My mother gave her a nod. With that, Joanne exited my bedroom. After she left, I stood up and stretched. My body felt much better now than it had when I first woke up. It no longer felt heavy and the pain was all gone. The gaping emptiness at the center of my being remained, though I would fix that after I formed my mana core.

However, I needed to build up a foundation first and reach a certain level of physical fitness Otherwise, the strain of forming a mana core would injure me, undoing all of Joanne’s hard work. I might even die again, an experience that I didn’t want to go through for a third time. Dying twice was enough for me.

“I really wish you would wait until the priest arrives.” My mother said.

I gave her a questioning look.

“Is there any particular reason why?” I asked.

My mother hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

“No. I guess I’ve become a worrywart. I almost lost you once. I’m afraid that if something else happens, I’ll lose you for good.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. Considering what happened, that was a valid fear. After I died(?) the first time and transmigrated to Earth, I thought I would never see my family again. Honestly, it was a miracle that I ended up back here after dying a second time.

“How about this?” I asked. “Until the priest arrives, I’ll limit my activities to walking about the estate. Otherwise, I’ll stay here. Does that ease your mind?”

My mother smiled at me.

“A little, yes. Thank you for putting up with an old woman’s worries.”

I snorted.

“Now that is a lie if I’ve ever heard one. You’re not even forty years old. Not only that, you look like a woman half your age.”

I said that without flattery or exaggeration. My mother gave birth to me when she was twenty years old. I was eighteen years old now, physically at least, meaning my mother was about thirty eight years old. Despite this, she only looked a little older than me. I didn’t know how or why.

As a whole, wizards aged slower and lived longer than regular humans, though the difference wasn’t that extreme. For example, my father was forty three years old, but looked about ten years younger or so. However, that didn’t explain my mother’s appearance. Maybe she just had a really good skincare routine.

My mother laughed, before she walked over and gave me a playful poke on the shoulder.

“Flatterer.” She paused for a moment. “As a reward for putting up with my nonsense, why don’t we go on a family trip after Kaylee returns home? Your father and I already discussed the matter, and he agreed to the idea.”

My younger sister, Kaylee, was away from home at the moment. She was off at the Solarian Imperial Academy, the Solarian Empire’s most prestigious academic institution. Students lived on campus and only returned home during breaks.

It wasn’t even possible to send Kaylee a message, or receive one from her. To maintain a proper atmosphere and curb any outside influences, the academy sealed itself off from the outside world at the beginning of each semester. It wouldn’t open up again until the semester ended.

Spring just started and the current semester wouldn’t end until the beginning of summer. This meant that I wouldn’t see my little sister again, or even hear from her, for another three months. And that was at the earliest. If something happened, it might take even longer.

“Did you have a particular destination in mind?” I asked my mother.

She nodded.

“Eastwatch.” She smiled. “I’m not sure if you remember, but we went there once when you were a child. You were about eight years old, I recall. You loved swimming in the waters there.”

I frowned. Eastwatch was a city located along the southeastern coast of the Solarian Empire, right next to the sea. It was famous for its beautiful beaches, musical culture, and local cuisine. This made it a popular vacation destination during the summer months. However, there was just one problem.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “We never visited Eastwatch when I was a child.” My memory wasn’t perfect, but I remembered that much. “When I was eight, we…” I trailed off as I racked my mind. “…I remember now. We visited Lakeside.”

Like Eastwatch, Lakeside was also a popular vacation destination. It was a small city located along the shores of Giant’s Basin, a massive lake on par with the Great Lakes of North America back on Earth. Plenty of fruit tree orchards dotted the land around Giant’s Basin, making it a great place to visit during the harvest season.

My family visited Lakeside around that time, back when I was eight years old. We walked through the fruit tree orchards, visited the nearby beaches, and had a good time overall. I loved swimming in Giant’s Basin, due to my affinity for Water.

Why did my mother say we visited Eastwatch instead of Lakeside? Had she forgotten? Or was there some deeper purpose behind it? I studied her, gauging her reaction to my words.

