The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 94

“Wow... I’m dying here.”

Morning run.

I’ve gotten used to it by now, but it still leaves my legs feeling like jelly afterward.

As I slumped down, gasping for air, Yu Hana—who’d been running beside me—also tried to catch her breath and spoke.

“Weren’t you... faster than usual... today?”

“If you noticed, then good.”

With that, I flopped down onto the grass.

“I was just trying to keep up, and I nearly died.”

Even though I said that, it was actually kind of fun.

Running with Yu Hana had become a nice part of my routine.

After resting for a while, as usual, we grabbed bottled water from the vending machine and sat side by side on a bench at the edge of the field.

We caught our breath, and a brief silence settled in.

“...Hey, Haein.”

Yu Hana cautiously broke the silence.

She lightly brushed her hair aside and glanced at me.

“That experience program... where are you planning to go?”

“Me? I’m still... thinking.”

I had looked over the organized notes yesterday.

You could apply to one or two groups for the program.

But once you applied, it felt more like the companies selected you back, each according to their own criteria.

In my case, honestly, it wouldn’t be a problem no matter where I applied.

Chances were high that most of them would take me.

Then Yu Hana quietly brought it up.

“What about Cheongpungdae...?”

As she said that, she lowered her gaze slightly.

I let out a short chuckle.

In the original story, Yu Hana almost always chose Cheongpungdae—unless the protagonist dragged her elsewhere.

And now she was already trying to recruit me as a rising prospect?

“Isn’t this tampering?”

Of course, it wasn’t tampering at all. I just felt like teasing her.

The moment I tossed out the joke, Yu Hana immediately responded.

“Huh? N-No! That’s not what I meant... I just—!”

The way she waved her hands in denial made me laugh.

“I’m joking.”

I waved my hand and laughed.

Yu Hana turned her head, flustered, and the tips of her ears were faintly red.

“Well, it’s not a bad choice. Cheongpungdae is a good place.”

Cheongpungdae was a prestigious group.

Its internal management was solid, and its domestic infrastructure was well-established.

A place with a reputation, wherever you went.

But from my perspective, it had some drawbacks.

Cheongpungdae was strictly a domestic-based guild.

Most of its activities were focused inside the country.

Eventually, I’d need to go abroad to obtain fragments and other such things.

When that time came, I’d definitely feel the limitations.

The path I needed to walk in the future... was a lot broader than that.

“But I probably... won’t go.”

“...Why?”

Yu Hana cautiously asked again.

“Just because.”

I took a moment, catching my breath, then said,

“I’m just... too greedy, I guess.”

At those words, Yu Hana quietly nodded.

She didn’t respond, but her eyes trembled slightly.

The water bottle was still half full.

She brought the mouth of the bottle to her lips but didn’t drink—just held it there for a while.

Eventually, she opened her mouth.

“...Got it.”

Then, with a faint smile, she stood up.

“See you in a bit.”

With just that one line, she quietly turned her back.

Her smile looked... a little sad.

***

That afternoon, in Gaon’s Lecture Hall B.

It was the break between classes, but no students had left their seats.

No—more accurately, they couldn’t leave.

“So~ if you join our guild, we provide a signing bonus, equipment rental, hazard pay as standard, and a one-on-one curriculum with a mentor hero!”

Standing at the front of the lecture hall was, unmistakably, an outsider.

Wearing a confident expression and throwing out overly energetic gestures.

The one speaking, with a flashy white suit and eager tone, was a scout from Rapid, a guild ranked in the top 30 domestically.

“You’ve heard of Calyx, right? The A-rank hero Calyx? You’ll get to meet him too—”

They were trying really hard.

And understandably so—after all, this was Gaon, the number one academy in the world.

A guild ranked only 30th domestically... honestly had no real competitive edge.

Some students glanced around discreetly.

A few looked genuinely interested, while others were clearly tuning it out.

But most wore expressions that screamed they just wanted to leave.

As the solo performance dragged on...

“Anyway, we hope lots of you will apply for the program!”

The scout finally exited.

“Ugh...”

“Talked way too much.”

“Who’s even gonna apply for that...”

Grumbling and eye-rolling filled the room, with some students outright mocking him.

Yoon Chaeha beside me felt the same.

“...Snore.”

She’d been asleep since the beginning, to be fair. Still asleep.

The students all sighed in their own ways, fiddling with their smartwatches and waiting for the next class.

Then—

Creak.

The door opened, and someone new entered.

“Hello~”

It was a surprisingly familiar face.

Recently appointed as the new Vice Director of Lotus—

Yu Serin.

She had appeared in the original storyline too.

Lotus, once considered stagnant despite maintaining second place, began transforming once she joined.

Though in the end, the organization was doomed anyway because its director was corrupt.

“Everyone was so quiet... I was worried I might be interrupting something.”

Normally, guild presentations like this were done by the so-called “mid-tier” guilds.

Low name recognition, low trust, desperate for new talent.

