I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

If someone were to ask me what my hobby was, I’d say "reading web novels" without hesitation.
It all started with webcomics.
I was working a night shift at a convenience store, and because the area was rural, there were hardly any customers.
By accident, I became a time-wasting master, just watching YouTube all the time when a friend recommended a webcomic to me.
"If you read this, you’ll lose track of time."

It was the latest popular webcomic, and my friend said it was so addictive that it would make me lose track of time. "Trust me, just give it a try."
"Is it really that good?"
So I tried it, and it was more interesting than I expected. I quickly got hooked.
Before I knew it, I reached the latest chapter.

"Waiting is free."
It was the latest chapter, but not really.
There were still more chapters, but in order to read the next one, I had to wait a week. If I paid, I could read ahead.
"Anyway, it’ll come out if I wait, right?"

I was just passing time while working, so I didn’t really need to spend money.
"Sigh."
But, I was curious about what happened next. From what I saw, it was just 200 won for the next chapter.

"I'll just read this...”
So I spent the money and read the preview chapters.
But once I finished them, I had to wait another week.
"I should've just waited."

Now, I was sad that even though I paid, I still couldn’t see the next chapter. However, the comments on the latest chapter tempted me.
"This is the original 78th chapter! 83rd is the real legend!" "......Ah, I don't like reading."
I didn’t enjoy reading that much.
But it was called "legendary."

I heard that each webcomic episode was equivalent to 1-3 web novel chapters.
To read the next episode, I’d have to wait at least two weeks, maybe even four. So, I thought…
"I’ll stop at this point."
Since it was legendary, I figured I’d just read up to that part and then wait for the next episode.
That was my thought, and it turned out to be a mistake.
"Yeon, great job."

"Ah, yes."
By the time I came to my senses, it was morning.
I switched with the store manager and, absent-mindedly, arrived at my apartment and found myself muttering to myself.
"This is fun..."

I thought I’d only read four chapters of the novel.
But before I knew it, I had binge-read the entire series, all the way to the end.
I even went back to re-read all the episodes of the webcomic from 1 to 78, as there were parts that were skipped in the webcomic.
To my frustration... it was just as fun as the webcomic.
No, it was even better.
I guess I’m better at reading than I thought.
After crossing that first hurdle, I started reading novels in my spare time, just like I had been reading webcomics.

"This is fun too."
So, late at night, while working alone at the convenience store, I read webcomics and web novels.
I didn’t discriminate much between genres—fantasy, martial arts, alternate history, and others, except for a few minor genres.
But, since I started with romance fantasy, I found that about half of the ten works I picked were romance fantasy.
After reading one, then two novels...

"Ha."
Eventually, I encountered a work I had mixed feelings about.
The title was Like a Flower Blooming in a Barren Land.
"Shit."

It started as an academy story, lively at first, but then suddenly the plot drifted into a despairing mess.
After the academy graduation, it seemed like it had switched to male-centric battles, even more than the martial arts novels.
But I could handle it.
This damn author was a really good writer.
And unlike typical romance fantasies that end quickly, this work was becoming a long series.
Every time I read it, I got pissed off, but the charm of wanting to know what happens next kept me hooked, so I couldn’t stop reading.
"Author, you bastard!"

But when the fourth arc, the demon realm arc, started, I couldn’t take it anymore.
"Ha, haha. Really. What the hell. Plundered Souls? Are you out of your mind?"
It was just a novel, but I found myself laughing out of frustration.
By chapter 100, the academy characters had barely shared a kiss, and yet, the demon lord from the fourth arc kidnapped the heroine and had sex with her in just 30 chapters.
Then he openly declared her his wife.

"Shit!"
It wasn’t even explicit—maybe the author was planning to justify it later, saying, "No, it only looked like that. It didn’t really happen," but it was clearly implied.
The scene where they woke up together the next morning was just... awful.
"The demon lord from the fourth arc looked suspicious from the moment he appeared."

I’d been rooting for Esid as the male lead, but if he ended up with someone else, I wouldn’t be this angry.
But this? This was not okay.
More than 400 chapters of coupling support from the readers, and now, the final boss from the fourth arc just showed up as a male lead candidate?
All the other male leads were portrayed as impotent for over 400 chapters, and then this new guy comes along and sleeps with the heroine in just one volume?
No way, I can’t stand this.
5,700 words? That’s not even close. To express my rage fully, I’d need at least 11,400 words.
I started setting the comment section on fire, burning with anger.

"These assholes?"
Then, I saw comments from people who were happy that the handsome demon lord had gotten with the heroine.
Were these people even reading the same novel as me?
I had watched everything from the academy arc, and now suddenly, the handsome final boss shows up and forces himself on the heroine.
And these idiots are praising it?
I had to pick a fight with them in the comments, defending my stance.

I didn’t regret it.
I had to release this damn frustration somehow.
Until my shift ended, and even after I got home and was about to sleep, I posted a long comment, like a loyal servant advising the author, and had an intense debate with the demon lord fans.
The next morning, when I woke up...
"Shit, what is this?"

I had become the side character in a web novel romance fantasy, a part of the infamous hate-comments side.
I followed the typical path of an extra character in a novel.
"Hello!"

