Silence filled the office as my father and I studied one another. The office's somber atmosphere seemed to press down on me. Light from the afternoon sun streamed in from the windows behind him. The scent of sandalwood teased my nose. I maintained a nonchalant expression on my face, but this was a facade. On the inside, I felt jittery.

Ha! If I added together all the years I lived as Gabriel Sturm and Brandon Norwood, I was the same age as my father. Despite that, I still felt like a child who had been caught doing something naughty. No matter how old I was, Bryce Sturm was still my father. That would never change.

My father heaved a deep sigh.

"What am I going to do with you, Gabriel?"

"You could always send me to the Northern Annex."

My father blinked at me in surprise.

"Why would I do that?"

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Aren't you going to punish me for what happened?"

Regardless of my justification, I still caused a commotion and sowed discord between my father and House Sturm's retainers. I figured that warranted some form of punishment, even if it was just a slap on the wrist. In fact, I counted on it.

As I sat here and reported what happened to my father, it occurred to me that I could turn this situation to my advantage. House Sturm sent its scions to the Northern Annex as a form of punishment, or to confine those who had fallen out of favor. Either one applied to me. I figured it would be easy to convince my father to send me there.

The Northern Annex was the perfect place to train. While I had resolved to tell my parents the truth about my transmigration and rebirth in order to ease their suspicions towards me, I still needed to be careful.

Everyone knew about my shattered magic circle. Training and forming my mana core would attract the wrong kind of attention, the kind that brought trouble. I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. In fact, my parents could aid me in that, another reason to tell them the truth. I just needed the right opportunity.

"Gabriel, I'm not going to punish you for this incident," my father said. "I have no reason to. You did nothing wrong."

"Regardless of right or wrong," I said. "I injured two of House Sturm's retainers. The other retainers are bound to feel resentment towards me. By punishing me, even if it's just for the sake of appearances, will dispel that resentment."

My father's expression darkened.

"No."

It was my turn to blink at him in surprise.

"What do you mean, no?"

"I am not punishing you for defending yourself. If any of House Sturm's retainers resent you for that, then they are not worthy of serving our House." My father gave me a strange look. "Just what kind of father do you think I am?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that. I didn't know my father as well as I thought I did during my first life, so there were many things I was uncertain about. He loved me, I knew that much. However, anything beyond that was a mystery to me. The same could be said about my mother.

Rather than open that particular can of worms, I deflected the question altogether.

"Then what did you mean by your statement earlier?" I asked. "When questioned what to do with me?"

My father gave me a pained look.

"Gabriel, you almost killed yourself with your reckless actions. Your mother and I feared we would lose you. Now, not even a day after you made your recovery, you throw yourself into danger yet again. How do you think that made me feel? How do you think your mother will react when she hears of this?"

Oh. Guilt stabbed me in the heart. I hadn't even considered that. Fuck me, I was an asshole. It never occurred to me that my parents would be worried about me since I picked a fight with someone who could break me over his knee. I knew I could handle myself, thanks to my experiences as Brandon Norwood, but the same couldn't be said for my parents. Even if they suspected me, there was no way they could know the full truth.

"I'm sorry." I said.

My father snorted.

"Do you mean that? Or are you saying that because you think that's what I want to hear?"

"I mean it. I don't regret my actions, but I do regret worrying you and causing trouble for you."

My father looked like he didn't know how to respond to that. He sighed again, looking tired. If my guilt was like a knife to the heart, seeing my father like this twisted that knife.

"What compelled you to pick a fight with Timothy Jeffers?" He asked. "Why didn't you just run?"

I took a breath to steel my resolve and opened my mouth to tell him about my transmigration and rebirth. This terrified me, but he deserved to hear the truth. Both of my parents did. Whether or not they believed me was another matter altogether. I just hoped they didn't send me off to the Church of the Sun, thinking I was possessed by a demon or an evil spirit.

However, before I could say a word, the door to my father's office burst open. We both turned and watched as my mother rushed in with a panicked expression on her face. She wore the same light green dress from earlier.

"Gabriel!" My mother rushed to my side and grabbed me by the shoulders. "I heard about what happened! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Mother."

My attempt to reassure my mother failed. She looked at the blood on my clothes and her eyes widened.

"By the gods! You're injured." She turned towards my father. "Bryce! Call Joanne!"

My father raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I already did, Claire. Gabriel is fine. That isn't his blood."

My mother looked like she didn't believe him and insisted on examining me herself. She only relaxed after it became clear that I wasn't injured. Even then, she still looked worried. She took my hands in her own and focused her attention on them. Her soft hands looked dainty compared to mine. The scent of her rose and pomegranate perfume teased my nose.

"Please, be more careful." My mother said. "Take care of this body. I can't handle anymore heartache."

