Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“What kind of positive side?”

“We can start over without any lingering attachments. That’s the positive side.”

Leona’s voice sounded a little conflicted, or perhaps relieved.

“Start over from scratch?”

“Yes. Aria and I have never met before. Neither of us. We just met and introduced ourselves a moment ago. From now on, it’s up to Aria… or rather, it’s up to you.”

As she said this, Leona got up from the bed. Her movements were firm, as if she had no hesitation left.

“I’ll be on my way, Mira. I need some time to sort out my thoughts, too. I’ll wait for you.”

“Ah, sure. Of course, it’s fine.”

“See you later, Mira. And to the person I’ve never seen before.”

Leona glanced at Aria one last time before quietly closing the door and leaving. Aria kept her head down until the door closed, then slowly raised her upper body.

Her eyes were still red.

“What did you do?”

“….Leona asked me if I really considered her a friend. She wanted to know if my answer back then was sincere or if I was just trying to distance myself from her by lying.”

I remembered. After hearing that mocking laughter, Leona had completely given up hope and truly wanted to kill Aria. It was because, until then, she had believed that their childhood friendship was unchangeable.

“So what did you say?”

“I told her that it was sincere at the time.”

“Ugh…”

Tears welled up in Aria’s eyes again. It was unclear what kind of tears they were.

“Why didn’t you just lie and say it wasn’t sincere? I could have understood if you had.”

I tried to hint at something. Aria shook her head at my suggestion.

“I don’t want to lie anymore. Not to Leona, not to you, and not to the others. At that time, I truly believed that everything but Mira was worthless.”

“… .”

I quietly adjusted my internal evaluation of Aria.

As she had said herself, Aria truly believed that at the time. She truly believed that this world was insignificant, that everything in it was worthless, that it was all just a fake.

Aria had been trapped in a world that had been stagnant for over a thousand years, struggling and writhing. It was only natural that she would feel that way about the people and the world she knew. Leona understood this as well.

If Aria had lied and said it wasn’t sincere, it would have disappointed Leona even more. But she had answered honestly, and that was why Leona gave her a second chance.

“You made the right choice.”

“….Thank you.”

Aria’s slender fingers clutched the blanket. I didn’t know how to continue the conversation from there.

“What will you do now?”

“I don’t know either. What should I do now? Do I still have a role to play here?”

“That’s a question I can’t answer for you. You have to figure it out for yourself.”

Aria would have to figure out what to do in this world on her own. I could suggest something, but that wouldn’t be what Leona wanted.

“Do what you want, Aria. You can finally do that now.”

“…. .”

Aria sat on the bed, looking dazed. Then, she buried her face in her knees and quietly sobbed.

.
.
.

“Is this the second time we’ve met? It’s nice to see you, Mira Crate.”

“Your expression doesn’t seem very pleased, Duke. Please relax your face. If you keep glaring at me like that, I won’t talk to you.”

Priscilla immediately snapped back at him, and the hellish expression on the face of Duke Agnes softened as he forced a smile.

It was an insincere smile, and the corners of his mouth kept twitching and his teeth kept grinding together. When he showed his fangs at me, I knew he was baring his teeth.

I remained quiet. If I took sides with either Priscilla or the Duke, I would only incur greater wrath.

“What are you doing, dear! Shame on you!”

The Duchess slapped her husband’s back, but it had no effect. I wondered if I was the reason for his displeasure.

‘I must be the reason…’

The rumors about me had spread throughout the empire. About the birthday party, who had come to celebrate, and who I had been with. And among those present was the Crown Princess.

No matter how influential the three dukes were, they could not compare to the authority of the Crown Princess. So it was only natural that he would react so sharply to me.

“Let’s greet each other like men for a change.”

A thick, bear-like hand was extended towards me. It was the same hand that had been crushed the last time we met.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

I smiled bitterly at the obvious intention behind his gesture and shook his hand firmly. In response, he crushed my hand with all his might, causing the veins on my hand to bulge and my fingers to turn white.

The hand I was holding trembled. Duke Agnes gritted his teeth as he saw my calm expression.

“Ugh… you’ve gotten much stronger…”

I didn’t bother to argue that we had come too far for it to be simply a matter of improved skills, and I just nodded slightly in agreement.

