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

After hearing Matt Nicor’s humble bragging, I went to find Douglas Mustang to attend the Mana and Aura class.

It was the first time today that we resumed class in the usual manner, as we had spent the previous class period discussing the results of a duel and explaining and interpreting them.

Once again, the sensitive children who had early awareness of mana poured their aura with all their might, while the slower but hardworking ones repeated the motion of swinging their swords endlessly.

However, today I had a new guest.

One of the mages I had briefly seen during the duel was sitting in an extra seat during class.

Professor Douglas Mustang explained that since he had to look after the other students, he wouldn’t be able to spend much time with me. Therefore, he offered to introduce me to mages who might be able to help me during class, as he was concerned that I might not be able to grow properly on my own.

He also advised that I should not hastily make any promises but only ask for what I truly needed, using it as a foundation for my growth. If anyone asked me to sign something, I should definitely call him over. I felt my heart race at this advice.

The professor’s kindness felt endless, and I could only nod in gratitude.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Ernhardt! I’m Mage Boulder, who introduced myself before. The students usually call me ‘Boulder’ or ‘Mage’—anything like that works. You can call me however you like, as long as it’s not ‘Hey, Mage!’” he said with a grin.

“Is ‘Mage’ your real name?” I asked.

“Oh, I see. If you’re a swordsmanship department student, you might not know. Children who show early magical aptitude tend to cause trouble that ordinary people can’t handle, so those who show the potential of mages are gathered and raised early in the Magic Tower. All the mages adopted by the tower share the same family name, ‘Mage.’ I’m originally from the 2nd Magic Tower. Calling us ‘Mage’ is more of a title. My real name is Boulder, meaning ’round stone.’”

Thus, I was introduced to Mage Boulder, a mage from the Magic Tower who was in his late forties and had reached the impressive 7th Circle of magic. He proudly boasted about his achievements, and I found it both fascinating and admirable.

Upon further reflection, his name seemed somewhat familiar. He was one of the mages who had written reports about testing the accumulation of mana in the human body, which I had read through in Professor Douglas Mustang’s office.

On the day of the duel, Boulder had clung to Mustang’s pants and eagerly talked about his deepest interest in what I had done. It was a rather fussy display.

I promised not to touch him and began my Qi circulation exercises in front of Mage Boulder.

After I completed the steps of the Lesser and Greater Heavenly Circulation, I noticed Mage Boulder was biting a handkerchief.

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

Mage Boulder was healthy, having received mana’s favor, but the passage of time was clearly evident on his face. His round eyes drooped, giving him a cute appearance, but it felt completely out of place for him to be nervously biting a handkerchief.

Once again, I was surprised by the unrestrained emotional expressions of the people here.

“M-Mage Boulder…?”

“Ahhhhhh! It’s working?! It really works?!”

He jumped up and tried to hug me, but I stepped back to avoid it.

Waving his arms in the air, Boulder clenched his fists and swung them around, an awkward movement, but his joy was so full that it conveyed deeper emotions than a practiced punch would have.

I stood there awkwardly, watching the spectacle.

It seemed almost like a dance performance, but at the same time, it was an awkward stance of someone wildly swinging their fists toward the sky. After a moment, I figured he would be just another such person.

Although I thought his emotional expressions were excessive, I didn’t criticize him much, as I wasn’t yet accustomed to the culture here.

Among the words he shouted in awe, I was able to understand some, while others were foreign to me, but that was common when dealing with mages, so it wasn’t surprising.

I caught one of the words he had let slip and made it the focus of my next question. Finally, I could hear something more human-like in his speech.

“Is it true that refined mana is heavier than atmospheric mana?”

“No! The weight of mana depends on how it’s refined, but what I meant was that your refined mana is particularly heavy, Ernhardt. Fireball usually uses the friction between the spaces in mana to generate heat and sparks, while Iceball narrows the mana’s spaces to make the friction approach zero, thus absorbing heat and adding the energy of water. That’s the general theory. There are thirty-two exceptions, though, but since you’re in the Swordsmanship Department…”

“Right.”

“However, up until now, the mana injected into the human body and other experimental subjects was always different in density, and no matter how much we experimented, it always ended in failure! So, finding the appropriate mana density for the human body was considered a very important task. Since we couldn’t create the right density of mana, all our experiments kept failing! But Ernhardt’s mana density is within the range we experimented with! So, the theory that the experiment failed because of the mana density is completely thrown out the window!”

“Mm.”

It was a misunderstanding.

Mage Boulder’s voice still sounded beast-like, almost resembling a scream.

I could tell he was trying to explain something enthusiastically, but it was difficult to fully understand. I just tried to make sense of his actions, thinking that he must have gained some profound realization from watching me perform my Qi cultivation exercises.

