First Education

Darien's POV:

It's been a week since we arrived at the palace, and every day, every moment, I've been bored to death. I haven't run into any members of the royal family, especially the Prince. Don't get me wrong, I just wanted to see what the Prince of Serenity looks like because he's also a key character in my novel, and I want to know his personality, but mostly his status window.

What's his status window look like? His status window also I never make it.  What I can say is, all characters that will appear, I haven't made their status window, I only write what their power and class are for them. Except for the Prince and Eirian.

But that's completely impossible, especially since we cannot go to the other wing beside this one. 

Eirian's and my new daily routine has started to become a habit, even though we still aren't completely comfortable and don't feel very free.

In the mornings, breakfast is brought to our room, then we shower and get ready in the clothes they provide. The clothes we're wearing feel like wearing something heavy on my heart because I can tell the fabric used is silk, and while it's not the most expensive kind, Eirian and I still can't get used to wearing such luxurious clothes.

It's just a regular baggy white shirt and expensive dark blue cotton shorts with some charms, as if the clothes we're wearing don't belong to us. Sigh. Then, we go to class in a library located in the wing we're staying in--not the main library, but it's quite spacious and has a lot of books. It's the only place I feel comfortable and have been free.

I'm not sure about Eirian; he's sometimes difficult to read. He listens, but then he'll complain to me, which makes me laugh sometimes. Then he'll just give his fake smile to everyone there except for Hirayuki; he'll show his true personality.

And that young detective just sighs in resignation and deals with my brother's childish antics. He might have been considered the most mature at the orphanage, but he's still a 7-year-old kid.

With Hirayuki being 8 years older than Eirian; it's like I'm watching a sibling relationship between the two of them, the difference being that I know Eirian is just jealous and overprotective of me.

He's a real bro-con. *Sweatdrop*

Class is just a normal thing, just two of us with an instructor hired by the palace. He's a quiet man, but he's not as bad as other adults; in fact, he teaches us with a lot of patience and a steady, calm aura. He will explain what we don't understand and answer what we ask.

Our class is until midday, then lunch, free time until the evening, then dinner, and then sleep. That's it, but we have to be in our room by 10 p.m. because we're not allowed to wander around much at night. I understand; it must be for safety, or maybe they just don't trust people of our lower class. Hmph.

Today is Monday, or "Isday" in this world's language. It's just a normal day, a boring routine... Right now, Eirian and I are in the wing's garden. It's our free time after lunch. I don't know how big this palace is, but I'm sure I'll get lost if I wander off, and I don't want to cause any trouble for Eirian.

Speaking of him, Eirian is currently reading a book while lying on the grass. The two of us are sitting under a larger tree, feeling the gentle and peaceful breeze. The atmosphere is quiet, without us saying anything, but just feeling each other's presence is enough for us; it's comfortable and nice.

I tilted my head back, looking at the afternoon sky, which was a faded blue with a hint of pink. It's so beautiful, and the weather today is good--not too hot and not too cold. It's just right.
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"This is so boring," I complained with a blank look. Eirian just gave a small chuckle before putting down the book he was reading. It seems Eirian also liked to read. Then he sat up and crossed his legs.

"Actually, I don't know how many times I've heard you complain about the same thing this past week, Darien," Eirian replied with his hand on his chin, closing his eyes and nodding his head repeatedly as if trying to understand me.

But I'm the one who created this character and has lived with him for a long time--well, not that long, almost a month now--so I'm very familiar with Eirian's teasing behavior. Ergh, he's such an annoying older brother.

"You also complain to me always (muttered)... But, Eiri-niichan... I'm telling the truth. Aren't you bored too?"

"Hm? Well... Of course, I'm bored too. We just wake up, eat, study, play, stare into space, eat again, and then sleep."

"Eiri-niichan, you forgot the part where we're supposed to shower too," I commented with a facepalm. Eirian immediately gave me a deadpan look.

"Do you want me to give you details of every activity we do?" Eirian asked, still with that deadpan face. It looked so hilarious that I burst out laughing until I was lying on the soft, fresh-smelling grass. Sigh, everything here is nice, but... something is still missing.

Eirian gave a small smile and shook his head before looking up at the sky with me. We both fell silent, staring at the blue, pink sky, as if waiting for something to fall from above.

After a while of staring, lost in thought, I got a silly idea. Well, it's not silly; I just really want to do it since I get charged by the hospital.

"Hey, Eiri-niichan..."

