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

After exchanging a few words with Maelo, who remarked that I seemed busy lately, we were joined by Lucilla and Ruber, just as I had expected.

The girl stood in a somewhat slanted and carefree manner, which didn’t quite fit her status or appearance.

Knowing her confident stride and bold posture, I couldn’t help but think that she was wearing clothes that didn’t suit her. I chuckled softly.

By the time the class had started, we had all exchanged simple greetings, and there was no need for further pleasantries, so I kept my smile to myself. Lucilla, trying to lower her lively voice, made a deliberate attempt to speak more softly.

Her wrinkled nose and the cute expression on her face made it clear that she was teasing me on purpose.

“Why are you laughing while looking at me like that?”

“Because it’s funny.”

“What’s so funny?”

“How you make that face with such a pretty face.”

“Huh?”

When I saw the two sets of dark eyes looking at me, round and surprised, I burst out laughing again. I had noticed how different the siblings looked, but their surprised expressions were so similar that I almost mistook them for the same person.

Lucilla, her eyebrows narrowed in embarrassment, rubbed her still-round cheek with one hand as Ruber looked at her. It seemed as though, like many siblings of their age, he couldn’t believe the compliments about how pretty she was.

“Good job today. I really enjoyed watching the sparring.”

“Mm, well, yeah. You have a good eye. I’ve heard a lot about Ernhardt Young Master, too.”

“During class?”

“Ah, well… Including that. I’ve heard about it in several places. I hear you’ve been practicing dagger techniques lately?”

“Yes.”

“I bet I could teach you better than him. How about changing instructors?”

“Lucilla!”

“Ah, you startled me. Why are you yelling like that?”

Her frantic appearance seemed like she was worried about losing a newly made friend, which was both amusing and cute.

Despite their unfamiliar faces, it was charming how transparent their emotions were, making it easy to see their inner thoughts.

Was it really that obvious that I might actually change instructors? Ruber immediately began to counter with a serious tone, arguing that I wasn’t even taking the wind magic class, that I had performed better than Lucilla last year, and that she was always doing whatever she liked, so there was no way she could teach properly.

Lucilla wasn’t the type to stay quiet, so she immediately shot back, arguing that if you didn’t try, you wouldn’t know, and that both of them had never taught anyone, so they were the same in that regard.

I stood there absentmindedly, watching their sibling squabble, and thought it was endearing how both of them were so kind-hearted that even when they argued, they only used gentle words, waiting for the conversation to end quietly.

Suddenly, Lucilla grabbed my wrist forcefully and leaned in close, asking,

“So, how is Ernhardt Young Master, huh? Don’t you think it would be more fun if I taught you instead?”

“What…! Don’t act like you’re threatening me, Lucilla!”

“You mentioned you’re not taking the wind magic class, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but I know the professor’s face, so…”

“Well then, I’ll bring both of you along on Friday.”

“…This feels strange. Why does it seem like you’re trying to seduce me even though you’re speaking so nicely?”

“Huh?”

“No, no. Now I understand why everyone’s so enchanted by Ernhardt Young Master.”

As I received the familiar pat on my head from the senior members of the swordsmanship club, I couldn’t help but notice Ruber, standing glumly and looking like a lost dog without an owner.

I paused for a moment while brushing my tangled hair with a comb, noticing his dejected face. I considered whether I should comfort him, pat his head, and tell him not to be sad.

But then I realized that there was a vast difference between allowing someone to pat and compliment my young self, and actively calling out to them to comfort me with compliments.

So, instead of sticking my head out, I just shrugged my shoulders. My body and mind didn’t quite match my age, so I didn’t want to do something too awkward.

“Well then, I’ll see you on Friday.”

“Are you leaving like this?”

“I have a lunch appointment.”

“Really? Where are you eating?”

“Today… probably in the first-year boys’ dormitory cafeteria?”

“…Why the question?”

“Well, since it’s getting late, I might have to eat somewhere else. Anyway, I have afternoon classes, so I’ll be going now.”

Thanks to Lucilla letting go of my wrist willingly, I was able to reach the cafeteria on time and meet Shayden.

Shayden asked me why I was late, wondering if something had happened in class.

Since I had just been listening to the two young ones chat, nothing special had happened, and I admitted that I had just been a bit slow, but it wouldn’t be a frequent occurrence.

After finishing the meal, I headed to the classroom for my afternoon lecture.

I was relieved that I hadn’t run out of time.

Before the midterm exams, in the general history of the world course, we had studied the timeline and history of the Sieron Empire and the five kingdoms, as well as their relationships. After the midterms, the focus shifted.

We were now learning about the cultures, customs, and the relations between the five kingdoms.

In fact, studying the local specialties of various regions along with maps wasn’t too difficult.

It was also natural for neighboring kingdoms to frequently fight, so it wasn’t surprising that there were many conflicts between them.

What was troublesome, however, was how many of the nations, despite their differences, shared so many similarities in the advantages they boasted.

One example was the frequent conflict over trade routes, particularly the ownership of the routes that carried salt and other goods, which led to frequent disputes between Yullan and Bivan. Their clothing customs were similar, their food habits were similar, and even their practices surrounding rites of passage, weddings, and funerals were nearly identical.

In the end, despite their similar appearances, they clung to each other, always finding some excuse to fight, much like the volcanic mountains and the Zongnan region, which were often compared for their constant rivalry.

