The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 96

Swishhhhh—!

Several arrows were fired in rapid succession.

Thwack, thwack, bang!

With a sound that tore through the air, the arrows flew in from all directions.

They sliced through the sky and rained down.

In the blink of an eye, the target board transformed into a porcupine.

A vast, open field, empty and quiet.

At its center stood two figures.

Ha Sion.

And her grandfather, Ha Taeseong.

“Excellent.”

The old man nodded with satisfaction.

Praise rarely came directly from his mouth.

But even after hearing it, Sion didn’t show much of a reaction.

Instead, she puffed her cheeks slightly.

“...Why didn’t you open one?”

“Hm?”

“The experience program. Why didn’t Vanquisher post a notice at Gaon?”

Her tone was calm, but there was a faint trace of complaint at the end.

Thanks to that, Haein got snatched away.

She had thought at least he’d be given the choice.

But contrary to Sion’s hopes, her grandfather hadn’t posted any recruitment notice.

In the end, their little “experience date” fell through.

Of course, just being able to shoot arrows again with the grandfather she loved was enough to make her happy.

She was always just grateful—but this was a small piece of selfishness, a cute desire.

The old man quietly gazed at the target, then turned his head.

Without a word, he extended a hand to Sion.

A gesture asking for the bow.

Sion obediently handed it over.

“It’s been a while since I used a bow.”

He drew the string.

“Since I taught you... probably the first time.”

With a quiet murmur, Ha Taeseong pulled the bowstring.

The motion flowed perfectly without hesitation.

Fluid, elegant, precise.

Sion knew.

All the movements she’d aspired to master from her past life until now—she still couldn’t perfectly replicate his form.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew straight—splitting the one Sion had shot earlier—and landed dead center.

X-ten.

“My back’s still holding up, seems like.”

Ha Taeseong gave his lower back a tap and spoke casually.

Then he looked back at the target again, slowly turning his head.

His eyes fell on Sion.

“This old man... is scared.”

The words were unexpected.

Sion blinked.

“The Apostles,” he said quietly.

“Beings with power so immense, it’s hard to even understand.”

And he continued.

“Facing them head-on, I felt it in my bones. Even though we’re called the strongest among humanity, we’re still so far behind.”

His voice was calm, but the weight it carried was undeniable.

“In that kind of situation... sure, I’d be happy to accept young and promising recruits. But I started to think—maybe it’s too dangerous for them. Vanquisher always has to stand at the front line. So I thought... Sion, you should—”

“No.”

Sion cut in firmly.

Without a hint of hesitation.

Then, she took the bow from his hands as if snatching it back.

Gripping it tightly with both hands, she spoke—quietly, but clearly.

“Who asked you to protect me?”

At the same time, she slowly drew the bowstring.

Strrrain— it creaked under the heavy draw.

Much heavier than the one she usually used.

Whoosh!

The arrow tore through the air.

It struck directly at the target’s heart.

Bang!

A heavy impact.

The arrow pierced clean through the alloy target and embedded into the structure beyond.

“Whew...”

Ha Taeseong’s gaze sharpened.

The corners of his mouth lifted, very slowly.

“......”

Sion silently watched his expression.

And spoke.

“We can do this too. So... trust us.”

The old man closed his eyes.

At that moment—

Hooo—

A white eagle owl came flying in from afar.

“Philip?”

It had a letter in its beak.

Hoo hoo.

Philip.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

A mystical beast serving as Vanquisher’s messenger.

The old man accepted the letter from its beak.

On the envelope was a familiar name, written in neat handwriting.

[Yoon Chaeha]

A name he knew.

A female student often seen hanging around with Haein.

From what he recalled, her specialty was magic.

Ha Taeseong opened the letter and began reading silently.

To. Vanquisher

Hello, this is Yoon Chaeha.

I’m Haein’s close friend and mentor-mentee, and... we’re just really close.

I was wondering—why didn’t you open a spot for this experience program?

I’m honestly really disappointed.

Because... I wanted to apply.

I really want to join Vanquisher.

It’s a little awkward to say this, but... well, actually, never mind, I won’t say it.

Anyway, please open a spot next time.

I’ll be preparing.

And this is just a small wish—

Please hold on to Jeong Haein.

Lately, everyone seems to be trying to snatch him away—

But in my opinion, there’s no one else like him.

I really hope you won’t regret missing out on someone like that.

Thanks for reading this long letter.

From. Yoon Chaeha

P.S. I’m serious. Whether it’s about joining... or about Haein.

“Hoho...”

After reading the letter, Ha Taeseong couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

He lowered the paper to his chin and shook his head.

Just ten short lines, yet he could feel it.

