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

The open area I was guided to wasn’t very spacious, so it wasn’t suitable for running.

However, I didn’t want to stray too far from my companions in unfamiliar land, so instead of running in the small area, I drew my sword to work up a sweat.

Once again, I was facing a triple challenge. I began by assuming the correct stance and performing a downward strike.

Although I wanted to organize some of the insights I had gained at the lake, the open space made me feel uneasy about practicing my sword techniques here.

One reason was that I had not yet shaken off the habits of Central and didn’t want to reveal my swordsmanship or sword paths to outsiders. I was still reluctant to show such things.

How many more years would it take for me to stop being so petty and claim what is mine?

Since I hadn’t used any internal energy, by the time the dim surroundings brightened, my whole body was covered in sweat. My breath was short, and my shoulders ached.

After delivering the final thrust with my sword and sheathing it, some of the onlookers clapped.

They were the same people I had seen eating meat stew in the hall earlier.

“Wow, how can you strike like that without faltering even once? How old are you?”

“…Thirteen.”

“A student of the academy?”

“Yes.”

There were three of them: two male warriors and one female warrior.

One of them, who was overly cheerful, extended their hand for a handshake, but I didn’t accept it.

I had no problem extending my hand or showing respect to people from the same school, but I couldn’t just give such familiarity to complete strangers.

Seeing my cautious response, the overenthusiastic warrior quickly withdrew their hand, pretending to reflect on their actions.

“We’re from the Red Lion Mercenary Group. My name is Krem. We’re not strange people; we just wanted to introduce ourselves since we haven’t seen such a splendid knight in a while.”

“Mm.”

“…May I ask your name?”

I didn’t respond immediately but instead stood quietly, observing their energy.

Among those I had encountered on the first floor, all the second-rate warriors were present. All three had unusually sharp eyes.

With my current skills, I could likely handle all three of them at once, but I was cautious and didn’t let my guard down because of my youthful appearance.

“Michael Ernhardt.”

“Ah, you’re Lord Ernhardt!”

“You must have known beforehand?”

The woman who had been about to speak closed her mouth.

I now knew just how conspicuous my hair color was.

I also knew that the chest plates of the knights who had come with me were adorned with magnolia flowers, a symbol of Ernhardt.

When I was with the adults, they didn’t approach me, but now that I was training alone, they watched from a distance, which made me suspicious of their intentions. I didn’t feel any affinity for them.

None of them spoke further, so I nodded politely and left the area.

While having breakfast with my companions, I brought up the matter about the mercenaries. The knights all agreed that I had handled the situation well and praised me as if I were a child, which made me feel a bit awkward.

After a while, I decided to ask a question that had been on my mind.

“What reason could a mere mercenary group have to approach me?”

“Well, it’s probably to build connections.”

“Connections? Just from seeing me on the street?”

“I guess they didn’t know how sharp you are, young master. Usually, young boys who practice swordsmanship admire knights and mercenary groups.”

“That’s true. It’s quite common for mercenaries to demonstrate sword skills or help with sparring to win favor from young nobles and secure future work.”

“Hm.”

“Our young master has only ever thought about becoming a knight since he was little.”

I looked around at the proud faces of the knights.

It reminded me of when I believed that all warriors who used swords were knights. I hadn’t wanted to become a knight because they were impressive or cool, so I felt a bit embarrassed.

Serbel’s younger siblings seemed curious, as they had never interacted with mercenaries. The knights, eager to share their experiences, began raising their voices, but once again, Sir Ventus took it upon himself to explain.

“Mercenary groups are generally divided into three categories. The first group protects nobles or merchants, the second hunts monsters and sells their byproducts, and the third participates in territorial wars and shares the ransom.”

“Territorial wars?”

“Of course, in the Sieron Empire, territorial wars are discouraged, so you won’t see much of that. Even so, they gather misfits from all over, and they are usually less skilled than properly trained knights. You might see it in Owen, where internal conflicts are more severe.”

I took a moment to calm myself after the surprise.

Owen, the most distant kingdom of the five, was at the top of the hierarchy. It would take at least a month of travel just to reach it from the empire’s capital, so I didn’t need to worry about the skirmishes there.

“Names like Red Lion or Blue Falcon are common. The mercenary group that approached you today is likely one that protects noble families or aristocratic youths. Usually, knights protect them, but there are always kids who want to hear stories of the world from mercenaries.”

“Then aren’t they storytellers, not warriors?”

