Twice Reborn Transmigrator

Leroy and I watched as Cally stood there, glaring at me. She didn't wear her veil or her hood, so we had no trouble reading her expression. She looked both furious and worried.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cally demanded, before stomping towards me.

The rugs that covered the ground softened the impact of her steps. I found it a little comical, but I didn't want to piss off Cally even further by chuckling. She stopped when she was less than a foot away.

"Someone in your condition shouldn't be walking around in the cold, wearing practically nothing! Do you realize what you've done? You almost killed yourself!"

"But I didn't." I said.

My flippant answer infuriated Cally even more.

"Does your life mean so little to you? Is that why you're so willing to throw it away?" She whirled towards Leroy. "And you! You're supposed to protect him! Instead, you almost let him get himself killed!"

Leroy looked away from her, a guilty expression on his face.

"Cally," I said in an even tone, "You're stepping out of line. Don't berate Leroy. It was my decision, not his. Lecture me, not him."

Cally looked at me, her lips trembling.

"I examined you myself." She held her thumb and index finger a hair's width apart. "You came this close to dying. What were you thinking, using Aura as a First Star martial artist?"

"Saving my friends." I said.

Cally faltered at that.

"Isn't that the same reason why you stood in front of me?" I asked. "When the demon summoner launched his final attack?"

Cally looked away from me.

"That was different." She muttered.

"How?"

Cally didn't respond.

"I understand your anger and worry." I said. "In your shoes, I would feel the same way. However, while it may seem otherwise, I know what I'm doing. I knew that using Aura would've injured, but not killed me." I gave her a small smile. "That was a small price to pay, since it meant saving your lives."

A heavy silence filled the tent.

"I apologize, Lord Gabriel." Leroy said. "If I had been stronger, that wouldn't have been necessary."

I shook my head.

"No, that's not something you need to apologize for. Rather, we're all guilty of being too weak." I clenched my jaw. "I underestimated our enemies. I never expected them to send a Third Circle demon summoner and a Third Star(?) fiend after us. Still, we were lucky. If they had sent Third Tier demons after, we would've died."

"We need to get stronger." Cally said.

I nodded. If I had been at Second Star, I could've handled the fiend and the demon summoner on my own. It would've been difficult, but doable. With Cally backing me up as a Second Circle wizard, it would've been even easier.

"We need to train and increase our power." I said. "That's the only way we'll be able to deal with our enemies going forward. We had it easy thus far. However, we can't expect that to continue."

Cally snorted.

"No." she said.

I blinked at her in surprise.

"What? What do you mean, 'no?'"

Cally gestured to herself and Leroy.

"The two of us will train and grow stronger." She said. "You will rest until your injuries heal."

I stared at her, flabbergasted.

"Leroy is injured as well!"

"He just has a broken shoulder." Cally said. "That's easy to heal. I would've done so already, but I'm still recovering from the battle earlier."

I glanced at Leroy.

"How did you get away with just a broken shoulder?" I asked.

The fiend threw that rock at him with significant force. Leroy's injuries should've been far more severe.

"I increased my body's toughness using a technique." Leroy said.

Ah, that explained things.

"Unlike Leroy," Cally said. "You suffer from several internal injuries, including one to your mana core. Healing that will take me some time. So, until then, don't do anything to aggravate your injuries. Just rest and heal."

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not a child, you know." I said. "You don't have to treat me like one."

Cally poked my forehead.

"No, you're just a reckless idiot who acts without thinking."

I scoffed.

"Says the girl who tried to block a Third Circle demon summoner's attack by herself."

The two of us glared at one another for several seconds, before Cally's expression softened.

"Please, don't do anything stupid." She said. "I know I pretend otherwise, but I consider you a friend. I don't want you to die. I've already lost too many people. Those people are alive again, thanks to the grace of the gods, but the pain still remains. Don't add to that. Please." She gestured to Leroy. "I know he feels the same way."

Leroy nodded. I looked between my two friends, before I let out a sigh.

"Fine," I said, "I promise to rest and take it easy until my injuries are healed.

Cally smiled.

"Thank you," she said, "That's all we ask."

A comfortable silence fell over us for the next several moments.

"Oh, before I forget." I said, breaking the silence. "Why aren't we heading back to Icefall City? There's no reason for us to linger here."

Leroy and Cally's expressions became strange. They shared a look, before Leroy gestured towards Cally.

"It's because you destroyed your disguise ring when you used Aura, Lord Gabriel." She said.

I looked at her, confused.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

Yes, without my disguise ring I couldn't go by Brandon Norwood anymore, but that shouldn't matter. Andre already saw my face. Hiding from Clan Leone was the biggest reason why I disguised myself in the first place. Of course, I would have to get a new Adventurers Guild ID card, which sounded annoying.

"Ask Anna." Cally said. "It was her idea."

