Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

Most of the people gathered here did not know the true meaning of the light.

This was natural. It had been so long since the previous saint, before Rosalia, had died that it was more than enough time for the generation that witnessed that miracle to change.

Only a very select few would know the true meaning of the light shining on Rosalia’s head. In other words, almost none of the countless people gathered here understood the true meaning with their heads.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t understand the miracle unfolding before their eyes with their hearts.

The halo floating above her head, the aura shining behind her, the beautifully spread four pairs of golden wings, and the light piercing through the clouds—all of them exuded divinity. How could anyone not understand?

Even those who did not believe in God for whatever reason were astonished, let alone the reaction of those who had once been a part of the Starlight Church.

Those who were devout, who had not lost their faith and who had gathered here today, wept and joined hands, bowing their heads to the ground.

Tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of people, without a single exception, lowered their heads. I looked down at them with a heavy heart.

“Mira! There’s been a big development!”

The Red Tower Master, one of those who did not believe in the God, rushed into the room.

“I know. I’m watching, too.”

I had to remain calm. I replied nonchalantly and began to think.

This was completely unexpected. I had only intended to create a fake saint to calm the confusion of the remaining Starlight Church followers, but suddenly, Rosalia had become a real saint.

Now I might have to worry about the emperor watching Rosalia’s every move. That wasn’t what I wanted. I glanced at Aria, unable to help myself.

Aria, the original protagonist of the novel, who was supposed to have obtained everything that was now ours, was genuinely surprised by the appearance of a saint, but she was also sincerely congratulating Rosalia as if it were her own joy.

There was not a hint of jealousy on her face.

‘Of course. That would be a foolish thought.’

I smiled at my silly imagination. The Aria we knew from the original story and the Aria after my intervention were two completely different people.

There was no way the current Aria would even think that this was something that was supposed to be hers. It was a thief worrying about a non-existent guilt.

Rosalia had done an excellent job of image-making as a fake saint, and she had simply received the Goddess’s blessing as a result. Just as Aria was not the Aria from the original story, Rosalia was not the Rosalia we knew.

‘Leona is… surprised.’

Unlike Aria, who was purely celebrating Rosalia’s achievement, Leona was whispering something to the golden light-emitting holy sword, clearly flustered by the development.

As for Laura and Priscilla next to her, it was obvious that they were astonished.

“Mira. As you know, we absolutely cannot ignore the existence of the saint. We may even have to watch our steps around her.”

I know.

In the original story, why was Rosalia, with all her atrocities at the Academy, able to get away with it for months? It was simply because of her status as a saint candidate, the one most likely to become a saint.

Just that status alone was enough to make the principal hesitate to touch her, let alone when she was a real saint?

“Could it be that you anticipated even this and set this whole thing up?”

“No way.”

I flatly denied the misconception. I didn’t want to be misunderstood unnecessarily.

“……”

Rosalia, chosen by the light, landed softly on the ground. The light piercing through the clouds faded, but the halo, aura, and four pairs of wings remained.

Rosalia looked at me with a bewildered expression. It was a relief that only a few people could see her face, as everyone else was bowing their heads.

Anyone could tell that she was confused by the current situation.

“What do you plan to do now? Should we proceed as planned? In my humble opinion, it doesn’t seem necessary in the current situation.”

The Red Tower Master cautiously asked. She was right. It would be ridiculous for us to pretend to be punishing them when a real saint had appeared.

“……Let’s wait and see for now.”

The former high-ranking priests of the Starlight Church were specially selected to be executed today because of their symbolic significance as saint candidates, but there would be other opportunities for their execution.

However, the situation began to take an unexpected turn.

“You traitor!”

A venomous voice pierced through the quiet atmosphere.

It was the Pope. According to Leona, he looked several times older than when she had met him, and he was glaring at Rosalia, cursing her as he struggled against the Royal Guard.

The Royal Guard had been momentarily stunned by the birth of a saint, allowing the Pope to break free.

“How dare you! After all I’ve done for you! You ungrateful bitch!”

Didn’t he favor her for other reasons? According to Rosalia, if she hadn’t been a saint candidate, she would have been dragged into the bedroom a long time ago and subjected to all sorts of vile acts.

“Tell me! Who did you spread your legs for to pull off this charade? Was it that guy who’s always by your side?! The fact that you’re not answering means there are quite a few of them, aren’t there?! You slut!”

‘It’s impressive that he realized this was a charade.’

Aside from the other content, it was indeed a charade. To be precise, it would have been a charade if she hadn’t been chosen as a saint. But since the Goddess had chosen her, well…

“You whore, sleeping with dozens of men at the same time! If I had known that even someone like you could become a saint, I would have fucked you a long time ago! It’s a shame, because I could have kept fucking you and you would have always felt like a virgin!”

