Riezel

"Riezel"

It was a clear summer day.

Warm sunlight poured down from the cloudless blue sky, passed through the Window, and shone into the somewhat luxurious room.

Riezel sat on an obviously expensive bed, half his body covered by a blanket. His face was slightly pale, but he looked to be in fairly good spirits, like someone recovering from a serious illness.

Someone stood by the bed.

It was a priest.

"You look much better today, Mister Riezel."

The priest held a notebook in one hand and a quill in the other. He seemed to be observing Riezel, his scrutinizing gaze fixed on him as he offered an approachable smile.

"Is that so?" Riezel nodded under the priest's observation as though he had not noticed the gaze. "I do feel much better today. Getting out of bed should not be a problem anymore."

"That is good news." The priest said, "Mister Riezel's recovery has been much faster than I expected. We still need to observe you for a little longer, but barring any surprises, you should soon be able to get out of bed and move around."

As he spoke, the priest began recording something on a bound stack of parchment with his quill.

Strange, mysterious characters resembling special symbols swiftly appeared on the parchment, drawing Riezel's attention.

On closer inspection, similar symbolic writing was not limited to the parchment. The priest had them on his person as well.

The priest wore a gold-trimmed robe, with these runes drawn at every corner of it. They made him seem both mysterious and possessed of an inexplicable scholarly air.

"To be safe, I should use magic to examine Mister Riezel." The priest said gently, "Then, excuse me."

The priest set down the parchment and quill, raising both hands before Riezel's chest.

Before long, obscure incantations began spilling from the priest's mouth.

A faint yet gentle glow immediately lit up in the priest's hands.

The next moment, Riezel clearly felt his body slowly warming up.

It was as though an invisible warm current had flowed into his body. Riezel felt as if he had been immersed in invisible warm water; not only did his body become pleasantly warm, but his mind also grew increasingly clear.

After a while, the priest stopped and withdrew his hands.

"Mm, your body has fully recovered. All your previous injuries have healed. Mister Riezel, remain in bed for one more day. Starting tomorrow, you can get up and move around a little."

As the priest spoke, there was barely perceptible sympathy and pity in his eyes as he looked at Riezel.

Carrying those feelings, the priest hesitated before ultimately offering one more warning.

"Your body has no major issues, but Mister Riezel, it would be best if you do not use magic again." The priest said tactfully, "The damage to the Gate inside you is quite serious. It can no longer release magical power at all. If Mister Riezel uses magic carelessly, it may cause your magical power to go into disorder. When that happens..."

The priest did not finish the rest.

Still, Riezel gave him a faint smile. "I know my condition. I will not do anything reckless."

"That is good." The priest finally smiled slightly as well. "In that case, I shall take my leave. The young lady should come to see you later. Please bear with it for now and remain in bed to rest."

After offering several more reminders, the priest quietly left.

Only Riezel remained in the room, sitting alone on the bed in silence for a long time.

"...Sigh."

A few seconds later, Riezel let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

"Magic?"

Looking at his somewhat fair hands, far younger than those in his memories, Riezel murmured to himself.

"Even if you told me to use it, I probably would not be able to make heads or tails of it."

After all, in the era and world where Riezel had lived, so-called magic had merely been a fantasy concept. It simply did not exist.

Yet in this world, it seemed to be something that naturally ought to exist.

Riezel could not help recalling what had happened a month ago.

He recalled waking up to find himself in an unfamiliar world, and the first time he had seen magic.

The shock, confusion, and incomprehension from that time now felt as though they had happened ages ago.

At the very least, the current Riezel had completely accepted it. He had accepted the fact that he had transmigrated into this world.

Over the past month, Riezel had also come to understand the state of this world.

In a word, this was the World of Sword and Magic, another world where supernatural and mysterious powers existed.

A month ago, Riezel had arrived in this world and acquired a new identity.

The original owner of this identity had been a native of this world and had shared the same name as Riezel.

The difference was that Riezel had been a modern young man whose surname was Li and given name was Ge, his full name being Li Ge. The original owner was not.

The original owner's full name had been Riezel Brihaut. He had just turned seventeen this year and was undoubtedly much younger than Riezel, who had been nearly thirty in his previous life.

But perhaps it was precisely because he was young that the original owner had ended up having his body taken over by Riezel.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just as Riezel could not help sinking into his memories, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

"Riezel, are you awake?"

