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

We arrived at the Maklir cluster.

It was a bit cooler under the massive cacti that formed shade. The thick, long spines were too densely packed to lean against, but for the students who had collapsed and sat under the shade, it seemed like a sweet rest.

It was almost comical that we had taken nearly an hour to reach a place that had once taken only twenty minutes to get to, and everyone chuckled weakly, possibly because of the exhaustion from the long walk through the soft, sinking sands, or perhaps because of the hot and dry climate. The breeze that blew against our skin carried gritty sand that rubbed against us, making it feel rough and uncomfortable. I also had to shake out my clothes a few times.

“I remember we need to step on those thorns and climb up to gather the Maklir’s hand. Is that right?”

“Yeah… that’s right. Should we take a rest first…?”

“I’ll go and pick them while you all rest. About five?”

“Maybe a little more than that…?”

“I’ll help.”

Ivan Holmos, who had been silently sipping water, staggered to his feet. The boy with brown hair who had twin brothers in the Student Affairs department was shy and reserved, but he was good at lending a hand with small tasks. He had previously volunteered to carry logs when we made a fire or helped tidy up.

While it was admirable that he felt responsible, I didn’t want to drag the exhausted boy up to the trees, so I shook my head.

“We still have a long way to go. We’re not just turning back now. The professors must have put a swordsman in each group so that we can handle tasks like this, so I’ll be back quickly. Anything I should watch out for?”

“Just don’t fall after climbing too high… and make sure to pick only the fully blue fruits. The ones with roots still red are less effective and have more juice, which makes them hard to store.”

“Thanks, Ernhardt-senpai… We’ll be cheering for you from below.”

Jenny, who was good at memorizing things, answered clearly, while Marianne from the Magic Department weakly raised her fist in encouragement.

Since it seemed cumbersome to climb up with a box, I took out a small cloth pouch from my backpack and, stepping carefully on the cactus thorns, climbed up.

Had my internal energy been deeper, I could have climbed up and down in one leap, but after hopping up a few times using the thorns as stepping stones, I finally reached a hollow where the fruit was growing.

The cacti, named Maklir, were enormous— the smallest reaching about three meters in height, and the larger ones growing more than double that size. It was said that when the blue fruit called Maklir’s hand was transplanted, it would grow quickly even in barren lands, but in humid climates, its surface would soften and spoil, making it only suitable for the desert.

I chose the blue fruits, which weren’t red, and placed them in my pouch. From one cactus, I could gather two or three usable fruits. Rather than climbing from the bottom, it was faster to jump to another cactus and harvest the next fruit.

Thinking I would need to collect other medicinal plants for the box, I scooped about seven fruits into the pouch and jumped down in one go.

When I landed on the soft sand and waved the pouch in front of the staring students, their eyes widened.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Wow… I thought this last time during the sparring, but you really look like a rabbit, Ernhardt-senpai.”

“…Isn’t this the kind of compliment one should receive when their skill is acknowledged?”

“No, but you really seem like you’re flying around.”

I waved off Marianne, who was about to make a fuss, and carefully placed the fruits into the box that had to be submitted.

Ivan, who had been helping me organize, seemed to want to say something, and when I asked what it was, he asked how many years it would take to reach the level I was at with swordsmanship.

In my past life, I had spent decades learning to walk along the path of the heavens, so it was only after many years of training that I had acquired enough internal energy to perform such feats in this life.

I wasn’t sure how to answer, so I hesitated before finally responding.

“…Maybe about fifteen years…? Or maybe twenty?”

“…But I thought you were thirteen this year, Ernhardt-senpai.”

“Mm.”

Apparently, my explanation wasn’t sufficient, and everyone laughed at what they assumed was a joke.

I wondered aloud if it would be possible to get to the point where I could move like this in five years, but when they all said that it seemed too risky, I felt a little embarrassed.

The next destination was an oasis further north from the Maklir cluster, standing alone in the desert.

The petals of the Logi flower, blooming in the hot, sun-heated water of the desert, were said to help reduce the body’s heat when swallowed.

Even though we had taken a short break, it was clear that the younger students were struggling with each step. I was beginning to worry that I should feed them the Logi flowers as soon as I found them.

After stopping Damien, who was stumbling and almost falling, I declared that I would carry all the bags.

The other students, still worried about me carrying the load, eventually nodded understandingly when I reassured them that I was fine.

We agreed to set down our bags at a suitable spot, discard anything unnecessary, and move on.

