Chapter 2: I Don’t Want to Transmigrate into a Different World! (2)

Tanaka wasn't surprised to find his new so-called 'family' just finishing up the last of their meal. Their dishes had mostly been cleared off and now they were spending the rest of the time idling in each other's company. Having little to no feelings or relations to the people in front of him, he wasn't bothered by being outside of their small, closed-off world.

At the forefront of the table, Tanaka could see Thomas' father (or who he assumed to be Thomas' father), who didn't even bother to give his youngest son a glance as he shuffled through the newspapers in his hand with stoic eyes. Out of the entire picture, what caught his eye the most was the newspaper and not the figure holding it.

The transmigrator once lived in an age where technological advancement was as common as a dog in a dog park. He never saw anyone in his household use a newspaper for reading. His mother preferred watching news channels on the television, while his siblings and his father often get their news through the internet. It was now that he only realized that this world might be significantly different in terms of technology. Or maybe he went into the past of an alternative universe?

Not wanting to think too deeply about the subject (and quite frankly too tired to mentally broach the subject), his limpid eyes turned towards a woman sitting on his left of Thomas' father, beautiful and graceful and absolutely caked in makeup. Tanaka couldn't help but blink in surprise because the only time he actually saw someone wearing that much makeup was when he went to a queer show with his sister...

Nonetheless, he saw the way she looked at him momentarily out of the corner of her eyes before subtly raising her chin, obviously showing her displeasure and disdain. She soon after ignored him as well.

On the right is another boy that looked, assumedly, to be around his age(?). Maybe older. Probably older. Most likely older, judging by the difference in height between him and the other teen. Maybe he was Thomas' brother? Tanaka did not know what to think when he saw the pleasant but shallow smile being thrown in his direction by the older boy. Surprisingly, Thomas' siblings didn't ignore him like the two indifferent adults.

"You're late, Thomas," the older teen greeted in a slightly cynical tone, his light-blue eyes the same shade as Thomas' father's-- both full of coldness. Seeing the matching blond hair and general facial features and comparing them to his current looks, he couldn't help but doubt the original owner's blood relations to the rest of his so-called family. "We had already finished breakfast without you. Since it was due to your own negligence, it would be considered improper to ask for a fresh plate so make do with what you have."

Tanaka: "....." The contrast between the mocking tone in his voice and his pleasantly smiling face is really jarring.

Ah well, Tanaka didn't really expect to be liked by his new family. Thomas' 'maybe-father' had already set his expectations for the Rosetta family's attitude towards him.

Also, Tanaka wondered if the noblemen's version of 'improper' was different from his version of 'improper', considering how everyone didn't finish everything on their plates. Wouldn't that be more improper? It wasn't as if they had a conventional oven or a microwave to heat leftovers for later. What are they going to do with the leftovers?

Maybe he could eat their leftovers...

On the left of Thomas' 'maybe older brother' was a girl who also seemed very similar in age. Honestly, Tanaka was terrible at gauging age. The original owner's mother(?) could have been 60 for all he knew and he would probably perceive her as... what? 80? Or maybe 30. It mostly depended on whether he remembered to wear his glasses or not. Oh, wait. He didn't need his glasses anymore— or rather, Thomas didn't need glasses.

Touching his new face, Tanaka found it weird that his nose was not greasy from the nose pads, or how he didn't accidentally knock down his glasses from running his hands across his face, therefore giving him blurry vision right after. But his vision was not blurry— without his glasses, they were quite crisp and clear. Still, he couldn't help but habitually squint when he looked at the young girl that was probably his sister.

She was just as pretty as the woman— if his ability to judge other people's appearances was reliable enough. Except without so much makeup. Still, Thomas' probably-sister had a similar type of pride as the probably-mother since just one look at his haggled state sends her nose up in the air with an added 'hmmp' to add dramatics.

Then again, looking upon this group of people with blank eyes, they seemed to be inherently dramatic even without Tanaka's input into the situation. There was a lot of posturing and gestures that probably meant something to the general public but only flew over Tanaka's head. He never thought that he would meet people that are more dramatic than Nanami. Then again, Nanami's type of dramatics was always exaggerated and was performed in order to make him and Daichi laugh (or alternatively, annoyed when she didn't get her way). The transmigrator had a feeling that the Rosettas were dramatic probably because they didn't know how not to be otherwise.

