Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

After the lecture, I headed to the chairman’s office with Leona, who had received the same message. Leona teased me as soon as we met, saying that there were too many girls around, and it was hard for us to be alone.

“So, you want to be alone with me?”

“Huh? Huh?”

When I teased her back in the same way she used to, she immediately closed her mouth.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t made those kinds of jokes in a while. I couldn’t pinpoint when it started, though.

“Even so, she raided the Imperial Treasury…”

“She said she’d return whatever was left after making our gifts, so she must have gotten something back. Do you think she used it all up?”

Leona, who had been knocked down by my counter, chose the topic of the chairman’s gift for our next conversation. And after hearing how the gift was prepared, she was dumbfounded.

I didn’t mention that the Grand Magicians had raided the recovered Imperial Treasury again. The reason they did so was because of the black-haired woman right next to her, who was, in fact, the Demon King. Bringing that up would cause a massive cognitive dissonance.

“How did you even find out about that? It’s fascinating.”

“You know how much the magicians revere me. The Grand Magicians are no exception.”

“… You’re just casually speaking informally now. Well, I guess that’s fine. Good riddance to the Church guys. I never liked them anyway. They truly messed up. Good thing they’re dead. I hope they suffered a lot before dying.”

“… …”

Hearing Leona, the original hero, speak so casually about things the original hero would never have said caused a cognitive dissonance in me. Was this my fault, too?

“Anyway, what about the Holy Sword? Is it still not reacting?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why, but it’s still the same.”

I had asked to borrow the Holy Sword from Leona yesterday so that I could communicate with the Goddess, but there was still no response.

It was probably intentional. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have stayed silent for this long.

“Chairman? We’re here.”

“Come in, the door is open.”

As we arrived at the chairman’s office and knocked, a voice invited us in, saying the door was open. This was our first visit since the chairman had been seriously injured.

We opened the door and entered. The chairman stood up from her chair to greet us, and even that slight movement emphasized the large bust contained within the sleeveless vest.

“Welcome. Mira Crete and Leona Brynhild.”

“Good day, Chairman.”

“How is your body feeling?”

“As you can see, I’m fine. The person who created healing magic personally treated me, so how could I be anything but well? Rather, I should be asking you if you’re alright.”

“We’re fine too. It’s been quite some time since then, and even if we were injured, we would have recovered by now.”

At the mention of not being injured, Leona gave me a meaningful look, which I subtly avoided.

“I suppose so. I wondered what kind of power healed me, but I never expected it to be magic.”

The chairman lightly touched her arm, which had been completely severed before.

“I have a mountain of questions, but the fact that you haven’t spoken about it first must mean that you have your reasons for keeping quiet. I won’t ask how you learned such magic, so rest assured.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“It’s only natural for me to do so, given the favor I received.”

The chairman said as she bowed and retrieved two elaborately decorated boxes from under the desk. The decorations alone must have cost a significant portion of what was taken from the treasury.

The boxes were also quite bulky, but they looked ordinary in the hands of the chairman, who stood over two meters tall. Or perhaps it was because of the massive chest right behind them.

“Take them. These are the gifts I mentioned. Once again, thank you for fulfilling my wish.”

“What is this?”

“It won’t be fun if I tell you beforehand. Open it and see for yourself.”

Leona, holding the box, undid the lock and peered inside, only to be surprised by its contents.

“A dress…?”

“A dress imbued with the blessing of a dragon. I pondered what would be most beneficial to you, but I couldn’t come up with any good ideas. So, in the end, I decided to give you something to protect yourself as a woman, not as a hero.”

“As a woman, not a hero…”

Leona repeated the words in a daze, staring down at the dress.

“It may not reach the level of the Royal Guard’s finest armor, but it should still be among the best. It’s adorned with defensive gems, and I’ve sprinkled my dragon scales on it.”

“What?! Your dragon scales?”

Leona was taken aback by the mention of dragon scales and ran her fingers along the hem of the dress. Nothing stuck to her fingers. The chairman smiled lightly.

“They won’t just fall off that easily. The dress would tear before the scales come off. Of course, that doesn’t mean the durability is subpar.”

“So, all these sparkling things are…?”

“They are my dragon scales. They will serve as armor and provide ample protection, along with the various blessings and defensive gems. Even against attacks from a Demon Legion Commander, you should be able to withstand several blows. Would you like to try it on now? I can provide you with a private room if you wish.”

“Ah, no, that’s alright. Thank you. I’ll try it on later. Thank you so much.”

Leona, looking dazed, repeatedly expressed her gratitude as she hugged the dress close to her chest. The chairman’s gaze shifted to me, silently urging me to open my box.

Click. I undid the lock, and the box adorned with all sorts of treasures slowly opened.

“A dagger…?”

Inside was indeed a dagger.

