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

“⋯May grace, blessing, and virtue flow abundantly in this continent. La Frila Et-Sa.”

I opened my eyes and sat up straight.

It was the third Tuesday of October, and it was Professor Blanc Cooper’s time for growth and reflection. By now, I had gotten used to praying with my hands together before each class started.

Thanks to these prayers, I had learned to think deeply and organize my thoughts about what I wanted and what I needed to do in the future.

However, neither in the Central Plains nor now, did I know how to follow or revere any divine being.

Vague, vast, and ambiguous concepts often confused me. Sometimes, I wondered if it was the will of the Supreme Being that brought me to this land, but other times I wondered what I would do if it was just a meaningless event.

Blanc Cooper was a gentle man. Most of his lectures flowed easily like old stories, with a book in front of him but no need for chalk or writing. Because of that, all the students, including me, sat quietly and listened without even picking up our pens.

When he raised his arm, the sleeve flowed gracefully down his wrist.

“Today, we will talk about divine power. It’s not easy to meet priests with divine power here in Sheoran. Divine power is not something that is awakened through study; it is forged through years of discipline.”

Cooper raised both hands to shoulder height, showing his palms. Everyone focused their gaze on the empty palms. He then brought his hands together and placed them over his chest. Looking up at the sky, he raised his hands from his chest to his chin, then to his nose, and finally to his forehead, touching each once before pulling them away.

And then, light appeared.

There was no other way to describe it other than “appeared.” A small orb of light, no larger than a finger’s width, rolled from Blanc Cooper’s forehead, down his hands, and into his palms. I watched without even blinking.

It was a force gentler and purer than mana. A light more delicate and kind than aura.

Although I had learned about mana and aura and had become familiar with the various forms and types of energy in this land, it was a misunderstanding.

That pure power resembled internal energy.

If I hadn’t been comparing mana, aura, and internal energy repeatedly, I might not have been able to distinguish between them.

Now I understood why Boulder and Douglas had never inquired about the origin of internal energy. They must have thought it wasn’t an evil force.

A sense of gratitude filled me anew as I focused on Blanc Cooper’s fingertips.

“In the last lesson, we talked about the ranks of priests. Those who hold the title ‘Ra’—priests and holy knights—are able to use divine power. The noble energy that disappears when faith is broken carries with it the powers of blessing and healing.”

Blanc Cooper calmly spoke of the sacred power of faithful belief. His gentle voice was filled with steadfast faith and praise for the god he served.

From my perspective, priests who could use divine power seemed to be those who had awakened their upper dantian first.

I had been amazed and fascinated when I saw a magician who had awakened their middle dantian without using the lower one. But a priest who had awakened their upper dantian directly, bypassing the lower and middle dantian, seemed even more remarkable.

I had just learned how to use my middle dantian. I still couldn’t use both internal energy and aura together.

I could use internal energy and aura separately, but using aura clearly strained my body. No matter how many times I experimented, it was the same. I thought perhaps the answer lay in this divine power.

Blanc Cooper, who had scattered the light by touching his lips, continued kindly.

“Religion’s origin is said to be in the center of the continent, in Felix. In Felix’s temple, there are hundreds of priests and holy knights. If you get the chance, visit the holy land yourself and feel the divine grace.”

Felix.

I thought to myself that I should visit the kingdom, which was said to be closest to the Shearton Desert, someday.

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I remembered how Bill Brown had begged me to travel. I decided to take it easy and not rush.

The Growth and Reflection class was also a class I took with my close friends.

Because of that, after Tuesday’s classes, we would all gather for dinner, chatting and laughing together. Today was no different. We sat around a round table at our favorite restaurant, raising our voices in laughter and conversation.

“If I, uh, become a 6th Circle mage, I could be a count at least!”

“Marianne, you’re going to trip over your words at this rate.”

“I’ll repay this grudge eight times over!”

“Eight times? Let’s make it twenty times. Sit down, sit down.”

Everyone knew about what had happened to Marianne. As soon as she graduated, when she said she was going to the Unyi Mountain Range, none of us stopped her.

Marianne had big dreams, claiming that within five years, she would become a grand magician.

It was now almost the end of our second year. Each of the students had specific dreams of what they would do after graduation. Most of the children at Sheoran Academy were like that.

Since they were very young, they had been constantly asked what they liked, what they wanted to be when they grew up, and had become used to answering those questions.

After much thinking and contemplation, they found what they liked and chose one of the six faculties, carefully considering the various paths they could take within each field.

It was only natural that their thoughts were deep and detailed. Even though they were young, there was much to learn from them.