Either way, it seemed that the butler was trying to lead him to the seat next to the 'probably-mother,' which... Well, it sounded troublesome. While the Rosettas might be happy to ignore him the entire time, Tanaka didn't even feel comfortable being in the same room as them. Not to mention, he can smell the mother's perfume even several chairs down from the dining table. It made him want to retch, crawl underneath the table, and go to sleep (which was his general response to nausea). How troublesome.

So as soon as he was just a few chairs away from the woman, he ducked under the butler's leading hand and sat down into the closest chair. In the seat he had chosen, there were three chairs between him and Thomas' mother. While he could still smell the strong perfume, it wasn't as strong as it would have been if they were seated next to each other. How the other three members of the Rosetta family could tolerate the strength of the perfume was beyond him...

The butler froze at his seemingly impromptu decision though his face still held the same cold, professional expression. Thomas' probably-brother, though befuddled by his actions, seemed highly amused by the butler's stiff figure.

"Forgive Thomas' manners, Alamin," the probably-brother scoffed in contrast to his polite facade. Tanaka couldn't help but blink at the sudden discovery of the butler's name, and then pursed his lip at the... strange pronunciation from the other teen's mouth.

The transmigrator wasn't sure if Alamin was the first name or the surname of the butler taking care of him, but he did know that it was of Arabic origins. Tanaka, during his time working in the government, had met a lot of international figures, including the Arabians in the middle-east, and Tanaka had always found their language to be fascinating (much to the shock of his family, since he didn't find a lot of things interesting other than sleeping and his goal for the ultimate listlessness). Maybe because at the tender age of sixteen, he was trying to find the simplest and laziest way to communicate with other people (ASL was in his top 5 because it didn't require raising his voice and talking, but alternatively, it was bothersome having to force people to pay attention to his hands. Also, his hands would tire after a long ASL conversation as well. Latin-based languages had too many feminine and masculine pronouns. Writing meant having legible handwriting. So far, he liked Swedish or Norwegian the best).

Well, he quickly found out afterward that Arabic was not easy to learn, but still, he did enjoy learning other languages (mostly because he can watch so many different TV shows because of it).

If Arabic was the same here as it was in his world, then Alamin should be more like Al-amin and— "It's pronounced Al-a(at)min(mean), not 'min'," Tanaka couldn't help but corrected with a slight Arabic accent he had adopted whenever he would speak with some of his Arabic friends.

Suddenly, a silence fell in between the Rosettas, and when Tanaka looked up at the family, he didn't notice the blank stare being given to him by 'Al-amin', whose expression had darkened into something vague.

Thomas' father had put down his newspaper and looked at Tanaka with a critical eye. "What was that?"

Tanaka blinked in confusion while both of Thomas' probably-siblings looked at each other also in befuddlement. The mother also seemed to hold a certain expression, one that made Tanaka feel wary.

"...Al-amin." Tanaka repeated rather stiltedly but with the correct pronunciation. At least, he thought it was the correct pronunciation. Maybe it was different in this world? How troublesome. He didn't want to relearn languages. He wasn't even sure how he was able to speak and understand this world's language in the first place.

"Yes, and then what?"

What's with the interrogation? was what Tanaka wanted to say out loud but instead, he just shrugged.

The father stared at Tanaka for a long, uncomfortable minute before going back to his paper, while both the probably-mother and probably-sister went back to ignoring after a particular assessing gaze. The probably older brother only gave him a schadenfreude-type smile with too many mixed messages in between.

Well, that was weird.

Either way, as soon as he made himself comfortable in his seat, a maid walked up and placed a dish in front of him. He blinked as he saw that he was given a toasted slice of bread with strawberry jam, some cold-cut meat, some cheese, a couple of fried eggs, and a bowl of yogurt. While that sounded like a lot, the portions were generously small. Also, the maid had poured a small cup of tea for him, and judging by the strong, spicy smell, it was probably Earl Grey. To put it mildly, he was not a fan of Earl Grey.

Tanaka took a peek at other plates in order to gauge whether this type of breakfast was normal or whether they were trying to bully him through his meals now, only to see that the maids were already cleaning up the dining table.

"Father, I will be studying with His Royal Highness Prince Xander today. So I won't be back until dinner," Thomas' probably older brother suddenly spoke up and...

