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

As I chatted with Shayden, we headed to our meeting spot.

In the distance, Benjamin could be seen standing in front of the stable, unable to enter.

We had promised to come by every Monday to Thursday, before dinner, to help with the hay or assist with other chores. This was something I had arranged after being advised by Professor Viban Otif during the last “Horse Appreciation” class, to help Benjamin bond with the horses while taking care of their feed.

Even if I didn’t take on the task of feeding them myself, everyone firmly believed that just showing up regularly would help.

Honestly, it was amusing to see Benjamin standing outside the stable, unable to step in, likely afraid that the horses might fear him.

“Why are you standing out here? Why not go inside?”

“Don’t tease me.”

Since I wasn’t teasing him and was being sincere, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Inside the stable, everything looked just as it had last week.

The horses showed affection towards me, were indifferent to Shayden, but as soon as Benjamin got close, they would panic or scrape the ground with their hooves.

It was both fascinating and concerning to see the horses avoid him. I gently stroked one of their necks to calm it down.

Benjamin, usually calm and composed, looked at the scene with a deeply aggrieved expression, making it clear that he was still a young boy.

His large build and often serious face had made it hard for me to recognize his true age, so seeing him like this made me feel a little sorry for him.

“Really, it’s strange. Why do they follow you so much?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure either.”

“… They say animals like beautiful people, right?”

“Ah, I see.”

“… Hmm.”

The younger kids nodded seriously, exchanging glances. They looked like they were having a deep conversation, but I waved them off, dismissing their idle chatter. We decided to focus on filling the empty hay feeders instead.

As expected from skilled swordsmen like us, moving the hay was a simple task.

The only minor annoyance was pushing the horses away as they stretched their necks toward the hay I was moving.

Benjamin watched me enviously for a moment, then, with slumped shoulders, he also quietly set to work.

It wasn’t good for the horses to eat too many carrots, so hay was the only thing they could have.

At first, some of the horses were terrified just by Benjamin approaching, but gradually, a few started cautiously nibbling at the hay after observing him.

Once the feeders were full, we had nothing else to do, so the three of us aimlessly wandered around the stable.

“Let’s sit down for a bit.”

Shayden, who had finished filling the feeders, plopped down on a pile of leftover hay, suggesting we take a break.

Benjamin silently sat next to him, and I too sat on the floor in a cross-legged position.

Shayden had suggested we keep our distance from the horses today since it was our first day in the stable together. It seemed wise to let them get used to our faces before we got too close.

Sitting face-to-face with each other, there wasn’t much to do except chat.

To avoid intimidating the horses, we couldn’t demonstrate any swordsmanship, so the conversation naturally shifted to talking about the younger students.

Since Benjamin didn’t say much and I was more reserved, Shayden took the lead and started talking about people he’d met over the summer break.

A lot of names came up. Some I recognized from class, while others were students Shayden had mentioned, and their faces started coming to mind.

I didn’t know many students from other years, except for those I had met in advanced swordsmanship classes, so I found the conversation interesting.

Shayden even knew things that Marianne had refused to tell during the last camping trip.

“Have you heard the name of the class Tenner-senpai and Marianne are taking together?”

“No, she said she was too embarrassed to mention it.”

“The Flow of Capital and History! Even though it’s an elective, isn’t it kind of unusual? More than anything, Marianne doesn’t seem particularly interested in history. She’d like a class on money, but she doesn’t know much about handling it. I was surprised how much the class seemed focused on Tenner-senpai.”

“Mm…”

“Isn’t it natural to want to know everything about someone you like? Especially when it’s an elective class, it’s not like you need specialized knowledge or anything.”

After hearing Benjamin’s words, I nodded thoughtfully. Shayden went on to list a few more reasons, rambling on before letting out a sigh and coming to a peculiar conclusion.

“Anyway, I’m not sure if Marianne and Tenner-senpai make a good pair. Marianne really likes him… but Tenner-senpai’s reaction is so flat that it’s bothering me. Marianne’s a bright and cheerful friend, and I hope she can have a relationship where she feels really loved.”

“Shayden Yeongshik, are you…?”

“No! I like her like a younger sister, like a younger sister! What are you thinking? No way!”

