Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

Since hearing that Gloria’s disposition had been decided, Priscilla remained quiet even after asking the other three for their understanding and arriving at the House of Duke Agnes alone with me.
Although she didn’t change the fact that she was sticking close to me, it was as good as silence compared to the actions she usually showed when she was by my side.
“What do you think, Priscilla?”
“…I don’t know.”
The other guys who had been entangled with the succubus had already been dealt with, and Gloria was the last one. Being the daughter of a duke, even if a rotten one, she probably required a little more discussion.
According to the words of the Tower Master, there had been much deliberation over her disposition. Apparently, it was a difficult decision, as she had directly bewitched the sons of noble houses, but those she had bewitched were useless and their numbers were not that great.
‘The fact that they even considered it a dilemma was probably due to her family background.’
If she had been the daughter of a mediocre noble or, even worse, a commoner, she would have been executed without a second thought. The position of a duke was that heavy.
“Anyway, the final decision is up to us, so take your time and think about it.”
“Okay…”
We had received a call saying that the disposition had been decided, but the real decision-making power lay with us. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have said something like, ‘If there are any other options, we will follow them.’
It wasn’t just a polite remark, either. If it had been, they would have used vague words like, ‘We will consider it.’ The exact reason was unclear, but it seemed to be related to the fact that Priscilla had always been by my side.
“Hey, I haven’t changed my mind since last time. I’ll leave it to you, Mira.”
Last time, if I remembered correctly, was when we visited the ducal house and I destroyed Priscilla’s father’s hand. I looked down at Priscilla. She seemed a little more subdued than usual. I could tell because we had spent a lot of time together.
Instead of offering words of comfort, I gently pulled her closer and hugged her, stroking her head. This seemed to be the right answer, as she wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder.
“What are you doing to my daughter right now?”
“… .”
If only the duke hadn’t caught us in this compromising position, it would have been the perfect comfort. Unfortunately, the timing was completely off.
As soon as Duke Maximilian saw us hugging each other, his eyes narrowed, his face contorted, and he strode towards us. Perhaps it was a little dangerous to do this right in front of the ducal house.
However, I wasn’t worried.
“Don’t come any closer, Dad.”
Priscilla, whom I was hugging, stopped him in his tracks with a frosty tone without even turning around. The duke stood rooted to the spot as if a magnet had attached itself to his feet.
“Priscilla…”
“Don’t even talk to me, pervert.”
Priscilla, who had stopped the duke with just a few words, wriggled deeper into my embrace. The duke looked at them with a face that seemed ready to shed tears of blood.
“Leave us alone. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been in my life. If anything happens to Mira or the people around her because of this, I’ll never call you Dad again, and I won’t even want to see your face. Do you understand, Dad?”
“Krr….”

Duke Maximilian, who had received the ultimatum, knelt on the ground as if he were on the verge of death. Priscilla stuck out her head triumphantly, looking proud of herself.

‘If I pet her now, it would be teasing.’

But if I don’t, our relationship will plummet to its worst. Because she’ll think my refusal is because of the Duke.

I knew that if I petted my daughter’s head in front of the Duke and did something akin to teasing, our relationship would deteriorate to its worst state. I stifled a bitter laugh at the ironic situation and brought my hand to her head. I could almost hear the desperate cries of fathers of daughters everywhere.

“The House of Duke Agnes may forgive you, but Maximilian himself will never forgive you.”

“……Yes.”

Honestly, if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive someone for doing that right in front of me either.

As I arrived at the place the Master of the Magic Tower had told me about—a detached building of the House of Duke Agnes—with the Duke sending me scorching glares that my daughter was oblivious to, I noticed a few familiar-looking Masters of the Magic Tower standing guard nearby.

“You’ve arrived, Mira Crate.”

The Master of the Black Magic Tower, who had been standing there, bowed his head to me, using honorifics. The Duke, who had been momentarily bewildered, seemed to have pieced together all the possibilities in his head, as he turned to me in shock.

“Could it be… that you were the developer of the healing magic?”

I nodded, seeing no need to hide it from the Duke.

Given the recent events and their causal relationships, it wasn’t difficult to deduce, but to accept and piece it all together in a matter of seconds was a testament to the Duke’s exceptional intellect as the head of his house.

“That should be more than enough to prove your worthiness to take responsibility for your daughter.”

