Chapter 01: New world

After two weeks, I had to admit that I had been reincarnated. It appears that the professor's illusions were not wholly unwarranted. I just didn't know if everyone was reincarnated or if I was an outlier. I also confirmed the existence of my twin brother named Arthur, which I had not previously confirmed due to my almost non-existent mobility, but I had my suspicions because these people's attention was divided. All I could do for the last two weeks was make small movements with my fingers. So I spent most of my time staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Arthur was a rather odd child. He, like me, didn't cry much after he was born. Another reason it took two weeks for me to confirm his existence. When he was with someone else, he behaved normally, but when we were alone, it was a quiet room, not what one would expect from a couple of two-week-old babies. Unless they were seen us, it almost didn't seem like there were any babies in this place. To say the least, it's intriguing.

However, my mobility was improving every day, and I could now see a little more of my surroundings. Arthur, my twin brother, was also watching everything with interest. When our gazes met, his blue irises twinkled with innocence, and he laughed. Was he waving at me? I tried to smile, but judging by the way his smile faded, I probably had the same stoic expression as always. Still, I was optimistic. Because my facial muscles had not atrophied from inactivity in this new body, it should be easier for me to learn to express emotions, at least theoretically, because thanks to the white room, the only one left in me was the curiosity that comes with being human. Feelings, on the other hand, were, perhaps optimistically, buried deep within me.

"Little Kiyo, Little Art. It's time to eat." Our new 'mother' entered the room, her melodious and gentle voice booming.

Again, candles were used for lighting instead of electricity. This concerned me slightly. Had I been reincarnated into a low-income family? That would undoubtedly be a problem for my wish to leading an ordinary life. Again, the caring woman nursed us until we were satisfied. What would that man have to say? If he had known that his proud masterpiece would be degraded to this point, relying on a pile of fat and nippled muscle to keep me alive. Certainly would have enraged him.

Just as I was about to fall asleep due to this body's low energy, our father entered the room with his usual supercharged energy and a goofy grin on his face. He swung Arthur around in his arms a little too hard. He clumsily brushed Arthur's knee on the corner of the crib as he was about to finish his play session with my brother and move on to me, causing a minor bleeding wound on his soft, white skin.

"Reynolds!" Angrily, the woman yelled. When she used his name instead of the standard 'Honey' I knew she was serious.

"Sorry! It was a mistake!" Reynolds whimpered and snatched Arthur back into his arms. " little Art, you forgive daddy, don't you?"

"Bring little Art here." Urged the mother named Alice Leywin as the man carried Arthur crestfallen to the grumpy mother.

"I'm sorry..." Reynolds muttered almost imperceptibly.

"Are you okay, little Art? Mommy will relieve the pain." Consoled the mother, ignoring the man's apology. She stretched her hands toward the wound, muttered something under her breath, and a green light with gold flecks began to heal the wound in a matter of seconds, surprising even me.

'What?' I was perplexed. I was aware of the possibility. The professor had taught me about it, but I assumed I had only been reborn on Earth, or so I hoped. But now I had no choice but to accept it and plan for future countermeasures. I'd been transported to another world, a magical world.

(***)

"Little Art, little Kiyo, Let's go for a walk!" With a smile, Alice Leywin said to us.

She carried us on a sort of baby leash on her back, where my twin brother and I cuddled up fairly tightly but quite comfortably. He smiled at me as usual, and despite the fact that he received no response, he didn't seem to mind. He seemed to be getting used to my always stoic expression. However, when no one was in the room, I practiced showing emotions, so in theory, I should be able to smile in a couple of years. This baby leash was clearly designed for only one, so Alice Leywin did not intend to have twins, but despite this, her affection was evenly divided between us, without favoritism, an effective method of parenting that does not foster superiority among individuals.

We left our humble wooden house and walked through the small town, which had no grand buildings. There were only wooden houses and tents where vendors shouted about their wares while housewives with children haggled fervently for a discount. I could see my brother's blue eyes light up as he strolled through town, but I also saw a tinge of surprise in them when he saw a man carrying a massive axe the size of his body. To be honest, I was surprised as well. I could do it with my former body, but it wasn't something that a normal human should be able to do on a regular basis.

However, we couldn't see much because the energy in these tiny bodies had run out and we needed to sleep.

Reynolds Leywin was working out the other day while Alice was making us a seat on her lap. I didn't get to observe much, but his combinations were decent, and while there were certain vulnerabilities that I could exploit, it would be deemed decent in the white room. If only looked at the technique, it wasn't all that impressive, but when he added those whistling fists that seemed to break through even the sound barrier, everything changed. Even with all of my training in the white room, I couldn't handle something like that, which reinforced the importance of learning the power system and human physical limitations.

I wasn't sure if that was my wishful thinking and paranoia that I needed to be stronger so that I wouldn't be defenseless against an unknown variable, or if it was just the mantra we repeated in the white room about being the best at everything, never stopping learning until we were at the top, until we were perfect...

(***)

After some time, I was able to crawl properly, which was not a great accomplishment. Later, as if hurt that I had crawled first, my brother tried 'secretly' to learn to crawl so that he would not be left behind. In fact, even when he thought I was sleeping quietly in my crib, I could hear him squirming to get his trembling limbs to support his weight.

