The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 56

The clubroom lights were off.

On the desk lay a Go board and the clubroom key, left behind by the club president on their way out.

Moonlight seeped faintly through the window. In the darkness, only the desk and Go board revealed their soft silhouettes.

The wall clock quietly marked the hour. Night was already settling in.

Yoon Chaeha rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the Go board with half-lidded eyes.

Her crimson eyes shimmered faintly, ever so slightly trembling.

She had spent hours on end reviewing the game.

At first, she thought it would be an easy win.

No—losing wasn’t even an option from the start.

For a mage, concentration was an essential trait.

She had played a lot of Go since she was a child.

And given her deep understanding of magic, it was only natural she had shown exceptional skill in Go as well.

But she lost.

All ten games.

“Hmph...”

She leaned back against the chair and slowly exhaled.

Just what went wrong?

At first, she had been furious, her anger boiling to the top of her head. Losing was not a feeling she was familiar with.

But the more they played, the more she could see it.

As much as she chased his moves, he outran her—growing at a speed beyond her reach.

The slope of his growth curve... was absurdly steep, like someone learning Go for the very first time.

And by the tenth game...

She could no longer see a single one of his moves coming.

He was no longer someone whose level she could measure.

“...Is this even possible?”

The words slipped out in a whisper.

And then she realized.

Talent.

Yoon Chaeha, who had always been the one others faced with awe—

For the first time, she had come face to face with overwhelming talent.

***

The weekend arrived.

I headed to Vanquisher headquarters.

Today was the day things needed to be settled.

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First, I needed the Old Man’s permission to participate in the upcoming operation.

I had already secured the Paladin’s cooperation, and it seemed wiser to formally join Vanquisher rather than sneak in.

And then, there was Catastrophe, asleep on my back.

I had to settle things with the monstrously powerful dragon sealed inside it as well.

I passed through the familiar hallway and opened the door to the Old Man’s study.

As I stepped between the bookshelves, the soft aroma of coffee filled the room.

At the window, the Old Man was brewing a cup.

Crossing the threshold, I spoke without hesitation.

“Let me in, too.”

The Old Man froze, coffee pot in hand.

He slowly turned his head and stared at me as if he were looking at a lunatic.

“...Let you in what?”

“You know. The mission in two weeks.”

Now there were barely even two weeks left.

His brow furrowed.

The Old Man let out a small sigh, then dropped two sugar cubes into his coffee in quick succession.

He stared into the cup as the sugar dissolved, then took a sip.

A moment of silence passed, as if he were savoring the bitterness in his mouth.

“How do you know about that...?”

“I happened to see it.”

A request from the Association. Extermination of a demon cluster in Hamgyeong-do.

On the surface, it didn’t seem like a particularly dangerous mission. The Association had merely requested more personnel as a precaution against unexpected variables.

At least, that’s what it looked like.

I hoped it really was that simple.

The Old Man set his cup down slowly in a heavy silence.

He looked at me, seemingly pondering where to even begin.

I waited silently through his hesitation. I knew exactly what he was grappling with.

The daughter he lost to demons—and the subordinate he cherished most.

He slowly turned the cup with his fingertips. I slipped into the gap in his thoughts and spoke calmly.

“I know what you’re worried about.”

The Old Man’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“But I need real combat experience. And as a ‘Vanquisher Candidate’...”

At that moment, his fingertips twitched.

He quickly composed himself, but I didn’t miss the flicker of reaction on his face.

I’d been saving those words for this very day.

Until now, I had never once said I wanted to join Vanquisher.

The Old Man let out a heavy sigh.

And at last, he opened his mouth.

“...That’s not the problem, you brat.”

“Sorry?”

“Sion beat you to it.”

“...Who?”

Sion?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“The mission you mentioned—Sion was the one who found it first. She said she wanted in.”

I frowned without meaning to.

“You allowed that?”

The Old Man gave me a look like, ‘Didn’t you just ask the same thing?’

Then he let out a short laugh and said,

“Like I had a choice. She wouldn’t let it go for days. No way I was going to outlast that.”

I couldn’t help but smile, picturing Sion badgering the Old Man.

With her personality, once she set her mind to something, there was no stopping her.

“So now I’ve got no grounds to stop you either. No grounds.”

He drank his ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) coffee in silence.

After taking another sip, he slowly set the cup down again.

A brief silence.

Then, he spoke plainly.

“Do what you want.”

“But this is support only. You’re not to be on the front lines.”

“Thank you!”

Permission granted.

Support standby—good enough for now.

***

Gaon’s training grounds are top-tier.

