Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

The gate, without its core, couldn’t hold on for long. The golden light that had spread in all directions rewound like a button had been pressed, and it crumpled and disappeared.

“It’s done. It’s completely over.”

“There will be no more interference with time.”

The Heavenly God and the Demon God, for once, showed their divinity and finished the cleanup work, and we returned to the empty academy with Aria.

Aria hadn’t said a word since then. Leona, too, and the others were the same. It seemed that they didn’t want to talk casually about this matter, as it involved all of them.

“……Ugh!”

From time to time, Leona would make strange noises, embarrassed by herself. It seemed that she kept thinking about how she had frantically begged her not to die, even though she had been told that removing the core would make her fine.

Time lag embarrassment was a common occurrence, so everyone pretended not to notice.

“Finally, it’s all over.”

When we arrived at the clubroom, Leona tried to escape, wanting to be alone, but Elysier and Latina stopped her and made her sit down. I muttered to myself.

No one thought my words were strange. It was truly all over. There would be no more interference with time, and nothing else would start. It was all over.

“…….”

Aria was kneeling in the middle of the room, like a sinner. She hugged herself and kept her head down.

‘Is she really a sinner?’

Even though the four of them had decided to forgive her, it was still Aria’s fault that all of this had happened. She still felt guilty, but at least she wasn’t being shameless, which was a relief.

If she had been shameless or turned the tables, the atmosphere would have been much colder.

“I have one question.”

Priscilla squatted in front of Aria and matched her eye level. Aria slowly raised her head.

“……Yes. What is it?”

“What was it like inside time?”

“……It hurt. A lot.”

“I told you that before you went in. I’m asking about the exact feeling.”

Priscilla, for once, was not in her usual sloppy, relaxed, or playful state. She was extremely serious.

Aria’s expression darkened. She tightened her grip on herself, and her knuckles turned white. It seemed like she was forcing herself to remember something she didn’t want to think about.

“It felt like needles piercing my body, slowly peeling off layers of my skin. I couldn’t breathe. No matter how hard I tried to inhale, I couldn’t breathe, and I felt like I was suffocating to death. The things that were stuck in time showed me the pain they felt when they died.”

“…….”

“It was the same this time. They stuck to my body and showed me the pain they felt when they died, taking away my time. It hurt.”

“It must have hurt.”

Priscilla, who had quietly listened to the confession, stood up and simply said, “It must have hurt.” There was no further interaction—no anger, no hatred, no sadness, no other emotions.

This was probably Priscilla’s way of forgiving. As a third party, I couldn’t be sure, but I somehow felt that way.

“……Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t come to save me.”

Aria looked up at me, her eyes meeting mine.

“Because it would have been faster and easier to just bury me from the outside.”

That’s right. One of the solutions proposed by the two goddesses was to collapse the gate from the outside, crushing the core along with it. They couldn’t remove the core from the outside, but they could destroy it.

It would have been faster and safer than going inside and removing the core. There would be no need to fight the unkillable monsters, like Leona and I had done.

But they didn’t do that.

“You thought I wouldn’t come to save you? Why?”

“……Because I was the one inside.”

The strength of her arms, which were hugging herself, increased. Her knuckles turned white, and her body trembled.

“When I went in, you said you’d come and get me eventually, but…… I thought your mind might have changed during the thousands of years I was isolated. So, I thought you might not come to save me.”

“Thousands of years?”

We looked at each other. Even though time didn’t flow in this world, the gap with the outside world was too big. It seemed that the pain had been both physical and mental.

“You’re mistaken, Aria.”

Laura stepped forward and lifted her chin, forcing Aria to look up at her. Aria flinched, her eyes filled with fear.

“I don’t know how long you felt it was, but only seven years have passed in this world. It will be the eighth year next year.”

“……Seven years?”

“Yes. I should also tell you that we have already reached an agreement. I won’t forget what you did, but I won’t bring it up either. Or have you not been reflecting on your actions at all? If that’s the case, my answer might be a little different.”

“Ah, no… it’s not like that…”

Aria lowered her gaze and stopped speaking. Laura let go of her hand.

