- #1
well, overall there are 3 arcs, the first (c1~c49) is the Tisia war that our protagonist got involved in as soon as he left his village. Here he starts to learn more about this world (he was kinda a recluse in his own remote village), and about other reincarnators and their positions in this world. And yes, he met the ML here, but with a twist.
I would call the 2nd arc (c50~c128), the fugitive arc, where our protagonist is on the run with the ML trying to return to their country while avoiding enemies, there they'll actually make connections with spirit horses and the closed-off elves! And starting in this arc our protagonist starts to be open to his feeling as the ML already fell for him. They're quite sweet too, but this is just a minor element compared to the whole adventure plots. And we can see the character growth in this period as they have to depend on each other to survive.
and the supposedly last arc (c129~ the novel still ongoing and the end still not in sight), is after they finally reach their country after more than a year and have to deal with the mess left by the war and make their relationship official. There is also a major mission of dragon slaying! And properly confronting the so-suspicious Empire and the Adventurers Guild where all the other reincarnators are. Some surprises awaiting them.
[collapse]I'm not sure how the novel will end, well, surely the protagonist will become _____ !