State-of-the-art equipment, a refined training program, and elite instructors all made it a flawless facility for training heroes.

But Vanquisher’s training grounds were the best in the world.

From equipment to combat simulation systems, not a single detail had been overlooked.

Sure, I sometimes trained at Gaon just for convenience—but today, I had made the trip for real.

Bang!

A sharp sonic boom rang out inside the training ground.

Seems someone had arrived ahead of me.

It was Sion.

She stood with a bow in hand, quietly facing her target.

As she pulled the string taut—

Black flames surged to life.

The blaze flickered as if trying to devour the very air. That wasn’t ordinary mana.

Oh?

Through my total perception, I could see the faint presence of anti-magic energy in her flames.

I hadn’t expected Sion’s progress to reach this level.

Vmmm...

“Huh?”

Just then, Catastrophe vibrated on my back.

As if resonating with that energy.

But—

“Huff...”

She soon lowered her bow and let out a deep breath.

She packed away her bow and equipment.

Training seemed to be over.

“Look who’s being diligent for once.”

I had been quietly watching her and now spoke up in a teasing tone.

Sion was brilliant and overflowing with talent—but she never liked sharpening her skills through hard work. So what I’d just seen was rare.

She flinched and turned her head, clearly startled.

Sion gave off a very different vibe than usual after her training.

Her breath was uneven, and her chest rose and fell lightly. The sweat-soaked fabric of her clothes clung to her skin, sticking slightly with each movement.

A bead of sweat slid down the back of her neck, traced along her collarbone, and vanished.

Even the tips of her hair were damp, and each time she raised her arm to wipe her forehead, they sparkled faintly in the light.

“...Just... felt like it’s been a while...”

Sion mumbled vaguely as she set down her bow.

After training, she looked much more flushed than normal.

Maybe from moving so much—her face and even her neck were flushed with heat.

I watched her quietly, then opened my mouth.

“Good timing. You got a minute?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Can you sit with me for a bit?”

Sion blinked, her face still red.

I took the spear off my back and slowly reached out.

Vrrrrmm...

Catastrophe hummed with a low vibration, trembling faintly.

Ever since witnessing Sion’s black flames earlier, it had been reacting nonstop.

“This thing’s kinda dangerous. If I pass out again or something...”

“...Ah, okay.”

My voice trailed off, but Sion nodded lightly.

She quickly caught on and came to sit beside me.

Hoo...

I let out a deep breath internally.

My heart was pounding hard.

I’d wanted to delay this as long as I could, but there was nowhere left to put it off to.

To draw out Catastrophe’s power fully—or even just half of it, no, even a fraction—I needed Aldebaran’s cooperation.

Now it was time to settle things.

I slowly placed my hand on the spear.

VRRRMMM...!

The vibrations intensified.

A cold, rough sensation crawled up from my fingertips.

And then—

Grrrrr...

A short, growling breath reached my ears.

I felt the gaze of a beast peering into me.

From deep within the spear, something awakened.

***

After Jeong Haein left the room, the Old Man—Ha Taeseong—quietly set his coffee cup down.

The dark liquid rippled inside the cup. For a moment, his face reflected on its surface, warped—then disappeared.

He reached across the desk.

An old, worn photo frame.

A faint layer of dust had settled on the glass.

Ha Taeseong took out a handkerchief from his coat and gently began to wipe it clean.

Slowly. Again and again.

Inside the photo stood a woman with long hair tied back.

A warm smile curved her lips, and beside her, a young man wrapped an arm around her shoulders playfully.

The woman resembled Sion.

And the man next to her—he had the resolute look of a combat unit member.

They were, once, the people he cherished most.

“...”

He said nothing.

As he gazed at the picture, memories rose to the surface on their own.

That day—the day those he loved most were slaughtered by demons.

But in the photo, she still wore that same warm smile.

As time passed, Sion had begun to resemble her more and more.

And Jeong Haein... somehow carried the same energy as that kid from back then.

That realization brought him both joy and unease.

Ha Taeseong silently stared at the photo, then finally let out a small sigh.

“...Brats, the lot of them.”

He lifted the coffee cup once more.

Took a long sip of the bitter drink.

As if chewing and swallowing all the emotions that still lingered, a heavy bitterness brushed the tip of his tongue.

He thought of the people he once failed to protect.

Back then, he had lacked strength—and had no real choices to make.

But now.

If such a chance came to him again—

Ha Taeseong closed his eyes quietly.

And when he opened them once more, his gaze was deeper. Harder.

This time, he would never let it slip through his fingers.