A few days after my rebirth as Gabriel Sturm, I remained seated as a middle-aged woman stood next to me and examined me with her magic. She had a slender build with fair skin, long brown hair, and blue eyes. She wore blue and white robes, the uniform worn by healers here in Lumina. Meanwhile, I wore a set of pajamas made from blue silk.

The two of us, along with my mother, were in my bedroom. I spent the past few days refamiliarizing myself with the place. It was a large and spacious room, with plush rugs covering the hardwood floor. Large windows let in plenty of light from the morning sun, and gave me a great view of Sturm Manor, House Sturm’s ancestral home. They were also enchanted to keep out intruders and the like.

A wooden nightstand stood next to my canopy bed, with a brass censer sitting atop it. This was the source of the medicinal incense, the one enchanted to promote the body’s natural healing. Smoke wafted up from the censer, filling my bedroom with an herbal scent.

Wooden bookshelves lined the walls, filled with all kinds of books and tomes. Most, however, were about magic and magical theory. In one corner stood a wooden desk. In another corner stood a vanity with a mirror attached to it.

My bedroom had three doors. One that led to the hallway outside, one that led to the bathroom, and one that led to my dressing room, which was where most of my clothes were stored. Brass glowstone lamps hung from the walls at strategic locations.

Glowstone, as its name suggested, was a type of crystal that emitted light. The strength and range of this light depended on the quality of the glowstone. On Lumina, people used them the same way people on Earth used light bulbs. They were so ubiquitous that even commoners used them. They could even be enchanted to emit light in different colors.

At first, I found this place strange and unnerving. It was both familiar and unfamiliar to me. During my first life, my bedroom was my sanctuary away from the world. However, that was decades ago. When I first woke up, this bedroom felt like it belonged to someone else. In a way, that was true. I was no longer the same person I was back then.

Now, a few days later, this room no longer felt like it belonged to a stranger. However, it still didn’t feel like it belonged to me. Since I was going to live here for a while, I planned on changing a few things around and adding my own personal touches to the place. I wanted to make it mine.

“How is Gabriel?” My mother asked, pulling me back to the present.

She stood a few feet away with a worried expression on her face. The past few days had been kind to her. The dark circles underneath her eyes had faded away and she no longer looked haggard. Instead, she resembled the radiant and vibrant woman from my memories. 

Like when I first woke up, she wore a green dress. However, this one was a shade lighter than her previous dress. She wore her long red hair in a simple bun. A light amount of makeup adorned her face, accentuating her natural beauty.

The healer gave my mother a sideways glance. Her name was Joanne and was House Sturm’s resident healer. She used to work for my mother’s House, but followed along when my mother married my father.

The two of us became well acquainted with one another over the past few days as she helped me recover from my injuries. Without her healing magic, it would have taken me much longer; months, at the very least. Instead, it only took a little under three weeks.

Joanne was also the one who had saved my life after the Incident. According to my mother, without Joanne’s tireless efforts, I wouldn’t have woken up at all. Rather, I wouldn’t have had a body to come back to after the Demon Lord killed me and sent my soul back to Lumina.

What would have happened to me then? Would I have gone to the afterlife? Reincarnated as someone else here on Lumina? Or would my soul have wandered around like a restless spirit? I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t want to find out. I owed Joanne my life.

“Lord Gabriel is in perfect health, Lady Sturm.” Joanne said. “He’s in dire need of some fresh air and exercise, but otherwise he is fine.”

I nodded.

“Thanks to your efforts, Joanne. I am grateful for your hard work.” I paused for a moment. “Does this mean I can leave my room now?”

Joanne hesitated, before nodding. I resisted the urge to cheer. Finally! I thought I would go crazy. The past few days had been unbearably boring, as I rested and recuperated from my injuries. On Earth, I lived an active lifestyle. Hunting monsters, training, etc. Lying around and doing nothing felt wrong to me. 

However, I bore with it since I knew that pushing my body before it healed would delay my recovery. Now that I no longer had to worry about that, I wanted to move around.

I could move about the day after my rebirth, but since I hadn’t fully recovered, my parents forbade me from leaving my bedroom. To keep myself occupied, I spent a lot of time reading. While I still remembered a lot from my time as Gabriel Sturm, my memory wasn’t perfect. I wanted to review what I remembered, and shore up any gaps in my knowledge. Besides, I found relearning things about Lumina fun. One example was this realm’s political landscape.

Lumina was ruled by two major powers: the Solarian Empire and the Lunarian Kingdom. Both were massive, spanning entire continents. Respectively, they were led by the Sun Emperor and the Moon Queen, immortal demigods who had lived for tens of thousands of years.

However, they showed little interest in the day-to-day governing of their respective domains. Instead, they left all that to the Houses. In practice, both the Solarian Empire and the Lunarian Kingdom were more of a collection of fiefdoms ruled by the Houses instead of unified states. It was all quite feudal.

“Is that really necessary?” My mother asked, once again pulling me back to the present. “Why not rest for a few more days?”

I made a face at her. Ever since the Incident, my mother liked to fuss over me. For some reason, she blamed herself for what happened and was trying to overcompensate for it. I didn’t know why, since she refused to tell me whenever I asked.

When I tried to stop my mother, the hurt expression on her face made me feel so guilty that I retracted my words right away. Besides, I didn’t hate my mother’s fussiness. I just found it embarrassing.

“I feel cooped up in here, Mother.” I said. “As Joanna said, I need fresh air and exercise.”

My mother bit her lip.

“I know. It’s just…” She trailed off, before sighing. “I want to wait until after the priest from the Church of the Sun arrives and examines you.”

I gave her a baffled look.

“Why?” I asked. “Joanne did a superb job. Why would I need a priest from the Church of the Sun to examine me?”

There were two kinds of healers here on Lumina. Wizards with Water magic, and priests with Holy magic. While neither kind was better than the other, the Houses preferred the former over the latter. This was because asking a priest for healing required permission from the Church of the Sun, which could take a while. It was faster to simply hire a Water wizard when needed, or keep one as a retainer.

For commoners, it was the opposite, since the Church of the Sun charged little for its services. Sometimes, they offered healing for free. It depended on the circumstances. Also, unlike the Houses, it took much less time for commoners to seek permission from the Church of the Sun.

“I want to be sure of… Everything,” my mother said in response to my earlier question.

“Are you talking about that?” Joanna asked.

My mother nodded.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“The chances of that happening are low.” Joanna studied me with an appraising eye. “Though, to be fair, Lord Gabriel does seem a bit different from before.”

I looked between the two of them with a frown on my face.

“What are you two talking about?”

My mother gave me an apologetic look.

“I can’t tell you, Gabriel. At least, not yet. However, I’ll explain everything later.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Is this related to the marriage you brought up a few days ago?”

My mother nodded. Joanna looked surprised by this.

“So that’s what your plan was.” She chuckled. “Clever.”

I resisted the urge to grab Joanne and demand answers from her. What was everyone talking about? They knew about some big secret, but refused to tell me about it. If they hadn’t mentioned anything related to this secret, I would’ve been fine. However, they kept dropping hints about it, which I found maddening.

Agh! Just tell me or don’t. Pick one! Stop teasing me!

When she noticed my expression, my mother gave me a sympathetic look.

“Oh, my child.” She said. “I know it’s frustrating, but wait a little longer. I’ll tell you everything then. I promise.”

I sighed.

“Very well.” I said.

Joanne bowed to my mother.

“If my services are no longer needed here, I shall take my leave, Lady Sturm.”