When he did, the first thing he did was crawl in front of me, as if to brag. His nose crinkled with pride, and his pompous stride reflected his emotions. Our mother burst out laughing when she saw us crawling around the house, and I was certain that if she had a digital camera in this medieval time, she would have more than 1gb of pictures of both of us, but since she didn't, all she could do was record this moment on her retinas; Arthur's smiling face as he danced around me, and my expressionless face.

Arthur be seen in the reflection of a small metal tray on occasion; his hair was light brown, and his eyes, like Reynolds', were blue. It was the same for me, except my hair was darker, as if it were a mix of Reynolds' ashen color and Alice's light brown.

We would occasionally accompany Alice to the market, and it appeared that the dynamic of security in this medieval world was in short supply, as I watched as one man was killed for stealing while the others applauded, indicating that the dynamic of justice by one's own hand is one of the reigning ones in this world.

Arthur squirmed beside me as he felt Alice's hand on his head, as if unwilling to stoop to such a low level, while I stood motionless as I received the caresses. I didn't mind being fondled; I was more interested in the stories she was telling, which contained important information.

Reynolds Leywin was a member of the Twin Horns adventure party. He must have been quite skilled at it. Reynolds arrived, kind of interested in the conversation, while I was discovering that magical talent is mostly genetic thanks to Alice and that our father was an augmenter, which I still didn't quite understand. How inopportune.

"Heh~ you two little ones, did you know that your mother fell in love at first sight with me?" He strutted around with his chest out, striking a proud pose. He pointed at us with his finger. "Here's the secret." He began, but was quickly cut off.

"Stop lying to the kids." I could see Reynolds deflate as she said mercilessly.

After a while of joking around, the couple put us to bed in the cribs and left the room. Arthur tossed and turned in his crib for some reason, as if he wanted to get out and go somewhere. When he saw my stare, he stopped fidgeting and concentrated on my eyes. We stayed like that for a while, me trying to see through this apparently couple-month-old baby who was acting strangely. We seemed to have the same theory.

'If I can reincarnate, why can't he?' While it was perhaps easier to figure out in my case because I acted mostly stoic, I did my best to appear to be just a very quiet baby.

This does not mean that I am immune to suspicion, but as long as I remain silent, there will be no issues. There is a strong possibility that Arthur is also a reincarnate. A baby's attention span is short, but when they hear their mother's voice, they naturally turn their attention to her, whether or not they are spoken to. Arthur, on the other hand, does not pay attention to Alice until she says his name, and this is where another normal child behavior comes in; when turning their head, they stretch their arm forward and flex their opposite arm. This is a natural and conditioned reflex in all babies. It can only be altered by becoming aware of it, which Arthur never did that reflex, implying that he was at least somewhat aware of his motor skills and desired to control them.

I couldn't care less if he's reincarnated or not, as long as it doesn't interfere with me, because it's almost impossible for him to know who I am, or rather who I was, if he's from Earth. The only question is whether he is a prodigy or not, because I knew from the professor that reincarnates are generally dominated in their fantasy world, and no one can even aspire to be them. While having an attention-grabbing shield is nice, it also means I'll have to stay one step ahead of him while appearing to be behind, because if my brother can be that strong, other people can be as well. Being average in a world where a monster can wipe out an entire city is tantamount to suicide.

I couldn't help but sigh, which gave Arthur a confused look as he watched a baby sigh like an overtime wage earner. This world is troubled, as evidenced by Alice's stories, in which Reynolds fought monsters that spit fire or could freeze a person to death. If Arthur is a reincarnate, I should wait for him to look for the library (if there is one) before following him and pretending that I am just curious. I was certain that a person in this situation would seek knowledge because humans are afraid of the unknown. But I couldn't afford to wait too long, so I'd go myself within a week, even if seemed suspicious, because knowing only a small town and stories of a former adventurer in a world seemingly full of magic made me uneasy.

I eventually pretended to sleep so Arthur would fall asleep as well, and after a while, I heard light snoring. I opened my eyes and looked at my brother, his little chest rising and falling with his breaths as he curled up like a cute little baby in a fetal position.

'A brother... ' I was intrigued. What exactly was family love?

Could we rely on each other as we grew older? Would I unconsciously assist him in getting out of the anything situation? Looking at him now, the answer is no; if I had to abandon him, I would do so without hesitation as long as it ensured my survival. But that doesn't take away my glimmer of hope that one day we'll be able to call each other true brothers, that I won't just see him as a means to an end, that I'll become more... human.

I kept staring at him, hoping to find something within myself that would make me feel a connection to this reincarnated boy or man. But all that came to mind were scenarios in which I could gain his trust and thus use him as my attention shield and scapegoat if necessary. I desired to be disgusted. Why are my thoughts so abnormal? In this situation, I should be scared and sad, but this almost robotic calmness in me that was ingrained from inhuman training appears to have taken more of my humanity than I thought.

I shut my eyes. I had some time. With time, I could learn what family love is. Now, I don't see them as anything more than tools, but that could change in the future, and I hope it does. To rid myself of what created that man. Perhaps it is my obstinate desire to be defeated. I want to destroy what makes him most proud. His masterpiece, his human machine, the fourth generation demon. I just want to live a normal life... an ordinary life.