Namgung Se-ga, the warrior, was reincarnated in Romance

During the beginner’s swordsmanship class, we listened to a lecture about the mindset necessary for safe dueling, and in alchemy and camping class, I sat with the kids and practiced making various camping tools using materials we had gathered from the wild.

Perhaps because there were only one hundred and twenty students in my year, or because Edwin Kiadris had particularly been hostile toward me, or maybe because Marianne Philodendor had been spreading rumors here and there, all my classmates seemed to know about my reconciliation with Edwin.

Despite this, rather than asking me a lot of questions with curiosity, they greeted me warmly with simple words like “I’m glad” and “Well done,” and quickly changed the subject. Their actions and attitudes warmed my heart.

As I was weaving a vine net for various purposes, I looked at the busy faces of the kids, chatting away, and felt like I was a woman spinning yarn—an unfamiliar feeling.

I realized again that I wasn’t good with my hands. My net was twice as messy as the others’, and I felt embarrassed about it.

“Mikael, why are you tying the knots so tight? You need to tie them loosely so when you pull this side, it will shape better.”

“…I was trying to tie them loosely, but it’s different from holding a sword.”

“That’s obvious! Magic is different from this too, you know?”

“We don’t learn how to weave vines in law school.”

“Look, Damian is doing it so well!”

With their playful teasing, I couldn’t help but smile.

The thing I held in my hands was taken by Ivan Holmos from the management department, who loosened the tight knot with more slack and untangled it.

I was used to cutting and breaking things, but making and decorating things was still very foreign to me.

My job had always been to find places to fight while wearing my armor and killing notorious criminals who tormented the common people.

I knew that farmers plant seeds and fishermen cast nets, but I had never cared about what kind of seeds to plant or how to make a net.

If I had been born the child of a farmer or a fisherman, would it have been different?

I split the vine into three strands and carefully twisted them together again.

After Marianne had finished making her own vine net, she began braiding a rope to make a trap.

She was quick with both her mouth and hands, and her eyes were sharp.

“Time really flies, doesn’t it? I can’t believe next week the exam period starts again.”

“After going through the midterm exams, I think I have an idea of the types of questions for each subject, so I’m a little more at ease. Before the exams, I was just nervous looking at the practice questions.”

“Wow, it seems like Damian really is aiming for top of the law school. He’s already full of confidence.”

“Haha, everyone in law school aims for the top. Since we all have the same goal, our grades are pretty similar… So, please help me out. The grades in general courses are really important too.”

“Of course. I heard that Professor Cedric’s exams are mostly replaced with similar topics for each assignment. Since we’re already prepared, we don’t need to worry.”

“I dedicate this glory to our meticulous hero Jenny and the strong rabbit Mikael.”

“Huh?”

I raised my head after hearing this unexpected remark, and laughter erupted. I realized it was a playful attempt to make me feel included, so I just smiled.

Jenny, who had been writing down the methods and time needed to make nets and traps, looked up with a bright smile and turned to the others.

“Are you all taking the camping class next semester too? I really like this group, so I want to take the second semester class together.”

“Yeah. The second semester class is on Friday afternoons, and I heard we’ll actually go camping over the weekend. It’d be a shame to break up this group after getting along so well.”

“It’s an honor. I feel like I’m getting carried along, though.”

“What are you talking about? Ivan worked so hard. I like it too!”

“I like it too.”

“Great, now that Mikael is joining, we won’t have to worry about dying on the streets.”

As the group of friendly kids laughed and looked forward to the future, I quickly joined in.

I wasn’t the type to feel awkward with anyone, but when I had already built such a steady rapport with my close friends, I didn’t have much desire to be with unfamiliar people.

Damian Christopher, who quietly adjusted the mood and guided the conversation, Ivan Holmos, who quietly took care of the heavy tasks and small chores without showing off, Jenny, who remembered every detail of the class content and shared her beautiful notes, and Marianne Philodendor, who responded energetically and excitedly to anything, making everyone laugh.

They were all good-natured and upright kids.

Even though I used to struggle with remembering names, I could immediately recognize them from their hair color and feel a sense of warmth when I saw them from afar.

Naturally, I wanted to keep them close and watch over them.

After talking for a while about the next semester, the topic suddenly shifted.

“So, what are you all doing this summer vacation? Do you have any plans?”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to attend the summer ball starting this year, but it still feels a bit awkward. I have to find a romantic partner in front of all the people from the same department, ugh…!”

“Summer ball?”

“Oh, now that you mention it, Mikael hasn’t made his debut in society yet… It’s a bit of a shame. It’ll be hard to see each other during the vacation.”

