Summer, and the sky was clear.
Gentle sunlight spilled from the azure heavens, piercing through the window to illuminate the somewhat luxurious room.
Reiger was seated on an evidently expensive large bed, half-covered by a quilt, his complexion slightly pale, but he appeared fairly spirited, as though he was recuperating from a serious illness.
By the bed, stood a person.
It was a Priest.
"You're looking quite well today, Mr. Reiger."
The Priest, holding a notebook in one hand and a feather pen in the other, seemed to be observing Reiger, casting an assessing gaze at him while revealing a friendly smile.
"Is that so?" Reiger, as if he hadn't noticed that gaze, nodded during the Priest's scrutiny and said, "I do feel much better today; getting out of bed shouldn't be a problem."
"That's good news," the Priest said. "Mr. Reiger's recovery is much quicker than I had anticipated. Although we need to observe a little longer, if nothing unexpected occurs, you should indeed be able to get out of bed and move around very soon."
With that, the Priest began to record something on the sheepskin paper that had been bound into a book with the feather pen.
One by one, strange and mystical symbols, resembling special signs, were swiftly penned by the Priest onto the sheepskin paper, drawing Reiger's attention ever so slightly.
Upon closer inspection, these symbol-like texts were not only on the sheepskin paper but also on the Priest's clothing.
The Priest was draped in a long robe with gilded edges, and these runes were depicted in each corner of the robe, giving the Priest an aura of mystery and an indiscernible intellect.
"To be cautious, I will use 'magic' to examine Mr. Reiger," the Priest spoke softly. "Pardon me, then."
The Priest set down the sheepskin paper and feather pen and raised both hands in front of Reiger's chest.
Not long after, a series of arcane and incomprehensible incantations began to emerge from the Priest's mouth.
A faint yet gentle glow instantly radiated from the Priest's hands.
In the next moment, Reiger could clearly feel his body slowly warming up.
It was as if an unseen warm current flowed into his body; Reiger felt as though he had submerged into invisible warm water, his body becoming toasty, even his spirit seemed to improve markedly.
After a while, the Priest ceased his motions and withdrew his hands.
"Hmm, your body has completely recovered. The previous injuries have all healed. Mr. Reiger, you should rest in bed for one more day, and start getting out of bed to move around tomorrow."
As the Priest who said such words looked into Reiger's eyes, there was an imperceptible sympathy and pity.
Holding onto that sentiment, the Priest hesitated for a moment but eventually gave a piece of advice.
"Your body doesn't have any significant issues now, but it would be better if Mr. Reiger refrains from using magic," the Priest gently said. "The 'gateway' within your body has suffered severe damage, and you cannot channel any magic power. If you, Mr. Reiger, recklessly use magic, it might lead to a chaotic surge of magic power, and then..."
The Priest didn't finish his sentence.
However, Reiger still offered the Priest a faint smile, saying, "I'm aware of my condition and won't be reckless."
"That's good," replied the Priest with a slight smile. "In that case, I'll take my leave for now. The young lady should come to see you soon. Please bear with it and continue to rest in bed."
After repeating his advice a few times, the Priest quietly left.
In the room, Reiger was left alone, sitting on the bed, silent for a long time.
"Sigh..."
A few seconds later, Reiger let out a barely perceptible sigh.
"Magic, huh?"
Looking at his slightly pale hands, much younger than the ones he remembered, Reiger murmured to himself.
"Even if you allowed me to use it, I mostly couldn't make heads or tails of it."
After all, in the era and world where Reiger had lived, 'magic' was nothing but a fantasy concept and simply didn't exist.
But in this world, it seemed to be taken for granted.
Reiger couldn't help but recall the events of a month ago.
Remembering when he had first woken up to find himself in an unfamiliar world, when he first encountered 'magic'.
The initial shock, confusion, and incomprehension seemed as if they were events from the distant past.
At least, the Reiger of now had fully accepted that he had transmigrated into this world.
During the past month, Reiger had also come to understand the situation in this world.
In a nutshell, it was a world of swords and magic, an alternate world where extraordinary powers and mystical forces existed.
A month ago, Reiger arrived in this world and assumed a new identity.
This identity's original owner was a native of this world, sharing the same name as Reiger.
The difference lay in the fact that his given name was Reiger, a modern youth from the Reiger family, whereas the original owner's name was not.
The original owner's full name was Reiger Brillhaut, who had just turned 17 this year, markedly younger compared to Reiger who was almost 30 in his previous life.
