The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 23

A mysterious high-rise where the sky felt closer than the ground—its top floor.

Inside a luxurious room, four women sat around a round table. Each of their brightly colored hair emphasized their distinct personalities and dominated the room with sheer presence. Every one of them possessed a beauty that could bring kingdoms to ruin.

“So.”

The first to speak was a woman with long, sky-blue hair cascading over her shoulders.

“It went well, then?”

She crossed her legs gracefully and looked around at the others, arms folded.

The one who responded was a woman with black hair braided over one shoulder. She lifted her wrist slightly, gazing at the obsidian bracelet she wore.

As the light blinking from the bracelet finally faded, Ha Sion smiled with satisfaction.

“Looks like it just ended. Perfect.”

“Good. That should change his combat style,” said the sky-haired woman with a nod.

She fully respected him, but she also believed that if there was a better path, he’d pursue it without hesitation.

“Obviously. Who do you think tuned it?”

The next to speak was a woman with short hair, radiating a subtle but unmistakable holy aura.

Her fingers had been slowly tracing the cross placed on the desk in front of her. It wasn’t just a decorative ornament—its presence alone demanded attention.

As if saying, “Look at this,” she deliberately and repeatedly stroked the cross.

“Are you showing off?”

The sky-haired woman asked with a smile. The short-haired one gave a slight nod.

“Of course.”

With a light laugh, she pushed the cross forward with her fingertip. The pride in her expression was unmistakable.

“Haein went to the Order and had an official certificate issued in my name. It says ‘Owner,’ plain and clear.”

She lifted the cross, showing off its gently glowing surface.

“Thanks to that, the old geezers in the Order couldn’t say a word. They just nodded.”

Still, she ran her fingers gently along its edges, treating it like a treasured relic.

“Seriously... he didn’t have to go that far....”

Her voice trailed off, her expression growing hazy with bliss.

“Could you shut up for a second?”

A sharp voice cut across the room.

A woman with her black hair tied back and crimson eyes glinting coolly spoke in a cold tone.

“Let’s try talking about something productive for once. How’s the holy water supply deal going?”

The short-haired woman slowly turned her eyes toward her.

“That area’s still the old geezers’ turf, so it’s a bit tricky.”

She tilted her head slightly and gently set the cross back down on the table.

“But it’s almost there.”

“Good.”

The black-haired woman gave a short nod.

“That guy really bought the stocks the moment Kang Yuseong’s death tanked the price.”

Yu Hana murmured quietly in awe.

There was a mix of pure admiration and delight in her gaze.

“It’s Jeong Haein,” Kang Arin replied, her voice carrying unshakable trust in him.

“He kills off that bastard Kang Yuseong, pins it all on the demons...”

She gave a short laugh as she continued.

“...Raises the stock price, saves Haein the effort, and makes money. What’s not to love?”

The other women in the room nodded silently at her words.

They all wore expressions of quiet satisfaction.

“So.”

Kang Arin tapped the table lightly with her finger as she spoke.

“If you remember anything, spill it all.”

Her voice was gentle but firm, resonating through the room.

“No matter what we do, you all know we’ll never pay off that debt.”

It was a short statement, but it brought immediate silence to the room.

Her words sank in with the weight of a lingering echo.

***

"Wow, again?"

[‘Glory’ and Arcadia secure exclusive supply deal for holy water.]

Lately, the two organizations had been working together frequently.

Kang Yuseong dying early had been a godsend.

This was just one of the snowballs that had started rolling from his death.

Thanks to that, a massive snowball was now rolling into my account as well. Watching the numbers spike rapidly brought a natural smile to my face.

“Not bad at all.”

Good news just kept piling up these days.

Today ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ was Friday.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Just one more day, and it would be the weekend, so I walked with a light step.

Of course, it’s not like I’d be resting over the weekend... but since my body had become that of a student, even my mindset had started to revert back to when I was one.

‘I’ve got to retrieve the Camellia Sword... and negotiate funding with the Order...’

And that wasn’t even the half of it. I had a mountain of listed opportunities waiting to be secured—one a week wouldn't even be enough to get through them all.

On top of that, I needed to start thinking about passing on a proper martial technique to Sung Siwoo.

I had no idea if that idiot had made up his mind yet.

Last time, he even refused a team offer. He's just going out of his way to be difficult.

If he insists on sticking with the sword...

