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

On the weekend, as promised, I headed to the library with Shayden.

In just one more week, my month-long stay at the academy would be complete. It felt like I had just arrived yesterday, or maybe it felt like I had been here for a year.

I had thought I had only been focused on my classes and training, but unexpectedly, there wasn’t a corner left unexplored.

The library, in particular, had become familiar, as I had wandered around looking for various books so often that it now felt as comfortable as my own bedroom.

The large table where I had studied before was vacant, so I took a seat in the same spot.

I borrowed Shayden’s world history notebook to copy down important notes, and as I did so, I couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful. Here I was, at my age, memorizing the history of a foreign land as though it were some kind of secret technique, all to see what wealth or fame I might gain in this far-off land.

I rubbed the tension in my thumb, pressing the area of the “sun” acupuncture point, and then, using my index and middle fingers, I pressed at my furrowed brow. My eyes shifted to the common language of the continent, which had now become as familiar as my own language after several years.

I thought I had become quite used to reading newspapers and books, no longer illiterate, but as soon as legal terms came up, I felt like I would rather be hunting down rogue organizations on the Yangtze River (*a term for a criminal group operating on the Yangtze*).

Unlike general mountain bandits, these organizations used cleverly disguised boats, which moved constantly, making them difficult to track. And even if you were to find one, if you didn’t have a boat, you couldn’t reach them easily.

Still, I recalled a time when Huang Bo, that friend of mine, had foolishly bet on something irrelevant, and I almost fell for it one summer…

“Mi-ka, are you asleep?”

“…No, I’m not asleep.”

Even though I had lived here for several years, I still couldn’t bring myself to think of the history of this land as my own. Was it because the trials of time hadn’t affected me much, or was it due to these strange banquet customs?

I was reading about a century-old socialite debut, where women entering society had to wear the same color of clothes. When a princess tried to stand out by wearing a different color dress to assert her authority, it caused a scandal that even led to a legal battle. I couldn’t help but think how absurd this world had become.

Shayden, who had probably sensed I was troubled, glanced over at me awkwardly, but since he couldn’t really help, and since I had just told him yesterday not to overstep, I didn’t ask for help. Instead, I pretended not to notice.

After letting out a deep sigh, I refocused and reached for my pen. However, just as I was about to write, a notebook was slid across the table toward me. Not expecting anyone to approach in this normally quiet spot, I was confused and looked up.

It was that crow-like figure again.

“Seems like I see you a lot lately.”

“…Hello, senior.”

“This is the world history class by Professor Casablanca, right? I heard the material’s the same as last year.”

“Yes, that’s right, but…”

“I’ve made some notes, so take a look.”

We weren’t close enough to exchange things casually, so I hesitated for a moment, but then I slowly flipped through the notebook that had been handed to me.

Standing rather than sitting at the desk, Ruber pointed to various marked sections with his index finger, using a blue pen.

“These are the parts that were on the exam, and the Merisa Floyd princess incident—don’t bother memorizing everything, just remember the country name and that the price of yellow dye plummeted. If you remember those two things, you can move on.”

“…!”

Once again, I realized how much I still didn’t know. The feeling of heaviness lifted.

Yes, if everyone at this academy belonged to the same school, then this level of consideration from a lower-ranking alumnus was something anyone would do. The neatly organized notes felt like a lifesaver, so I thanked him with a bow and accepted the notebook.

But even after that, Ruber’s black gaze lingered on me, which puzzled me.

“Is something wrong?”

“…Uh, were you just wiping your mouth?”

“Yes?”

“…Ah, never mind. Good luck on the exam.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Though the exam was still a while away, I appreciated the gesture of preparing in advance.

I knew Ruber, a top-tier swordsman, wouldn’t act that way without reason, but his steps seemed uneven as he walked away, and for a moment, I worried that something might be wrong with him, perhaps he wasn’t feeling well.

Actually, lately, he seemed to be showing signs of weakness, so maybe the sudden warmth of the weather had gotten to him, or maybe he had caught a cold.