From outside came a voice as light as the wind and as clear as water, interrupting Riezel's recollections.

"I'm awake." Riezel came back to himself. "Come in."

The moment he finished speaking, the door opened.

A girl around Riezel's current age appeared outside the door.

She wore a dress suited for ease of movement, and every inch of her exuded noble grace. Her features were exquisite, her figure slender, and waist-length bright silver hair adorned her without seeming out of place in the slightest. Instead, it further highlighted her nobility and added a touch of elegance, making every movement of hers a feast for the eyes.

She entered from outside with perfect naturalness. That alone conveyed an indescribable beauty, making even Riezel, who had grown somewhat used to seeing her, feel the urge to marvel aloud.

Of course, Riezel did not do so.

As he watched the girl slowly approach him, his face still held only a faint smile.

"You have come again, Miss Yuri."

Yuri Franzer.

That was the girl's name. She was also the benefactor who had saved Riezel's life and brought him here.

At least, to Riezel, that was all she was.

If it had been the original owner, he would probably have been too nervous to speak upon seeing her.

Unfortunately, Riezel was not him. Even though he knew from the original owner's memories just how noble and unattainable the girl before him was, he only felt gratitude toward her.

At this, Yuri shook her head. "Just call me Yuri. You do not have to be so formal."

Just as it had been outside the door, the girl's voice was light as the wind and clear as water, truly pleasant to hear.

Riezel had even somewhat rudely thought that, with a voice like that, it would be a terrible waste for her not to become a singer.

"You seem to have recovered quite well." Yuri sat beside Riezel's bed, observing him as she spoke. "How is it? Can you get out of bed now?"

"I can tomorrow." Riezel answered while politely saying, "It is all thanks to Miss Yuri's care. I will repay this kindness sooner or later."

"I already said you do not need to be so formal." Yuri sighed softly. "Your situation becoming like this is not entirely unrelated to me. You are being so polite now that I am not used to it. Wouldn't it be better if you were like you were at the beginning?"

Perhaps remembering what had happened then inexplicably improved Yuri's mood.

That left Riezel slightly speechless.

After all, his attitude back then had been anything but good.

It could not be helped. At that time, Riezel had just transmigrated into this world. The instant he opened his eyes, he found himself severely injured and lying in bed in agonizing pain, with a girl standing beside him. His first reaction had naturally been hostility and vigilance.

Had he not later realized that something extraordinary had happened to him, Riezel would almost have thought that he had stumbled into another filthy conspiracy, that some people were trying to harm him again.

A few memories from his previous life flowed past, causing a faint ache in Riezel's heart.

"Come to think of it, the situation I encountered in this world does not seem all that different."

Riezel mocked himself inwardly.

Unaware of Riezel's thoughts, Yuri saw him suddenly fall silent and, whether intentionally or not, changed the subject.

"Is there still no way to repair your Gate?"

Though she had changed the subject, what Yuri mentioned was, in a sense, even more sensitive than the previous topic.

"No." Riezel's expression remained unchanged as he calmly replied, "It seems to have been damaged quite thoroughly. There are no signs of recovery at all. I was just warned not to use magic under any circumstances."

"Is that so?" Yuri looked somewhat regretful.

One had to know that in this world, whether someone could use magic directly determined their social status.

And to use magic, the foremost requirement was possessing a certain amount of magical power.

Magical power was the fuel of magic.

Without magical power, one could not use magic no matter what.

Fortunately, people in this world were born with magical power. The only difference was that some had more, some had less, some had enough to use magic, and some did not.

The so-called Gate referred to a type of magically attuned nerve within the human body. It was both a switch and a channel, as well as a storehouse for magical power—the source through which magic was exercised.

Once a Gate was damaged, at best it became difficult to draw upon magical power; at worst, all the magical power stored within it would be completely lost.

Riezel's Gate had been damaged.

Someone had smashed it by force.

"Have you found out?" Riezel asked without joy or sorrow. "Who was trying to kill me?"

That was why Riezel was here.

He—or rather, the original owner—had been attacked a month ago, gravely wounded, and ultimately failed to pull through.

Riezel had transmigrated because of that. Yuri had saved him, and he had recuperated in this mansion.

For an entire month.

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