The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 1

I didn’t get a single minute of sleep.

I couldn’t fall asleep at all, so I ended up welcoming the day of the entrance ceremony with open eyes.

The main story begins with this entrance ceremony.

This moment serves as the introduction of the game, as well as the first time the protagonist appears in the world.

I took a seat in the grand auditorium and glanced around. Underneath the dazzling chandeliers, promising talents were seated in neat rows. The atmosphere was a mix of tension and excitement.

My gaze drifted to the opposite side of the auditorium.

“There he is.”

I locked eyes on a figure in the far corner.

Silver hair, shimmering faintly in the light. Piercing yet unstable eyes.

Right now, his ranking and skills are insignificant, but his appearance alone is enough to stand out, even from the opposite end of the auditorium.

The protagonist of this game. He was here.

I was worried the story might have changed, but thankfully, the protagonist still existed. That was one concern off my mind.

But that relief didn’t last long.

“Ah, fuck.”

Reality slammed back into my head.

My Regression ability was gone.

I had spent the last ten years preparing to clear the story by using Regression.

The foundation of my plan was simple:

Support the protagonist and the heroines’ growth, using all the knowledge I had to help them.

Be it fortuitous encounters or training, I planned to use every method available.

And since I couldn’t die, I had designed my combat style around leading in dangerous fights while letting others finish the job.

I had spent years refining my combat approach to match that strategy.

====

[Talent: Renaissance Man]

① Polymath

— Possesses exceptional aptitude in all fields.

====

This was the only ability I had left aside from Regression.

This talent was what allowed me to survive the past ten years and prepare for every possible scenario.

But now, I had lost Regression.

Sticking to my original plan?

...I’m dead.

I’m actually gonna die.

With that reckless strategy, I wouldn’t even make it out of the Academy before getting buried six feet under.

I needed to revise the plan. I could still support the protagonist and the main cast, but I’d have to be much more passive about it...

Ah, fuck.

As I grabbed my head, trying to come up with a solution, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder, followed by an unfamiliar voice.

“Something on your mind?”

I instinctively turned my head and inhaled sharply.

A girl was sitting right next to me—so close that I hadn’t even noticed when she got there.

‘Way too close.’

I could hear her breathing. Yet even at this dangerously close distance, her appearance remained flawless.

Sharp features that naturally drew attention, crystal-clear eyes, and a soft, gentle smile. Perfect.

For a moment, I thought about backing away, but in the end, I simply froze and stared at her.

She didn’t move back either.

We held eye contact for a while until, eventually, she let out a soft smile and slightly tilted her head away.

Cheon Yeoul.

The delicate veil neatly wrapped around her head was a clear symbol of her faith. It made her immediately recognizable.

Students enrolled at the Academy were practically celebrities. Especially those with outstanding looks or skills—they skyrocketed in popularity. Naturally, a character like her had to be one of the main heroines in the story.

And there she was, appearing exactly as she did in the game.

However...

Why?

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This shouldn’t be happening.

Cheon Yeoul was a heroine who changed through meeting the protagonist.

She wasn’t someone who actively showed interest in others. Especially not in some random male student like me.

She gently tilted her head and spoke with a soft voice.

“You won’t answer me? You don’t look too good.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Especially now that you’re here too.

I stayed silent for a moment before shaking my head.

“It’s nothing important. No need to worry about it.”

“...Really?”

She slightly raised an eyebrow before flashing a playful smile.

At that moment, a voice echoed through the auditorium speakers.

“The entrance ceremony is now over. Freshmen, please follow the guides to your assigned classes.”

The auditorium erupted into movement as students began standing up.

I quickly got up as well, leaving Cheon Yeoul behind. I didn’t want to get involved with her, especially at this point in time.

Just then, the Academy-issued watch on my wrist vibrated. I looked down to see my class assignment displayed on the screen.

‘Class B.’

Honestly, this didn’t tell me much.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

In the game, class assignments were randomized every playthrough.

Each new run had different classmates, which was one of the game’s main features.

The problem?

It was fun in the game, but for me, this was real life.

If I got stuck in the same class as certain notorious individuals, it wouldn’t be an enjoyable experience.

