Promotion to 10th Class Protagonist

[Congratulations!]

[You have satisfied all the conditions for the Promotion/Ascension Quest, 'Reserve Protagonist' → '10th Class Protagonist'!]

[With this, you have qualified to become an official Protagonist.]

[Complete the quest to receive your reward and proceed with the promotion!]

"An official Protagonist, huh."

I touched the screen and cleared away the messages that had appeared.

The usual main screen returned.

I tapped the Quest menu and entered the Promotion/Ascension Quest section. The quest I had received at the very beginning was still there.

I tapped the quest title.

◆ Give Up Quest: [Yes] / [No]

◆ Complete Quest: [Yes] / [No]

"So the Complete button appears once the conditions are met."

Date and kiss. All conditions had been satisfied.

At first there had only been the Give Up button, but now that every condition was fulfilled, a Complete Quest button had appeared below the quest.

I tapped the 'Yes' button under Complete Quest.

"Whoa……."

A lot of messages had appeared.

I read through each one and cleared them away.

"Should I head back to the main screen for now?"

"Hmm."

When I returned to the main screen, the layout had changed slightly.

There were five menu options, and I could tap the first three.

After a moment of consideration, I tapped the 'Heroine' menu.

'Just what is this heroine conquest thing……?'

I was curious.

Inside the Heroine menu there were three submenus, but only the second one, 'Normal Heroine,' was selectable.

I tapped number 2.

A message appeared.

"Huh……?"

Designate a heroine?

I didn't really understand, but I tapped 'Yes' anyway. Another message followed.

I waited as the app instructed.

I had expected it to take a while, but because there weren't many people to load, the app finished displaying the entire list in under ten seconds.

"Oh?"

Seeing the number, I was impressed by how many there were.

Was I that popular?

Or was a Fated Connection of 3 an extremely low threshold……?

'Well… obviously the latter.'

I smiled bitterly and began scrolling through the list.

"Ah, so that's why there were so many people……."

Each entry showed a photo along with basic information: name, age, gender, and occupation.

Most of the list consisted of middle school or high school classmates and my friends.

For reference, I had attended an all-boys middle school and high school.

In other words, most of them were men.

I wondered why men were showing up in the heroine list, but it seemed the app supported same-sex relationships as well. Of course, I had no intention of going that route.

"Heroines have to be women… and really pretty ones at that."

Some people whose names I only vaguely remembered were on the list, and even my mom, dad, and relatives appeared.

"There are no women……."

I scrolled through the list with a sense of despair.

"By the way, I can guess what Affection is, but what's Fated Connection?"

Along with the basic information, each entry also displayed Affection and Fated Connection values.

Most people whose names I only remembered had very low Affection and Fated Connection scores, while friends I occasionally saw or kept in touch with had somewhat higher numbers.

"Oh……."

As I continued scrolling, my finger suddenly stopped.

It was Yujeong noona. One of the few female names.

Looking at her name, I felt a twinge of guilt.

"Affection 26, Fated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Connection 19……."

Among the people I had seen so far, her Affection was fairly high.

26 didn't seem like an especially high number, but given how little I had cared about maintaining relationships, most people's Affection scores were rock bottom anyway.

"Still, designating her as a heroine… probably isn't right……."

I already owed Yujeong noona a favor. Designating her as a heroine on top of that felt a bit disrespectful.

I scrolled again.

"Oh……."

After checking a few more names and moving on, my finger stopped once more.

"Jang Yehwa……."

Jang Yehwa was the woman I had run into on the stairs earlier. Her profile picture practically glowed. She was probably the prettiest one on the current list.

As I examined her profile, my eyes stopped on the occupation field.

"Hmm?"

What?

"Rental business owner……?"

Was this for real?

"I had a feeling, but she really is a chaebol……."

My mouth fell open.

Not only was she that beautiful, but she was also a building owner running a rental business. No wonder she dressed so well and had such a great figure—she was loaded.

'…And she's the same age as me?'

Ugh. It really stung.

One person had nothing to show for themselves except convenience store shifts, while another had looks, a body, and wealth, casually visiting friends' houses with a smile.

The world was unfair—far too unfair.

I let out a sigh.

"Haa……."

But it wasn't a sigh of jealousy. It was a sigh of joy.

Right.

I had the Heroine App.

Maybe I could make Jang Yehwa mine.

"Heh heh."

A woman with good looks, a great figure, and wealth.

What if I made someone like that my woman?

Imagining walking the streets with her and doing naughty things at night brought a wicked grin to my face.

"Yeah… it did say conquest."

The Heroine App was a mysterious thing. The fact that I had already kissed Yujeong noona was practically a miracle in itself.

Since dating and kissing had been the conditions for promotion, that had just been the warm-up.

With the app's help, maybe even Jang Yehwa…? It wasn't impossible.

I didn't know what would happen if I designated her as a heroine, but I had already crossed a line by going on a date and kissing Yujeong noona.

- Gulp…….

I swallowed the dryness in my mouth and tapped 'Jang Yehwa' with a trembling finger.

Alright. I've decided on you, Jang Yehwa.

Become my heroine!

"Damn it, you son of a bitch."

Then why the hell was she even on the list?

Annoyed, I threw my phone onto the bed.