“Do you all usually see each other during the vacation?”

“Hmm, I guess so… Honestly, during the semester, everyone is so busy with studying and assignments that there’s hardly any time for romance. Usually, the young lords and young ladies who want to have a fateful encounter make sure to attend the ball during the vacation.”

“What does ‘fateful encounter’ mean?”

“Well, you know, like when you bump shoulders and think, ‘Oops, I stepped on someone’s dress.’ Something like that…?”

I couldn’t quite understand what “oops” and “whoops” meant, but the sight of Marianne teasing Ivan by bumping into his shoulder and acting coy was amusing, so I chuckled.

Jenny playfully asked Damian if he had any good companions to introduce, and Ivan quietly listed off the names of his friends.

Somehow, I managed to finish making the vine net during class, and I felt really pleased.

—

In advanced swordsmanship class, I asked Ruber and Lucilla for more details about the summer ball.

In the Siron Empire, it was said that balls were held for two weeks each in both summer and winter.

All the children of noble families listed in the noble yearbook receive invitations to social balls once they turn fifteen.

Ruber, Lucilla, and Matt Niko were all sixteen, and they had already attended both the summer and winter balls. Ruber and Lucilla, especially, being born into royal blood, had to appear every day for the entire two weeks, which they found very exhausting.

I also heard that none of them had yet chosen a marriage partner, and they had no one they were particularly close with.

Suddenly, I thought of my own father and mother and asked if they were considering an arranged marriage. They both shook their heads, saying that Ruber and Lucilla both preferred younger partners, which left me momentarily dumbfounded.

“…You prefer younger people?”

“No! That’s not what I meant, I don’t know why I said that, but no, absolutely not.”

“Are you saying you couldn’t find your destined partner at the ball, so you’re planning to look for someone from the new participants? Are you accusing me of being a pedophile…?”

“Ahh.”

Well, it wasn’t unusual to not seek someone much older, so I quickly apologized, and Ruber laughed with a choked voice.

Matt Niko, next to them, added that he preferred older partners and told me not to worry, making a playful remark.

As I listened carefully, it seemed that most of the activities during the ball were about gathering people between the ages of adolescence and early adulthood to eat, drink, talk, and dance.

After hearing that, I was actually relieved that I didn’t have to attend right away.

I moved to a different room to attend Mana and Aura class with Benjamin.

The people of Siron seemed to be very passionate about finding a partner, which I found quite fascinating.

I wondered if it was because this was such a livable land, and people longed for descendants, or if it was simply because people had ample hearts and much to share.

As I kept thinking, I became naturally curious.

“Benjamin Claudian, do you believe in fateful love or anything like that?”

“That?”

“Yeah. Somehow, I feel like someone from the Claudian family would be more interested in martial arts than love.”

“Well… I suppose that’s true, for now.”

“For now?”

“I don’t plan on living alone forever. So, I don’t really know how to explain it, but…”

“I’m listening.”

He was responding slowly, telling me to take my time and speak. Benjamin, as always, was walking with his usual calm and composed demeanor. He was tall and had a habit of walking slowly to match the pace of others, which made his slower pace not feel frustrating.

After meeting Professor Douglas Mustang and greeting him, I obviously couldn’t continue the conversation after the class started.

As I had mentioned before, I practiced channeling external mana into my sword during class, but I was struggling. The aura I tried to channel into the sword was pushing against the calm energy in my lower abdomen, causing it to react in a jerky manner.

I wasn’t at the point of being completely overtaken by it, but I was sweating trying to calm the energy down.

We both agreed that blindly pulling out the aura wouldn’t be helpful, and after practicing breathing techniques to regulate my Qi and blood flow, I calmed myself down.

So, when Benjamin suddenly spoke up after class, I had already forgotten the conversation we’d had earlier. I was momentarily lost as to what he was referring to.

“I’ll probably live a long life.”

“Hmm…? Well, considering you’re in good health and training your aura, as long as nothing major happens…”

“I’ve been thinking steadily that I’d like to have someone to spend my long life with, so I’m planning to take my time in finding a spouse. It would be nice if they could discuss swords with me. If they have no knowledge of martial arts, they should at least have a mindset that would serve as a model for life.”

“…I see?”

“And… I think I’ll probably end up liking someone strong. I want to get stronger for the person I’ll meet in the future.”

“…Ah, I see.”

After a long pause to ponder over this sudden talk about his ideal partner, I barely managed to remember the conversation we’d had before class.

It was quite surprising to realize that this quiet and disciplined boy, who seemed to only care about martial arts, was longing for someone he could share his life with.