"Yes?"

"Let's try to learn to use our powers? You've never tried to use yours before, right? I want to see it!" In truth, I was truly curious to see what Eirian's power was like. I'm already sick of seeing the same powers as in my original world--even if they weren't real, only in manga or anime. I just really want to see Eirian's and the Prince's powers, but for the Prince, I think that's impossible.

Maybe I can try to use my power too? The system only mentions that I have power, but doesn't say I couldn't use it. There's no harm in trying.

Eirian looked at me as if I had grown two heads. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, then opened it and closed it. He then seemed to be thinking about something, his forehead furrowed, so I just let him be and waited.

"... You're right, but is it okay? We're under palace surveillance right now."

"They didn't say we couldn't use our powers, did they? They said we're free to do whatever we want during our free time. What's wrong with trying to learn to use our powers? And, we can explore and learn more about this system."

Eirian fell silent and seemed to be thinking about my suggestion with a difficult look on his face. Because what I said was all true. And I'm sure those who are watching us actually want to see what our powers are like.

It's not a good idea, though, to reveal our powers, but sooner or later they'll be exposed anyway, and we need to learn to control them before the second main scenario. It would be better if we could create a skill now; it's for the good of both of us.

"... You have a point. Okay, let's try... But not too much. We don't want to damage this garden."

"Oh, that's right, but what if we lose control or damage this garden?" Eirian was speechless. He started thinking like Detective Conan, and so did I. Hmm... Where's a good place to--Oh!

"Ha! Let's ask Hira-niichan for help!"

Eirian was startled when I called Hirayuki by that name. Well, I've noticed for a while that even though Hirayuki is older than me--although technically I'm the older one--this is my world now, so I'm trying to call him by a different name, and he liked it, but my brother doesn't.

The blond boy tried to hide his annoyance, even though his smile twitched a little. Hehehe, it's kind of fun to tease him once in a while.

"Why-Why do we have to ask him for help? Hirayuki-san might be busy right now, especially since we're still trying to adjust to our new reality. He must have a lot of mysteries to solve..." Eirian replied, stammered a little, but I could still see him trying to hide his annoyance behind his twitching smile and his eye.

"It's okay, I'll message him first." Before Eirian could object, I had already opened my status, went to the contacts icon, tapped on "Hira-niichan," and then tapped on the message icon. I quickly started typing on the keyboard and pressed send. I'm a writer, after all, and I use a laptop a lot, so of course, my fingers are very fast on a keyboard like a hacker.

Not even a minute later, a 'Ting' sound came in, indicating a new message. Wow, he's quite fast replying to my messages; it looks like he waits for me to message him.

Hira-niichan:
>> Oh! You two can use the training room in this wing. I have already informed a knight to take you there. You can use the room on the following days as well^^

Me:
>> Okay! Thank you Hira-niichan!

"Okay! We can use the training room here!"

Eirian blinked at me repeatedly with a look of disbelief and confusion. I just grinned at him before a knight came and took us to the training room. I also dragged Eirian along, who was still processing what had just happened. Hahaha, that was cute.

In the training room...

"Don't worry if you cause any damage here. That's the function of this room, just... try not to cause major damage or destroy this place," the knight advised with a sweatdrop smile before leaving to go back to his duties.

Well, I don't think I can promise that. I have a strong gut feeling that our powers are quite strong and difficult to control, especially since there is no information about them.

"Okay... So, what should we do?" Eirian asked me. He always asks me as if I know what to do, which is true; I do know what to do, but I don't want to make it too obvious. I'm worried Eirian will suspect something strange about me again.

What should I say? The two of us are now standing in the middle of the training room. It's quite spacious, with spectator areas around the room, some training weapons on the side, and a sand-like floor.

I don't know how to say this. I don't want to seem like I'm too familiar with this system, or for Eirian to find out I'm not the real Darien. I feel anxiety start to creep in inside me. 

Gulp.

"Ah... Eiri-niichan, what do you think we should do first? I don't really know what we should do, but maybe we can start with our status windows?"

"Hmm... Okay, that works."

The two of us then opened our respective systems. Because Eirian and I made an agreement where only the two of us can see each other's statuses without having to go to the settings, we can both see our statuses easily.

"... Let's try to release our power first?" Eirian suggested, as if waiting for my approval.

I just smiled and nodded in agreement. Eirian smiled as if satisfied before turning to look at his status again. Is it just my imagination or what? It's the same feeling as that night came back to alarm me.