The handle had a hint of grayish-black, and the blade was pristine white. The length from the end of the handle to the tip was roughly a fist larger than my foot size.

Whether this could be called a dagger was questionable; it might be more reasonable to call it a slightly smaller longsword.

“It’s a dagger made from my dragon scales and fangs.”

“What… what is it made of?”

“The handle is made from my dragon scales, the croseguard is a combination of orichalcum and mithril, and the blade is made from my fangs.”

“Whoa…”

I couldn’t help but glance at the chairman’s mouth. She let out a chuckle.

“Don’t worry about my teeth. If you want, I can regrow them as many times as you like. Surely, a dragon can manage to replace a missing tooth, right?”

“Of course, of course.”

“I know you already have excellent weapons, but I still wanted to give this to you as a gift. I hope you like it. Oh, and it has a size adjustment feature, so you can make use of it later. It would be a waste to use it only as a dagger when it’s made from my dragon scales and fangs.”

“I understand. I really like it. Thank you.”

I sheathed the blade into the scabbard of the same color as the handle and strapped it around my waist. The chairman nodded in satisfaction.

“It suits you perfectly. Are you leaving now?”

“Well, I guess so…”

Leona glanced at me and hesitated.

“In that case, I apologize, but could you stay for a bit, Mira Crate? I have something to discuss with you.”

“Yes, of course.”

At the chairman’s words, Leona left with a puzzled look on her face.

When we were alone, the chairman cast a soundproofing spell. A blue magical barrier enveloped the entire room.

“The room already has basic soundproofing, but with this additional spell, it must be quite an important or perhaps a bit tiring conversation, huh?”

“It could be. Or maybe a little exhausting. Are you okay with it?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

The chairman, usually authoritative in her tone, now spoke in a softer manner, and with a slight smile, she leaned back on the desk, pausing for a moment before continuing.

“After I escaped to the human world 130 years ago, I lived solely fueled by my desire for revenge against Mahbat. As the chairman, Erestika, and as the dragon, Meligor.”

Even though Eres wasn’t her biological child, she was the first to evoke emotions in her, and seeing her eaten alive would understandably fuel that desire for revenge.

“But you know, after burying my child in my heart and ending the old grudge, I realized that… I no longer had a reason to live. The years I have left are a lifetime, but the motivation to continue living had disappeared.”

“You don’t mean to say you’re thinking ofㅡ”

“I did consider it.”

The chairman’s eyes glistened with sorrow.

“The old me would’ve been fine. Before I met my child, I was literally a lazy dragon who did nothing. But I’m not that person anymore. Returning to living by dragon standards is impossible for me now. I’ve become too accustomed to living by human standards. Just 130 years, and perhaps that’s because I’ve been living so breathlessly.”

Her voice was tinged with melancholy.

“But not long ago, I realized that my thinking was wrong. There’s something near me that could become a purpose for living.”

Her golden vertical pupils fixed on me. Compared to her usual gaze, her eyes were incredibly soft.

“Do you know that you resemble my child in some ways?”

“Me? But I’m a man…”

“I’m not talking about physical appearance. I’m talking about the atmosphere you give off.”

“Atmosphere… I don’t know. Didn’t you say that your daughter was very lively when you described her before?”

“You don’t have to resemble her in every way. Remember when you came back with your finger bitten off?”

“Yes, I remember.”

The chairman was referring to the time when I had pretended to have my finger bitten off by Alexander to create a pretext for killing him.

“When I saw you then, I felt a sense of déjà vu.”

“When you saw that, you reacted very differently from your usual self. You were startled and tried to comfort me, hugging me. Was it because of this?”

“My child had a similar injury once. She came back from hunting monsters with the exact same wound. She told me not to worry, that she was fine.”

The chairman added that she had kidnapped a priest to treat her hand and then released him with appropriate treasures as compensation.

“Ever since then, I’ve felt inexplicable emotions towards you, Mira. It could have been maternal love or some other positive emotion. One thing I’m certain of is that I trusted you and believed that you could fill the gaping hole in my heart, just like my child did.”

I had a vague idea of what she was trying to say, but it was a delicate situation where neither accepting nor rejecting her proposal seemed appropriate.

“Of course, I’m not trying to replace my child with you, Mira. My child is my child, and I’ve already buried her in my heart. I’m not trying to use you as a substitute. If you felt that way, I truly apologize. But I want you to know that it was never, never my intention…”

Her explanation poured out in a rush, clearly indicating her anxiety, though I hadn’t said a word yet.

“I haven’t said anything yet. Calm down a bit.”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I need to calm down. I’m sorry for showing you this side of me.”

The chairman took a few deep breaths and approached me with a wistful look in her eyes.

“So, Mira… I know it’s a shameless request, but…”

Her finger, significantly larger than mine, gently wrapped around my hand.

“Won’t you become my reason for living?”