Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“You said you were the Demon King, right?”

“Yes.”

“You’re a reincarnator like us, too.”

“That’s also true.”

“Then why are you talking like that? We’re in front of you. Can’t you talk comfortably? Or are you trying to keep up a facade? Are you so attached to the role of the Demon King that you can’t let it go?”

It was a blatant provocation. Elysier frowned, having realized my intention. He tried to stop them from fighting, telling Priscilla to follow his example, as it was pointless for reincarnators to fight each other as soon as they met.

“……”

But Priscilla, who was stuck to my side, also glared at Elysier, so I quietly stopped. Although they weren’t directly attacking each other, it seemed that neither side had good feelings.

In a way, Priscilla had more reason to be hostile than Rosalia.

Rosalia had died fewer times at the hands of the Demon King, but Priscilla had died at least three digits. The intensity of the pain she felt when she died would not be inferior to Rosalia’s.

Moreover, the reason for her death was the curse of the Demon King, so it was only natural that she didn’t have good feelings.

“Stop it. I didn’t bring you here to fight each other. We need to work together, so why are you growling at each other?”

I snapped sharply. Rosalia was completely overwhelmed by my attitude and took a step back, looking surprised.

“I’m sorry. I got too emotional because I remembered how I died in the novel. If you think about it, you and I were both acting according to the original novel. I won’t do that again.”

Then, she finally apologized in a small voice. From her expression, it didn’t seem like a forced apology. Her hair, which had been standing on end, had calmed down a little.

“It’s fine. I was also roasted alive by the Hero, so we’re even.”

“But why are you really talking like that? Ah, I’m not trying to mock you, I’m genuinely curious. Why can’t you talk comfortably in front of us?”

“……”

The awkward atmosphere that was about to tense up again finally eased up when I mentioned the plan I had made with Elysier. However, it was more like they decided to put it aside for now rather than truly easing up.

Still, it was better than them fighting each other. You can’t expect to get full on the first try. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future, and we can gradually improve over time.

“……That’s what happened.”

I told Rosalia and Priscilla everything about the plan I had made with Elysier. I wanted to be as truthful as possible to these three.

“Mira. Did you fight the Demon King?”

Priscilla, who had been deep in thought, suddenly asked a question. I nodded.

“Yes. That was the plan.”

“Did you get hurt?”

“……”

I was about to say that I hadn’t been hurt that badly, but I stopped when I saw Priscilla, who had been thinking hard, burst into tears.

“You got hurt?”

“Ah, no. I wasn’t hurt that badly……”

“You weren’t hurt that badly? Tell me properly. Look me in the eye. How badly were you hurt?”

Rosalia glared sharply at Elysier, taking Priscilla’s place as she shed thick tears. Elysier’s eyes shone.

“He was so badly injured that I shouted my opposition to this plan until just before it was executed.”

“I knew it, for real! I can’t live with this!”

Rosalia, who had suddenly faced toward me, stood up from her seat.

“Hey! What did I say? No matter what plan you make, I’ll trust and follow you, but please, don’t get hurt! I also asked you to prioritize your body! And you answered me several times that you understood, but you made a plan that even the Demon King would shout in opposition to because it would hurt you so badly?!”

“No, I really wasn’t hurt that badly……”

“When did having your right arm cut off and half of your upper body torn off become not badly hurt?”

“Hey, Elysier……”

Elysier, who seemed to have really not wanted to hurt me that badly, took the opportunity to get her revenge by revealing information.

Of course, Rosalia’s face became more and more fierce in proportion to the information she revealed, and Priscilla’s tears became thicker in proportion.

“I knew it! Why do you keep making plans that hurt only you! You’re good! You’re good at fighting! Why don’t you just wipe them all out and stay safe?!”

“Don’t die, Mira…… Please…… If you die, I’ll die too……”

On one side, Rosalia was pressing me, frustrated, and on the other side, Priscilla was sobbing and clinging to me.

Elysier looked at them with a you-deserve-it gaze.

In my opinion, as long as I didn’t die in the end, it didn’t matter how badly I was hurt, but I kept quiet because I didn’t want to lose face by saying such a thing.

The heated atmosphere lasted for quite some time before it finally subsided. I was finally able to get out of it after promising Rosalia dozens of times that I would consult with her about such plans in the future.

Priscilla took a seat on my thigh, curled up, and burrowed into my arms, still sobbing. I stroked her head as I opened my mouth.

“……Anyway, the reason we gathered here is that we need to discuss what to do from now on. It’s been a long time since it became meaningless to compare the development of the original novel.”

It had gone too far to refer to the development of the original novel. It might be possible for a fragmentary incident, but sooner or later, even that fragmentary incident would be completely twisted.

“The most important thing is that the Demon King is no longer the final boss.”

“Then who’s the final boss?”

“I don’t know. There’s no clue at all. To begin with, it’s questionable whether there even is a final boss, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably related to that strange black aura.”

“You mean the one that felt closer to evil than the power the Demon King used?”

“Yes. Do you know anything about it? Elysier and I don’t.”

Rosalia and Priscilla seemed to be deep in thought, and almost simultaneously, they shook their heads. As expected.

“That’s why I’m telling you this in relation to the black aura. There’s something I want to tell you about why the Hero was forced to awaken like that.”

