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

I quickly sat behind him, crossed my legs, and began to touch several of his acupoints on his back, forcing the flow of energy to slow down. I placed my energy on the Yangzhang and Tianzhong acupoints (*near the shoulder blades) and breathed my energy into him. I drew the unruly mana into my body, absorbing it.

The pure energy seeped into the injured meridians.

I could feel Douglas’s breath stabilizing from my swift actions. I performed a minor circulation of energy along the injured meridians, and as soon as I released my hands, a green aura began to gather above his head. It was recovery.

After waiting for Boulder’s mana to fully sink into Douglas, I checked his pulse again as he weakly untangled his crossed legs.

Although some of the veins that had been strained and scratched were slightly swollen, it wasn’t something to worry about. I had stopped him from falling into a critical state before he could be seriously harmed.

Douglas smiled faintly.

“It’s not easy.”

“Did it look easy?”

“No. But it’s doable.”

His lips were still stained with blood, and I couldn’t help but sigh.

Martial artists were stubborn; once they decided on something, they rarely changed their course. I was no different, so I had no words for him.

“…You’ll be tired for a while. Clean the blood off first.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Looking at Douglas as he awkwardly wiped his mouth, I couldn’t help but smile.

Boulder, feeling frustrated about not being able to do the same, started complaining. I teased him by saying, “A swordsman and a mage aren’t the same,” but then ignored his whining as it started to get louder.

The next lesson would be Boulder’s turn again. Before that, I couldn’t help but wish that Douglas would learn much more from him.

I was hugging Bill, comforting Rueber, when suddenly a strange feeling came over me.

Hadn’t I been seeing Rueber a bit too often lately, now that we had moved up a year?

Last year, I barely saw him except during advanced swordsmanship classes and on weekends, but now I was seeing him every day. I felt a bit strange, as I had become closer to Rueber than to Sheydon.

But whenever I saw him smiling gently at me, my heart would soften, and I’d nod in approval, so despite the odd feeling, I decided to let it be.

It seemed he wanted to solidify his foundation in the Imperial Swordsmanship, like when he learned the basic martial arts techniques. It wasn’t something I needed to interfere with.

Moreover, the afternoon class was about monsters.

It was something I needed to learn and understand, but it was equally important for Rueber. All the leaders of this country should know about and be prepared to deal with monsters.

Rueber and I spread out a map made of orc leather and listened to Professor Steven McCleef’s lecture.

Professor Steven, perhaps sensitive to the cold, was wearing quite a thick outer garment despite being indoors.

Whenever he extended his long arms to write on the board, the coat would flutter below his knees, making it look like he was swaying even while standing still.

“Last time, we discussed the theory of evolution and monsters, which are life forms with mana mutations. Today, we’re going to learn how to classify different monsters.”

His voice was calm, almost like telling an old story.

“Actually, all monsters are constantly evolving. It’s more accurate to call it evolution. Classifying monsters is no different from classifying humans.”

The professor smiled softly as he looked around at the students.

“The students here, if we’re to classify them, are mostly human. Then, depending on gender, we could divide them into male and female students, and if we go by departments, we have six major departments. We could even classify them into students who like chocolate and those who don’t.”

I could clearly see his long fingers sweeping across the book, almost as if teasing it.

“Classifying monsters is similar. Depending on the purpose and use, classifications differ. Academically, we classify monsters by biological species and forms, but since there are many swordsmanship students in this class, we’ll primarily focus on classification by size.”

His pale blue eyes glimmered. In that moment, I was deeply moved by his words.

“This is the method for classifying huntable monsters.”

Professor Steven turned around again. On the blackboard, he had drawn a large chart with categories: small, medium, large, and super-large. He wrote numbers beside each: 0–2m, 2m–8m, 8m–30m, 30m and beyond.

“Super-large monsters are those whose height, meaning the highest point from the ground to the top of the creature, is over 30 meters. A dragon, whose height can reach 50 meters, is considered a prime example of a super-large monster. However, dragons are only found in myths—there are no actual records of dragons appearing.”

Steven wrote more: wyverns, ogres.

“The most common large monsters are wyverns and ogres. These creatures possess powerful mana within themselves, which makes magic ineffective against them. The way to deal with them is…”

After that, he explained the information found in books, elaborating on how to disable flying monsters by targeting certain parts of their wings.