“Well, it’s true that having extra protection isn’t necessarily a bad thing… Mercenaries tend to roam more, so they might sometimes guide you through shortcuts. I’ve never experienced that myself, though.”

“Of course, true mercenaries are those who hunt. The White Lion Mercenary Group is famous for that.”

“Are they related to the Red Lion Mercenary Group?”

“No, not at all. Lions are actually a very common name for mercenary groups.”

I thought back to the people I had seen earlier in the morning.

They looked to be in their late twenties or early thirties and were all second-rate warriors.

If they didn’t dedicate themselves to training and wasted their time on trivial matters, they would never rise to the top. Their potential would soon fade.

Of course, making a living was the most important thing, so it wasn’t something I could comment on.

Since I had been training to become a knight of a fief, I thought some of the knights who had never been to faraway lands seemed to have exaggerated expectations of mercenaries who fought monsters.

I had heard that while most knights shaved their beards to maintain a neat appearance, many mercenaries proudly displayed their beards and chest hair.

It wasn’t something I particularly wanted to know. I couldn’t tell what my expression was, but from the way Layla Serbel was laughing and patting Logan Serbel’s back, I could guess.

The knights didn’t add any remarks when they laughed and bragged about always shaving.

—

The journey to the academy was calm. There were no high mountains or wide rivers between the capital and the Serbel fief. During the day, we rode horses leisurely, and we stayed in decent inns every night.

The only ones complaining were the Serbel siblings.

On the fourth day, the siblings were so tired they couldn’t bear it and lay down in the carriage, and on the fifth day, they started whining, claiming they had to rest for a day while holding their wrists.

I was worried about their poor stamina, considering how young they were.

Thanks to our relatively early departure, we had plenty of time before the semester began.

Since there was no need to drag them in the carriage like criminals, I decided to extend our stay at a pre-booked inn for another day and unloaded our luggage.

When we sat down together for dinner, the Serbel siblings, with pale faces, barely managed to hold their spoons, eating in a very half-hearted manner.

When we rode horses, they whined all day about how their backs hurt and legs were sore. After they got off the carriage, they started vomiting and complained about dizziness as if the ground was still shaking.

Of course, they had no appetite.

“You need to eat properly to get your strength back.”

“The ground still feels like it’s shaking… We usually don’t rush like this.”

“Rushed?”

I looked around at the knights, puzzled.

The knights from the Ernhardt family shared my confused expression, while the Serbel knights nodded with smiles.

“This time, both the young master and young lady pushed themselves too hard. We were already worried when they insisted on riding horses all day to follow the Ernhardt family’s pace.”

“Normally, the Serbel siblings would travel by carriage to the academy and take breaks two or three times along the way, walking or taking in the fresh air to stretch their bodies. There are plenty of towns to stop at on the way to the capital, so they usually take their time.”

“Actually, this is the first time Logan has ever ridden for more than three hours.”

Martial artists are accustomed to pushing their bodies to their limits.

Back in Central, if I had to chase after a villain, I would run for three days and nights without sleep, using my own two legs.

When using lightness skill, I could run faster than a horse, but it wasn’t easy to drag a large beast without being noticed by the enemy.

In Sieron, however, I made sure to act like a child. I slept through the night, and when my arms and legs became stiff, I stopped swinging my sword and focused on stretching my body.

But I had a much higher pain threshold than the average person in Sieron.

Riding a horse felt more comfortable than running on my two legs, so since the moment I left my mansion to enter the academy, I rode alongside the knights.

Sir Ventus from the Ernhardt family had planned this trip and was leading the group.

Since his schedule was based on my pace, it was clear that he had planned the journey in the same way as he did for the academy’s opening ceremony.

Looking back, I had only ever ridden for an hour or so when I enjoyed horseback riding at the villa.

At that time, I thought it was just for fun, but I hadn’t realized that the siblings’ stamina was this poor.

Now that I understood the situation, I felt embarrassed and apologetic to the Serbel siblings.

Logan responded in a weak voice, like a goat, saying it was fine, but Layla glared at me and muttered curses under her breath.

I understood she was just joking, so I smiled lightly and pushed a plate of food in front of her.

After we had a quick meal, I sent the Serbel siblings to their room and found myself with free time.

Since the Serbel knights couldn’t leave their duties, they stayed in the room next door to watch over the siblings, and the two knights from the Ernhardt family and I engaged in a brief sparring session to work off our meals.

After resting for a full day, the Serbel siblings regained their energy, and we resumed our journey.