Wait.

Tanaka couldn't help but gawk at the older blond teen as his tired and sluggish brain suddenly worked into overdrive.

Prince Xander? Where did he hear of that name before...?

The father indulgently placed his newspaper down and made the effort to give his oldest son an acknowledging nod. It really made Tanaka more aware of the bias between the oldest son and his own position— or rather Thomas' own position, though the difference in treatment didn't feel all that surprising considering his observations...

"Understood. To have earned the attention of the Crown Prince is commendable. Please enjoy your study session with Prince Xander. I will look forward to what you have to report tonight at dinner," the older man generously praised, giving his eldest son a small smile while 'Edward' reciprocated with a humble smile of his own.

...Edward... Edward Rosetta... Rosetta Edward....

....Didn't that name belong to one of his sister's otome games? What was it called again...? The Boldest of Love? Or was it the Toldest— no, 'toldest' was not a word. The Coldest of Love? That last one seemed to be the most eligible candidate, but rather unbefitting for an otome game targeted towards teenage girls. It had to be cheesy, lovey-dovey, and typically girly. Maybe the title didn't have 'love' in it? The Coldest of the Cove? The Coldness of the Cove...? He felt as if he was getting further away from the actual title...

As Tanaka spaced out, trying to remember the name of the otome game that eluded him, Thomas' probably-mother and probably-sister had already stood up. The beautiful middle-aged woman walked to her husband and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"I'll be having a tea party at the Damians for the rest of the morning and the afternoon, dear. Katherine will be joining me as well. Please enjoy your duties in the palace today."

"Of course, Dear. Please have fun at your get-together with the other noblewomen," her husband responded accordingly with the same small smile he gave to his son. Tanaka ignored the rather pink atmosphere around the couple and continued his attempt to remember his sister's game.

Noble... Right! It's Noble! The Noblest of the Cove?... Why did that sound like the title of a vampire teen novel? No wait, 'covenant' was not the same thing as a cove.

"Katherine, come and give your father a kiss and bid him farewell before we take our leave," Thomas' probably-mother encouraged as she ushered her daughter closer with a rather strong hand on her mid-back.

Katherine gave her mother a strange and complicated glance before smiling adoringly at her father. "I'm coming, father~" she warned cutely as she slid into her father's arms, giving him a courtesy squeeze before forcing herself out of his grip with an innocent smile.

By then, once everyone started to disperse, not even caring how they had basically ignored their youngest and left him alone, Tanaka finally remembered the freakin' name of his sister's damn otome game.

The Noblest of Love! The most current and popular otome game of the year! Not only did it have an RPG element that allowed you to walk around in 3D, complete missions and events (that did affect the end result of the game), and woo/be wooed by the capture targets. Tanaka had to admit, it was a very innovative otome game at the time and that was pretty much the only reason why he gathered enough interest and energy to watch Nanami play it.

Okay, so maybe he played a little of it. The forging and magic battle parts were fun. And he usually forgot the fact that it was originally an otome game until one of the capture targets tried to flirt with him in the middle of the story.

Anyway, one of the capture targets that he saw in the game was Prince Xander Charles Ricardo Lynel Hubert Windsor (it was only because he had eidetic memory that he remember that long name), who was supposedly kind, positive, full of vigor, and an absolutely tiring thing to interact with. Tanaka remembered the number of sparkling smiles he was given while playing the game. Prince Xander was Daichi's favorite for some reason and Nanami would swoon whenever he would appear in the game.

In addition, it just so happened that Thomas' brother, Edward Rosetta was also a capture target.

He had a cunning character with a calculative mind and was usually ten steps ahead of everyone else, but he somehow became a very good friend of 'The Crown Prince of Smiles' (as dubbed by Nanami). Eventually, as the heroine interacted more with Edward, he gradually became more warm and sweet. If Tanaka remembered his path correctly, Edward and the Heroine's romance would be smooth sailing if it wasn't for Edward's 'insecurities' and general mistrust of almost everyone outside of Prince Xander....

Edward had a brother. According to the game, a brother who was described as someone full of envy and resentment. Who was always scheming... the brother... who Tanaka is right now...

Tanaka: "..."

