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

The weather was good again today. The sky was clear and blue no matter where you looked, and I felt it was a good decision to go for a walk.

The warm breeze swept through my hair, causing me to push my fluffy hair back again. It was becoming cumbersome, blocking my vision, so I thought it might be time for a haircut.

More accustomed to using my body than speaking, I found that as I walked side by side with Ruber, the laughter of the younger children chatting in the distance was much clearer than his cautious voice.

I sensed the gaze that briefly touched my cheek.

Even though Ruber, who was not a fool, should have known that a true martial artist can keenly feel even the shortest gaze, he quickly turned his head after glancing at my face for just a moment. It was amusing how he avoided making eye contact.

Noticing that Ruber was too shy to speak properly, I decided to open the conversation first.

“Did you sleep late yesterday?”

“Huh? Umm… no, it’s just… today, in my dream…”

“In your dream?”

“I… had a good dream, so I didn’t want to wake up, I guess.”

His voice trailed off, sounding a bit damp.

I vaguely recalled hearing a similar voice before and, as I thought about it, Marianne Philo-Dendor’s bright, innocent face came to mind.

Whenever Marianne spoke about Glotin Tenner, she always used that same dreamy, damp tone.

Curious, I looked up at Ruber’s cheek. His eyes widened in surprise, and I noticed that the area around his eyes had turned red.

His face had lost some of its redness compared to when we first started the walk, but the shyness remained.

“Is it someone you like?”

“No!”

He vehemently denied it, jumping back in surprise.

“If it’s not, then why are you yelling?”

“I… no. It’s not that I like someone… or anything like that.”

“Then what kind of good dream was it?”

Ruber hesitated for a long while before pressing his hand to his eyes and muttering.

“I was training in swordsmanship…”

“Ah.”

That kind of dream would indeed make it hard to want to wake up, rather than meeting one’s soulmate.

There were often people in the central plains who gained enlightenment in the form of dreams. I asked if it had helped his martial arts progress, but he said it hadn’t, which was disappointing.

I advised him that recalling the events of dreams multiple times could also be helpful in training. This seemed to make Ruber, who had already looked like a wilting flower, wear an even more despondent expression.

Since the weather was so nice, I suggested that we go back to the library, but Ruber said he didn’t want to go in just yet, so I hesitated for a moment before finding a suitable bench to sit on and spread out the handouts.

It was important to organize my notes, but I also enjoyed listening to Ruber’s explanations as I flipped through the handouts.

Professor Calyps Agrihzent’s class was focused on just the core points, almost like reciting a text, whereas Ruber liked to provide additional explanations and examples, which made it much easier to understand.

As we chatted, it was natural that we eventually started talking about Marianne.

As people age, it’s said that looking at clouds makes them think of their children, and food makes them think of their grandchildren. Though Marianne wasn’t my blood relative, her cute, playful behavior recently had been hard to ignore.

I had once casually mentioned wanting to be introduced to Glotin Tenner through Marianne.

At first, Marianne said she’d be happy to, but later, she became shy and said it would be better to set something up after she and Glotin had gotten closer. She even made me promise not to visit him on my own before then.

Because of this, I had never been able to visit Glotin Tenner alone, and I felt like a worried grandfather asking around about the reputation of a potential son-in-law.

When I asked Ruber about Glotin Tenner, he hesitated and trailed off.

“Well… those two…”

“I see, do you know much about Glotin Tenner?”

“Well, I don’t not know him. I’ve seen him around a lot…”

“They say he’s really kind and a good person, but I’ve never met him. I’m curious to know what he’s like.”

“Hmm… I could look into it for you and let you know. I’m not sure myself, though.”

I appreciated his offer.

According to Shaiden, Ruber had a good eye for people and kept good company. I hoped that if Ruber came to see Glotin Tenner in a favorable light, it might help Marianne when she eventually pursued her own path.

As we continued talking, Ruber suddenly asked something strange.

“What about Earl Ernhardt’s ideal type?”

“My ideal type?”

“Like, who would be the kind of person you’d want to make your partner… or something like that. Don’t you have someone in mind?”

“Well… I don’t think I’ll be getting married.”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

The child was so surprised that he suddenly jumped to his feet, and I looked up at him, puzzled.

His eyes widened like two large marbles, and when I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, his face turned red, and he quickly stood up. In the process, my notes and books tumbled to the ground.

While the flustered boy picked up the scattered items, the conversation stopped. I helped him.