Ivan, who had succeeded in calming Marianne down, spoke softly.

“Three of us are going to the Unyi Mountain Range, it feels a bit lonely.”

“Yeah. After graduation, it will be hard to see each other…”

“Still, if we can meet once a year, that would be nice. The New Year’s ceremony is held in the capital every year.”

“Do you think it will be easy to attend the New Year’s ceremony while hunting monsters…? It might be better to plan it during the holiday season.”

Jenny, Damian, and Shayden didn’t hide their disappointment.

Among them, Jenny seemed the most upset. After all, she had been closer to Marianne. Seeing Jenny pouting, Marianne’s expression softened as she gently grabbed Jenny’s hand and spoke sweetly.

“It’s still a year away.”

“Even so…”

“I’ll come visit often. When I go to the capital, you should come play with me.”

It was a heartwarming sight to see the children making a promise by linking their pinkies. I also, as usual, extended my finger to join in.

Thursday morning. After a month of rigorous training, Marianne’s stamina had greatly improved. Without fail, she was up earlier than me every morning, running to the training grounds, diligently doing what I had instructed.

At first, she was gasping for breath even after running a few laps, but now she could complete five laps in one go. It was a sight to behold.

I ran alongside Marianne until she was out of breath, and then helped her with simple exercises like horseback riding stance or push-ups to build strength.

Training basic physical strength in a young child was something I had done for over ten years in my previous life. Just by observing their breathing and posture, I could tell whether the child was working hard or trying to cut corners.

That’s why I became even more supportive of Marianne. I thought it would be good to start having her lift heavier things at the end of this month. I felt so proud of her and began to treat her even more affectionately.

By the time the morning training was over, we often had brief chats.

In the first week, Marianne had struggled to even catch her breath. But now, seeing her chatter away as if she had gotten used to it, I couldn’t help but smile every time I saw her. She seemed like the type of child who would start talking the moment she fell into water.

Usually, Marianne’s topics were about Glotin Tenner, who had suddenly taken a leave of absence and disappeared, or curses directed at the Combine Count family and Oliver Combine.

But sometimes, she would bring up interesting topics.

Today, the topic was about her first debutante ball experience.

As my own debutante ball was approaching, Marianne became even more excited, giving advice on what to wear and how to behave politely.

After listening to her for a while, something suddenly came to mind, so I spoke up.

“By the way… I heard there’s a specific order for the dances.”

“Ah, yes. You know that? Among all the noble daughters and sons who have their debutante ball that year, there might be some who can’t dance because they don’t know anyone. So, everyone is required to dance the spring and summer dances.”

“Hmm.”

“Mikael, you’re not going to dance, right? You said you didn’t like dancing before.”

“Is it an optional event?”

“Well… if you really don’t want to, I guess there’s nothing to be done. Most people dance though…”

It seemed that what Ruber had said was true. I couldn’t help but smile, recalling the person who had been eagerly performing tricks in front of me.

“I think… I might join in too.”

“Oh? You’ve learned to dance? When?”

“Yes. Senior Ruber taught me.”

“Really?”

Seeing Marianne’s eyes widen, I shrugged my shoulders. Marianne, who seemed to be thinking about something, then smiled shyly and puffed out her chest in a proud manner.

“Wow, I knew it. I thought so.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, there are many reasons, but I think it’s because Mikael is kind of the opposite of Wesley Kiadris.”

“Mm.”

“That senior always takes good care of Mikael, right? If you want to make Mikael do something he doesn’t like… I think you’d need to be someone like the Second Prince, at least.”

Since Ruber had never hidden the fact that he looked out for me, I could easily understand the first part. But the second part, suggesting that it would take someone with the power of a prince to make me do something I didn’t want to do—did that mean I appeared weak to power? I was puzzled and asked again.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well… oh, should I even say this?”

Marianne hesitated, then placed both hands on her cheeks. She looked somewhat shy, but also mischievous, staring at me intently before letting out a small laugh.

“That senior likes Mikael, right?”

“…Ah.”

How did she know that?

I was at a loss for words and just stayed silent. Marianne looked at my expression for a moment, then straightened herself up and looked down at the sand that had gathered on the training ground.

“Well, it’s just like that.”

“Do you think… he likes me?” I asked, my voice trailing off.

“Ah, well… actually, I didn’t know before.”

“…Didn’t know?”

“Remember when Mikael was sighing all the time not too long ago? That’s when I figured it out.”

“…How?”

Marianne, now clearly avoiding my gaze, looked off into the distance, pretending to focus on something else.