What kind of horrible luck did he have? He never asked to be the capture target's cannon fodder little brother who was always destined to fail and be killed in the end ('conveniently gone missing' was the game's conclusion to Thomas' fate). One-upping his so-called 'brother' sounded like work. And effort. Being jealous sounded like effort. Jealousy was tiresome in general.

And as for the other capture targets? Well, he had only seen/done two routes and it just so happened that the other capture targets were a few years younger than both Xander and Edward so he actually never really got to see them through their stories. He probably wouldn't be able to recognize them even if they did show up in their character stories... In truth, he really only played through Prince Xander's romance and just concentrated on foraging and building up his magical powers. Even then, he skipped through most of the dialogue and didn't even reach the end where they had to defeat the main villain of the game, who was... huh, who was the main villain of the game? According to the summary and some reviews he read off-handedly, there was a common villain in the game... but the community was surprisingly strict on giving out spoilers so he never did find out who the villain was. Oh well.

It was then that Tanaka finally realized he had been left alone. And that his food had gone cold (or it was probably already cold if Edward's words were to be trusted). Well, food was still food. He would be the last person to waste free food.

Without further hesitation, Tanaka dug right in, forgoing his manners and just shove everything that was on the plate into his mouth. Sometimes, he didn't use utensils and just used his hands to shovel the toast and some of the cheese into his mouth. Who had heard of eating toast and cheese with a knife and fork anyway? That sounded like more effort than it was worth.

As he ate his fill, Tanaka didn't notice the stares he garnered from the surrounding maids and butlers, who were a bit shocked by his vigorous dining manners. Al-amin's pleasant expression, on the other hand, hadn't faltered. The only thing that could possibly give away his thoughts were the shifts in his gaze.

Thomas was known to be attention-needy and it was not an uncommon sight to see the child making a ruckus, but now...It seemed that something had changed. The Rosettas might presume later on that Thomas was trying to find a new way to get attention, but the butler could see the blatant disinterest in the child's eyes.

The change was too abrupt. It was only yesterday that Al-amin found the boy pale due to the results of his scores. And now... though he could say that the 13-year-old had somewhat matured, the young master's attitude was definitely different from before. It was an easy thing to notice, one that every passing servant could attest to. Even the Rosettas, once they stopped being immersed in their own bubble, would one day take note of the changes within their youngest.

Thomas lost the demeanor of a young nobleman. Slumping in his seat, everything about him seemed tired and exhausted. His eyes were still a little red from, what the young butler could only assume, his all-night crying episode (though surely not from his grades. Young Master Thomas had been scolded plenty of times for his 'unsatisfactory' scores to be upset about it) and his complexion held a gaunt color.

He was a pitiful figure to any of the adults watching him, even as the young child inhaled half of his breakfast as if his stomach was a vacuum.

They witnessed this strange and unfamiliar Thomas reaching for the cup of Earl Grey tea— though not without making a peculiar face. Almost everyone was aware of Thomas's blatant dislike of Earl Grey, but the child drank it often nonetheless because the Rosettas are well-known black tea lovers. This was the first time they had ever seen such an honest expression from the youngest, who often hid his true thoughts behind a sneer and a haughty face.

Suddenly, he turned around towards Al-amin, who was still standing perfectly straight next to his chair with that same, professionally distant manner that hadn't changed since their first meeting. Tanaka couldn't see how the butler's hands twitched as they were clasped behind the older man's back.

"Can I get some milk?" Tanaka asked with large, pleading eyes as he looked directly into Al-amin's. According to Western etiquette, it's only polite to look someone in the eye when making a request. At least, that was how it usually was in his world. He wasn't sure the same rules would apply here.

Al-amin gave Tanaka a superficial, close-eyed smile, waving towards the maid with the jug of milk. It was common knowledge within the estate that the youngest master had declared milk as a 'peasant's drink' when Young Master Edward had teased him about his preferences and had stopped drinking it ever since. For the past year, the young child completely switched to Earl Grey as his go-to beverage. The jug of milk held by the maid was mostly for the Young Miss, Katherine Rosetta, who would often drink it mockingly in front of her younger brother.

One maid placed a tall glass next to Tanaka on the table while the other filled the glass. As soon as the glass was half-full, Tanaka grabbed onto it and took a sip, which then turned into several big gulps. Half a glass of milk was gone in about three seconds. The maid with the milk jug looked rather amused by the younger master's vicious thirst, before pouring another half-full glass of milk. Tanaka just patted the table and gestured towards the jug.