In that sense, Lotus was the furthest thing from such a guild.

Even from the start, everything about her presence was different from that of the Rapid scout.

Her footsteps, gaze, even her breathing.

The moment she stood at the front, the students’ postures subtly shifted.

“I’m Yu Serin, Vice Director of Lotus. Nice to meet you!”

With her upbeat voice, the entire lecture hall’s attention zeroed in on her.

No one joked.

No one looked at their smartwatch.

She walked naturally toward the podium and continued speaking.

“This won’t take long... but I’ll be as honest as I can.”

Her gaze swept lightly across the whole room.

Just that motion alone made a few students straighten up.

“Lotus is—”

She paused briefly, took a breath, then suddenly spoke with a calm, serious tone.

“Not a guild for fallen heroes.”

A short silence followed.

Her words weren’t harsh, but there was something provocatively sharp about them.

Then her eyes shifted to the front row—to Kang Arin, sitting with her chin resting on one hand, looking thoroughly uninterested.

Kang Arin didn’t bother to hide how bored she was.

Still, Yu Serin let her gaze linger just a bit longer.

“If you want to be the best—then come to us.”

In that moment—

‘...What # Nоvеlight # was that?’

I felt it.

Her eyes locked onto me. Just for a second, her gaze became crystal clear.

[All-Sense Perception resists the Insightful Eye.]

At that, Yu Serin’s eyes briefly paused in surprise.

She hadn’t expected her authority to fail.

Wearing a faint smile, she very slowly bowed her head to me.

Then she gestured toward the neat-looking female scout standing beside her.

“If you have questions, please speak to our scout here. I’ll excuse myself now~”

With that, she turned and walked out.

No one made a sound until her figure completely vanished.

“......”

Silence lingered—and in the next moment.

The students all stood up at once.

As if trying to be the first, they rushed toward the scout.

“Was Lotus always like that?”

“She’s kind of cute... and cool at the same time...”

I was impressed.

It was clear—her gaze had been directed at Kang Arin, the heir to Glory.

She hadn’t said it outright, but everyone had understood the implied meaning.

“Only those who will become the best, even above the Maengju, should come.”

A statement bold enough to stir something in all the students.

Once the Lotus scout had cleared out, I headed to the cafeteria.

Cheon Yeoul didn’t come with me.

She said it was for diet management, something about how everything she eats goes somewhere, or whatever.

I didn’t really want to understand, so I didn’t ask.

The one who came with me was Yoon Chaeha. As usual, lunch was just academy food.

I rinsed out my mouth and pushed open the cafeteria doors.

Summer seemed to be approaching—the sun was warm, and I walked into the shade to avoid it.

Then—

Tap tap.

Someone’s fingertip tapped my shoulder.

Literally made the sound “tok tok” with her lips as she did it.

I turned my head.

A pleasant scent of roses drifted over.

Too natural for perfume, yet a bit too vivid to be from fresh flowers.

“Jeong Haein?”

The person who had stood at the podium earlier.

Yu Serin.

She was holding a small document in one hand and smiling slightly.

“Why didn’t you give me an answer?”

She asked playfully.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Beside me, Yoon Chaeha looked at me with a startled expression.

“...That phrasing.”

Yu Serin’s words carried a clear implication.

During the midterm auction, Lotus had bid a staggering 1.5 billion on me.

They lost first place to Vanquisher, but that amount showed more than enough intent.

I could’ve responded to the bids from those guilds—but I hadn’t replied to any of them.

“I made the bid myself, you know. You were my first pick since I took the position, Jeong Haein.”

“Is that so.”

“Yup! The way you sliced through Medusa like—schlick—”

I replied dryly.

But she didn’t stop.

“Won’t you come to Lotus?”

Yu Serin asked bluntly.

But my answer had already been decided.

I was interested in her as a person.

If she ever left Lotus, maybe I’d reconsider.

But the guild itself...

“I’m not going.”

“I figured as much.”

She didn’t even blink at my rejection.

Instead, she nodded like it was the response she expected.

“Well, there’s still time for you to change your mind.”

“You’re probably better off not wasting your effort.”

“That’s... up to me!”

Yu Serin let out a familiar laugh and turned away.

I silently watched the direction she walked off in.

She really is a character full of missed potential.

If only she had a reliable partner to support her... she could’ve soared far.

But betrayal and intrigue await her.

I know her future.

In every route the protagonist takes, she doesn’t escape death.

Because Lotus always ends up opposing Sung Siwoo.

Still, so much has already begun to change.

In times like these... maybe just a word wouldn’t hurt.

“Hey.”

She stopped.

Slowly turned her head.

“Yes?”

“Be careful who you trust.”

Yu Serin narrowed her eyes slightly.

She looked lost in thought for a moment—then tilted her head and smiled.

“...You’re kind of quirky, Mr. Haein!”

“You’re not exactly ordinary yourself.”

I gave her that parting line and turned my head away.

I had no intention of getting deeply involved.

From now on, it was her path to walk.