How bold this kid was. How full of confidence.

He carefully slipped the letter back into the envelope.

A smile tugged at his lips, like something pleasant had come to mind.

“Interesting.”

The corner of his mouth curled upward.

Maybe his granddaughter was right.

There really were bold, confident young ones out there.

He tilted his head slightly and looked out at the shattered archery range.

Maybe... I don’t need to worry so much after all.

There were definitely kids he could entrust the future to.

“...Who was that?”

Sion, sensing something odd, asked cautiously.

Ha Taeseong turned his head slightly and smiled slowly.

“Sion.”

“Yes?”

“That Jeong Haein boy... how are things going with him?”

“Wh-What?!”

Sion’s face flushed bright red in an instant.

Flustered, she couldn’t even look him in the eye and cupped her cheeks.

Judging from her reaction...

Ha Taeseong could tell.

His granddaughter—both in the past and even now—clearly had feelings for him.

Which meant the problem... was Jeong Haein.

Ha Taeseong shook his head slightly.

Lately, he’d been getting inquiries about the boy from Yoo Mujin of the Yoo family.

From Glory, Kang Yunhyeok of the Kang family.

More and more people were asking about him.

Looks like I’ll need to put in some effort too.

There were more aiming for Jeong Haein than he thought.

A classroom in the middle of a lecture.

“So, when deploying a counter-field, environmental factors also play a key role—”

The professor’s passionate lecture continued.

But realistically, the students weren’t going to be paying attention.

In five minutes—

The final team rosters for the experience program would be released.

Coincidentally, the class was scheduled to end in exactly five minutes.

Perfect timing.

“...Alright, we’ll end class here for today.”

With that, the professor left the room.

But no one moved.

Everyone stayed in their seats.

“I’m more nervous than when I enrolled at Gaon.”

“Deep breaths, come on, deep breaths.”

The lecture hall was filled with quiet breathing and thick anticipation.

Beside me, Yoon Chaeha and Cheon Yeoul remained calm.

Neither of them had applied.

Cheon Yeoul had to be with the Order every weekend anyway, and Yoon Chaeha had no interest unless it was Vanquisher.

It’d be stranger if they had signed up.

In contrast, Yu Hana had applied to Cheongpungdae.

She had casually mentioned it this morning during our run, soaked in sweat.

Sion, well... she was probably managing just fine on her own.

“About one minute left.”

I muttered.

“Man, I kinda hope you don’t make it.”

Yoon Chaeha replied, still lying face-down.

I thought she was still napping—guess not.

Then, after a pause—

“...Just kidding. Go knock ‘em dead.”

Maybe she felt bad, so she added that.

“What’s with you?”

“...What ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) do you mean.”

“You’re kinda cute.”

She really was acting kind of cute.

Was this always her vibe?

“.........Shut up.”

Yoon Chaeha rolled over and buried her head into her arms.

“Anyway, Maengho doesn’t pick freshmen, right? They only ever take second and third years.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of tradition...”

“That’s why I didn’t even bother with Maengho and applied everywhere else.”

She had a point.

Maengho almost never selected first-years.

They were still considered “unproven rookies.”

At the very least, you needed to be a second-year before they even started sorting prospects.

Either way, if Maengho called, you had no choice but to go, second-year or not.

Still, my case was a little different.

I had a feeling they would pick me... and I was getting a little nervous.

The chatter among the students reached its peak. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

And then—

Beep!

[Gaon Experience Program – Team Roster Announcement]

The watches lit up.

“It’s hereeeee!”

“Jesus, that scared me!”

Some students shouted.

I checked my smartwatch.

[Maengho]

I opened the Maengho list immediately.

[4th Year]

Empty.

As expected.

[3rd Year]

[Yoon Dojun] – Rank 6

[Jang Hyunsoo] – Rank 11

...

[2nd Year]

Names scrolled down.

Most were top-tier students.

And finally—1st year.

[1st Year]

[Kang Arin] – Rank 1

[Jeong Haein] – Rank: Unranked

“...Oh damn.”

There were only two first-years.

Just the two of us.

Me and Kang Arin.

I’d be doing the experience program with the upperclassmen.

Below my name was a short description:

[Jeong Haein]: Demonstrated exceptional combat capability and situational judgment in the Medusa battle. Deemed to possess the qualities of a team leader. Unranked, but classified as top-tier.

I raised my head slightly.

And finally realized—

Every student in the room was staring at me.

It was a rare occurrence.

And only two first-years had made the list—me and Kang Arin.

In the middle of them, Kang Arin—

Wearing a slight smile at the corner of her lips,

Was softly waving at me with that dazzling smile.