter if they posted a request at the Mage's Guild or the Adventurer's Guild, they didn't know if anyone would respond...
Apparently, that was Paul and Zenith's concern.
But contrary to their expectations, someone was found easily and would start working tomorrow. Since there were no inns in this village, they'd be living in the house.
According to Paul and Zenith's predictions, it was probably a retired adventurer. After all, young people don't usually want to come to such a remote place, and court mages have plenty of work in the royal capital.
In this world, only mages of Advanced level or higher can work as magic instructors. So, in terms of adventurer rank, they must be mid-high level or above.
Surely it was a middle-aged man or an elderly person who'd spent years perfecting their skill as a mage. Maybe someone with an imposing beard who fit the classic image of a sorcerer.
"I'm Roxy. Pleased to meet you."
However, contradicting all expectations, a still very young woman introduced herself.