The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 70

Park Seo-hee appeared slightly flustered for a moment, but soon composed herself.

The flicker of uncertainty in her eyes lasted but an instant.

She quickly regained her usual neat and calm expression and spoke again.

"Very well. Considering the monumental achievement of eliminating the Apostle, we believe it is only right that we meet your expectations."

Park Seo-hee seemed to think for a moment but then sealed her lips and nodded.

"Therefore, we will proceed with an internal review and get back to you with an additional compensation plan for Hero Jeong Haein."

"Understood."

I nodded in response.

It was likely a judgment that offering additional rewards on the spot would be difficult.

If they gave rewards too easily, it might appear as though they could have given them all along ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) but chose not to.

Well, it didn’t matter to me.

The association had plenty of money, and they would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Beyond her expressionless face, countless calculations were no doubt running in her mind.

‘What should we give? What will satisfy him and ensure he accepts without complaint?’

Something along those lines, I imagined.

"Now, moving on..."

Park Seo-hee began organizing the documents from earlier, her expression becoming more serious.

"From here on, we’ll discuss compensation matters."

Her gaze naturally turned to the old man.

I leaned back in my chair and took a light breath.

The association’s responsibility and the process of claiming it.

From now on, it was the old man’s turn.

***

The old man and I walked down the association’s hallway.

The negotiations were over. The results... were satisfactory.

It seemed that the association had fully understood both their mistakes and the value of this battle.

Having watched the footage from Maengju’s Team 2, they could no longer pretend they didn’t know.

In the end, the association had happily opened the warehouse.

I never expected they would open the vault so quickly, a place that had been known to be nearly impossible to access in the original story.

I smiled slightly.

The association in South Korea, compared to others in different worlds, was unparalleled when it came to wealth.

In most countries, associations are managed as government institutions, but in South Korea, the association is strictly private.

It has been operated under the will of the first founding member, continuing to this day.

However, it wasn’t just the will they inherited.

They also inherited the massive fortune left behind by the first founder.

The association’s vault couldn’t even be compared to the vault of Gaon Academy’s founder I visited earlier.

These guys just have an insane amount of money.

Lost in thought, the old man spoke in a low voice, gazing ahead.

"It’s funny what you end up seeing while you’re alive."

He paused and slowly turned his gaze toward me.

"The association promised to open Bugaram's forge..."

He stopped walking and faced me.

"And here I am, seeing someone ask for more, saying it wasn’t enough."

I too stopped walking and looked at the old man.

I let out a slight laugh and spoke.

"Well, if it’s insufficient, then it’s insufficient."

In my hand was the transparent cube with the red key embedded in it.

‘We will contact you regarding additional compensation after an internal review. However, the association has no intention of recalling the key to the forge. It is deemed best that Hero Jeong Haein opens it as planned.’

Park Seo-hee, separate from the reward, had promised to open the forge.

Supporting a promising hero’s future was also the association’s duty.

That was their reasoning.

It was now clear. The association definitely wanted me to open that forge.

I rolled the transparent cube in my hand and smiled lightly.

At that moment, the old man spoke with an amused tone.

"I heard that recently, Arcadia requested the key to the forge from the association... It seems they’re going to end up like a dog chasing a chicken."

He chuckled derisively as he resumed walking.

The Order seems to be putting considerable effort behind supporting Johan, behind the scenes.

But there’s something unfortunate about this.

Once the forge opens, it stays tightly shut for a set period.

And the time until it opens again...

At least 10 years.

I wasn’t particularly sorry.

The association would never have allowed it in the first place, and even if Johan did get into the forge, he’d be thrown out with Bugaram’s scorn.

At the end of the hallway.

Two agents in suits were waiting.

In front of them was a massive metal briefcase, open.

"You can place it in here."

I extended my hand and placed the key inside the briefcase.

The red glow shimmered briefly as it swayed inside the transparent cube before it quietly settled.

There was no need for me to carry it myself. When the time to open it came, I could simply pick it up again.

I smiled lightly at the agents.

"Please take care of it."

Then, I turned around with a light step.

***

Ha Sion descended to the first-floor cafe after sending the old man and Haein to the meeting room.

Sitting at a corner seat, she glanced at the watch that had been vibrating continuously for the past few hours.

The alarm went off repeatedly, and the moment she opened the screen, an overwhelming number of messages flooded in like a bomb.

To get a sense of where it all started, she slowly began scrolling upwards.

The conversation started in the morning.

Rin: Do you have everything? I need to talk.

Rin: What about the others?

1000_y: The Yuga is in closed-door training.

1000_y: The Ha chick is probably lying in Haein's dorm bed, no need to check.

Sion’s fingertips trembled for a split second.

She thought she had been hiding it, but it seemed they knew everything.

To justify herself, it had already been two weeks since he lost consciousness.

She couldn't help it; she missed him too much.

Rin: Hmm, I see... it's not that, my back hurts so much, haha.