With my mesmerizing charm, I ended up becoming childhood friends with the Empire's prince and many other men, unwittingly seducing them.
"In this harsh world, I should at least learn some self-defense magic."
"Is that so?"

Even though I became a saint, I didn’t want to be the kind of character who gets kidnapped by the demon lord, so I worked hard from a young age to develop Daisy’s magical talent.
"This is fun."
"Mom always told me not to watch things like this!"

Even though the male and female leads didn’t progress much, I fed Daisy romance novels to help her along.
Rather than waiting for those useless male leads to make progress, I was sure it was faster to just make Daisy a little more aware of romance.
"I passed the academy entrance exam!"
"So did I."

Thanks to my upgraded specs, I was able to enter the academy smoothly.
This was just the beginning.
With a heart full of anticipation, I thought about how to handle the upcoming messed-up events.
"The swordsmanship and sword-master students lost?"
On the first day of classes, rumors spread quickly, and I realized the original story was finally starting.

"Adam Smith, they say?"
"…What?"
I grabbed the person who had been spreading the rumors and asked again.

"Who, who did you say?"
"Adam Smith, they say?"
I grabbed the person, who seemed startled by my sudden reaction, but I was even more confused.
Why was an invisible hand suddenly grabbing the sword-master?
The sword-master should be with the Prince of Leon, Ellen, right?

The world's strongest swordsman, who could easily defeat even the demon lord from the fourth arc if it was just a fight with swords.
Daisy was supposed to comfort him after he faced despair against that massive wall.
But somehow, it all broke down from the start.
"What the hell?"

I thought maybe there had been a twist, and Ellen hadn’t entered the academy, but that wasn’t the case.
It was Ellen who defeated Adam Smith in the end.
"What the hell is going on?"
I was suspicious.
But it wasn’t clear yet.
So, I decided to watch Daisy closely to see if the original plot was unfolding as expected.

"How about joining the flower arranging club?"
I smiled and invited the Empire’s prince, who nobody dared approach, to join a club.
"What are you {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} doing here?"

I teased the sword-master, who was sulking in the corner, hiding his sorrow from defeat.
"Do you know anything about flowers?"
I went to buy flowers for the club and managed to hook another person.
Watching the male leads fall one by one, I thought, well, the original story is still holding steady.

"Seems like it’ll work."
"Ah, I see."
I thought it would be fine, but then Ellen became a problem.

What the hell?
Only this storyline seemed to have been botched.
Ellen was supposed to be a cold, aloof character, akin to the northern Duke, alongside Gerard from the Mage Tower, with a personality that was cold and strong, yet warm only toward his heroine.
Of course, that would have developed later in the story, but at the beginning, he was supposed to be reserved, slowly warming up to the heroine, always lingering nearby. Gerard was doing that as well.
But Ellen was different.
He had abandoned the cold persona and was now laughing while learning flower arranging next to Daisy.

"..."
No, that's not your character.
In the academy arc, he was supposed to be wandering around, exuding that "side male lead" vibe, doing nothing until graduation.
Gerard and Ellen were supposed to start running after graduation, not during the academy arc.
Gerard stayed in character, but Ellen had already started.
"That bastard is the one causing the problem."

Finding the culprit was easy.
There was a character who wasn’t in the original story, but was now by Ellen’s side, completely changing his role.
Maybe he was an extra character who hadn’t been mentioned before, but the moment he defeated the sword-master, he couldn’t be an extra anymore.
The problem was one thing.
"What if it’s a regression?"
The typical plot element in web novels—regression.
If it were possession like mine, it wouldn’t be too strange, but if it was regression, that could ruin everything.

"Considering how badly the plot’s been wrecked, regression could be a possibility."
Some delusional readers had started supporting the demon lord as the male lead, but any rational reader had to admit the plot was completely ruined.
Forcing the heroine’s first experience through kidnapping by a random character was a plot disaster.
To fix this messed-up storyline, regression seemed like the only way.
But for it to be done by someone other than one of the male leads? That didn’t make sense.
"...Did the demon lord suddenly appear to change everything?"

When I thought about the author's mental state, I could easily imagine the world collapsing in arc 5, with a new male lead candidate who had regressed.
That’s why I couldn’t completely dismiss the idea of regression.
"Ah, I don’t know."
But thinking about the upcoming events, I had to quickly confirm whether they were allies or not.
So, unlike the original plot, I asked Prince Ellen to write me a letter and invited him to the rooftop of the old school building after the club activities were over.
Now, what should I say?
Should I ask about regression, possession, or reincarnation?
No, I should be more subtle.

"Do you know Like a Flower Blooming in a Barren Land?"
Damn.
I blurted out the question, and naturally, I was caught off guard.
I was trying to make a subtle appeal with the novel title, but why did "Do you know" suddenly pop up?
"Do you know... kimchi?"

Damn.
Was it because I knew the original title, or was it because I was uttering some nonsense like "Do you know"?
I looked at the confused expression on the other side, and then I blurted out the world’s only secret code, but that damn "Do you know" came up again, and this time, there was a clear reaction.
"Do you know... co... Oh shit. You’re from South Korea, right?"
I quickly canceled my “Do you know” outburst and went straight for it.

"...Right?"
I couldn’t believe I met someone from my past life unexpectedly.