Perhaps, it was precisely because of this youthfulness that the original owner ended up being displaced by Reiger in such an ignominious way.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
And as Reiger was involuntarily lost in his memories, the door was suddenly knocked.
"Reiger, are you awake?"
Outside the door, a voice as light as the wind and clear as water entered, interrupting Reiger's reminiscence.
"I'm awake," Reiger came back to his senses and said, "Come in."
No sooner had his words fallen than the door opened.
Standing at the door was a girl of an age similar to the present Reiger.
She was dressed in a gown that allowed for ease of movement, exuding a noble aura from head to toe. Her exquisite features and svelte figure were complemented by her waist-length bright silver hair, which, rather than appearing outlandish, only heightened her nobility and added a touch of elegance. Her every move was a delight to the eye.
Stepping in with effortless grace, she exuded an ineffable beauty that even made Reiger, who had grown somewhat accustomed to it, yearn to exclaim in admiration.
Of course, Reiger didn't do that.
Watching the girl approach, Reiger still had only a faint smile on his face.
"You've come again, Miss Yuri."
Yuri Franzel.
That was the girl's name, the benefactor who had saved Reiger's life and brought him here.
At least, for Reiger, that was all she was.
Had it been the original owner of this body, he would probably have been too nervous to speak at the sight of her.
Regrettably, Reiger was not him. Even though he knew from the original owner's memories how exalted and unattainable the girl before him was, he felt only gratitude.
To this, Yuri shook her head and said, "Just call me Yuri, no need to be so formal."
Her voice was as gentle as the breeze, as clear as water, pleasing to the ear.
Reiger even rudely thought that it was such a waste that she wasn't using her voice to sing for a living.
"You seem to have recovered quite well." Yuri sat by Reiger's bedside, observing him, and said, "What about it? Can you get out of bed?"
"I should be able to tomorrow." Reiger responded politely while saying, "Thanks to Miss Yuri's care, I will repay this debt sooner or later."
"I've said it before, no need to be so formal." Yuri sighed softly and said, "Your current situation has become like this, and it's not completely unrelated to me. Being so polite now feels so strange; wasn't it better when you acted like you did at the beginning?"
Perhaps reminiscing about that time, Yuri's mood seemed inexplicably uplifted.
This left Reiger slightly speechless.
After all, his attitude back then was anything but pleasant.
He had no choice; at that time, Reiger had just crossed into this world, and when he opened his eyes, he was lying on the bed with severe pain, with a girl standing by his side. His first reaction was naturally filled with hostility and guard.
If it hadn't been for later realizing that something extraordinary had happened to him, Reiger would have almost thought he had encountered another dirty conspiracy and that someone was out to harm him again.
Flashes of memories from his past life stirred a faint pain in Reiger's heart.
"On reflection, the situations I've encountered in this world don't seem to be much different."
Reiger mocked himself in his heart.
Unaware of Reiger's thoughts, Yuri saw him fall silent and shifted the topic, perhaps intentionally or unintentionally.
"Is your 'Gate' still unable to be repaired?"
Although she had changed the subject, the matter Yuri mentioned was in some ways more sensitive than the previous topic.
"It hasn't," Reiger said with an unchanged expression, calmly responding, "The damage seems quite severe with no signs of recovery. I've just been advised not to use Magic Power at all."
"Is that so?" Yuri sounded somewhat disappointed.
In this world, the ability to use magic directly determined a person's social status.
To use magic, one's prerequisite was to possess a certain amount of Magic Power.
Magic Power was the fuel for magic.
Without Magic Power, one could not use magic, no matter what.
Fortunately, people in this world were born with Magic Power; the difference lay in the amount. Some had enough to use magic, while others did not.
The so-called 'Gate' referred to a magical nerve within the human body, serving as the switch, the channel, and the storage for Magic Power; it was the source from which one could wield Magic.
If the 'Gate' was damaged, at the least, one might have difficulty accessing Magic Power; at worst, the Magic Power stored within could be completely lost.
Reiger's 'Gate' had been damaged.
It had been utterly destroyed by someone.
"Did you find out?" Reiger asked without joy or sorrow, "Who is the person who sought to put me to death?"
That was the reason Reiger ended up here.
He... or rather, the original owner of the body had been murdered and grievously injured one month ago, eventually not making it through.
Reiger had then crossed over, saved by Yuri, recuperating in this luxurious mansion.
For an entire month.