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

Friday morning, it was time for intermediate swordsmanship class.

I had mentally prepared myself for Bill to cause a ruckus again, but to my surprise, he remained completely quiet throughout the entire class, not saying a word.

The usually noisy boy was so quiet that I couldn’t help but feel concerned and kept glancing at him.

Upon closer inspection, his actions were the same as usual, but he had his mouth tightly shut as if someone had sewn his lips together.

Curious, I called him over and quietly asked what was going on, and the answer he whispered in my ear was so unbelievable.

“I heard that Michael-hyung likes quiet people,” he whispered.

“…Oh, right. That’s true…” I stammered.

So, is that what he thought?

I had always tried to get the loudmouthed Penga kid to be quieter and more composed, but nothing had worked. Now I felt guilty for possibly making the boy feel upset. Feeling sorry, I gently patted his head. His little head was rough, like a chestnut.

While I praised him for being kind and lovely, Ruber, who had been staring blankly at us, walked over proudly and said he had told Bill to be quiet.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re kind too,” I said, patting Ruber’s soft head as well.

Since Benjamin was watching us intently, I asked if he wanted a head pat too, and he recoiled in horror, startled.

It was hard to suppress my laughter, and during lunch, I finally couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter, which made things awkward.

In the afternoon, I had a monster studies lecture with Ruber.

Originally, I had planned for Shayden to join us as well, but when I mentioned it to Ruber, Shayden seemed very reluctant and said he’d take the class next year instead.

I knew Shayden didn’t feel comfortable around Ruber, but I didn’t think it would be to the point where they couldn’t even attend the same class. I was surprised at first.

However, upon thinking about it more, I realized it wasn’t such a bad thing. Shayden always used formal speech and acted distant around Ruber, unsure of how to act between the two of them. I often found myself in the same position, not knowing how to handle it.

So, in the end, I thought it might be better that it was just Ruber and me in the class, and I felt relieved.

After lunch, Ruber and I walked together to the classroom.

Suddenly, Ruber asked me a question.

“Ernheart-hyung, I’ve been wondering about something.”

“What is it?”

“…Well, yesterday morning… what did you talk about with Senior Organ?”

I had completely forgotten about it due to the chaos with Boulder yesterday afternoon, and this morning I had been focused on Bill.

How did he notice that? I didn’t intend to tell him about what happened with Walter.

Come to think of it, Ruber had asked me something similar before—had he asked if I was gay?

That thought made me curious.

“Well, it came up by chance before.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s said that the law doesn’t explicitly define whether men can marry each other,” I said.

“Huh?”

Ruber looked completely flustered, and his hand dropped the books and pencil case he was holding.

I quickly caught them before they hit the floor and handed them back to him.

The dazed boy couldn’t even properly hold the things I gave him, so I helped him carefully curl his fingers around the books, and he hugged them to his chest with both arms.

The posture was cute for a boy growing into adulthood, and as I watched him, it somehow felt fitting.

“Is it really that surprising?” I asked.

Ruber, who would one day become the emperor of this country, would likely have the power to change that law if his will was strong enough. It would not be an easy matter without the emperor’s backing.

I didn’t know much about this particular law yet. I had just asked out of curiosity, and Ruber stammered as he spoke.

“No, no. I… well, I was thinking it was something I needed too.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Well… uh… but how did such a conversation come up by chance?”

Ruber repeatedly trailed off, restless, wanting to talk about Walter, but I didn’t want to bring it up in detail, so I didn’t answer.

I looked up at the boy, who was being unusually quiet, and asked again, “Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why do you think you need it?”

The boy turned bright red again.

This morning, he had been lively and cute, but now he seemed to be flustered and awkward all of a sudden. I wondered if he had come down with a fever. I had never had one myself, but I knew that children often catch fevers. Michael used to have fevers from time to time.

Usually, warriors don’t get sick often, but this boy seemed fragile, so I thought maybe it was possible.

I raised my hand and placed it on his cheek and forehead to check his temperature.

The boy, after some flustered movements, stopped and became still.

It seemed like I had grown a bit taller over the winter. When I had checked his temperature before, it had felt more uncomfortable on my shoulder, but now it didn’t seem as awkward.

“You have a bit of a fever.”

“No, it… it happens sometimes.”

“I know. Please take care of your health.”

“Mm… I’ll be careful.”

“Maybe drink some honey water.”

“…Honey?”

“It’ll give you energy.”

“Oh, right. Of course. Sweet things… Yeah…”

In the central plains, when a child was sick, they would often be given a syrupy drink made from honey. Sometimes they would even give ginseng soaked in honey. I had once tried it myself when it was a gift from someone named Zhuge, and it was sweet and flavorful, with a spiritual essence that felt quite magical.

I thought to myself that I should find something similar in Siren if it existed.

