The Heroine Stole My Regression

8 – Seong Si-woo (1)

The cafe was, as always, packed with people.

“So… she smiled when she saw Hae-in, then suddenly burst into tears?”

“Yeah.”

Si-on gently stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

“Well… there are several possibilities. From a woman’s perspective…”

Yes, this was what I wanted. Consulting Si-on was the right choice, it seemed.

“Maybe she’s just… out of her mind? No, I mean, maybe she’s just going through a lot? I think I’d do the same in her shoes.”

“Do you think she’s going through something?”

Si-on’s eyes widened at my calm retort.

He then began scrolling through his smartwatch, his eyes fixed on the screen.

“You didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

What didn’t I know?

-Ding

“Read this.”

An alert popped up on my smartwatch. It was a message from Si-on.

Attached to the message was a news article.

[Successor Kang Yuseong of ‘Glory’ Corp, Dies in Mien Attack.]

“Huh?”

What the hell?

Kang Yuseong, Kang Arin’s older brother.

A character appearing with considerable weight even within the story. Albeit, as a villain, not an ally.

He was a collaborator, in league with the Mien.

“Didn’t you know? That’s why he couldn’t make it to the entrance ceremony.”

At Sion’s words, I blinked and reread the article.

‘Kang Yuseong?’

A character whose death I wouldn’t mind, not even one hundred times over; in fact, I’d even welcome it.

From a player’s perspective, he was an incredibly exhausting and troublesome element.

When crafting plans, I’d even considered killing him off myself first.

The problem wasn’t simply Kang Yuseong’s death, but its timing.

In the original, Kang Yuseong, his successor position threatened by Kang Arin’s prodigious talent, resorts to harming her.

And so, he is eventually caught and meets his end at the hands of Seong Siwoo, the standard villain’s fate.

-The cause of death was revealed to be multiple mana wounds inflicted on the abdomen and between the eyebrows….

-‘Arcadia’, the temple that identified the cause, analyzed that numerous traces of Mien mana were discovered.

Arcadia. The temple Cheon Yeoul belongs to.

A place specialized in healing and medical analysis, frequently involved in ascertaining the truth of such incidents.

That’s what makes it even more absurd.

They barely manage to turn a son of a leading corporation into a minion for the Mien, and then they eliminate him themselves?

The Mien aren’t idiots… there’s no way.

Sion continued speaking.

“So, don’t think about him too much….”

“Sion.”

As I called her name, Sion paused momentarily, her eyes widening.

A slight blush crept onto her face, and she answered in a somewhat flustered voice.

“Uh… yeah? What is it?”

“I’m leaving. Thanks for today.”

*

As I walked back to the lodging, worry coiled around me.

To dismiss it as mere luck felt wrong. Too many things didn’t quite sit right.

It was difficult to see this action as the work of a lone individual.

No single person capable of such a thing came to mind.

Which naturally pointed towards a team, or perhaps a guild.

One that wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate a Mine’s puppet, even if it meant going against Glory’s reputation.

An organization capable of subtly disguising the signs, meticulously concealing their identities.

There were, primarily, only two places that could pull something like that off.

One… Glory’s affiliated guild, Glory’s Vanguard team of ‘The Sovereign.’

Which, shit, was obviously out of the question.

And the other…

A place I knew well. The organization closest to me.

I pulled out my smartwatch and brought up the lowest contact on my list.

[Park Gwang-cheol]

Ah, should I even call?

Still, I had to. If anyone knew what I needed to know, it was him.

He was in a position to know.

-Ring…

“Hello?”

He answered before the first ring had even finished.

Was this guy just sitting by the phone?

“If it isn’t the baby of the family calling, I’m touched.”

“I’m not the baby anymore.”

This was why I hated calling.

“Heh heh, alright, alright. What’s up? Someone picking on you at school?”

“It’s not that, hyung. Did you hear about Gang Yu-seong from Glory getting killed?”

“…Yeah, I heard. Something about dying to a Mine, wasn’t it?”

“That wasn’t a Mine, was it?”

A strangely heavy silence settled in for a moment.

Then, he finally spoke.

“They say it’s the Mazoku in the Temple. What would we even know?”

He wasn’t giving off an aura of easy answers. You could feel the energy of something being hidden.

In these situations, ambiguous questions won’t cut it. Better to just hit the bullseye.

“The Old Man?”

“Aish…”

A deep sigh echoed from beyond the watch.

Park Gwang-cheol seemed to consider his words for a moment.

“I don’t know how you found out, but this time, it wasn’t us.”

“We knew Kang Yu-seong was with them, but didn’t think it was time to deal with him just yet.”

No.

It wasn’t the Old Man either.

Even though Park Gwang-cheol’s attitude was light, he wasn’t one for loose lips.

His words were probably the truth.

“Then, do you know who it is?”

“…Don’t know. Truly don’t know.”

The words he spat out were slightly lower in tone.

“Ah, this is driving me nuts. Maknae, how did you even find out?”

This time, his voice carried a bit more sincerity.

“Just…something felt off. You know I have a good sense for these things.”

“Ah, right, you’re a Prehuman…Hey, anyway, I’m only telling you this because I care about you, got it? Absolute secret from the Old Man. Understand?”

Park Gwang-cheol lowered his voice as if emphasizing those last words.

“Yeah, I know. I find the Old Man a bit…much, myself.”

I answered, staring blankly at the screen of the smartwatch.

“Okay, I’m hanging up.”

The moment Park Gwang-cheol tried to end the call, I hurriedly added.

There were still things I needed to say.

“Ah, hyung. Just a sec.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Can I call you again tonight? There’s something more I need to ask.”

