Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

As humans and demons grew closer to each other, something else was also drawing near.

“……Time is running out.”

It was the final exam.

“Isn’t it ironic? I’ve experienced countless graduations, but this last one hurts the most.”

Laura, a third-year student, murmured with a slightly bitter expression as she looked at the exam schedule.

For Laura, this final exam marked the end of her time at the academy. After taking the final exam and spending the winter break, she would attend the graduation ceremony early next year, and then she would no longer be a student at Belium Academy.

In the past, graduation would have meant nothing to her, but now it was different. There were too many memories built up here to end things coldly, as they had in the past.

“Can you still come and play even after you graduate?”

“It’s not that simple, Leona. Once I leave here, I’ll have to start preparing for my ascension to the throne.”

That was true. In reality, graduation itself wasn’t a big deal. Someone like Laura could come and go as she pleased. The real problem was the existence of the imperial studies class, which everyone had forgotten about.

After graduating from the academy, she would begin to learn imperial studies, and once that started, it would be practically impossible for her to have free time like she did now. Even if she could spare some time, it would only be a brief break.

“……Have you ever been an emperor?”

“I probably have. It’s in my diary, not my head, that’s the problem.”

Unfortunately, in this situation, the knowledge of the original work was useless. In the original work, Laura was killed by Demon King Elysier before she even had a chance to ascend to the throne.

“Once upon a time, I strived so hard to attain that position, and now it has become a burden.”

Laura smiled bitterly, as if mocking herself. Ever since she became aware that she was a body possessor, the imperial throne had become insignificant to her. In fact, even now, she didn’t care whether she became the emperor or not.

However, she didn’t run away, and instead, she tried to find a way to stay with me because she knew I didn’t want this world to fall into chaos. Nika had also ended the war for the same reason.

I understood her feelings, so I had been thinking of ways to help her, but I hadn’t come up with any good solutions.

“Your Highness, may I have a moment of your time?”

As I sat there, letting time pass, the Heavenly God suddenly poked her head out and called me.

“Can you spare some time, Your Majesty?”

“You come and go from the imperial palace as if it’s your own home. I never expected to see you again like this.”

That night, after hearing the method from the Heavenly God, I quietly went to see the emperor. The emperor, dressed in casual attire, was lying on his bed, reading a book. He had truly been taking a break.

“Are you finally willing to follow my advice and treat me more casually? Should I be glad about that?”

“I apologize, but this is a sensitive matter that requires discretion.”

Coming to see the emperor like this, entering his bedroom, and on top of that, meeting him at night when he was off-guard and alone—each of these actions was a serious crime punishable by death if discovered.

Of course, this only applied to ordinary people. Since it was me who had come, the emperor didn’t seem to mind at all. He leaned on his elbow and lay down, even yawning widely—ahh—as if he didn’t care.

“Well, let’s hear this sensitive matter that brought you here in the middle of the night. I trust it’s worth interrupting my reading, as I was just getting to a very interesting part.”

“Are you interested in becoming younger, Your Majesty?”

“Becoming younger?”

The upper half of his body, which had been lazily lying sideways, straightened up. The gaze directed at me changed from that of a middle-aged man who was indifferent to the world to that of an emperor bearing the weight of the empire.

“Please elaborate.”

“I take it you’re interested, so I’ll explain.”

I explained Laura’s situation to him. I told him that she was in her final year, that after graduating from the academy, she would begin imperial studies, and that this would reduce the time she could spend with us, which made her sad.

Upon hearing this, the emperor smiled faintly, as if he found it a little amusing.

“That child has changed a lot. She used to be the kind of person who wouldn’t hesitate to get her hands dirty, even with the blood of her own kin, for this throne.”

I know. No matter how connected she was to the demons, the fact that she sent her own brother, who was competing for the throne, on his way just last semester, was still fresh in our minds. It must be a novel experience for the emperor to see his daughter sad about parting with her friends instead.

The original Laura would have been different. Her only company at the time would have been her bodyguard, who was now away escorting the Grand Magician, and her sole goal in life would have been to ascend to the throne.

