Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“Your hands are resting, Yustera.”

“I’m sorry…”

Nika pouted and began setting up the utensils. Beatrice stood by, supervising with a picky look on her face.

Thankfully, the situation where they had to kneel on the sandy beach with their hands up didn’t happen, thanks to Nika calming down earlier.

While it was good to see Nika regaining her energy, it was also necessary to clearly distinguish between her role as Yustera and her role as Nika. At least, Beatrice should always be her superior.

“It’s done, Master.”

The two maids, or more accurately, one human and one Succubus Queen, finished setting up the cooking utensils neatly.

They even set up a separate magic tool to prevent the sand from being blown in by the wind, leaving only the wait for dinner time.

“Good job.”

He praised Beatrice and approached the slightly deflated Nika.

“Nika.”

“……Yes, Master.”

“If you want to play a prank, do it on me. As long as it’s not too extreme, I’ll accept it all. But don’t do it to Beatrice.”

“Really?”

The once gloomy eyes now sparkled with excitement. He gently patted her head.

“Would I lie about something like this?”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Then, could you tell me what’s too extreme and what’s not?”

“No. You’ll have to experience it yourself and decide.”

“Hee-ing.”

Nika pouted. He patted her cheeks a couple of times and turned away.

“What would you like to do now, Master?”

“Well, since everyone’s asleep…… I guess I’ll take a dip in the sea.”

As all four of them had just fallen asleep, they wouldn’t wake up for at least half an hour to an hour. Considering the time it would take for Leona and Latina to return, it was even more likely they’d stay asleep.

“Are you coming with me?”

“Yes, Master.”

He deliberately looked at Beatrice as he spoke, knowing that if he didn’t, she would probably ask him to have fun while she waited outside.

“Do you think this will work?”

As he took out the magic tools from the ice box, he asked, glancing at the four people sleeping peacefully.

Considering their usual physical abilities, they should have woken up from the sound of the conversation, but as they slept soundly, it seemed that they were just as nervous and excited as Rosalia had said, unable to sleep the night before.

Rosalia and Priscilla even mumbled his name in their sleep, with Priscilla’s mutterings being oddly specific, while Rosalia’s were more vague.

“Work for what?”

“The skin. I was wondering if this would be enough to get a tan.”

“Hmm…… Well, I’ve never seen anyone with a tan among the Royal Guard volunteers. They all had their original skin color.”

“So, it’s just a matter of getting a tan while sleeping in the sun after applying sunscreen?”

“Probably……”

In fact, he preferred their original skin color to a tanned one.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Her Highness so relaxed.”

Karna, who had been following his gaze to the four sleeping people, smiled awkwardly. It was understandable, as she had probably only seen Laura’s dignified side as a Royal Guard.

Inside Laura was Lee Seo-ah, a vessel from the regression, so her more relaxed demeanor was probably closer to her true self.

Priscilla, Rosalia, Laura, and Elysier all had personalities that were much more casual and age-appropriate, considering their pre-possession ages.

‘……Is it a bit much to call them girls?’

Even if he excluded the time they had lived through the regression, adding the seven years they had lived on Earth after returning, they were no longer at an age where they could be called girls.

Of course, he wouldn’t say it out loud. It was just his own thought.

“By the way, did you apply sunscreen to your friends, Master?”

Nika suddenly interjected. Beatrice, standing next to her, twitched her eyes, unsure if she should point it out.

“Yes. Why?”

He nodded as casually as possible, not wanting to give them any leverage.

“Can you apply it to me later?”

“Yustera, as a maid, you shouldㅡ”

“Okay. It’s not that hard, so I will.”

Beatrice, who was about to launch into a lecture, awkwardly closed her mouth. Nika, now even more triumphant, whispered in a hushed tone.

“How about applying it to the head maid, Karna, and Erestika?

“If they ask me to.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. I’m sure it would feel amazing to be touched by you, Master.”

At Nika’s words, Karna and Beatrice both flinched. Beatrice was the first to look away.

“……I’m fine, Master.”

“I, I can do it myself if I need to.”

“It’s a pity. I’m sure it would feel incredibly good to be touched by you, Master.”

As Nika continued to tease them, he walked into the sea.