1000_y: Getting old, huh?

Rin: He hugs me so tightly... I guess guys really are strong.

1000_y: What are you talking about?

Sion’s fingers stopped scrolling instantly.

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And as soon as she saw the photo, her brow furrowed slightly.

“Dammit...”

One single photo.

In it, Jeong Haein was sitting on a hospital bed, holding Kang Arin tightly.

From the angle of the photo, it seemed that Kang Arin, while holding Haein, had stretched the watch out behind them to take the picture secretly.

However, what made Sion angry wasn’t just the hug.

It was the posture and the proximity.

The closeness was unnerving.

Her gaze became cold, sinking into ice.

‘Is he out of his mind?’

In the photo, Kang Arin had her thighs wedged between Jeong Haein’s legs.

She even had her flushed face leaning lightly against his shoulder. One of her arms was carelessly groping his back.

Rin: Haein woke up. :)

1000_y: I’ll be there right away.

Rin: Nope. Haein needs an examination. Come after it’s done.

Rin: I’ll have fun while I wait. Heh.

The rest of the messages didn’t even need to be looked at.

Someone was just cursing relentlessly.

"Tch."

Sion let out a quiet sigh and scrolled to the end.

She moved her fingers and typed a short message.

[Sion]: Haein’s in a negotiation.

Within their awareness, I share his every move.

It’s what I always do. Of course, I respect his privacy.

So, that’s as far as it goes.

She closed the watch and took a sip of her cold coffee.

The bitter taste spreading across her tongue...

The photo.

...It filled her mouth, blending perfectly with the aroma...

The photo.

“Damn it, this is annoying.”

That photo.

That angle.

The proximity.

It wouldn’t leave her mind.

‘Who made the first move? Of course, it was Kang Arin. There’s no way Haein would have done that first...’

It was bothering her.

Eventually, Sion opened the watch again.

This time, without hesitation, she quickly began typing.

The sound of the door lock clicking echoed pleasantly.

I had returned to the dorm.

It didn’t feel like I had been gone long, but in reality, it had been almost three weeks.

As soon as I stepped into the room, the familiar air hit me.

The heavy fatigue rushed in, and without thinking, I threw myself onto the bed.

“Ah, so soft.”

The mattress gently embraced me.

The tension that had been seeping into my body seemed to melt away.

“Phew...”

I exhaled deeply and breathed in the air.

Only then did I realize.

I had just overcome a huge hurdle.

Every time I inhaled slowly, a faint scent brushed against my nostrils.

Sweet yet soft.

I raised my hand to my forehead, closed my eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again.

I was about to sink deeper into the comfortable bed when I stopped and raised my upper body.

There was still something I had to do.

I got up from the bed and headed toward the desk.

Right now, my body was in the midst of a battle.

The various potions I had ingested were clashing inside me, competing to exert their effects.

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While I had been unconscious, I had received a list of all the potions given to me by each faction.

[Arcadia—Moon Spirit Water]

A mysterious elixir concentrated from the essence of moonlight. The moon's yin energy stimulates the body's yang energy, explosively accelerating cell regeneration and growth.

[Yu Family—Ahwan Dan]

A high-end pill made with the secret technique of a famed ancient doctor. It circulates essence and blood harmoniously, raising the body's energy and accumulating powerful yang energy.

And then, from the Maengju...

‘What?’

“Manly Fire Carp??”

I checked the list again in disbelief.

The potion that Maengju had given me was a pill made by drying and grinding the Manly Fire Carp, a creature that survives in hot springs or lava for over a thousand years.

“Where did they even get something like this...?”

A carp that survives in hot springs or lava for over a thousand years. When consumed, the blood within the body explodes, forcibly drawing out deep-seated energy, making it both a supreme tonic and a powerful poison.

It was pure yang energy.

It was crimson in color, and I couldn’t believe they gave this to me.

I opened the setting notebook placed on the desk.

As I was about to check the efficacy and usage of each potion, a sudden sense of unease brushed through my mind.

...Wait a minute.

I looked down at the list of three potions again.

Normally, when administering potions, it is essential to adjust the direction of the body’s growth.

Of course, I admitted that the situation was urgent. The priority was just to keep me alive.

“What on earth were they thinking with this combination...”

I pressed my temples.

But the problem was that, oddly enough, these three potions had one thing in common.

They all induce explosive increases in yang energy...

Extreme yang energy potions.

In other words, they were incredibly beneficial to men.

But, too much.

Of course, yang energy is fundamentally tied to vitality and recovery.

So, it was highly likely this combination was intended with my recovery in mind.

“....”

No wonder my body kept feeling so hot.

“No, still, this is...”

For a moment, I thought of the worst-case scenario.

Unable to control the overwhelming yang energy, a disaster that might unfold the next morning.

“...Dammit.”

I rubbed my forehead and sighed.

This was driving me crazy.