The Broken Possessors of the Infinite Regression Academy

Chapter 299 – Side Story: The Way Forward

“Why the knees all of a sudden? I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but since you don’t have to, get up.”

I was taken aback by her sudden attempt to bow her head, so I grabbed her arm and tried to help her up, but Aria stubbornly refused my touch and looked up at me from her kneeling position. I could see the earnestness in her eyes.

Even if I just stood him up with force, he didn’t have the eyes to break his heart, so I let go of his arm. Aria opened her mouth with a trembling voice.

“… … I’ve been thinking about it. For the past two months, constantly. I have no shame in asking Miss Brunhild.”

Miss Brunhild. She said she would start over from scratch, but even after two months, it seemed like their relationship was still a bit awkward.

There’s nothing she can do. Since she’s done something wrong, Leona won’t approach her first, and given the circumstances, Aria won’t be able to approach her with a smile like her usual personality.

“I kept thinking about what my feelings were towards Mira, and if what I was feeling was right, should I continue to harbor them, or should I just quietly endure them alone so as not to be a burden to Mira and the people around me?”

“What did Leona say?”

“He said that if you’ve been thinking about it for two months, then your mind has already been made up, so thinking about it any longer would be foolish. He also said that you should stop wasting time and use that time to think about how to tell Mira. It’s up to Mira whether she accepts you or not… … .”

“… … .”

As I didn’t say anything, my trembling voice began to gradually become more soothing.

“I know it’s a tough request. I won’t hold a grudge if you refuse. How could I? I don’t expect you to treat me the same way as everyone else, so even if you use me for other purposes, just keep me by your side. So… … So… … .”

Aria, whose voice trailed off as if her throat had been choked for a moment, raised her head again. A clear liquid was forming at the edge of the blue wall like the sea.

“Can I like you?”

A longing gaze looked up at me. All sorts of emotions swirled within the blue walls.

I stood quietly. As the silence grew longer, the clear liquid in my eyes also grew larger. Then, with a “drip,” it turned into drops and flowed down.

“No… is that not possible?”

Instead of answering, I knelt down on one knee to get eye level with her. I carefully released the hand I was holding. My knuckles were white because I was holding on so tightly.

“I asked this question to other kids, and I’ll ask you too.”

He flinched, his body trembling slightly. It was unclear whether it was because he realized that he was saying the same thing to his girlfriends, or simply because the silence had been broken.

“Is your liking me simply an extension of the feelings you had for me in the past, or is it because you really like me?”

It’s a question that Priscilla, Rosaria, Elisier, and Laura have all been asked at least once. I want you to seriously think about whether you’ve simply mistaken the gratitude and affection that helped you escape regression thanks to me.

Of course, all four of them firmly drew the line, saying that gratitude and affection were separate things, and they still remained by my side as my girlfriends. So now it was Aria’s turn.

“I heard from Leona. That most of your past feelings still remain, and that you are confused because of that. Which side are you on? Do you still have those feelings from back then, or have you drawn a line between yourself and the past?”

“… … I told you earlier, right? I’ve been wondering for the past two months whether I could like you, Mira.”

Aria slowly began to open her mouth. There was little to worry about.

“I was thinking along with that thought, what you just said. What exactly are the feelings I have for Mira? I can be sure of it now. It’s not an extension of the feelings I had in the past. I may have been like that in the past. I may have denied the entire world and thought only Mira was real. But I’m not like that anymore. The current me is… … .”

After saying that in one breath, he licked his lips for a moment as if overcome with emotion before squeezing out his last words in a desperate voice.

“I… I just like Mira. Is this not enough?”

“… … .”

Honestly, I don’t know. I wonder how much thought went into Aria’s current appearance. I wonder if she herself is misunderstanding her own feelings.

But that wasn’t what was important now. What was important was that Aria was thinking that way now.

I grabbed Aria’s hand and stood up with her. Aria, who was swallowing back tears, looked surprised.

“aria.”

“Yes… …Ms. Mira.”

“As you probably already know, I have enough people to take responsibility for. And I’m not going to like you right now just because you told me that. Does that matter to you?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Aria bit her lip. She wiped away the tears that had been welling up. She seemed to have made up her mind.

“Then… … Ha, I don’t know if I’m the right person to say something like that. Anyway, shouldn’t we start from now on and figure things out step by step? Leona said, let’s start over from the beginning. We can do that too. We have plenty of time and opportunities anyway.”