The relationship between the Huoshan and Zongnan factions was famous even in the Central Plains’ Gu Pai Gang.

For generations, they had competed in the so-called Huazhong and Zhonghua factions, each trying to prove who was superior. Their skills were so close that if Huoshan won in one year, Zongnan would win the next.

Unlike other sects that kept their distance, the two were located on the same central region of the country, separated only by the city of Xi’an, which added to the tension. Another issue was that both factions specialized in swordsmanship.

Huoshan’s sword techniques were based on speed and illusion, whereas Zongnan’s focused on heaviness and perfection, meaning their approaches were fundamentally at odds with each other.

These two nations were exactly like that.

The two kingdoms, Yullan and Bivan, whose names alone were similar, had the same customs and cultures. They stuck close together, but their ideologies and views were different, so they fought, compromised, fought again, and reconciled repeatedly.

From my observation, Yullan, which produced salt and bordered the sea, had a more bold and lively nature, resembling Huoshan, while Bivan, which had vast plains abundant in grains, was more calm and composed, resembling Zongnan.

Although each sect was only a part of a larger faction and different from the kingdoms that owned the lands, the study of these similarities made the subject more interesting.

My past memory of being caught between the two conflicting Taoist factions—Huoshan and Zongnan—while sipping wine, had now proved useful.

Shayden looked at my textbook and asked what the flowers and mountains drawn next to the names of the kingdoms represented, but I didn’t answer.

—

During the beginner swordsmanship class, we had a snack under the wisteria tree. Maelo Sanson, though complaining that he liked savory snacks, sat down with us, and it was really enjoyable. I thought to myself that it was truly a blessing to have such an easygoing teacher-student relationship.

During this week’s hunting and camping lesson, the task was to carefully gather medicinal plants from the greenhouse, using what we had learned last week.

The leaders of each group drew lots to decide which area we would gather from, and in my group, we received a note instructing us to collect medicinal plants from the desert region that had effects like fever relief, pain relief, and treating stomach aches.

Even though the greenhouse on the academy grounds was vast, it was still limited in size. The desert section of the greenhouse was more spread out, with larger gaps between plant clusters, and there were few noticeable landforms, making it easier to find the plants that had been planted, which was a relief.

Jenny, worried about the final exam being similar to the midterm substitute tasks, took careful notes on everything that had been said, following closely behind.

I remembered when we had once walked together behind Professor Cedric, exploring the greenhouses, and everyone in our group had bright faces without a care in the world as they moved forward.

From the entrance of the desert section of the greenhouse, a wave of hot air hit us, and I couldn’t help but marvel at Sieron’s magic—no, the enchantments—once again.

It was already hot, and the students in my group began to take off their jackets and tuck them into their bags.

“Shall we head to the right first? I think it’s better to start by collecting the Maklir’s hand from the area we checked with the professor last time.”

“How much should we gather? There was no mention of the quantity.”

“Well… for five of us, how much do we need? We’ll have to first observe how the plants are clustered.”

Maklir’s hand was a type of cactus fruit known for its anesthetic and pain-relieving properties. The cactus was large and easy to identify from a distance, and the fruit was tough enough to not squish even when carried around.

When Damien suggested we find the Maklir’s hand first, all the students nodded in agreement.

The sand was soft, and with each step, our feet sank deep into it. When we had visited with Professor Cedric earlier, he had used magic to solidify the sand, which made this much more difficult than expected.

Although Marianne Philodendor, a fellow student in our group, was also a magician, she had only mastered first-circle magic and was researching second-circle magic, so she couldn’t perform the same feats as Cedric.

Thus, the task of carrying the medicinal plants naturally fell to me, which was the right choice.

Unlike my group members, whose stamina seemed to drain with every step, I was able to handle the heat and cold easily, so it wasn’t difficult for me.

At the beginning of the trip, everyone had been lively, but as the sweat started to accumulate, their bright expressions faded away.

“…This is strange. Last time, after about twenty minutes of walking, we saw the Maklir’s cluster…!”

“You have to realize that we’re moving twice as slowly this time.”

“Why is Ernhardt-senpai still fine?”

“Well… I’m walking slowly, and I don’t normally have much trouble with the heat.”

“Didn’t you also say you didn’t mind the cold last time…?”

“That’s right.”

Damien asked again if we had taken the wrong path, but I reassured him that the path wasn’t wrong—it was just that the people walking it weren’t doing as well. I repeated several times that this was the right way.

I couldn’t help but try not to laugh as I saw the others struggling, rolling up their sleeves and gulping down water from their bags.

It was no wonder that swordsmanship club members seemed to think that other students, who looked like they could easily fly away with a breeze, were weak. The sight of my exhausted classmates made me feel sorry for them, and I couldn’t even laugh.

“I’ll carry the two ladies’ bags.”

“Ugh, it’s… okay… I can manage…”

“No, you might end up sinking into the sand.”

I took Marianne’s and Jenny’s bags, strapping them to my shoulders. The other two boys looked enviously at me, but since I already had my own load, they didn’t seem to expect me to take on theirs.

After using magic to quickly reach the plant clusters, I briefly considered carrying the students, but decided against it, as rushing ahead wouldn’t align with the purpose of the lesson.