At Benjamin’s question, Shayden jumped up in protest.

I, too, admired Marianne’s cheerful and lively behavior, so I empathized with Shayden’s words and nodded. I hoped she would be surrounded by love and happiness in her life.

I had already heard that the older student, Oliver Combine, from our Hydromancy class, liked Marianne, and that Glothin Tenner was a close friend of hers.

During Hydromancy class, I had subtly tried to learn more about Glothin from Oliver and had promised myself I would find out more about him.

After chatting for a while about Marianne and Glothin, it grew late, and we decided to leave for dinner, making sure to lock the stable before leaving.

When Shayden jokingly asked Benjamin if he had gotten closer to the horses, Benjamin showed a sulky expression. I patted his back and reassured him that by the end of the semester, he would have learned how to bond with the horses.

—

It was time for advanced swordsmanship class. By now, all the younger students had learned how to extend their sword paths without interfering with their classmates’ movements.

Although occasionally the sound of swords clashing could be heard, the frequency had significantly decreased compared to before.

It was truly surprising how much progress had been made in just a few days, but I understood that it was all thanks to the clear division of directions and the practice of following a set order.

After spending the first hour of the class like this, Maelo Sanson drew a large circle and stood in the center.

The circle was perfectly round, and Maelo stood at a distance of five paces from the edges.

“From now on, you will form teams of three and fight me simultaneously. Stand at regular intervals around the circle and attack. It’s fine to step inside the circle, but you cannot fully leave it. The starting positions are 12 o’clock, 6 o’clock, and 4 o’clock.”

The three students Maelo Sanson called out took their positions. Maelo told them which sword techniques would work best and guided them accordingly.

Maelo blocked or deflected the students’ strikes with precision, offering advice along the way, though at times their swords would become tangled, causing them to hesitate.

However, the number of students in each group was small. Once they realized they only needed to focus on their assigned directions, they quickly adjusted, and Maelo used his sword to push one student’s sword so that the other two collided. It was a move so clever it made me admire it.

“Focus on your opponent’s movements. If I push one of your swords clockwise, you should be able to anticipate the change in position. You need to move in sync. From now on, it’s okay to step out of your assigned positions, just make sure you stay inside the circle. Keep going.”

This was a match against the warriors of Huakyung, where every strike I made had to break through an opponent’s sword.

It was difficult to fight with the right amount of force without being thrown off the line, but the most important thing was not to be forced out of bounds.

As the students began to grow tired, Maelo stopped them and called up the next group.

By the time the third team was called, I realized Maelo was simply calling students in order rather than matching them up.

Given that the groups would be shuffled later, there was no need to match the pairs beforehand.

Lucil’s partner, Matt, was not really Lucil’s close friend, but rather Ruver’s, as it seemed he wanted to fight with me.

Seeing how much Ruver wanted to team up with me made me feel sorry for Matt, who was not as close to Ruver as I had initially thought.

In total, there were nine teams, three students each, rotating every thirty minutes.

I, along with Benjamin and Ruver, formed the fifth team and faced Maelo Sanson.

It was inspiring to see Maelo, who never lost his breath despite talking non-stop while dealing with so many students.

After this session, Maelo said that in the next class, we would expand to five or ten people and practice forming battle formations, teaching us how to arrange them freely.

I thought about the students who would follow the same training methods every semester.

If the previous swordsmanship instructors had also taught using the same approach, then warriors from the same academy would immediately be able to form battle lines and fight enemies.

Even if that wasn’t the case, those trained by Maelo Sanson would be able to fight in unison without the need for time to adjust their sword formations.

When facing a powerful enemy, tactics like the “swarming” method, where all the soldiers attack together, would often be used.

Even the strongest warrior would eventually fall if struck by enough blows, no matter how invincible they seemed.

I wondered how things might have turned out if I had known then how easy it was to learn the skills that masters had already discovered.

I quickly shook off those useless thoughts. It was enough to be grateful that I could learn such techniques in this way.

For those who reached a certain level of mastery, overcoming challenges didn’t always come from swinging swords, but from small moments of realization.

I kept my senses sharp and observed Maelo Sanson’s movements as he guided the students, making sure not to miss any valuable insights. Each of his movements was etched clearly in my mind.