Shayden, who had been sitting next to me, was staring blankly with his eyes open, so I nudged his shoulder in retaliation for the earlier question and asked,

“Are you asleep?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Suddenly?”

We couldn’t raise our voices in the library, so as Shayden started packing up his things to leave, claiming he had work to do, I packed up without saying anything, deciding to just go along with his whims.

However, as soon as we left the library and the nagging started, I couldn’t help but feel confused. What had I done wrong?

After a few rounds of silly back-and-forth, I learned that personal notes like the ones Ruber had shared were treated as priceless items within the academy, and since Ruber Anti Sieron had given them to me, I was supposed to show more joy or at least offer some kind of compensation. I felt uneasy after hearing this.

Was I supposed to feel deeply grateful for him giving me something just because he wanted to? Ruber had accepted it calmly without any complaints. As a prince, he had more money than me, so it wasn’t like he had anything to gain by giving me those notes.

Since I had just decided the previous day not to pass on my own martial arts techniques to others, I wasn’t really motivated to share anything useful. I was feeling a bit drained.

Having heard the main points, I started tuning out the continued lecture, and Shayden, already used to this attitude, quickly changed the subject.

“How did you become friends with the Second Prince?”

“…Are we friends?”

“Well, if he suddenly came to give you his lecture notes, that’s a sign you’re close.”

“I don’t know, maybe he felt bad for interrupting me…”

“Interrupting you? What do you mean?”

“I got caught practicing in the training hall early in the morning.”

Aside from the time I had been caught trying to practice sword dancing under the moonlight, I didn’t really remember anything else, so I gave a vague answer. When Shayden asked if I had ever spoken to him in advanced swordsmanship class, I said no, and when he asked if we had ever shared a meal together, I also said no.

After explaining three times that the only thing that had happened between us was that I had been caught practicing alone on a moonlit night, Shayden finally nodded, though his expression was a bit strained. Then, he added one more comment.

“…I guess when you’re at the Sword Expert level, you’re supposed to apologize for something like that. I still don’t get it.”

* * *

On Sunday, I couldn’t find the Second Prince in the library.

Monday came around again.

As I ran through the training hall in the morning, my mind was a bit distracted, wondering how I was going to handle the magic class with Edwin in the afternoon, but the moment I saw Maelo Sanson’s face, all my confusion cleared up.

It was because I had started showcasing all five new sword forms I had learned, as well as the ones I already knew, to Maelo Sanson.

Not just the sword forms from Namgung’s style, but even those I had seen around Central Plains that were familiar to me, I began imitating their swordplay and stances, hoping to gain something in return, like a beast searching for food.

Because of this, a spontaneous demonstration session was held where all the students showed and explained their sword forms in front of everyone. When Maelo Sanson added his own commentary, the session became quite interesting.

Maelo was very willing to try this new teaching method, and everyone got so caught up in trying out each other’s sword techniques that we lost track of time. By the time we realized it, the time for magic class was just around the corner.

—Creak, bang!

I gathered all my internal energy and unleashed my lightness skill at maximum speed.

Though I had been training steadily since acquiring my new body, it had been a long time since I last used lightness skill, and with my legs shorter than they used to be, I found myself gasping for air.

My body tensed, and without realizing it, I slammed the door open. Luckily, it didn’t break. I could feel the eyes on me, but I remembered that someone had once told me that when people just stare, it wasn’t meant as a greeting, so I didn’t pay it much mind.

I barely avoided being late, but I was embarrassed to find that Professor Angela Sting had arrived before me. I bowed deeply, offering a sincere apology.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

“No, no… Where did you come from…?”

“I came from the third training hall on the east side.”

“Ah…”

For a moment, Professor Angela gave me a look of sympathy, as though she pitied me, and nodded. I bowed again and sat in my empty seat.

Having rushed over from swordsmanship class without the time to wash up, I didn’t have any writing tools, but it didn’t matter since I was still able to receive the handouts. I sat down, read through the handouts, and took a few deep breaths to calm my breathing.

For the rest of the class, I acted as if I were diligently studying, pretending to be a model student.