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

It hadn’t even been a month since Marianne and Glotin started seeing each other, so I couldn’t understand why Oliver had tried to interfere. When I couldn’t hide my surprise, Oliver shrugged nonchalantly, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“…But then Marianne told me not to bother Glotin. She was like, ‘Don’t mess with other people’s love lives.’ Yeah, I guess that’s why it’s not good to meddle in others’ relationships.”

“Hmm.”

“Well, anyway, that’s just how it is. During lunch today, they were eating together, but Marianne kept talking the whole time, so I… well, you know.”

“Glotin Tenner isn’t a bad guy, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

“I understand.”

I finally realized. Honestly, when I sat with Marianne, I too found it hard to speak. She was the type to talk for hours without needing anyone to answer.

It seemed like just patiently listening to everything she said was actually quite a good thing for Glotin to do. If there was nothing obviously wrong with him, it wasn’t something I needed to interfere with.

I started to worry, though, if Oliver was perhaps making things awkward for Marianne, but then I thought that with her bold and straightforward nature, she would handle things on her own.

I told Oliver I had an appointment and excused myself.

Later, when I shared this with Benjamin and Shaiden at the cafeteria, Benjamin just nodded quietly. Shaiden, trying to hold back a laugh, said he was relieved that Marianne wasn’t involved in the situation today.

I felt the same way.

—

Friday. The week seemed to have flown by too quickly. I decided to use my time more wisely.

At the end of my beginner swordsmanship class, Ruber came to ask if I had any time this weekend.

I told him I couldn’t give him a definite answer since we had a camping field trip, and he looked visibly disappointed.

I promised I’d go to the library on Sunday, and seeing his face brighten, I gave his shoulder a friendly pat.

I needed to find a good friend for him, but I wasn’t sure who would be a good match.

After lunch, I packed my things for the camping trip.

The first campsite was in a plain area, so there wasn’t much to prepare. But the other kids in my group were excited, chatting about what they needed like sparrows, so I couldn’t pack carelessly.

I packed snacks to share with the group, along with insect repellent since some of the kids might get scared if they saw bugs.

Worried that some might catch a cold in the night wind, I packed blankets and hand warmers.

Since the artifact with the warmth and preservation magic was fairly large, it seemed like no one else would pack it unless I did.

When I arrived at the departure point, I was taken aback when I saw Ivan holding a huge smoked pig’s hind leg, which was as big as his torso.

Marianne clapped excitedly, praising Ivan for his preparedness.

“Totally! Ivan, you’re so serious about food! This is what a true intellectual should be like! Amazing!”

“I heard it weighs 7kg.”

“Wow… that’s insane. This is what camping is about. This is right.”

Ivan’s effort to carry it looked a bit strenuous. After some tugging, I ended up carrying the pig’s leg.

I grabbed the narrow part of it like a club.

The fat, oily paper wrapping had a big smiling pig face drawn on it, which made it look really funny.

No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like it was enough for just five people.

Other kids in different groups glanced over, but Ivan didn’t seem embarrassed at all, so I decided to let it go.

As I had guessed, before departure, a few kids from other groups came and gave me their own food bundles, which contained small cookies and caramels. I thanked them and praised them for thinking of me.

We all traveled to the campsite by the same cart, each group in one.

The cart was large enough for six people, so there was room to fit the pig’s leg and other luggage, which was nice.

Marianne sang cheerful songs all the way, Jenny harmonized, adding extra flair, and Damien kept the beat by tapping a water jug.

It felt like a picnic, with everyone chatting happily, and I felt at ease and joyful.

The warm sunshine spread evenly over the vast field.

The campsite, chosen carefully by Professor Cedric, was a wide open field.

In the area where people raise sheep or cattle, they usually move their livestock to areas with more grass after a certain period.

After the livestock has grazed, the field looks so vast and barren that you can’t tell where to go or what to do.

But it seemed like I was the only one who was confused.