The boy remained quiet for a while, but just before we reached the classroom and were about to open the door, he suddenly grabbed my arm. His voice was urgent as he spoke quickly.

“Can we talk about this again later?”

“Sure.”

He had a knack for saying trivial things with such seriousness. I let out a small laugh.

Professor Stephen McCleef, who taught Introduction to Monsterology, had a rather plain appearance.

With brown hair, dull blue eyes, and a fine jawline… If you put glasses on him, he would almost look like someone from Marianne’s taste, a delicate face.

Well, Marianne liked things that sparkled, I quickly dismissed the thought.

The student sitting in the front row, a work-study student, jumped up and handed out a book to every student who entered the class.

The thickly bound book had a textured cover that felt pleasant to touch. The surface was made of beast leather, and a golden seal was pressed onto it, leaving an intricate design.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one impressed, as all the students were commenting on how beautiful and stylish the bookbinding was, causing quite a commotion.

Stephen waited for everyone to receive their books, then, with a bright smile on his face, he began speaking.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Stephen McCleef, and I’ll be teaching you about monsters this semester. The book you’ve just received is made from the leather of an orc. How does it feel? It’s very smooth and soft, isn’t it?”

“Ahh!”

There was a sudden sound of books being thrown.

I stared at Professor Stephen in shock. Despite the chaos that erupted as the students panicked, his expression didn’t waver at all. I felt a bit dizzy.

“Even if you throw it, you’ll have to grab it during the exam period anyway, so pick it up quickly. If you pick it up in 3 seconds, you can eat it… Ah, just kidding. Anyway, nice to meet you. Let’s start by opening the first page of the book and writing your names. It’s an expensive book, so surprisingly, some people try to steal it.”

Though it felt a bit uncomfortable, I thought that if I had gotten used to seeing that creepy golem’s face all the time, it wouldn’t be much different from the leather of a monster.

I nodded and flipped to the next page.

I glanced at Ruber, but surprisingly, he didn’t seem shocked at all, which made me even more surprised.

Is he really okay with this? Ruber flipped through the first page of the book and skimmed the table of contents. When he felt my gaze, he quickly looked over at me.

I noticed the faint blush still on his cheeks. “Yeah, yeah, good job,” I said, patting his back lightly, then whispered to him to continue reading, and he did as I suggested.

Stephen told us to turn two more pages. As soon as we passed the table of contents, large letters appeared.

What is a Monster?

“What do you all think a monster is? A curse from the gods? A collection of mana? A dreadful calamity?”

Professor Stephen’s voice was calm and measured, just like his appearance.

The students, who had been startled by the book’s cover, were now so focused that it felt like you could hear a pin drop. The professor’s voice rang clearly in the still classroom.

“The current Monster Response Department of the Sieron Empire defines a monster as this: magic, mutation, and living being.”

The way he pronounced each word so clearly made it easy for the meaning to stick in my head even before I understood it. I wrote it down in the book: Magic, Mutation, Living Being.

“As you all know, beyond the Yui Mountains, there is a concentration of high-density magic. That is the main habitat of monsters. These creatures have evolved to survive amidst the chaos and order, and the clash of magic. As you also know, monsters give birth to offspring, raise them, and die when they grow old. This is a completely different pattern from magical creatures or spirits.”

“….”

“A being capable of reproduction is called a living being. But, as you all know, monsters are incredibly ferocious. What sets them apart from wild beasts? Researchers claim that the magic of the corrupted lands has made them more brutal than they were originally.”

Stephen explained that most monsters carry dense magic in their skin, flesh, bones, muscles, tendons, and blood.

They had evolved to survive in an environment where the mana was so thick and sticky that humans couldn’t live there, a place where only the most tenacious and persistent magical beasts could endure.

I was introduced to the concept of evolution for the first time, and I was a bit confused. Fortunately, there were other students like me who asked for further explanation.

I had often heard about how the children of those who trained in swordsmanship would be a little better at using swords, or how children of skilled magicians would be a little better at using magic.

But that was all related to bloodlines. It was inherited through family lines.

For someone like me, who held bloodlines in high regard, it was difficult to accept. I had always believed that there were families better suited for swordsmanship, and families more naturally intelligent.

Tigers give birth to tigers, and cats give birth to cats. That was what I had always known.

When I heard stories of animals’ fur or skin becoming whiter or tougher through generations in response to their environments, I could only marvel at the phenomenon.

When a dragon is born from a wyvern, is the child still a wyvern, or a dragon? It was a question that needed deeper thought.

The first class was spent explaining why monsters are classified as living beings. When the class ended, Ruber grabbed my wrist, saying he still had more to discuss.

Worried that the cold might make him catch a cold, I suggested we go to my room. But Ruber stiffened, clearly startled by my suggestion.

I reassured him a few times, saying, “I’m not going to eat you,” and eventually managed to coax him into my room.