“Mira…”

At my words, Priscilla hugged my arm affectionately.

The Duke’s animosity seemed to have almost completely dissipated at the mention of me being the developer of healing magic, despite his earlier declaration of never forgiving me. He seemed unable to voice his thoughts due to his pride.

“Forget what you just saw.”

“I will.”

As I passed by the Black Magic Tower Master, I casually warned him not to spread rumors, and then stood in front of the detached building’s door. The Black Magic Tower Master who had followed us promptly removed the barrier on the door.

After removing a total of 11 more barriers, we finally made our way to the second floor where Gloria was located. I wondered why they had gone through so much trouble with the barriers when she didn’t seem particularly dangerous.

“Um… Mira Crate.”

The black magician who had removed the last barrier cautiously spoke up. Duke Maximilian, still reeling from the revelation of a high-ranking Magic Tower Master bowing to me, looked on in shock.

“About the mana breathing technique you mentioned to Valera… When will you be able to teach it to me? I’m not trying to rush you, I’m just curious! Please forgive me if I’ve been rude!”

“I’ll get to it after I finish some other things. I’ll start before the Academy’s break, alright?”

“Of course! I’ll let her know!”

After confirming that only the three of us were left, I opened the door. Inside, I saw Gloria trying to calm herself by drinking tea, though it seemed to have little effect. She spilled about ten times as much tea as she drank, soaking the table, sofa, carpet, and even her own dress.

“Mi, Mira Crate!”

Gloria stood up as soon as she saw me. Her face, a venomous version of Priscilla’s, remained the same, but the series of events seemed to have taken a toll on her spirit, reducing her to about 0.8 Priscilla. She tried to approach me but hesitated when she saw Priscilla clinging to my side and the late-arriving Duke Maximilian. She took a few steps back, looking uncertain.

“Ah, Father.”

“You’ve heard about the decision regarding your punishment, haven’t you?”

“Yes…”

“Don’t try to weasel your way out of it. Maintain the honor of the House of Duke Agnes.”

The Duke delivered his verdict in an icily detached tone and turned to leave.

“Are you leaving?”

“As a father, I don’t wish to witness my daughter’s punishment. Don’t mind me, do as you see fit. If you wish, you may even carry out the execution.”

Gloria’s face turned ashen, realizing the extent of her punishment from the Duke’s words. However, the Duke left without a backward glance.

“Please, spare me! I don’t want to die yet! I’ll do anything, please!”

Gloria crawled over and grabbed onto my pant leg. Priscilla, looking disgusted, swatted her hand away.

“There’s nothing you can do that would carry any weight. There’s no reason for me to accept your pleas. The magic I left on you is still active, isn’t it? So why should I listen to you?”

I was referring to the magic I had placed on her during our previous encounter, which had yet to wear off.

“Then what can I do that would have weight?! What do you want me to do?!”

“Nothing. There’s no way.”

“Ah, ahh…”

Gloria’s grip on my leg loosened as Priscilla continued to rebuff her. She started to sob uncontrollably. I didn’t feel any sympathy for her, as it was all a result of her own actions.

In the original story, she had committed far worse deeds, but ultimately, she had conspired with the demons, and that was enough to seal her fate.

‘Should I just chop off her head and be done with it?’

As I pondered how to deal with her, a brilliant idea came to mind.

“You wanted to stay forever young and beautiful, didn’t you?”

“……What? How do you know about that?”

“There’s a way to make that happen.”

“I’msosorryforgivemepleasedon’tkillmepleasedon’tkillmepleasedon’tkillmepleasedon’tkillmepleasedon’tkillmepleasedon’tkillme—”

Gloria crawled into the corner, kneeling and covering her eyes as she trembled. The succubi, a mix of pity and confusion, stared at her.

“You want to turn a human into a succubus?”

The succubus at the front, Clio or something, asked. She was the one who had spoken the most when I visited to awaken Nika, so I vaguely remembered her face.

She was using honorifics now, probably because she was aware of my relationship with Nika.

“Yeah. Nika said it’s possible.”

“Yes, it’s possible, but… I don’t really recommend it. Unless you use human semen, a human turned into a succubus will only be half-baked. Are you sure about this?”

“That’s why I want to change it. I want to show her that dying is a better option than what’s to come.”