A brief silence hung in the air beyond the smartwatch.

“…Let’s leave that last bit there. You’re still young, and I’m a little hesitant to tell you all that sort of thing.”

“Oh, not that. It’s something else.”

He laughed lightly, seemingly relieved.

“Anything but that is fine, of course. What’s this all of a sudden? You never call.”

“Thank you.”

His tone, laced with jest, unconsciously brought a smile to my face.

“Alright, I’m hanging up.”

“Yeah.”

The call ended on the watch.

I sighed, tidying the watch.

In the end, neither place was the right one.

And that just made my head hurt even more.

‘Ah, but damn it.’

Should I just focus on the result?

Result-wise, Zamdok, who was deeply embedded within the Hero side and was bound to become a headache later on, was dead.

Furthermore, it wasn’t the old man who did it, so there was no risk of getting caught.

And either way, it was something that either I or Seong Si-woo would have had to do eventually, so it’s like the problem solved itself.

If I think positively, could it get any better than this?

“It’s a stroke of luck….”

I muttered to myself as I headed toward the dorm.

*

Already 9 PM in the evening.

I was starting to feel like wrapping things up.

What have I been doing since I got back to the dorm?

‘Si-woo, hyung is going this far for your sake.’

I was searching for sword techniques for our Seong Si-woo, who so resolutely and thoroughly picked his weapon.

After rummaging through piles of lore books, two candidates remained.

The first was ‘Demonic Celestial Sword Art.’

‘How can a martial art have a name like Demonic Celestial Sword Art….’

The name alone makes you want to laugh, but its power and danger are anything but.

If you judged purely by destructive force and rarity, it’d rank among the best of all martial arts.

The problem, however, is this.

[Only those with exceptional talent may use! Lack of talent leads to Qi Deviation and DEATH.]

A note I’d scrawled while creating the setting a decade ago.

And it holds true. This sword style is brutally selective about its wielder. I don’t even know the extent of Seong Si-woo’s talent yet. We need to avoid the misfortune of him succumbing to Qi Deviation before he even gets to unsheathe a sword.

That’s why there’s a second candidate.

‘The Taiqing Sword Style.’

It doesn’t consider talent at all. Anyone who learns it is guaranteed a decent level of success.

You could say it’s the most reliably powerful sword style out there.

Of course, it has its downsides.

Its peak is capped, limiting further growth.

Still, better than death, right? Besides, martial arts aren’t everything.

If it were up to me, I’d have him learn the ‘Heavenly Demon Sword Style.’

And that’s what I intend to find out.

Whether he possesses the talent or not.

The Gaon Academy’s system is excellent.

You can freely watch recorded lesson videos on the website, review your own footage, and get feedback.

Cutting-edge stuff, really.

‘Seong Si-woo… Seong Si-woo…’

I searched for his name and downloaded the unit practice video from today.

[Jeong Hae-in]: Seong Si-woo.MP4

[Jeong Hae-in]: Hey, could you ask the old man about him?

I considered calling, but a message felt like the better approach for this.

The old man possesses the ability to analyze talent.

Sounds a bit silly, but he can assess a person’s potential. It’s the reason the teams he assembles are so strong.

[Park Gwang-cheol]: Hmm? I think the old man will help even if you sent him?

[Jeong Hae-in]: No way, I’m telling you.

Absolutely not.

The old man only praises me when I compare myself to my peers, afraid I’ll become arrogant.

That stubborn old coot.

[Park Kwang-cheol]: Ah, haha, guess that’s true. Just gotta show this and ask, right?

[Jeong Hae-in]: Yeah, please. I really need this.

[Park Kwang-cheol]: Sure, sure, for our youngest.

I keep telling him I’m not the youngest.

Still, I was grateful, so I didn’t bother arguing the point.

How much time had passed?

A reply arrived from Park Kwang-cheol.

[Park Kwang-cheol]: Voice Recording.mp3

A voice recording?

Opening the file, it seemed to be a recording of his conversation with the Head Instructor.

-Head Instructor, I think I found someone amazing while digging through the Gaon Database. Could you take a look?

It was Park Kwang-cheol.

A concept, disguised as a scout. Not bad.

-… We already have Hae-in in that age group.

Oho, that’s… somewhat touching.

-Yeah, yeah I know, but just take a look, please? Playing it now?

The clanging of weapons practice and students’ voices filled the air.

It seemed Park Kwang-cheol had played a video.

Maybe five minutes passed.

The sound stopped. The video seemed to be over.

But even after the video ended, the silence stretched for another ten seconds.

Finally, the Head Instructor spoke.

-… Park Kwang-cheol, are you blind as a bat?

What?

What is he even saying?

-… Guess so. Must have seen it wrong.

-Don’t bring me anyone like that again. Lacking in skill, but overflowing with stubbornness. He’s been spoiled rotten from the start, a lost cause. How dare you bring someone so fundamentally flawed….

The recording ended just like that.

An additional message arrived from Park Kwang-cheol.

[Park Kwang-cheol]: Hae-in, are you serious about this?

[Park Gwang-cheol]: Weren’t they supposed to be at least competent? I trusted you and played that footage, and now I’m staring into the abyss. You should have seen the director’s eyes.

I couldn’t bring myself to respond.

I didn’t feel like responding.

-Thwack.

I closed the open settings guide, sighing.

“Ah….”

There were several possibilities.

They could pick up a sword. Their personality could be absolute garbage.

However, in any case, the protagonist’s talent in the game was guaranteed to be at least a minimum.

That was the only thing I trusted.

And now, even that belief had crumbled.

If the director said they had no talent, then they really didn’t.

“This is fucked.”

The protagonist has no talent.