I nodded a few times, and then he made more beast-like sounds. When he asked how I knew about this, I replied that, as I had told Professor Douglas before, I had always instinctively known and acted in such a way since birth.

After a brief discussion, we agreed that the first goal was to figure out a way to elevate my current level of the “Great Bow and Arrow Divine Art” by one step.

According to Mage Boulder, this was called “upgrading.” He added that mages dedicate their lives to experimenting and researching ways to improve what already exists to make it better.

As I watched his joyful face, eager to find a way, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat bitter.

I couldn’t just be happy.

I had been solely focused on carrying forward the practices and teachings passed down over decades and centuries. Even though I had decided to adopt a new mindset, I still felt hollow inside.

I found it difficult to understand why I was making such a fuss about learning a new sword technique when all I wanted to do was develop the cultivation methods I already had.

It might be because the teacher wasn’t a martial artist.

Receiving guidance from a high-level reclusive expert was considered a rare stroke of luck, even in the Central Plains.

Even if they weren’t from the same school, if a martial artist with a higher level of skill took a liking to a lower-level one, they would often drop a word of wisdom, teaching them something significant. This was something I had often heard about in market gossip from old times.

It was a glorious thing.

Martial artists who paid attention to the disciples of their friends were often seen influencing the rise of their skills, especially among famous late-stage figures.

However, showing a martial artist’s internal methods to a famous doctor and asking them to correct it was unthinkable.

The cultivation methods passed down through martial schools and families were considered priceless techniques.

Even if they were not passed down through a single person’s line, merely leaking out one’s internal methods would be seen as a major offense.

If someone committed such an act, they would be punished severely, even sent to a punishment cave for violating the honor of their teacher and the name of their martial school.

In the midst of my decision to live my new life fully as my own, with the desire to become a better person, and to leave behind any lingering attachments from my previous life, it wasn’t easy to determine which path was right and which was wrong.

Perhaps sensing my inner conflict, Mage Boulder carefully asked.

“Uh, do you need some sort of contract saying you won’t conduct human experiments?”

“Mm… Yes, I think that would be necessary.”

It was clearly a misunderstanding, but after reading a few fairy tales about suspicious mages and their flawed experiments, it didn’t sound like a bad thing.

Hearing this, my mind suddenly cleared.

At least I now had someone on my side who would carefully consider the path forward for my cultivation.

“And, I think it’s better to talk to Professor Douglas Mustang for permission. I’m afraid to make changes right away since I’ve been using one method for so long,” I added.

“Ah, right! Of course. But I’m not saying this because I want anything bad to happen to you, Ernhardt. It’s just that you seem to have a mana cultivation method with a lot of potential for improvement, and you don’t seem afraid to show it to others. So, I thought you could push for more development, for the betterment of the world,” he said eagerly.

“I’ll ask Professor Mustang.”

“Mm, okay…”

At that moment, I felt a sense of relief.

Indeed, Professor Douglas Mustang didn’t give immediate permission. He said it would be better to receive a written report on how we could upgrade the Great Bow and Arrow Divine Art before making a decision.

He also added that the contract should specify that I, Mikael Ernhardt, should not engage in any aura cultivation if I do not fully understand or refuse it.

After the class, I spent over three more hours in Professor Mustang’s office, listening to their heated discussion.

By then, I realized that my initial hesitation wasn’t about forgetting my original cultivation methods, but perhaps because my instincts had been working so hard that it made me feel awkward.

Listening to Professor Mustang, who was supposed to be my ally, firmly assert that this was not possible and that was not allowed, in his calm voice, made me feel like I was putting my head into the tiger’s mouth and pulling it back out.

Regarding the matter, Professor Mustang said he would consult with more mages, review reports, and receive contracts before informing me of the decision, so I politely expressed my gratitude and left.

* * *

On Friday, after the beginner’s swordsmanship class, Prince Ruber and Princess Lucilla came to find me, suggesting that we have lunch together and train with water magic afterward.

I was surprised since we hadn’t planned to have lunch together, but since Sheiden seemed to have received prior notice and handled them skillfully, I decided to go along with it, thinking it was best to keep things smooth.

Since Benjamin, Ruber, and I didn’t say much, most of the conversation was led by Princess Lucilla and Sheiden.

During this time, I once again found it fascinating how they could continue eating in such an elegant manner while talking. I had always considered such a refined way of eating to be a skill that could only be performed when courses were served one after another.

Sheiden, in a slightly more decorated and formal manner than usual, ate with grace. Even though I hadn’t formally studied etiquette, I could tell that his mannerisms were so elegant that they could rival those of the princess, which I found truly remarkable.