“Oh,” she said, “You’re right. I must have forgotten.”

Despite her attempts to act nonchalant, I noticed the relief in her eyes. Oh. That question had been a test. Did my parents suspect me already? Well, I didn’t blame them. Of course they noticed that I wasn’t the same Gabriel Sturm they knew. From their perspective, it was as if I had become a different person.

Hmm, it appeared that I needed to tell my parents the truth sooner rather than later. Otherwise, they might suspect that I was being possessed by a demon or an evil spirit. Even on Earth, that had been a valid concern, not mere superstition. The Church of the Sun even had exorcists who specialized in dealing with malevolent spiritual entities.

“I would love to visit Lakeside again.” I said, giving my mother a smile.

She nodded.

“Indeed.” She clapped her hands together. “I’m sure you’re eager to go about your business, so I shall take my leave now.”

With that, my mother left. After she closed the door behind her, I sighed. Even after dying and transmigrating twice, my relationship with my family remained complicated. In fact, my transmigration added a whole new layer, making everything even more complicated.

However, that was a problem for future Gabriel to deal with. Right now, I just wanted to change and get started on my training. The rest could wait until after I told my parents the truth about, well, everything.

I entered my dressing room, which was like an upscaled version of a walk-in closet. Several racks and shelves occupied almost the entire room, each one filled with a variety of clothes. They were all organized too. In one corner stood a full length mirror.

I looked around with a wry smile on my face. Honestly, I had forgotten that I had this many clothes. High society placed great importance on fashion, because of course it did, and I played my part in order to not embarrass my family.

At least, I did during my first life. After spending twenty five years as Brandon Norwood, I was a little out of touch. However, that didn’t matter. I planned on interacting with high society as little as possible.

Besides, it wasn’t as if I had any fond memories of high society. Most of the social events I attended resulted in my humiliation and embarrassment. My lack of magical talent made me an easy target for my so-called peers, who enjoyed bullying me.

Assholes.

I searched around my dressing room, until I found a pair of loose brown trousers, a loose white shirt, and a pair of black leather shoes. Perfect. After I put them on, I examined myself in the full length mirror.

It still felt odd to see Gabriel Sturm’s face in the mirror instead of Brandon Norwood’s. Like with my bedroom, it felt as if it belonged to someone else altogether, a stranger. However, I would grow used to it in time. I knew because I went through this situation before, when I reincarnated as Brandon Norwood.

If anything, things were better this time around. At the risk of sounding vain and arrogant, I was gorgeous. I inherited the best parts of my parents’ appearances. From my mother, I inherited her fair skin and beauty. From my father, I inherited his wavy silvery-blue hair, silvery-blue eyes, and striking features. My only complaint was that I was more beautiful than handsome, giving me an almost effeminate appearance.

While there were some similarities between my current face and my previous one, my soul’s influence no doubt, Brandon Norwood had a far more plain and average appearance than Gabriel Sturm. If my teammates from the Vanguard Guild saw me now, they would tease me for being a pretty boy.

Thinking about my life on Earth made my heart ache. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The joy of reuniting with my family mingled with the sorrow at losing all of my loved ones from Earth. My teammates, the guildmaster of the Vanguard Guild, Teacher, etc. I would never see any of them again.

After I became a hunter, I tried to find a way to return to Lumina. I met with several beings that knew how to travel between realms and asked them about my home realm. However, none of them had heard of it. Nor did I find any reference to Lumina in any of the archives and libraries I visited.

Traveling between realms was difficult and dangerous. If you didn’t even know where your destination was, it was akin to suicide. Since I couldn’t find out how to reach Lumina, I gave up and resolved to make the best of my life on Earth.

While there was a chance that I might find a way to reach Earth here on Lumina, I doubted it. I already tried chasing an impossible dream once. I wasn’t going to put myself through that again. Neither could I let my sorrow get in the way of my life here on Lumina.

I recalled everyone I knew and loved back on Earth, imprinting them in my memory so I would never forget them in this life. After my emotions settled down, I opened my eyes and left my dressing room. It was time to begin my training.