“Ah, I see. In that case, I understand. It’s been a while since we’ve had some fun.”

Since she wanted to stay young and beautiful forever and had pleaded for her life, turning her into a succubus seemed like the perfect solution. It was a guarantee of endless torment, and her life afterward would be far worse than death itself.

“Mira! Priscilla! Please spare me! It was all my fault! I was wrong—”

“Ugh. She’s so loud. She’ll be screaming her lungs out soon enough, so why waste energy now? Take off her clothes, we don’t need them. Oh, and bring anyone who likes human female essence.”

At my instructions, the succubi, their curiosity piqued, dragged Gloria away. From the sound of it, they were going to employ a very succubus-like method, as they didn’t see the need for her clothes.

Priscilla watched intently as the succubi carried Gloria away to a place that was clearly meant for lewd activities.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“……I don’t know.”

I took Priscilla, who was deep in thought, to the top of the castle. With the succubi in the vicinity all seemingly aroused, it was unavoidable.

For a while, Priscilla quietly observed the landscape of the Demon World, her expression complex. Eventually, she spoke up.

“At first, I wanted to kill her with my own hands. Because of her, our family was in disarray, and I suffered greatly. I experienced that over a hundred times… But…”

“But?”

“……It doesn’t feel like I’ve avenged myself, but rather that a character in a novel has died. I haven’t told anyone this, but I’ve felt this way every time. Except for you, Laura, Rosalia, and Elysier.”

“Even when we were in front of the mansion earlier?”

“Yes. Since then.”

So that’s why she had been so dejected. I gently took her hand. Instead of burying herself in my embrace as usual, Priscilla squeezed my hand tightly.

“Priscilla, I understand, and you don’t need to answer. Just listen.”

“……”

“I understand completely. It’s understandable that the people here don’t feel like real people to you, and I understand the reasons why. It’s not your fault at all.”

Having experienced the same events over a hundred times, witnessing the same characters and the same story unfold, it was only natural that she would see them as novel characters. Her reaction was perfectly normal.

Perhaps Laura, Elysier, and even Rosalia, to some extent, felt the same way, having experienced it a few times themselves.

“So, you can continue to see this world as a novel if you want.”

My response caught Priscilla off guard, her eyes widening in surprise.

“I’ll change the ending for you.”

“……!”

“All novels have an ending, right? I’ll kill the Demon Lord, bring peace to the world, and we’ll return to our original world. A happy ending for all of us. I’ll make it happen.”

“Re, really……?”

Priscilla asked for confirmation, something she rarely did when it came to my words, which she usually accepted without question.

“Yes, really. You don’t need to change, Priscilla. Everything else will change to fit you and us.”

“Umm… Okay… I’ll, I’ll do that… I promise…”

As always, but this time with tears in her eyes, Priscilla buried herself in my embrace. I gently patted her back.

‘A character in a novel, huh.’

A bitter taste formed in my mouth. While I could understand where Priscilla was coming from, I couldn’t fully empathize with her.

Perhaps it was due to what had happened in the previous world, but mostly because, unlike her, I had never experienced regression. Without experiencing the repetition of the world, any attempt at empathy would fall flat.

‘What’s this?’

As I continued to comfort her, a commotion arose from below the castle.

“Mira, are you alright for a moment? Oh, did I interrupt?”

“I was just comforting her. Don’t make any weird assumptions. What’s the matter?”

Not long after, Clio showed up. Upon seeing me holding Priscilla, she started to turn away but stopped when I addressed her.

“Some guys who want to be the Demon King have arrived. Her Majesty indirectly told them that she only serves one person, but it doesn’t seem to have gotten through to them. They find it suspicious that we haven’t sent any troops to the Demon King’s Castle and continue to remain neutral.”

“And they’re here to kill two birds with one stone?”

“They probably have that intention, too. They keep sending dozens of people at a time, and after they’re done, they always hold us in their arms before leaving. Their intentions are clear. While we get free essence from them, their behavior is atrocious, and most of us don’t like it.”

“Then it’s fine.”

“What?”

I gently released Priscilla from my embrace and untied my waist, which she had been hugging. Sensing my intentions, Priscilla also let go of my waist. I softly stroked her head and drew out the Dragon Tooth Sword.

“I had something I wanted to do anyway.”