Welcome back Transmigrator

Chapter Three: A Mysterious Homecoming

"There's a light. Why?" Gaige approached his front door cautiously, his senses and abilities still intact, allowing him to listen to what transpired within his small apartment. Despite the oddity of the situation, mundane sounds emanated from within, including the drone of a television and the clinking of dishes. Gaige was puzzled by the apparent normalcy within.

"Hmm? I can hear someone watching TV. I can hear someone washing dishes too. What's going on?" He stepped back momentarily to recheck the apartment number and the surroundings. He descended the stairs and perused the mailbox, searching for a clue to confirm the passage of time.

"I've been gone for a year?" Gaige exclaimed, double-checking the dates on the mail to verify that he hadn't been absent for the same duration as his time in the novel world. "But why is my house occupied by someone else?" The building belonged to his parents, and he had lived alone there. His parents seldom checked on him, making it all the more baffling that his residence was now occupied.

"Did they discover I was missing?" Gaige wondered aloud, his predicament becoming increasingly perplexing. Rather than attempting to break in, he opted to knock gently on the door.

"Who is it?"

An unfamiliar elderly woman opened the door, her gaze tilting upward as she regarded Gaige, who towered over her. She waved him to bend down slightly so they could converse more comfortably.

"Excuse – me – who – house – owner?" Gaige inquired, striving to maintain his composure despite his linguistic struggles.

The woman seemed to peg Gaige as a foreigner and replied, "Are you a foreigner? I am the owner. Why?"

Frustration simmered within Gaige, but he knew resorting to violence in this unfamiliar world would be unwise. He needed patience to navigate the intricacies of his current situation.

"Nery – lives – here – Do - you – know – him?" Gaige asked, adopting a gentle and composed demeanor. The old lady's response appeared truthful.

"Nery? I don't know who that is. I don't know any Nery at all."

"How – long – stay – here?"

"I've been staying here for a year. Why? What's wrong?"

The old lady scrutinized Gaige's appearance, assessing whether he might engage in suspicious activities. Her scrutiny left Gaige cautious, fearing that she might contact the authorities. Lacking any form of identification, Gaige recognized the potential pitfalls of a confrontation with the police.

"None. Thank you."

Gaige prepared to leave, his intentions shifting to finding an alternative means of discovering what had transpired in his absence. However, the old lady reached out and stopped him from departing.

"Are you lost? Or has someone scammed you?" she inquired with genuine concern. Gaige, unsure of how to respond, chose to remain silent, allowing the woman to draw her own conclusions.

"Foreigners are often targeted by scams these days. Are you alright? Where are your belongings?" The woman's attentive gaze fell upon Gaige's form, and she noticed the scratches he had sustained from battles, which, though not life-threatening, gave her pause.

"You're injured!" Gaige hadn't even realized he was hurt until the woman pointed it out. Yet, it wasn't the minor wounds that troubled him; it was the slow rate at which they were healing.

As a knight blessed with two distinct sources of power, Gaige possessed the ability to heal his own injuries using divine energy. However, the sluggish pace of his healing process raised concerns.

"Me – okay. No – worry," Gaige reassured the woman while concealing the wounds that were gradually closing. Gaige surmised that his abilities were being concealed in this world due to their rarity, and he had no desire to become an exhibition for the local populace.

Preparing to bid farewell, Gaige was surprised when the old lady refused to let him go.

"Where are you going? It'll be evening soon! You've already been scammed. Walking around alone is dangerous."

Gaige appreciated her concern but remained wary. After years in the novel world, he had grown accustomed to trusting no one so easily.

While he initially intended to decline her offer, Gaige had a sudden revelation. "Wait, these people are all weaker than me. They can't harm me as long as they don't brandish mana-infused firearms," he mused. Gaige mustered a shy and gentle smile as he humbly requested assistance, an action he had seldom taken before, having typically sought help from individuals stronger than himself. This marked the first time he had requested aid from someone he could easily overpower.

"I – nowhere – to go – please – help."

"Oh! I can't let you into my house. I have a daughter inside, and my apartment is small."

"Why did you act like you were going to help me then?" Gaige lamented internally. He maintained his patience and timidity in order to evoke sympathy from the old lady.

"Downstairs, there is an empty room there. It's unlocked, and you can freely stay there while you have nowhere to go. The owner of this building rarely visits, so you can have the room, but don't tell anyone. I only know about it because I'm close to the owner. I'll let you know if the owner comes."

Gaige's ears twitched every time the old lady mentioned "owner" in her sentences, as that owner was none other than his mother. He was puzzled by how the woman knew of his mother but not of him.

"Owner name?"

"What's the owner's name? It's Kim Lauren. Why? Oh, and I haven't introduced myself! You can call me Mrs. Jean."

Gaige greeted her with a blank expression and a handshake. He cared little for the lady before him but was preoccupied with the mystery of his own disappearance.

"Kim – Lauren – son?"

"Does he have a son?" Mrs. Jean echoed Gaige's inquiry, sparking an unsettling realization.

"Did I die?"