My confusion deepened. However, before I could ask another question, Cally stepped back.

"Well then," she said, "I'll leave you to your rest."

With that, she fled from my tent. I stared at the flap for a moment, before I looked at Leroy.

"Are you going to tell me?" I asked. "Or are you going to run away too?"

"I'm going to run away."

Leroy made good on his word and rushed out of the tent.

"Coward! How dare you abandon your lord?"

I scowled at the tent's flap, before I shook my head. After that, I decided to turn in for the night. I turned off the glowstone lamp and headed off to bed.

***

I spent the rest of the night attempting to sleep. However, the pain from my internal injuries kept me from getting any real rest. After a while, I gave up and just laid there, staring at the tent's ceiling. Exhausted and in pain, I greeted the next morning in a foul mood.

A little after dawn, one of Anna's people delivered breakfast to my tent. She placed the food on the wooden table, before turning towards me. For some reason, her cheeks were flushed.

"Is there anything else I can get for you, Lord Gabriel?" The woman asked, an eager expression on her face.

I shook my head.

"No," I said, "You're dismissed."

The woman seemed disappointed by this, but she didn't press the issue. However, before she left my tent, I called out to her.

"Wait," I said, "There is one thing." I gestured to myself. "Could you find me some warmer clothing? I don't want to be stuck inside all day."

The woman wore a hesitant expression.

"We were told that you needed to rest and recuperate," she said.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on doing anything strenuous. At most I'll walk around the camp."

The woman nodded.

"I'll see what I can do, Lord Gabriel."

"Thank you."

The woman beamed at me, before leaving my tent. While I waited for her to return, I ate breakfast. It was simple fare, but filling. Eating it improved my mood.

When I finished, the woman returned with an outfit suitable for the Icefall region's cold climate. I thanked her and took the outfit. Like the cotton clothes I wore, it was a little too big for me. However, it would do.

"How else may I serve you?" The woman asked. "Our young mistress ordered us to attend to your every need."

I shook my head.

"I can handle the rest on my own. You may leave."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The woman insisted once more, but I declined her offer yet again. After that, she gave up. However, before she left, the woman gave me one last lingering look. Her behavior puzzled me, but I paid it little mind.

After I changed into the new outfit, I left my tent. The weather outside matched my mood. A layer of clouds blanketed the sky and blocked the sun's light, making everything seem grim and gray. It was colder than usual, even though summer wasn't that far off. I breathed in. The smell of food wafted over from the nearby mess tent.

Like last night, I saw some of Anna's people patrolling around the camp or standing sentry. Now that it was day, I realized that they were all women. The ones off-duty either focused on chores, trained, or cultivated. I took a quick head count and realized that there were about two dozen of them. That seemed like a lot. I thought Anna said this was a squad. At most, I expected a dozen.

The moment I exited my tent, I felt Anna's people turn their attention to me. Some gave me furtive glances, while others blatantly stared at me. However, their attention didn't feel hostile. In fact, it felt like the opposite. For some reason, the image of a rabbit surrounded by a pack of wolves popped into my mind.

I checked in with my friends. Cally was in the middle of healing Leroy's shoulder, so I left them alone for now. Instead, I visited Andre. Now that my identity was exposed, I figured my cousin and I needed to have a talk.

Finding Andre's tent proved easy. There weren't that many pavilion tents. Besides, Richard was standing guard right in front of it. When I approached, he eyed me with obvious hostility.

"Greetings, Lord Gabriel." Richard said, his tone laced with malice despite his polite words. "What may I do for you?"

"I wish to speak with Andre." I said.

Richard's nostrils flared.

"How dare you address Young Master Andre so informally!"

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yes, I dare. He's my cousin. More importantly, he gave me permission."

Richard clenched his jaw. However, before he could respond, Andre's voice called out from inside his tent.

"Let him in."

With a reluctant expression on his face, Richard stepped aside. His eyes never left me until I entered Andre's tent and closed the flap behind me. The interior of Andre's tent matched mine. Same wooden furniture, same enchanted brazier, same rugs on the ground, etc.

Andre himself sat at the table with a sullen expression on his face. When he saw me, he scowled and looked away.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"I wanted to check in on you."

Still facing away from me, Andre gave me a dismissive wave.

"Well, as you can see I'm fine. No need to concern yourself with the likes of me, Lord Gabriel."

I sighed.

"You're angry."

Andre shot to his feet and glared at me.

"Of course I'm angry!" He said. "This entire time, I thought you were my friend!"

"Instead, I'm your cousin. Most people would see that as an improvement."

Andre's scowl deepened.

"I don't know what devious scheme you had in mind when you approached me, but now that I know your true identity, it won't work." He shook his head and let out a disgusted sound. "I should have listened to Richard when he told me to be wary of you."

Right. This was as difficult as I expected.