I opened my mouth to respond, before I paused. This body. Those two words sent a chill down my spine. Well, fuck. It looked like my mother was convinced that I was possessed, or at least strongly suspected it. She didn't believe I was her son. That… Fuck me, that hurt a lot more than I thought it would. I already knew she suspected me, but still.

I looked over at my father. He wore a grim expression on his face. It appeared that he noticed my mother's slip of the tongue as well.

Change of plans. Prove that I wasn't possessed by a demon or an evil spirit, and then tell my parents about my transmigration and rebirth.

"Father," I said, "When will the priest from the Church of the Sun arrive?" I glanced at my mother. "The sooner they examine me and prove that I'm not possessed, the better."

A tense silence fell over the office after I finished speaking. My father's expression remained grim, while my mother's grip on my hands tightened. She lowered her head and hid her face from me, so I couldn't see her expression.

"When did you figure it out?" My father asked in a quiet voice.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"A little while ago."

My father shook his head.

"It pains me to suspect you like this, but please understand our position. Your actions and behavior thus far… It's out of character for you."

I nodded.

"I know," I said, "I understand. And I will explain everything. However, it's best if I wait until after the priest from the Church of the Sun examines me. Otherwise, you won't believe me."

"Is it because you're a transmigrator?" My mother asked, her voice made of steel.

I stared at her in shock.

"How do you know about that?"

My mother's hand shot towards my neck, moving so fast that I couldn't react in time. She grabbed me by the throat. I tried to pull back, but her fingers were like iron bars. What the hell? My mother was at the Fifth Circle, making her a powerful wizard, but she didn't practice internal magic. How was she this strong?

Despite this, my mother took care not to hurt me. I could still breathe and talk. I just couldn't break free from her grip.

"I don't know who you are," my mother said, "However, if you are some stranger who has taken over my son's body, I will make you regret it a thousand times over."

My mother lifted her head to look at me. She wore a vicious expression on her face, her eyes filled with killing intent. For some reason, they reminded me of Teacher's. A suspicion bloomed in my mind, but I kept it to myself for now.

"I am Gabriel Sturm," I said, maintaining my composure, "I am your son. The priest from the Church of the Sun will prove that."

"We will see."

The two of us stared at one another, neither side backing down or giving an inch.

"The priest was supposed to arrive tomorrow night." My father interjected. "However, I will see if I can expedite this."

My mother and I nodded, not taking our eyes off each other.

"In the meantime," my father said, "Go to your room and stay there, Gabriel."

"Very well, Father." I narrowed my eyes at my mother. "Are you going to let go, or do you plan on dragging me to my room?"

My mother regarded me for a moment, before she let go of my neck.

"If you try to run," she said, "I will hunt you down and break your legs." She gestured to me. "I want to keep my son's body intact, so I won't kill you. However, I have no problem immobilizing you. Joanne is more than capable of mending a few broken bones."

With that, she turned and left my father's office. Hearing my own mother speaking to me as if I were a stranger stung. I understood where she was coming from, but that didn't make it any less painful.

"Was she always this violent?" I asked, glancing at my father.

He took a moment before responding.

"Actually, she's mellowed out over the years," he said. "This is rather mild compared to how she used to be."

I stared at him for several seconds, unsure of how to respond to that.

"It appears that I'm not the only one with some explaining to do."

My father shrugged, before his expression turned troubled.

"Are you really Gabriel?" he asked. "Are you really my son?"

I nodded.

"Yes, the priest will prove it. However, I'm not the Gabriel you knew. I'm sure that was obvious by now."

His expression grew even more troubled.

"I see."

I stood up.

"I shall take my leave and head back to my room."

My father nodded.

"Go. I'll send a message when the priest arrives."

With that, I left my father's office and headed back to my room.

As soon as I returned to my room, the first thing I did was take a bath to clean the blood and grime off of me. Lumina didn't have indoor plumbing. However, it had something just as good, if not better: elemental crystals. These were magical items that used mana to create the element they were attuned to. Fire elemental crystals created fire, Water elemental crystals created water, and so on.

They could even absorb their respective elements to replenish their mana reserves. So, if you had a Water elemental crystal that was low on mana, you could just soak in water for a while.

Elemental crystals were also used in the creation of enchanted items. Magic stoves, airships, magic carriages, etc. It was because of them that the standard of living here on Lumina wasn't that far off from Earth's.

When I finished with my bath, I changed into a fresh set of clothes and started training. While I had been confined to my room for the foreseeable future, that was no excuse for complacency. There were plenty of exercises I could do while indoors. I focused on ones that increased my stamina. That way, I could exercise for longer without running out of breath.

After I finished training, I took another bath before I settled down to read. Honestly, being confined to my room wasn't that bad. I had several ways to keep myself occupied. During mealtimes, servants delivered food to my room, so I didn't have to worry about going hungry. It annoyed me that I couldn't just leave without arousing more suspicion, but it could've been worse. At least my parents hadn't imprisoned me.

