Heroine Netori-Chapter 61

She couldn’t understand what he was saying at all.

Quit being a hunter? Why? For what reason?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out why he was saying the same thing as the ex-boyfriend she hated so much.

Was she really in such bad shape that even from the outside, it looked like there was no answer?

Was it so bad that quitting right now would be for the best?

Was he worried about her?

Was he telling her to quit for her own sake?

Whatever the reason, she didn’t care. Being a hunter was her life’s goal.

It was a dream she had cherished for too long to give up just because of a few words from someone else.

For the first time since they met, she felt a sense of rejection toward him.

It felt like she had gone back to before they had gotten close.

‘In the end... you were just like everyone else?’

She was disappointed.

The tears she had been holding back threatened to spill over.

She resented him for not understanding her.

She resented herself for making him say those words.

“...What?”

With a trembling voice, she asked again.

As she spoke, she prayed inwardly.

‘Please, tell me it’s a joke.’

‘Please, tell me you’re just kidding.’

‘Please... don’t make me hate you.’

‘Please...’

But then—

He said something completely unexpected.

**

“Quit being a hunter and be my manager.”

“......What?!”

That was... truly something she never could have imagined.

**

[No, it’s not like I’m forcing you or anything. I just want you to think about it.]

[I did get promoted to C-rank this time, but honestly... without you, I can’t do anything. I only know how to fight, and outside of that, I’m useless.]

[That’s why I need you.]

[To be blunt, as hunters, we probably won’t be able to stay together... but I still want to keep going with you.]

[So, Hyun-ah, I want you to be my manager.]

[I know I’m being selfish. I know I’m being greedy. But even if it’s like this, I want to keep our connection going.]

[You don’t have to answer right away. Take your time, think it over, and let me know.]

Lee Hyun-ah couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

Even though she had watched this video dozens of times already, it still made her heart flutter as if it were happening all over again.

“Kyaaah! He wants me to be his manager!”

As soon as the video ended, she hit the replay button and basked in her happiness once more.

Strangely enough, the more she watched, the greater her joy became instead of fading.

Any fears she had about being alone again had long since vanished.

His sincere words, his genuine desire for her, melted her ice-cold heart like a warm spring breeze.

[Without you, I can’t do anything.]

“Without you, I can’t do anything.”

[That’s why I need you.]

“That’s why I need you.”

[But I still want to keep going with you.]

“But I still want to keep going with you.”

She had repeated the video so many times that she had memorized every single word he said.

Among them, the ones she loved most, she even said out loud.

“He said he can’t live without me! That he needs me! That he wants to be with me forever! Ehehehe...”

That was how deeply she was immersed in what had happened yesterday.

If it weren’t for her phone’s dead battery, she probably would have stayed up all night watching the video on repeat.

“The way I think about him... he was thinking about me just as much. That’s what makes me happiest...”

Even without the video, she replayed that moment in her mind, savoring his confession.

****

"But... what do I do? A manager... Ehe... hehe! Manager! Manager!!"

She pretended to be deep in thought, talking to herself, but she couldn't hold back her laughter and started rolling around on her bed.

Even though she acted like she was contemplating it, she had already made up her mind.

The moment she heard his words, she had decided to accept his request.

The only reason she didn’t answer right away was because she wanted to play hard to get.

She wanted to wait until the very last moment... to see him get restless, to make him happy with her answer. The thought alone made her heart pound with excitement.

"Quitting as a hunter is a bit of a shame..."

Her refusal to give up on being a hunter had always been her own form of stubbornness.

She had never been particularly good at anything and had always been looked down on.

‘She’s just got a pretty face, but everything else about her is garbage. Girls like that all end up the same way.’

‘She acts all high and mighty now, but sooner or later, she’ll be crawling to me for money.’

In that world, awakening had been her one and only chance.

For the first time in her life, she had something she could do better than others.

That’s why she wanted to prove herself. To show that she was good at something.

That’s why she wanted to flaunt it—to proudly display her success as a hunter.

She wanted revenge against the bastards who had belittled, envied, and looked down on her.

She also wanted to break free from her boyfriend’s shadow.

She wanted to shatter his words—his claim that she couldn’t do anything without him.

She wanted to prove that she could make it on her own.

That’s why she had endured, gritting her teeth through all kinds of humiliation, pushing forward one day at a time.

"But... now that I think about it, there’s no point anymore."

"Because I have him—someone who acknowledges me, relies on me, and only looks at me..."

"Because I’ve already found my worth."

But now, just as she said, there was no need to struggle anymore.

The opinions of people who didn’t matter weren’t her problem anymore.

To her, the only thing that mattered was him.

"So, I only need to think about him."

"He’s helpless without me. I have to take care of him, one thing at a time."

"Oh well... If not me, then who else is going to take care of him? I have to be his manager. Yep, that’s right."

"But... wait a second... Now that I think about it...!"

Rolling around on her bed, she suddenly froze and buried herself under the blanket with a serious expression.

Though no one could see her face, it had turned bright red, and the corners of her lips wouldn’t stop curling upward.

"He’s saying that I’m an irreplaceable, precious existence in his life, that he can’t live without me, and that he wants to be with me until the day he dies..."

"I-It’s... a proposal, isn’t it?! Kyaaaah!!"

"Oh my god! Oh my god!"

=====

I felt a little guilty about forcing Hyun-ah into this.

Telling a perfectly fine hunter to quit and become my manager instead... It was definitely the kind of thing that deserved a slap.

But I really needed Hyun-ah for my future as a hunter.

This damn system was so complicated that I still couldn’t even make simple reservations by myself.

I probably wouldn’t be in this mess if I had handled things on my own from the start, but now that I was trying to learn everything at once, it was just frustrating.

Honestly, it was just easier to stick with Hyun-ah.

...Though, to be fair, that was just an excuse.

The truth was, I couldn’t bring myself to leave her alone.

Ever since she broke up with her boyfriend, she had been completely alone.

If I left her now, she might end up getting seriously hurt.

That said, keeping her around out of pity wasn’t an option either.

The best solution I could come up with was to hire her as my manager.

Well... I guess you could call that pity too. But at least this way, I’d be buying time.

Time for her feelings to change—or time for mine to change.

Ah, damn it. I’m really starting to turn into some shady bastard.

But this is reality—I can’t just run away without taking responsibility...

Ugh... my head’s a mess.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

At times like this, Heroine Netori is the way to go.

I had achieved my first goal—getting promoted to C-rank as a hunter.

Now, I had to focus on my second goal: earning Heroine Netori points.

The minimum points I needed: 50,000.

My current points: 80.

I’ve got a long way to go.

This isn’t something I can do in just one or two rounds...

And right now, I don’t even have enough points to choose the genre I want.

Might as well just jump in and use it as a distraction.

****

[Activating ‘Heroine Netori’ ability.]

[Select a genre.]

[Error: Insufficient points. A random genre will be selected.]

[Select a character.]

[Error: Insufficient points. A random character will be selected.]

[Select an item to use for this round.]

[Error: Insufficient points. No item will be selected.]

[Genre: Youth Romance.]

[Role: You are the protagonist’s roommate.]

[Available Items: None.]

[Mission: Steal the heroine.]

[Tip: The protagonist and the main heroine are about to experience their first love. The protagonist has invited the heroine to his place for the first time.]

-Ding!

"Aha."

[Choi Siu: Deokbae, your department’s MT is today, right? Just thought of it and wanted to check in. Have fun!]

"Oh... so it’s like this?"

[Guys, I’m really sorry, but something urgent came up. I can’t make it to MT today.]