When I opened my bag, I couldn’t suppress my laugh as I saw that half of it was filled with snacks.

It wasn’t surprising; the trip had only been scheduled to last about five hours. There was no need for sleeping bags, and many students had left them in the classroom, so it made sense.

“When were you planning to eat all this?”

“Let’s eat it all together after we finish today’s assignment…”

“Me too.”

“Me too…”

“I think this chocolate is already all melted.”

“Oh no! Marianne, please freeze this again.”

“I learned magic for this purpose, you know? Fine. Hurry up and give it to me.”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

In a place where the sandstorm was constantly sweeping through, I found myself sitting with the younger students, casually snacking as if we were on a picnic, even though every time I opened my mouth, sand got caught in my teeth.

There was an unusually large amount of sweet snacks, and when I heard it was because I liked sweets so much, I couldn’t refuse and just kept eating whatever they handed me.

Among the snacks, there was some wine-flavored jerky that Jenny had bought from a street vendor. Damien hated it, but the more you chewed it, the better it tasted.

Damien had predicted that I would eventually become a heavy drinker when I was older, and I found myself agreeing with him.

In my previous life, whenever I stopped by a tavern, I would easily finish a bottle of strong wine like Juyupcheong (a high-alcohol, aromatic drink commonly found in the martial world).

Though I was curious about Sierun’s alcohol, now wasn’t the time for it. I was looking forward to drinking wine comfortably once I got older.

I packed up the contents of my bag as best as I could, folding a few empty bags neatly to make space. Once I had reduced five bags into three, I carried the heaviest one on my back and slung the other two over one shoulder.

With the box in my remaining hand, I felt well-balanced.

After eating and drinking water, the younger students seemed to have regained their energy, and the mood lightened as we walked, chatting and laughing along the way.

We walked for a long time until we finally reached the oasis.

By the time we had walked for about another hour with the younger students, everyone was drenched in sweat, looking pitiful like washed sponges, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

Once we reached the oasis, everyone washed their sweaty faces and hands in the lukewarm water, then wiped them down with handkerchiefs to freshen up.

They all had faces that seemed desperate to dive in, but there was no spare change of clothes, nor towels to dry off with.

Most importantly, we had no information about the depth of the artificial oasis or what creatures might reside there, so we couldn’t act carelessly.

Since I still didn’t have the internal energy to use the “walking on water” technique, retrieving Logi flowers was also a challenge.

Though I felt a strong urge to jump straight into the water, I hesitated, as I couldn’t just strip in front of the girls, even if my body was still young.

Moreover, Damien’s reasoning was surprisingly sound.

“We came here to complete a task, so we need to understand the purpose of the assignment. The materials we need to gather are for fever reduction, pain relief, and stomach issues. There’s only one reason we need to look for new medicinal herbs in the desert: in case someone in our group gets sick.”

“Hmm, that’s a valid point. So what’s your point?”

“We have five people in total, and let’s assume at least one of us gets injured. If we encounter an oasis, do you think we can just dive into the water right away? It’s better to think of the safest option.”

“I see.”

“So we need to make a tool to retrieve the Logi flowers… Do we have anything useful for that?”

There was no way we’d be carrying around long sticks. After having emptied and organized my bag earlier, I knew exactly what I had brought.

After a moment of thought, I took out a dagger from the holster at my chest.

It would have been a shame to use the dagger for cutting wood, as it looked more suited for slicing oranges or apples, but since I couldn’t carry an axe, this was the best choice.

“Remember that enchanted firewood we can reuse? How about splitting that carefully and using it as a binding material?”

“We could tear a handkerchief or the cloth that wrapped the jerky to make a cord, right?”

“But how do you plan to split firewood with a dagger this small…?”

Rather than explaining, it was better to demonstrate. I pulled out some firewood I had packed and, holding the dagger vertically, struck it at the halfway point.

In the central plains, splitting firewood or doing menial tasks like this was the work of servants, but martial artists were the type to feel satisfied only when they split anything in front of them with their swords.

Since I had practiced swordsmanship, splitting firewood or cutting through falling leaves was something I had done proudly a few times in my youth, so it wasn’t difficult.

After splitting the firewood in half following the grain, I struck the other side of it with the dagger.

After repeating the process a few times, the thick logs, about the size of a man’s thigh, broke into several pieces about the size of two fingers.

Marianne, who had been staring in shock, was the first to snap out of it and speak.

“…Wait, this actually works.”