He also explained that when dealing with large monsters like wyverns and ogres, it was important to aim for their vulnerable areas like the eyes, mouth, or anus. When fighting medium monsters like trolls and minotaurs, it was crucial to strike their necks quickly. As for small monsters like goblins and orcs, he advised being cautious to avoid getting surrounded.

The variety of ogres was vast, with different kinds having blue or red skin, and some even having two or three heads.

He explained that just as people have different personalities and attitudes, monsters also have individual traits, so instead of memorizing things, it was better to observe and assess them directly.

I easily understood this because of the prior information I had received from Maelo Sanson. I nodded deeply in agreement and focused on taking notes.

After the meaningful class, Rueber begged me to go out again.

It was the second week of February.

The sun had already set, and it was dark outside. I still felt guilty about not saying goodbye to Rueber last winter break and rushing out the door, so I had been indulging him, letting him hold my hand or ask for hugs whenever he wanted.

However, if I kept spending all my Fridays on leisure activities, it wouldn’t be good for either him or me.

I hesitated to respond, standing firm, and Rueber looked at me with pitiful eyes, trying to gauge my reaction.

“Is it a no?”

“Yes. I have a lot of work this week, and I’m a little tired.”

“…What about tomorrow?”

“Will you not have much to study tomorrow?”

Rueber couldn’t answer. Seeing him silent made me feel a little concerned.

It’s often said that while older people can be strict with their sons, they can’t resist spoiling their grandchildren. I found myself growing soft, but I tried to hold my composure.

I reached out and gently stroked his soft cheek. Rueber widened his eyes, staring up at me, and I made an effort to speak in a gentle tone.

“I don’t want to spend all my time playing like this every week. After exams, how about we visit the botanical garden again?”

“…Okay. Let’s do that.”

“Good.”

I was pleased that he listened well when I spoke. I patted his head, saying, “You’re a good boy.”

Though I was aware I was treating him like a child, he didn’t mind and even seemed to enjoy it, so I figured it was okay.

Instead, I promised that on the weekend, I would extend our walk after meals to make up for it.

He wanted to link his fingers with mine, so I agreed. Holding his warm hand felt childlike and cute.

When we returned to the room and talked about it, Sheydon made a slightly displeased face.

“Don’t you think you’ve been spending too much time with the second prince lately?”

“Hm. I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

The potted plant that Jenny had given me last year had grown steadily. It now had five green leaves. Watering it was still Sheydon’s responsibility.

The plant, which had grown to about a hand’s length, had yet to bloom, and its leaves were of a common shape. I couldn’t tell what kind of plant it was yet.

Sheydon had told me that watering it at the hottest time of day could cause the leaves to burn, so every night he would come into my room to take care of the pot and help me with various things.

During the break, I had asked the servants to take care of the plant, so I was grateful that he still worried about it.

I began making tea for Sheydon and continued the conversation.

“I heard from my uncle that the first prince plans to form an alliance with the Yeldidus family around summer.”

“What? With Yeldidus?”

“They also say that Yeldidus is blocking the Saras River and interfering with trade between Valentia and Yurlan. My uncle agrees that supporting the second prince is the right choice.”

“Hmm… That might be possible. But isn’t Yeldidus on bad terms with the Floyd Kingdom?”

Sheydon, who had been polishing the plant’s leaves, sat down in front of me. I shrugged as I took out some tea.

“Who knows?”

“And what else did he say?”

“He told me to hurry up and become a Grand Sword Master to stop Wesley.”

“Wow, it sounds like he’s talking as if it’s a done deal. Can Sword Masters really see that?”

“For now, I think I’ll be able to become a Sword Master by the year after next.”

“Can you tell?”

“Yeah.”

I knew because I had already reached the pinnacle once before. By the year after next, my dantian and muscles would be more prepared. Around that time, I could confidently say I was at the pinnacle.

What would come after that was up to fate, but the path to becoming a Sword Master was one I had already walked. So, it didn’t feel particularly difficult.

If I could surpass the pinnacle before graduation, that would be even better, I thought.

When sitting face to face with Sheydon, there was much to talk about, so I quickly shifted the topic.

“In your opinion, do you think Marianne is doing okay these days?”