Despite my situation, I wasn't worried. I was confident in making it through all right. I mean, I was Gabriel Sturm. I just needed the priest to arrive and prove it. There was no reason for me to be worried.

Rather, I was more concerned about my mother's display of strength earlier. I wanted to know more about how she achieved that. However, I couldn't satisfy my curiosity right away, so I shelved it for now. Instead, I made plans for the future.

Unlike on Earth, monsters on Lumina didn't come from Gates, liminal spaces where other realms intersected with Earth. Instead, they were native to this realm, bringing about death and destruction in their wake. Similar to the hunters of Earth, Lumina had a profession that specialized in hunting monsters: adventurers.

This was a common profession, since there were so many monsters on Lumina. Not only that, but adventurers dealt with all sorts of problems. So much so, that there was even an Adventurers Guild. This guild offered bounties for monsters, took commissions to hunt down bandit gangs, explored old ruins, and so on. The Adventurers Guild also provided a variety of services to adventurers, including legal support. There were times when clients refused to pay adventurers for their work, but the Adventurers Guild forced their hand.

On Earth, I lived as a hunter. A good one too. While I wasn't the best in the entire world, I was certainly within the top one hundred. Since that was the case, I saw no reason not to become an adventurer. The two professions were similar enough.

There was just one problem.

On Earth, hunters were celebrated and praised for their work. The more powerful ones were even celebrities in their own right. Luminian society held adventurers in low regard. Most of the Houses and minor noble families regarded adventuring as a vulgar profession. To them, adventurers were little better than thugs and ruffians. If I wanted to convince my parents to let me become an adventurer, I had my work cut out for me.

Oh well, I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

Hours later, after evening fell, someone knocked on my door while I was reading a book about the Adventurers Guild. When I opened the door, I found a muscular woman standing on the other side. She was about my height, which made her tall for a woman, with tanned skin, short brown hair, and brown eyes. All in all, she looked like a female version of Leroy. She even had the same brutish features.

Caitlyn, my mother's bodyguard and Leroy's mother.

Like my own mother, she looked younger than her actual age. I wasn't sure how old she was, but I believed she was in her late forties, early fifties. Despite that, she looked like she was in her early thirties at most.

Instead of the blue and silver uniforms most of House Sturm's retainers wore, Caitlyn wore a red and black outfit that revealed a distracting amount of skin. This included her cleavage. It took a good amount of my willpower not to stare.

"Come on." Caitlyn said as soon as I opened the door. She spoke in a brusque manner. "The priest is here. Lady Sturm ordered me to escort you to Lord Sturm's office."

I blinked at her in surprise.

"Already? That was quick. I thought it would take longer."

Caitlyn shrugged.

"Not my concern." She said. "My job is to escort you to Lord Sturm's office and make sure you don't do something stupid on the way there."

I found Caitlyn's way of speaking refreshing. It reminded me of the people from Earth. Despite being a commoner, or maybe because she was a commoner, Caitlyn didn't care much for manners. However, lack of manners didn't mean lack of respect. From what I recall, Caitlyn always treated me well, which was more than I could say for most of House Sturm.

"Let's go then." I said.

Caitlyn gestured for me to lead the way. I left my room and headed towards my father's office, while she followed me from behind. As we walked, I decided to test the waters, so to speak.

When my mother grabbed my throat earlier, showing that she had more strength than I realized, a thought came to mind. I wanted to probe Caitlyn, see if I could get some clues from her. She had served my mother for decades, and even followed her when she married my father. If anyone knew the secret to my mother's strength, it would be Caitlyn.

"How many stars?" I asked.

"Excuse me?"

I glanced back at Caitlyn.

"How many stars does your mana core have?"

Like magic circles, mana cores were ranked from one to nine, which determined a martial artist's general power. When a martial artist first formed a mana core, it contained a glowing point that resembled a star. Each time they reached a new rank, a new glowing point, or star, appeared in the mana core. Thus, mana cores were ranked by how many stars they had. First Star Core, Second Star Core, etc. A high-ranked core resembled a constellation.

In other words, I just asked Caitlyn how powerful of a martial artist she was. I watched her to gauge her reaction. Either I was right and she was a martial artist, which opened up a whole new world of possibilities, or I was wrong and, well, nothing. I didn't have anything to lose here.

Caitlyn scowled at me.

"Keep your eyes forward and stop asking pointless questions."

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance, before following her words. However, on the inside, my heart pounded in my chest. Caitlyn didn't seem surprised or confused by my question. Either she had a good poker face, or she knew exactly what my question meant. If it was the latter, this meant that Lumina had martial artists after all. And if that was true, then it was possible, just possible, that my mother was also a martial artist.

Regardless, things were bound to get interesting. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. With a spring in my step, I continued towards my father's office.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.