"I didn't have a devious scheme in mind." I said. "I still don't."

Andre scoffed.

"It's true." I said. "Can we talk? I want to clear up any potential misunderstandings between us."

Andre studied me for several moments.

"Tell me," he said, "Did you ever consider me your friend, Lord Gabriel?"

"Not at first, no." I admitted. "In fact, I thought you were annoying and bothersome." I shook my head. "However, when I got to know you, I realized how wrong I was. For that, I apologize. You deserved better."

Andre wore a conflicted expression on his face, before he sighed.

"Fine. Sit down. Let's talk."

He gestured for me to join him at the wooden table. I sat down.

"As I said earlier, I didn't have any nefarious intentions in mind when we met." I said. "I approached you to save Robert, the poor stall owner you were harassing. That's it."

Andre pouted.

"I wasn't going to hurt him." He said. "I just wanted to scare him a little. I had a meeting with Lady Anna that day and that stall owner almost ruined it for me. If you hadn't come along, I might have had to cancel."

I maintained a poker face. I knew Anna was the one who tried to ruin things. If Andre found out, that might hurt his feelings, so I decided to keep that particular fact to myself.

"Is that why you gave me your token?" I asked.

Andre nodded.

"That's part of the reason, yes." He said. "You helped me when I most needed it."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Part of the reason?" I asked. "What's the rest?"

Andre frowned in thought.

"All my life, countless people have tried to get close to me due to my position and status within the clan. They always acted the same, servile and sycophantic. You were different."

I thought back to my early interactions with Andre.

"Didn't I also act sycophantic?"

Andre made a frustration expression

"Yes, but you didn't mean it. You pretended, but beneath the surface you didn't care about my status. I don't know how else to explain it. That intrigued me. I figured having someone like you around would benefit my Clan somehow." He scowled at me. "I was wrong."

I shrugged.

"Maybe," I said, "Maybe not. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe it will work out better than you intended."

Andre narrowed his eyes at me.

"What do you mean?"

I gestured to the two of us.

"A rift exists between my side of the family and yours." I said. "While my mother is no longer a part of Clan Leone, she is still a Leone by blood. By extension, so am I. You and I get along well enough. Perhaps we can mend that rift."

Andre scoffed.

"It's not that simple. Do you know what your mother did?"

I shrugged.

"Chose my father over an arranged marriage, which resulted in Clan Leone disowning her and banishing her from Murim."

Andre shook his head.

"It's a little more complicated than that." He said. "The man your mother was supposed to marry was a scion from Clan Corwin, one of the most powerful and influential Clans in Murim. The marriage was supposed to finalize an alliance between Clan Leone and Clan Corwin, until your mother ruined everything. Everything fell apart. We even had to pay Clan Corwin compensation in order to avoid a war." Andre leaned in. "Your mother dishonored Clan Leone with her actions and damaged our prestige with her selfish actions. She made us a laughingstock." Andre leaned back with a regretful expression on his face. "As you said, you and I get along well enough. However, that isn't enough to mend the rift."

Ah. This was beyond "a little more complicated". Now I understood Clan Leone's grudge against Mother. I still didn't agree with it, but I understood where they came from.

"Be that as it may," I said, "Look at the results of my mother's marriage to my father." I gestured to myself. "I'd say it was worth it."

Andre's jaw dropped.

"You think that you are worth more than an alliance with Clan Corwin?" He asked in disbelief.

I grinned at him.

"Yes." I said. "You saw me in action yesterday. What do you think?"

Andre snorted and opened his mouth to retort, but paused before any words came out. After a moment, he closed his mouth and wore a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You… Might have a point." He said slowly. "You killed a Third Star fiend and used Aura, while still at First Star. Something like that is unheard of." He shook his head. "No. While you have potential, no individual can compare to the might of an entire Clan. At least, not one like Clan Corwin."

"How powerful is the head of Clan Corwin?"

"Fifth Star, with a Grandmaster level of mastery."

I gestured to myself.

"I have the potential to become a Sixth Star martial artist with a Supreme level of mastery."

Andre gave me a skeptical look.

"It's true." I said. "My teacher, the hidden master I told you about, had a Transcendent level of mastery."

Andre's eyes widened, before he schooled his expression into a neutral mask.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"I swear on my House's name that I'm speaking the truth."

Andre's lips twitched.

"An oath like that doesn't mean much in Murim." He said.

"Regardless, it's true. There is a significant difference between Grandmaster and Supreme."

Andre was on the fence, I saw it. He just needed a little push.

"Besides, I'd say House Sturm is no less powerful and influential than Clan Corwin." Andre opened his mouth to retort, but I held up a hand to forestall him. "I know that many people view high society and Murim as separate worlds. However, they're two sides of the same coin." I leaned in. "Aren't you tired of pretending to be something you're not? Don't you want to stand tall and proud, without having to hide yourself from mainstream Luminian society?"