“What is it?”

I took a deep breath. Then, I held Priscilla’s hand tightly. Priscilla was surprised for a moment, but then she clasped my hand with both of hers and squeezed it.

Feeling that warmth, I summoned a spear of light with my left hand.

“Uh……?”

Rosalia and Elysier were surprised to see the light of a similar color to the Holy Sword emanating from my hand, and Priscilla, who was holding my hand, was no exception.

“……Mira, what is that?”

“It’s just, well, a spear. It has a name, but I don’t really feel like calling it. But if I had to call it something, it would be…… the Holy Spear, I guess.”

“……The Holy Spear?”

Rosalia asked, as if she had remembered something. I nodded.

“Yes. Elysier. This is the source of the power that’s similar to the Holy Sword.”

“Similar to the Holy Sword?!?”

Rosalia, instead of Elysier, opened her mouth wide in surprise. Elysier was so surprised that she forgot how to speak.

“I don’t know how it happened, but Elysier said that she felt a power similar to the Holy Sword from the pit I made. Of course, she didn’t know about the existence of this spear at the time.”

“Uh…… Uh……?”

“The reason I forced the Hero to awaken now is because of this. As soon as that black aura touched this, it disappeared without a trace. If the power of the two weapons is that similar, then conversely, the Holy Sword should be able to purify it, right?”

I paused for a moment after saying that. I had been mentally prepared to reveal this secret since I came here.

It wasn’t completely ready, though.

“And…… I don’t really want to take this out unless I have to. This is a weapon that symbolizes my failure.”

At the mention of failure, Priscilla and Rosalia hardened their expressions. They seemed to have realized that it was time to hear about the past. Elysier, who didn’t know about my past, looked puzzled.

I smiled bitterly and began to explain.

The person I had opened up to the most in the first world I was reincarnated into had given me this in exchange for my promise to become a saviour with her dying breath.

Despite that, I had failed to properly awaken it, and as hundreds of thousands of humans rushed at me, begging me to die and save them, I had awakened it by massacring them.

The light of this Holy Spear was the result of human flesh and blood.

Such a weapon did not deserve to be called a Holy Spear.

“……”

Elysier, who had heard about my past for the first time, looked dazed, and Rosalia, who had heard it for the second time, couldn’t hide her displeasure.

Priscilla, with tears in her eyes, tried to comfort me as she burrowed in my arms.

“It’s a symbol of failure. I was given this as a savior of humans, and I awakened it by killing all those humans.”

I ended my explanation and smiled bitterly, dismissing the Holy Spear. The atmosphere was even more gloomy than after the fight earlier.

That’s why I didn’t like talking about the past. It made the speaker and the listener both feel gloomy, but there was no way I could just brush it off. The best thing to do was to refresh the mood quickly.

I clapped my hands, making a loud sound.

“Okay, let’s stop talking about depressing things. We still have a lot of time, so let’s stop for today. How about we just rest for the rest of the time?”

I had deliberately skipped Friday’s liberal arts class again, so I still had Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday left until Monday. That should be enough time to relax for a day.

That was one of the reasons I came here in the first place.

“Especially you, Elysier, you should rest a lot more. You haven’t been able to touch human artifacts for a long time, have you?”

“……Yes.”

“Then what do you want to do? Is there anything you want to do?”

At my question, Elysier, who had been thinking about something for a moment, cautiously opened her mouth.

.

.

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“Um…… Maid-nim. Is it really okay?”

“Have I ever lied to you about anything related to Young Master?”

“No! No, it’s not!”

Nika Yustera, who had once been a succubus but was now living a completely different life, unconsciously asked and quickly corrected herself.

The memory of being mercilessly indoctrinated with the attitude and mindset of a maid was still vivid.

“But Master said he didn’t need any servants……”

“Young Master has always been like that. From childhood to now, he hasn’t changed at all.”

Ever since he was able to express his intentions properly, the youngest master had always tried to solve even minor matters, let alone major ones, with his own hands. Even though his body was so weak.

He had even tried to get his own food from the kitchen. He had said that since his body was intact and he had two hands and two feet, he could eat by himself.

Since then, Beatrice was convinced. She knew that if she took his words at face value, he would shoulder the burden alone, so she had to be by his side, understand his intentions without him having to say them, and act accordingly.

He was a very difficult type of master, but Beatrice was confident. After all, she had been by his side for 18 years. If she couldn’t do that, she would be disqualified as a maid.

“Listen carefully, Yustera. Master doesn’t show his hardships. So, as maids, we must always understand his intentions and act accordingly.”

There was a reason why she had come this far. It didn’t make sense that he would stay with friends he had made at school for three whole days, and he wouldn’t need any servants?

It was clear that he would try to solve everything by himself.

Beatrice quickly made a suggestion after finishing the mansion’s cleaning, and both the master and mistress of the mansion highly praised her and gave her permission to leave.

Beatrice, who had secured both justification and profit, was invincible.

“Yes, yes! I understand!”

“If you understand, let’s go.”

“Yup! Heuup!”

Yustera put some effort into lifting the luggage.

The button on the maid’s uniform under her chest popped off.

“……”

Beatrice quietly sighed as she looked at the button rolling on the floor and the enormous presence of fat that was being shown from between the buttons.