“Ah, no. I was just a little surprised. Why… do you think I couldn’t?”

“Well…”

I couldn’t explain that it was because my body and mind didn’t match my age, so I kept quiet.

My body was thirteen years old. According to the customs of Siren, it would be appropriate to choose a partner with a ten-year age difference, but I couldn’t imagine marrying a girl who was just over twenty.

When I was younger, I had once believed that marriage and having children was the duty of a firstborn son.

However, in order to pass the name of Ernhardt directly to Michael, I thought it would be better not to have descendants.

As I waited for Ruber to respond, I could tell from his flushed face that he was also a young man at an age where such matters were on his mind. It was the perfect time for such feelings. I naturally smiled.

“For now… I don’t really understand feelings of affection. I wouldn’t be able to return the love I received. Since I’m inexperienced, I don’t want the person I’m with to be sad.”

“…You’re not thinking about marriage?”

“Probably not.”

Just thinking about whispering sweet words like “I love you” with someone whose face I didn’t know made me embarrassed and awkward. I almost shuddered.

When I got old, it would be ridiculous to act like that. If I were to commit such a huge mistake, I imagined I would go into solitary retreat for a few months, eating only plain rice and bathing in cold water.

When I firmly shook my head, Ruber asked with a trembling voice.

“…Then, do you, perhaps, like men…?”

“Eh? What are you saying?”

“Ah. Ah, sorry. No, I… I just wondered.”

I quickly interrupted him, startled.

At the same time, I realized from Ruber’s attitude that in Siren, feelings of affection were highly valued. Since I wasn’t thinking about marriage with a woman, the boy had no hesitation in asking if I liked men.

Though I had heard of cases where men formed bonds with each other in the central plains, I had never seen such things up close, and couldn’t even imagine them.

For me, it was as distant as stories about mystical creatures like the Black Tortoise or the Kirin.

Although I was caught off guard by his question, Ruber repeatedly apologized, and I reassured him that it was fine.

“Then what about you, senior? What’s your ideal type?”

“Me? I think someone who is beautiful and strong would be nice.”

“I see, someone strong would be good if they were to become the queen of a country.”

“Yeah…”

I patted his shoulder, wishing he would meet a good person, and Ruber, embarrassed, covered his face with both hands.

I tried not to laugh when I saw his ears turning bright red again.

As the day darkened, we returned to the library to finish organizing our notes.

While Ruber concentrated on studying, not once lifting his head, I felt pleased that he seemed like a promising candidate for an emperor.

* * *

It was already the third Monday of the semester.

Today, during the basic swordsmanship class, we practiced stances. One of the children asked how long they would need to spend perfecting a sword stance.

I was taken aback. To think that someone would believe there was an end to practicing swordsmanship! If I were the one teaching, I would have scolded them heavily.

I had first picked up a sword at the age of five, and for over forty years, I had never put it down. Even to this day, I couldn’t be sure if my sword was always drawing the right line.

If you aim for perfection, you can always refine it endlessly; if you aim for crookedness, it will always be crooked.

Moreover, the swordsmanship classes at Siren Academy didn’t teach just one form. It was a process of exploring various styles and finding the one that best suited the individual, so the concept of perfecting a stance was even more abstract.

How could a child who hadn’t even reached the level of creating a sword aura (a technique used by masters) claim that they had reached the end of swordsmanship?

Naturally, I was upset, but Maelo Sanson kindly replied instead.

“Next month, you’ll learn how to use the stances you’ve practiced for sparring.”

“Sparring? With the professor?”

“Do you want to fight me?”

“No!”

The children burst into laughter at the boy’s horrified response, but I didn’t smile.

“When you spar with someone of a similar level, you can learn more by observing. When you have a sparring partner right next to you, you won’t be distracted. Make sure you pay attention to each other’s stances. The sword you see from the side is very different from the one you see head-on.”

“Yes!”

When the child who had asked the question replied energetically and resumed swinging their sword, I felt relieved.

I realized that it wasn’t worth getting angry over something a young person might not fully understand. I swallowed my embarrassment and focused on drawing my own sword properly.

In the advanced swordsmanship class, I had already had enough sparring experience to be fed up with it. I thought it was the right teaching method, especially for guiding lower-level swordsmen, like third-rate or second-rate practitioners.

Building physical strength first, refining techniques, sparring, and learning teamwork — this series of steps was smooth and admirable, so I made sure to remember it for the future.

I planned to refer to it when training the Magnolia Knights of the Ernhardt family later on.