“What are you doing, dear! You’re embarrassing me in front of our daughter!”

The Duchess slapped her husband’s back so hard that it made a slapping sound. The fact that she was hitting his massive body so hard without any sign of pain on her hand suggested that she was no ordinary person either. It seemed like a fitting couple.

“Ugh… I’ll get you for this…”

In the end, the handshake disguised as a show of strength ended with Duke Agnes’ defeat.

The Duke was pushed back to the mansion, holding one hand and being slapped on the back by his wife. His retreating figure looked particularly pathetic. Priscilla, on the other hand, watched with a smug look on her face.

“I’m sorry about him. He’s a bit overprotective of our daughter.”

When we were alone, the Duchess smiled and spoke.

“It’s fine. I came prepared for this.”

“Prepared for this…?”

“Yes. I am…”

“I understand. That’s enough. Don’t say any more.”

A long, slender finger gently blocked my lips. It was an unexpected reaction. Both Priscilla and I were surprised and opened our eyes wide.

Priscilla had been worried about how her mother would react, so to see her mother smile so gently and block my lips before I could even finish speaking was unexpected.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Are you going to discriminate against our daughter or something? If so, I won’t be fine with it.”

“Of course not.”

“Then it’s settled.”

The Duchess, or rather, Priscilla’s mother, smiled gently.

“Priscilla used to be a closed-off child. I don’t remember when it started, but it was a long time ago. No matter how hard I tried to open her heart, it didn’t work. But then she met one person and completely changed, in a positive way. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s…”

“I didn’t ask you to answer, so just listen. I’m not done yet.”

Her finger blocked my lips again. I quietly closed my mouth. The Duchess nodded in satisfaction and continued.

“I don’t think the person who changed our daughter is a bad person. I don’t think it was something forced either. I don’t know how you convinced her, but I’m sure she agreed to it. You must have come here with a lot of determination as well, not lightly. I think I can guess what kind of person you are without you having to explain.”

The Duchess gently held my hand and said, “Please take care of our daughter.” She gently stroked the back of my hand, a genuine gesture of asking me to take care of her daughter. Unlike Duke Agnes, she truly meant it.

“Let’s go now. I’ll convince him myself.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. He understands it in his heart, even if he doesn’t express it well.”

Her eyes turned kindly to the side. Priscilla stopped in her tracks.

“You seem happy, Priscilla.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then I won’t interfere. But…”

The Duchess approached her daughter and whispered something in her ear. Priscilla was so surprised that she stood there with her mouth open, then hurriedly looked back and forth between me and her mother.

“Huhuhu, you know what I mean, right?”

The Duchess patted Priscilla’s shoulder a few times and returned to the mansion. Priscilla stood there, her face still red, until her mother’s figure disappeared beyond the front gate.

“What did she say to you?”

“…. .”

Priscilla kept her mouth shut at my question. I didn’t know what her mother had said to her, but I soon found out. That very night, Priscilla asked me if we could stop using contraception.

“Not yet. I’m sorry.”

“Okay…”

Priscilla looked a little disappointed, but she accepted my refusal and went to sleep. I slept in until lunchtime, and when Priscilla, who had been rolling around in bed, finally got up, I left the room and went outside.

“You’ve finally taken the first step. Congratulations.”

As I entered the room, Elysier smiled and welcomed me. I sat down next to her as she gestured with her hand.

“Where is everyone else?”

“Laura has returned to the Imperial Palace, and Rosalia has left temporarily to attend to her duties as a saint. Nika is in the Demon World, and Erestika is at the Academy. Leona hasn’t returned yet. Are you satisfied now?”

“More than satisfied.”

Elysier put down the teacup she had been holding.

“That’s good. At least you didn’t have to say anything to Priscilla.”

“Of course not. I just came back with her.”

“Because of the conversation we had yesterday?”

“….What conversation?”

“You know, the one about wanting to be the first in everything but this.”

“…. .”

I didn’t know what kind of expression I had on my face, but it must have been strange, because Elysier burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t care about that. In fact, I’m hoping to be the last one.”

“….Why?”

Elucifer smiled and took one of my hands, placing it on her neck and the other on her lower abdomen. She held my right hand gently on her neck and pressed my left hand firmly on her lower abdomen.

“Have you already forgotten what we did the first time we were together?”