It was a truly vulgar and vile curse. Perhaps because he knew he was going to die anyway, he had decided to go all out. Whether he died quietly or cursed and raged before dying, he was still going to die.

The people below the altar were about to tear the Pope apart with their bare hands, and the Royal Guard, who had been frozen by the birth of a saint in front of their eyes, was about to take action when Rosalia gestured for them to stop.

[Can you take responsibility for your words?]

A voice that was Rosalia’s but not Rosalia’s came out of her mouth, as if she were speaking into a microphone with the echo turned on.

The people calmed down as they instinctively recognized the owner of that voice.

“……”

The Pope’s eyes bulged out of his head, and his tongue, which had been wagging nonstop a moment ago, was now silent. Rosalia, or rather, the entity speaking through her, continued.

[Among the humans on earth, there is none more filthy than you. It is laughable that such a being would defile this pure and innocent virgin. Do you not understand why I have taken away the faith of humans?]

Her finger pointed at the Pope.

[May the wrath of God be upon the corrupt.]

.

.

.

A week had passed since Rosalia was chosen as a saint. Time had flown by.

The first thing I did was to clean up the situation.

Rosalia, in the name of the saint, proclaimed that God exists only to love and give, and that humans should be ruled by the emperor, thus pledging allegiance to the emperor. Naturally, the believers followed.

Thanks to this, the empire was prevented from splitting into two, or the church from regaining its former power. After all, the saint herself had declared that she was below the emperor.

“You have done a great deed, Mira Crate.”

However, I couldn’t prevent the emperor, who had heard of the birth of the saint, from summoning me directly.

“To be the emperor supported by the saint… My name will be recorded in the empire’s vast history books for the first time.”

I was sitting across from the emperor, holding a teacup. It was an incredible privilege that would make other nobles foam at the mouth if they saw it.

The person who suggested this meeting, on the other hand, had asked me to think of him not as the emperor, but simply as Laura’s father, and had made an even more radical suggestion. This man seemed to be of a similar nature to Priscilla’s father.

“Thanks to you, my position has become very solid. There have been very few emperors in the empire’s history who have enjoyed such power. The church has always been a thorn in my side.”

“Your Majesty, please maintain your dignity―”

“You are not loyal to me, but to Laura. Why should I care about dignity? Anyway, I’ll be an old man in the background soon enough.”

“……”

If the other nobles, who had to learn all sorts of manners and wait for weeks just to catch a glimpse of the emperor from a distance, saw me sitting here, what would they think?

One thing was certain: they wouldn’t react well.

“Have you heard the news?”

“I don’t know what you’re referring to, but I assume I haven’t heard it.”

“The principal of Bellium Academy broke into the imperial treasury.”

“Excuse me?”

“She said she would return whatever was left over, but she took everything that looked good. She did it to repay you and the hero. She said it was like fulfilling the reason she lived.”

This was the first I’d heard of it. I remained silent, and the emperor burst into laughter.

“I heard that when the principal mentioned repayment, you said you didn’t need any compensation and that you had simply done what was necessary. Is that true?”

“……I don’t remember exactly, but I probably said something similar.”

“If you have any wishes, you should just say them instead of beating around the bush and letting our treasury get cleaned out.”

“……”

“I’m joking. Considering all the help we’ve received from the principal, the imperial treasury is a small price to pay. Besides, how could we be stingy about material things when you and the saint candidate, who has now become a true saint, are together?”

The emperor burst into laughter again. It was a chilling joke.

They were trying to bridge the gap, but… Did they realize that a single word from them could literally move mountains?

“By the way, I almost forgot to tell you this. I heard you’re quite famous at Belium Academy.”

“If you’re talking about the incident at the entrance ceremony―”

“No, that’s not it. I’m talking about something else.”

Suddenly, the emperor’s demeanor changed.

“I heard you have a lot of women around you. Is that true?”

“……Yes, it is.”

I couldn’t deny that, so I answered in a half-whisper.

To be honest, I had something to say. I mean, it’s a yuri novel, so of course, the main characters are all women. Plus, two of them are the protagonists, and the other three are like me, people who were dragged into this world through possession.

“You created a club that’s all women except for you, and you even put a bed in there.”

“……The saint didn’t want to stay in the room assigned to her, so she made the club’s office her bedroom.”

“Whether or not that’s true, the fact is that there’s a bed in the club room.”

I had to nod in agreement.

“And lately, my daughter has been hanging out there a lot…”

The muscles under the emperor’s clothes twitched.

“You’re not trying to corrupt my pure daughter, are you?”

“……”

Well, um…

Should I tell him that his “pure” daughter was always trying to steal the clothes I wore?