"Just place it here," he instructed. No need for the maid to keep pouring when he could've just done it on his own.

The maid (brown hair and green eyes— it would still surprise him to see western features when he was used to seeing Asians every day except for the occasional friendly visit from his international friends—) hesitated for a moment, before doing as he had instructed. Content, Tanaka continued to inhale what was left of his breakfast. Considering his nationality, he was somewhat unused to a westernized breakfast. The lack of rice was what bothered him the most. Of course, everything was delicious, even if the food was lukewarm, but unfortunately, the portions were pitifully small. His family would usually let him eat until he was satisfied, and sometimes, that meant having three large servings of rice.

Maybe he could ask the servants to bring back the leftovers abandoned by Thomas' family. Would that be a weird thing to request? Were leftovers a thing in this household?

Speaking of leftovers— or, well, of food in general...

"Have... you guys already eaten?" Tanaka asked curiously, not noticing the blatant stares he was getting from every servant in the room. Normally, Tanaka wouldn't even be awake at this time of day but Thomas' new family seemed to be early risers, seeing how energetic they were during breakfast. He figured that meant the maids and butlers were probably up even earlier.

The inquiry, to say at the least, was rather... baffling to many of the servants. Al-amin especially narrowed his eyes in response, but Tanaka was more concentrated on the maid that had brought his milk over anyone else. He didn't really have the energy to focus on more than one person at a time.

The brown-haired maid stared blankly at him, before fumbling out an answer: "I.. I, myself, haven't, young master. Most of us will generally wait until the Lords and Ladies are done."

Oh... His family was rather sensitive to having other people in their house, and while they had the means to hire a housekeeping staff, they never felt the need to. Their home wasn't excessively large in the first place, and though their neighborhood could be considered rather well off, they lived in a modest fashion. Granted, Tanaka was the baby of the family and was very much spoiled by his parents and his siblings, but other than a nice bed and a ton of pillows, he rarely asked for anything else. Some of his more luxurious expenses were bought using his own money or were gifts that he couldn't bother refusing.

Yes, if a stranger saw how his family and friends took care of him, he could be considered a spoiled young master, but those were his family and friends! He could hardly let strangers wait on him hand and foot when he didn't have control over their salaries. Therefore, he found himself in a rather uncomfortable situation now knowing that everyone would be waiting for him to finish his own meal before they could start theirs.

Nonetheless, Tanaka took that as his cue for him to finish up. In one mouthful, he devoured his entire plate and practically drank all the milk from the jug itself.

It was a funny sight, seeing almost everyone gaping at the black hole that was their youngest master who jumped right down from his seat after consuming everything that was considered edible.

"Now you can eat," Tanaka said to the maid. It wasn't really okay to skip breakfast even if he would be the last person to talk about self-care. Half of the time, when he had closed himself off in his room, he would forget to eat until his mom literally barged into his room with a large pot of food under her arms. Or his other family members would instead carry him out of his room to eat at the dinner table. Both worked wonders for Tanaka's continued good health.

Nearly everyone blinked at Tanaka's declaration, a little bit flabbergasted by his odd actions, as the man-turned-boy turned around to face his assigned butler. "Al-amin," Tanaka called with that very same slight Arabic accent he had previously used. Tanaka had no intention of pronouncing the name in any other way— it was what he was used to back in his old life. He also found that people would often respond better if they were spoken or referred to in their native language or accent. It was definitely easier for him to recognize his name when a Japanese speaker would say it versus a Hungarian speaker. "Can I go back to my room?" And sleep? Was left unsaid, mostly because he doubted the other would appreciate him going back to sleep just right after he had just come down for breakfast.

Though Tanaka tried to be subtle, Al-amin had this scary look on his face; well, nothing on his face really changed other than the way his eyes suddenly curved like a particularly vicious and deep-minded rainbow. "It's such a waste to stay indoors on a perfect day like today, Young Master Thomas," the pleasant-looking butler pointed with an expression that obviously left no room for arguments.

Though Tanaka really wanted to go back to Thomas' room to sleep (away from his problems), the issue lie in the fact that... well... he didn't remember where his room was. This mansion was just way too big for someone who had recently shrunk half a meter. And why were there so many hallways??? Did the Rosettas need so many rooms when there were only five people living in the house???