Naturally, she would have been obsessed with the imperial throne.

“Do you dislike the changes in her?”

“You see me as too much of a bad father. How could that be? It’s a wonderful thing that she has made a friend with whom she can open up, even in this lonely position.”

The emperor, with a somewhat lonely expression, looked at me again.

“Let’s get back to the previous topic. Are you suggesting that I continue to sit on the throne instead of my daughter, who no longer wants to become the emperor because she has found something more precious, and that I should become younger to do so?”

In just a brief conversation, the emperor had accurately grasped what I was trying to say. Indeed, he was an emperor. Since it wasn’t something I needed to hide anyway, I quietly nodded.

“Yes.”

“Interesting. Continue.”

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I drew a magic circle in my hand and cast a minor illusion magic, and in the middle of the flashy effect, I quietly slipped in the Holy Spear. As the dazzling light enveloped his body, strange sounds filled the room, and the emperor narrowed his eyes.

The emperor’s body, illuminated by the light of the Holy Spear, began to grow younger.

It wasn’t something I had done. It was the work of the Heavenly God. Aria, as a being connected to the time of the world itself, or the world’s time itself, couldn’t be touched, but reversing the flow of time for a single human was well within the Heavenly God’s capabilities.

‘After all, she is still a god, no matter how disrespectful she may seem.’

While the Heavenly God would have puffed up her cheeks in anger if she had heard that thought, the light gradually faded, and the sounds subsided. The emperor, who had closed his eyes, opened them and looked down at his rejuvenated body with a slightly surprised expression.

“……This is.”

His chest, now firm and elastic, was exposed beneath the loose sleepwear.

The emperor, whose body had regained its youth, free from the deep marks of time, stared at himself for a while before abruptly taking off his top. His muscles rivaled those of Priscilla’s father.

In terms of sheer muscle mass, he far surpassed me. I could now understand where his boisterous personality came from.

“It feels so light. Is this what it’s like to be young?”

The emperor swung his arms around. He even flexed his muscles, causing the muscles in his upper body to bulge. But that wasn’t enough for him, so he walked over to a mirror in the corner of the room and admired his rejuvenated body.

“What happens if I refuse? Will you take it back?”

“How could I force the Emperor of the Empire to do something? Consider it a small gift from me to you.”

“Hahaha! Only you would call this a small gift!”

A loud laugh filled the room. Well, it wasn’t just a small gift; it was something precious, as regaining youth was something even magic couldn’t achieve.

“Now that I’ve received such a precious gift, I can’t help but consider your proposal positively. But if I maintain my position, we’ll need to think of an explanation for the outside world.”

“We’ll have to come up with something. Of course, Your Majesty will have to as well.”

“So, you had an ulterior motive. Using the Emperor of the Empire like this, you’ll have to be prepared for the consequences. You’re delaying the day when that child sits on this throne.”

As the emperor put on his clothes, he stopped me. He had a look on his face as if he had thought of something good.

“I can’t just send you back after receiving such a precious gift. Wait a moment.”

“Huh?”

The emperor disappeared for a moment and then returned with a beautifully decorated bottle of liquor in his hand.

“It’s a liquor made by refining Elixir. The annual production is half a bottle at most. Would you like to try it? Since you pathetically lost to me last time, it’s obvious that you won’t be able to handle much of this.”

“…….”

……

“What did he say?”

As I returned to the clubroom, Laura, who had been anxiously waiting, quickly approached me.

“He agreed.”

“That’s a relief. We’ve avoided a big problem.”

A sigh of relief escaped her lips. Then she buried her face in my chest and sniffed.

“You smell like alcohol. And it seems a bit late. Did something happen?”

“Oh, that? I just wanted to show him that he was underestimating me. I taught him a lesson.”

The reason I had passed out during the drinking contest with the emperor last time was because succubus pheromones had been mixed into the alcohol I drank. It had nothing to do with my low alcohol tolerance.

Unaware of this, he had challenged me recklessly, and now he had to face the consequences.