‘Do I need to beat some sense into him?’

Well, that’s a problem for future me.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Right now, I was on my way to Cheonmu Hall for today’s class.

Despite the name, Cheonmu Hall was actually used for theory lectures.

And today, a currently active hero was scheduled to give a special guest lecture.

I was kind of looking forward to it—I'd never seen a first-class hero in person before.

Time: exactly 9:00 a.m.

Arriving on time—that’s the least a student should do, right?

Screech—

I opened the back door of Cheonmu Hall.

Bang!

And closed it just as quickly.

“...The fuck?”

Why the hell was he here?

I thought maybe I was seeing things.

I cautiously cracked the door back open and peeked inside.

Even though the door had slammed loudly, all the students were staring intently at the hero standing on the podium.

A man with slicked-back hair, wearing sunglasses indoors.

The special guest hero was someone I knew.

Quite well, in fact.

Our eyes met.

He was wearing sunglasses, but I could feel his gaze directly.

Then he grinned wide enough to show his gums.

It was none other than Park Gwangcheol—the man who had requested an analysis of Sung Siwoo not long ago.

***

The theory professor, standing beside him on stage, gestured toward him.

“We appreciate him making time in his busy schedule. Please give a warm welcome.”

Clap clap clap clap!

The classroom erupted in applause.

“Hello everyone, I’m Park Gwangcheol.”

He lifted his sunglasses slightly as he introduced himself.

That one sentence set off cheers from both male and female students alike.

It made sense. He wasn’t just a hero—he was a celebrity beloved by the public.

Smiling, he said:

“I’m from... you all know, right? Vanquisher.”

More applause. More cheers.

I sighed quietly and took my seat.

Then I messaged Sion.

[Jeong Haein]: Sion, Park Gwangcheol’s here.

Her reply came in under five seconds.

[Sion]: Huh? Where?

[Jeong Haein]: Right in front of me.

[Sion]: ?? Why is Uncle Gwangcheol there?

My fucking question exactly.

[Jeong Haein]: No idea. Some kind of special guest lecture, apparently...

[Sion]: Ohhh, I think Grandpa mentioned something. Like, “Should I go, should I not~” or something like that.

So that’s why he came.

[Jeong Haein]: Ever since I walked in, he’s been staring at me. What do I do?

[Sion]: Ugh... I hate that. Good luck....

I buried my face in my desk and tried to focus.

Avoiding attention was top priority.

But contrary to my worries, he actually ran the lecture surprisingly by the book.

He even covered a few recently formalized theories, keeping the material current.

Objectively speaking, his lecture was interesting. Even I was getting drawn in.

“Oh wow, is it already that time? Let’s take a 10-minute break,” said Park Gwangcheol, checking his watch.

Usually when a lecturer announces break time, students rush out of the room.

But today, no one moved.

Then, a girl shyly raised her hand.

“Excuse me, may I ask a question?”

“Of course,” Park Gwangcheol responded cheerfully.

“It’s not related to the lecture...”

“Ah, that’s totally fine.”

“Then, um... how do you join Vanquisher?”

She was the one asking, but in truth, she was just voicing what everyone else was thinking.

That question had been on every student’s mind.

Even Sung Siwoo, sitting right in front, was watching with sparkling eyes, waiting for the answer.

The team led by the old man—Vanquisher—was one of the world’s top hero squads.

And true to their name, they were notoriously selective about their recruits.

Joining Vanquisher was essentially a badge proving you were one of the best.

Unfortunately, in the game, there were hardly any interactions with them.

‘In the original, they got wiped out early on.’

Vanquisher was ambushed by demons and annihilated in the early stages of the story.

They existed solely to serve as a tragic prologue.

—The greatest hero team was wiped out.

That was all they got. A single line of text described their end.

They existed to highlight the overwhelming power of the enemy and the sheer hopelessness of the world.

But now?

‘This time is different.’

I slowly exhaled.

That incident hadn’t happened yet.

And this time, I could stop it.

I had the knowledge. I had the plans.

If I could prevent their deaths, they’d surely become a tremendous asset later.

But honestly, that wasn’t the only reason.

At some point, they stopped being just characters I had written into a story.

Vanquisher—once reduced to a single line of tragic text—had become deeply intertwined with my real life.

For Sion’s sake.

No, that’s not it.

For my own sake.

I wasn’t going to let them die.

Not this time.