Nonetheless, Tanaka had no choice but to agree with the young butler's suggestion because it would take considerable energy to argue against it anyway.

"Then take me to the gardens, please," Tanaka asked politely, completely missing the rather exaggerated expressions of astonishment of nearly everyone in the room at hearing the word 'please' being uttered from his mouth. Other than the slight movement in Al-amin's curved eyes, he bowed his head and gestured towards the french doors leading out towards the gardens.

With the butler's guidance, Tanaka made his way outside with his assigned chaperone following closely behind like a shadow. He wasn't sure what to expect when he stepped outside into the courtyard, but the lush floral and greenery was somewhat astounding. It was a garden that you would only see in pictures and books, the type that had to be tended by more than several gardeners at a time. Close by, he could even see a maze made with tall hedges shaped meticulously into man-made forms.

The area was warm and quiet, the weather ideal for a post-breakfast and pre-lunch nap. There was an abnormal pause in Tanaka's movement, a half a second of contemplation about his surroundings, before he dashed off in a sudden burst of energy. Al-amin was caught off-guard. Though his response time afterward was rather impressive, as soon as the child entered into the maze, he lost sight of him.

The maze itself was not complicated and Al-amin was tall enough to look above the hedges, but the young master was small and surprisingly quiet. It was all too easy for the smarmy thing to hide in a place like this. The butler was prideful of his sharp senses, but to think that the brat could elude him...

"Mr. Amir? What are you doing here?" Amir Al-amin paused and made a slight turn to glance at the approaching familiar face. He immediately recognized one of the Rosettas' employed gardeners, Conrad Hernandez. Conrad, with his naturally tanned skin, stuck out from many of the pale and fair-skinned locals and it was probably because they both were dark-skinned that the gardener treated the butler rather casually.

Amir had a rather decent relationship with all of his co-workers but it would be an exaggeration to say they were friendly with each other as well. Conrad's innate sociability pretty much steamrolled over the butler's distant and cold personality.

Well aware that the gardener was in the midst of a short break from his mid-morning duties and was probably looking for a victim to gossip with, Amir answered curtly with a twinge of impatience in his voice, "I'm looking for Young Master Thomas."

Conrad blinked in response, looking rather baffled by what he had heard. "Young Master Thomas is here?"

"You have not seen him?" The gardener was on the other side of a hedge wall within the maze and it was only because of their height that they could see each other. It also narrowed down the paths the child could have taken into the maze. "He took off into the maze."

Conrad bravely let out a snort, a feat that the rest of his fellow gardeners would consider to be suicidal. "Maybe he's playing hide and seek from you?" was the relaxed and carefree suggestion.

There was no one around to tell that gardener how stupid the idea was, much less Amir, who continued to trek through the lush gardens without a replying comment.

Seeing that the other was leaving, Conrad immediately scrambled to follow the butler. "I mean, it's possible. The poor guy is pretty lonely." Once again, Amir didn't say anything but a flash of something cynical and indifferent appeared in his dark eyes. "Come on," the gardener continued babbling as he followed the other's tailcoat, "Young Master Thomas is just a child and it's not like his situation is nice for anyone his age..."

The two men moved deeper into the maze with the intention to capture the child— but one needed to know the prey in order to catch the prey. And Amir's prey had immediately lost steam as soon as he entered into the maze and ducked into the nearest enclosure to rest. It was barely five steps away from the entrance.

Inside an enclosed area and just one hedge away from the two men, Tanaka was imitating a sun-basking squid on top of a white marble bench. The way his limbs sprawled over the bench looked a little unnatural.

Out of curiosity, he listened to their conversation up until 'playing hide and seek' but the stone had been warmed by the sun emitted a comfortable heat. In contrast, the hedges provided some shelter and seemed cool to the touch. There was a nearby fountain lulling him to sleep with the sound of trickling water, and it was no surprise that he had dozed in mid-eavesdropping. Playing what? Hopefully, that didn't mean anything strenuous for him. Or really, anything that required him to move. He didn't want to move.

A cloud blocked the sun, blanketing the area in a darker but cooler shade. Seconds afterward, Tanaka's consciousness had dropped off from the world.