The hand that had been wiping away tears froze. Judging from the expression of disbelief, it seemed as if she had not thought at all that I would accept what she said. The teardrops at the corners of her eyes grew bigger little by little.

“Thank you… … Thank you… … Sob… … .”

“No, you don’t have to thank me. Why would you do something like that? I’m just saying let’s learn step by step. You don’t have to do that.”

I consoled Aria for a long time, and only after her eyes turned bright red did she finally stop crying.

Even after the tears stopped, the tightly held hands showed no sign of letting go.

Time passed really quickly. Before I knew it, I was attending the graduation ceremony with Laura.

Laura no longer seemed to have any intention of hiding anything, and she was sticking with me openly. The students who saw her all had eyes that said they expected this to happen. It was less repulsive than I thought. At least more than I thought.

“Congratulations, Mira Crate. I thought you were on good terms, but that wasn’t what I thought.”

Surprisingly, Duke Eichenhardt’s daughter also came to the academy to congratulate us both. This was because the other academies held their graduation ceremonies a week later. This was to avoid overlapping dates with Bellium Academy.

It’s not that it’s happening now, it’s been a long-standing tradition. In Erestica’s words, about 80 years.

“Did you know? The Crown Prince was actually a woman.”

“Yes.”

“Ha. Seriously, I didn’t even know that… … I gave relationship advice to someone like that… … .”

Eichenhardt shook his head and left. Despite his disappointment, he seemed to be living happily with the man next to him.

That’s the guy Laura mentioned who fell in love with Eichenhardt at first sight and tried to write in order to become the perfect man for her. It seems he succeeded in the end.

“Congratulations on your early graduation, Mira! As expected, you are a person of the highest intelligence!”

“How about this, the ultimate celebratory magic we’ve created!”

“hey…….”

Even the damn wizards’ association came to congratulate me. The problem was that they made my name into a fireworks display and blew it up in the sky as a congratulatory magic.

Thanks to that, the name ‘Mummy Crate’ was engraved in red, orange, and yellow flames throughout the graduation ceremony. I wonder if I should consider it my last conscience that I made it so that it would not make any sound.

“How long does that go for?”

“About six hours. Actually, I wanted to burst out all day, but I held back tears because I thought Mira would be burdened.”

“I have to hold back my tears, you crazy people.”

In the end, the masters of the tower, after being scolded and sullen by me, agreed to do another 30 minutes and then call it a day. They were generous because their intentions were good. They had originally planned to end it right away.

“You really succeeded. Anyway, you’re amazing, even though you’re my little brother.”

“Hey, my little brother! Come here! I need to give you a big hug!”

My parents congratulated me first and then left for a while, after which Diana and Trisha took turns coming.

Diana looked dumbfounded at the fact that she had actually graduated early, and Trisha smiled as if it were her own business, then immediately started a fight to hug me.

And after being subdued in just 3 seconds, he was magically restrained and dragged away by Diana, who grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

“Congratulations, employer!”

“Congratulations on your graduation, Mira oppa.”

Since the two people came, it was natural that Io and Io’s younger brother would come too.

He said that since he was Diana’s benefactor, he wanted to bring all his siblings, but it would have been too complicated and noisy, so he brought only one person as a representative. That’s right, the guy who works as Diana’s assistant.

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Something like this.”

“Yes, that’s right—hmm, what are you talking about, boss? I dropped out before I even graduated.”

Even though she already knew that Diana and Trisha were changing their appearances with the power of the artifact, Io still acted like a teenager. Her younger sister was watching her with subtle eyes.

“Oh my gosh. Why are there so many people? Hey, congratulations on graduating.”

Kang Yu-na was the simplest and most concise. She just threw a flower and that was it. Maybe because she was so bothered by people, she felt more comfortable doing it this way.

“There can’t be much. There’s so much attention.”

There was the Crown Princess, the first early graduates of Bellium Academy, the participation of the Wizards’ Association, and a swarm of Archmages. Naturally, attention was focused on this.

It’s a good thing the Emperor didn’t come in person. If Laura hadn’t stopped him, the Emperor would have come out to congratulate them and it would have been a mess.

“But don’t show that you’re too tired. This is probably your last graduation ceremony in your life. You’re not going to go to college on Earth again.”

“The last one?”

As I said that and laughed lightly, Kang Yu-na hesitated.

“What, what is it? Why are you smiling so ominously?”

“well.”

That’s right. This will be the last graduation ceremony of my life.

At least externally speaking.