Andre narrowed his eyes at me.

"What you're saying goes against the Accords." He said.

"Yes. They're stupid. I want to get rid of them."

I hadn't intended for our conversation to go in this direction when I came here to talk with Andre. However, I figured why not? The Accords were stupid.

"Plenty of Clans and Houses have tried." Andre said. "None of them succeeded."

"Were any of them on par with House Sturm and Clan Leone?"

Andre paused before answering.

"No." He said.

"There you go." I said. "If we mend the rift between our families and work together, we can accomplish great things."

Andre looked at me with an appraising gleam in his eye.

"I didn't realize you were so ambitious, Cousin." He said.

Yes! I got him!

"Well, I aim to change the world."

Which wasn't a lie. I mean, saving the world counted as changing it. According to Cally, one of the reasons why Lumina fell in the First Timeline was because many of the Houses and Clans remained hostile to one another. If we could change that, then we stood a better chance at saving this realm.

"Besides," I continued, "I have my own personal reasons to mend the rift between my mother and Clan Leone. For one, I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder now that Clan Leone knows I'm part of Murim now." I paused. "You are going to tell your Clan about me, I assume?"

Andre nodded.

"Yes," he said, "Obviously."

"There you go. I assume Clan Leone's grudge against my mother also extends to me."

Andre made a so-so gesture.

"Many in our Clan think that way, but not everyone." He gestured to himself. "I don't, though I admit I used to. You changed my mind."

Thank goodness for that. Otherwise, things would've gotten messy.

"I'm also doing this for Leroy, my bodyguard." I said.

"Richard's brother?"

I nodded. "The rift is also keeping their family apart."

Andre's eyes lit up with understanding.

"Ah, I see. You make a good point."

"So, what do you say? Shall we work together?"

Andre took a moment before responding.

"Yes, on one condition."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's that?"

Andre grinned at me.

"Let's have a sparring match. I've wanted to fight you ever since yesterday."

I chuckled.

"Deal, but we'll have to wait until after my internal injuries heal."

"Fair enough. Well then, I look forward to working with you, Cousin."

***

After coming to an agreement with Andre, I left his tent. When I passed by Richard, I noticed that he viewed me with less hostility than before. I assumed he overheard my conversation with Andre. Martial artists had sharper senses than regular people. It would've been easy for Richard to eavesdrop on us, especially since we took no measures to ensure our privacy.

"Thank you." He muttered.

I stopped for a moment and nodded, before I continued on my way. I checked in on Cally and Leroy again. They were still in the middle of their healing session, so I left them alone. Afterwards, I felt at a loss at what to do. Until I recovered from my internal injuries, there wasn't a lot I could do. This left me with a lot of time on my hands.

A nearby commotion caught my attention. I headed in that direction, since I didn't have anything else better to do. When I arrived, I saw that two people had arrived at the camp. One was Anna. She looked tired and disheveled, as if she had been out all night. Perhaps she had. That would explain why I hadn't seen her until now.

The other was the armored figure from before, the one who had protected Cally and I from the demon summoner's final attack. Like the rest of Anna's people, she was a woman. Her armor made it difficult to discern anything else about her. I assumed she was the leader of this squad, since she was a Third Star martial artist.

A crowd of Anna's people surrounded the two of them. The crowd seemed both excited to see their young mistress again, and concerned about her current state. Anna talked and joked around with them for a bit. However, a few moments after I arrived, I caught Anna's eye. She frowned when she saw me, her brow furrowed. Third Star martial artist followed her gaze and noticed me as well.

"Enough." The latter said, her voice deep for a woman. "Leave the young mistress alone. She needs some rest." She let out an amused snort. "Besides, I think she wants some alone time with her man."

I wanted to point out that I wasn't Anna's man (yet), but now didn't seem like the right time. Anna's people all turned their attention towards me. Once again, I felt like a rabbit surrounded by a pack of wolves. I had a feeling that if I mentioned my single status, they'd pounce on me.

Anna walked in my direction, the crowd parting to let her pass. She stopped in front of me.

"We need to talk." She said in a neutral tone.

I raised an eyebrow at that.

"Your tent or mine?" I asked.

"Mine."

Anna's people let out wolf whistles and catcalls at that.

"Aw, that's not fair."

"You shouldn't keep such a pretty boy all to yourself!"

"Why don't you share him with the rest of us?"

If this was what the women of Anna's Clan were like, that explained her forward attitude.

"That's enough out of you lot!" The Third Star martial artist barked out. "Just for that, I'm doubling everyone's training for a week when we get back home."

Anna's people let out a chorus of complaints and whining. Anna, however, ignored all of that and gestured for me to follow her. Together, the two of us headed towards one of the pavilion tents.