Taking a deep breath, I headed for Class B.

When I opened the door, the classroom was already buzzing with chatter.

To enroll in Gaon Academy, exceptional skill was a basic requirement. Most of the students here had undergone elite training courses at prestigious military schools or academies.

In other words, almost everyone here already knew each other in some way.

Except for me.

I was an outlier who got in through a loophole.

It was a lonely reality, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

I quietly found an empty seat and sat down, scanning my surroundings.

Luckily, a seat by the window was open. Seats like this should be legally reserved for guys like me.

‘Alright, let’s check my classmates.’

This seat gave me a good vantage point over the entire room. It was the perfect spot to observe.

There were ten classes in total, labeled from A to J.

What mattered most was how many key characters ended up in my class.

...Wait.

A silver-haired beauty—the protagonist.

Not bad. Being in the same class as him would make supporting him easier.

He pushed open the front door of the classroom, walking in like the entire room was his stage.

He had zero concern for the attention directed at him.

Then, without hesitation, he plopped down in the center of the front row.

...Was he always like this?

The protagonist’s personality could change depending on the player’s choices, but by default, he didn’t radiate this much confidence.

Well, whatever. His personality wasn’t my concern.

Just as I was about to resume scanning the room, I sensed someone approaching. My eyes shifted to the side.

What the hell?

Cheon Yeoul.

She had quietly sat down next to me, her gaze fixed on mine as she spoke in a low voice.

“Mind if I sit here?”

It wasn’t really a question. She had already claimed the seat.

Her voice was gentle, yet somehow commanding, as if rejecting her wasn’t an option.

This... is seriously weird.

Something isn’t right.

Without looking at her, I tapped my fingers lightly on the desk and responded as nonchalantly as possible.

“You sure about this?”

She tilted her head.

“Hmm? Sure about what?”

“You’re a saint candidate, aren’t you? I heard you hate men.”

I didn’t bother sugarcoating it.

Cheon Yeoul paused for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.

Her tone was natural, yet there was something deeply composed about it.

“Oh~ yeah, I guess that was true?”

Cheon Yeoul.

In the original story, she wasn’t just uncomfortable around men.

She hated them.

She refused to speak to any man before meeting the protagonist.

Yet, here she was, talking to me.

Smiling.

And she approached me first.

Tilting her head slightly, she gave me a playful look. It would have seemed charming at first glance, but it only made me tense up.

“But I’m fine now. Someone helped me.”

She looked directly into my eyes and smiled.

“Thanks to that person, I’ve changed a bit.”

My fingers froze in place.

...Who?

Had she already met the protagonist?

If so, that would make sense... but the fact that I didn’t know about it meant that the story had already deviated.

And that alone was a headache.

“Then why don’t you sit next to that person?”

I gestured with my chin.

In the very front row, Sung Siwoo sat with his arms crossed, eyes closed.

“...That person?”

Cheon Yeoul followed my gaze.

For a split second, her expression froze.

Shit.

I saw it.

The cold, razor-sharp look she used to give every man in the original story.

For a brief moment, as her gaze passed over Sung Siwoo, the frost in her eyes returned.

“I thought you were over this...?”

My fingers trembled slightly.

On the surface, she wore the mask of a saint and genuinely had a gentle demeanor.

But beneath that...

Her sharpness was one of the most challenging aspects of her character even in the original story.

Polite and kind on the outside, yet paradoxically, the hardest heroine to capture in the game.

Suppressing a curse, I rested my fingers on the table.

Then, as if nothing had happened, Cheon Yeoul smiled softly and gently shook her head.

“No... It’s fine.”

Her voice was firm yet flowed strangely gently.

“Right here is good enough.”

She was still sitting right next to me, smiling calmly.

There wasn’t a trace of the ‘hatred for men’ that «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» was supposed to be part of her original settings.

Instead, there was something else.

Something warm.

Something faintly affectionate.

“You don’t like it?”

Her voice, clear and crisp, tickled my ears.

It wasn’t the kind of question that should make me uncomfortable, yet there was an odd pressure behind it.

I couldn’t figure out why.

Something was seriously, fundamentally wrong.