“You seem to be mentally and physically unstable, so it’s probably best to get some rest and talk again later.”

“… .”

Aria opened her eyes. Then, with a dazed look, she looked up at the high ceiling. The chandelier and the luxurious decorations on the ceiling were a clear indication of the wealth that had been spent on this place.

Her body felt light. She could tell just by lying down. How long had it been since she had felt this refreshed? It must have been a very long time. She had always been in excruciating pain, writhing and moaning.

Breathing, blinking, thinking, moving, and even the very act of living had been excruciatingly painful.

In reality, only seven years had passed, but for Aria, it felt like much longer. It had been so long since she had felt the comfort of lying on a soft blanket like this.

“…Ugh.”

Aria squirmed for a while, enjoying the warmth and texture of the bed, before she finally became aware of the sounds coming from elsewhere.

It was right next to her. Mira, sitting in a chair with a bored look on her face, was tapping on a black, rectangular object. The sound was coming from that object.

It seemed to be something from Mira’s world, as Aria had never seen anything like it in this world, where she had once ruled as a god.

“Oh, you’re awake? You slept for a long time.”

Mira lowered the black object as she noticed Aria sitting up.

“….How long was I asleep?”

“About three days. Leona was so worried that you were dead. She calmed down after I scolded her.”

Aria instinctively realized that Mira was very comfortable calling Leona by her name. It was one of the things that hadn’t occurred to her since she woke up from her pain.

“…I see.”

Mira put the black object back up and quickly tapped on it with her thumb before putting it back in her pocket.

“I’ve contacted them, so they should be here soon.”

“Who did you contact?”

“The person who has been waiting for you the most.”

At that moment, a dimensional door opened, and Leona, looking flustered, along with two girls who looked about 12 years old, stepped through.

Aria’s eyes widened in surprise. One of the girls looked exactly like Leona, and the other resembled Latina, the girl she had met in another world.

‘Mira called them goddesses, didn’t he?’

Aria concluded that it was probably just a nickname, as their appearance was nothing like what she imagined a goddess to be. It was similar to how people might affectionately call their daughter a princess.

If these girls were Leona’s daughters, then there was only one possible father. If they were the children of Mira and Leona, it wouldn’t be strange at all to call them goddesses.

“Leona… you married Mira. They’re so big. They’re cute, too.”

“….Marriage?”

At that, Leona paused and looked at Aria with a knowing expression, as if she understood the meaning behind her words. The two girls also gave her an odd look, as if they knew what was going on.

“They’re both your daughters, aren’t they? Mira called them goddesses, so if they’re your children with Mira, that wouldn’t be strange at all. What are their namesㅡ ouch!”

The god slapped her lips. Despite her high pain threshold, the slap stung enough to bring tears to her eyes. While Aria rubbed her lips, the girl who looked like Leona grumbled.

“You’re talking nonsense, so you must be fine.”

“Yes, you seem fine.”

The one who looked like Latina nodded in agreement. Aria, feeling wronged, looked at them with a hurt expression, and suddenly, she felt a familiar divine power and magic.

“God… no, really…?”

“Look at her, human. She doesn’t even use honorifics anymore. She’s so shameless.”

“It’s possible that she’s forgotten what she did because it’s been so long. Punish her.”

At that, the two girls ran to Mira and tattled on her. It seemed like this wasn’t the first time, as Mira skillfully held one goddess in each arm.

The goddesses also seemed very used to this, naturally maintaining their balance in Mira’s arms. They truly looked like a father and his daughters, although the “daughters” were a bit too old and the “father” was a bit too young.

“You two also call me Dad, so don’t talk about turning the world upside down. Both of you.”

“That was a joke.”

“It was a joke, human.”

“It was a joke, wasn’t it? If it wasn’t, I would have thrown away my dignity with my own hands by asking for snacks.”

Aria was becoming more and more confused as she listened to their conversation. Did they really call her Dad for snacks? The goddesses?

Aria was curious about what had happened, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask, so she decided to keep quiet.