The other kids, excited and laughing, kept arguing about where to settle. I had to wander around, swept up in their decision-making, to find a flat spot.

I remembered from class that it was important to stay away from water sources, as sudden rain might cause flooding or water to seep into the campsite, which could cause trouble.

We also had to avoid soft ground because it’s full of bugs that might bite us.

After wandering for a while, I found a decent spot, but when I told the others, Jenny immediately shook her head.

“This place has too many rocks. Even if we lay down sleeping bags, they might tear because of them.”

“We could move some of the rocks. It’d be good to make a circle around the fire.”

“What about that rock over there?”

“We could cut it.”

“That one? How?”

“…Like this?”

It wasn’t a difficult decision. I took out my sword and neatly cut the top of the protruding rock.

Although I couldn’t yet channel my sword aura, it wasn’t difficult to flatten a soft stone by focusing my aura for a moment.

The harder part was stopping the kids from clapping and cheering loudly after seeing me.

Professor Cedric, who had arrived in the midst of the commotion, chuckled and nodded his head.

“See? When your body is fit, your mind doesn’t have to struggle. Let’s learn from the Ernhardt group and use the skills of each group’s swordsmen and magicians properly. I’ll overlook this little trick.”

“How could anyone replicate that?”

“If it doesn’t work, keep trying until it does. Isn’t that the basic spirit of alchemy?”

When other kids from different groups asked for help, I cut a few more rocks for them and returned to my spot.

Before the sun set, I followed Jenny’s notes to gather the required herbs.

The yellow-leafed, long grass was called Nakseotdeung, the small, flat mushroom on the ground was Yulsom Mushroom, and the flowers growing up to the knees from the dense grass were Mindollan Flowers…

I searched through the wide, flat fields, finding moist patches of land or decaying tree stumps, as Jenny had directed.

Last semester, we had harvested herbs from the greenhouse within the academy, so I was unaccustomed to searching for wild herbs in nature. They were difficult to spot and hard to find in the desired quantity.

When I did find some, it wasn’t always enough, leading to a few conflicts with other groups.

“What’s this? Are you taking everything?”

“We discovered them first and started picking. It’s only fair to look for more in other places.”

“The swamp isn’t that big… I know Mindollan Flowers only need one per bottle, so why…”

“What’s going on here?”

“Michael!”

I went over when I heard the commotion and saw Jenny looking upset. The moment she saw me, she called out my name.

When I approached to ask for details, a girl with a bun, who had been sulking while clutching a bunch of flowers, immediately handed it to me.

The tiny red flowers, with their delicate petals, looked very pretty.

“…Hmm? Is this for me?”

“Yes. The flowers just look so good with Ernhardt’s noble style.”

“Hmm.”

Mindollan Flowers were known for their healing properties related to abnormal bleeding.

I didn’t fully understand what the girl meant, but when Jenny nodded, I did as well.

Though I wasn’t sure why, I handed the flowers that had been given to me to Jenny.

The girl with the bun hesitated briefly before offering an unconvincing apology to Jenny and then left.

I patted Jenny’s still-angry shoulders and comforted her, and she quickly brightened up, saying it was fine and that she had already forgotten about it.

I wondered if the girl had been so compliant with me because of the reputation attached to my name, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I silently vowed to treat Jenny better from now on.

After collecting all the herbs, it was time for dinner. The sun was setting in the distance, casting a soft, reddish glow across the sky. Clouds in strange shapes reflected the red light, blooming like flowers.

Marianne used magic to start a fire on the newly bought magical firewood.

She proudly boasted about how hard she had been practicing fire and water magic for the camping class, and I praised her greatly.

Ivan and Damien alternated grilling the meat. I sat quietly, not touching it when I was about to, as they insisted I shouldn’t.

After all, the meat Ivan brought had already been smoked with spices.

Since I hadn’t cooked since coming to Cieran, I would have been satisfied just tearing into it if I were still back in the central lands.

I quietly watched the kids grill the meat and prepare the sides.