Beatrice stared at the ankle-deep waves in fascination. Her toes wiggled adorably in the summer sandals she wore instead of her usual maid shoes.

After briefly explaining the precautions, just like during the Gate Hunt, he cast a water-breathing spell and walked into the sea.

“Kyaat!”

“……Head Maid, what was that sound just now?”

“Cough, cough…… It was nothing. Please forget about it.”

Surprisingly, Beatrice was quite timid, clinging to his arm as they entered the water. She only let go when they were fully submerged, probably feeling embarrassed.

“……”

But that didn’t last long. As soon as they were completely underwater, she let go, probably feeling shy.

The vast coral reef still greeted us underwater.

Although it was the second time he had seen it, Karna was amazed as if it were her first time, and Beatrice also had a rare blank expression on her face. He swam over to them.

ㅡAre you amazed?

He spoke to them using magic. Her lips reflexively opened and closed, but only bubbles came out, as they were underwater and couldn’t make any sound.

Beatrice, realizing that her voice wouldn’t come out, nodded quietly. They swam a little deeper. It felt like they were strolling through a forest made of coral.

Nika, who had found an octopus earlier, now held a normal-sized one in her hand, giving him a meaningful look. It wasn’t as huge as the one they had seen before.

He pretended not to know and asked if she wanted to eat it, offering to tear off one of its legs. Beatrice flinched and backed away.

ㅡ”Hmm?”

As they strolled through the coral forest, something large and pale glided past a rock in the distance. He exchanged glances with Karna. Karna had seen it too.

It didn’t take long for the creature’s identity to be revealed, as a white tentacle-like thing flew out from behind the rock.

Eternity flashed. The transparent blade sliced through the suction cup-like tentacle. The severed tentacle glowed on its own, and the nearby sea turned black.

He pushed the black water away with magic and examined the severed tentacle.

ㅡ”……Squid?”

The severed tentacle looked just like a squid leg no matter how he examined it. Karna, who had seen the abnormally giant octopus before, looked a little queasy.

He considered finding and killing it but decided against it. After all, they weren’t here to hunt monsters, and he didn’t want to bother.

ㅡ”……!!!!!!”

A little late, Beatrice frantically swam towards him, splashing water as she went. Her expression clearly showed her urgency, and he smiled and patted her head.

ㅡ”……”

Beatrice sighed with relief and then backed away in horror at the squid leg floating next to her. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace to calm her down.

ㅡ”I think it’s better to throw that away.”

Unlike the octopus, which they had taken and found useful, there was no need to keep the squid. He neatly cut it into thin pieces and scattered them as food for the fish.

The nearby fish and crustaceans swarmed and began nibbling on the white flesh. Beatrice, thinking that it was food for the fish, seemed to have lessened her disgust and was observing them eating from the palm of her hand.

“Whoo……”

After a short but intense exploration, they emerged from the sea, and Beatrice, still soaked, came over to him and began drying his body. From time to time, she would flinch and blush as she did so.

He cast a spell to dry Beatrice’s hair. Her reaction was noticeably startled.

“Do, Master……?”

“Stay still.”

Beatrice obediently kept her eyes closed and stayed still until he tapped her shoulder and told her it was done.

“The others…… they’re still asleep.”

The four of them were still asleep. He checked the time. It had been about an hour. Their peaceful sleeping faces truly fit the expression, ‘asleep without a care in the world.’

“Should I wake them up……?”

As he approached to wake them up, he noticed something strange.

There were disorderly footprints on the sandy beach, which was supposed to be clean, and the ice box, which had been closed, was now open and unattended.

His expression hardened. Could there be an intruder?

‘No, if there was, the detection magic would have been triggered.’

It was a barrier set up by the great magician Valeria herself. How many people could break through it? Moreover, those four, even if they were asleep, wouldn’t be so defenseless in front of an intruder. They wouldn’t have just lain there.

He approached the ice box cautiously, ready to draw Eternity at any moment.

“……”

“What’s wrong, Mira? Is something wrong?”

Karna asked, noticing his subtle change in expression.

“The alcohol is gone.”

“……Alcohol?”

At his answer, Karna’s expression became the same as his.

The alcohol inside the box had significantly decreased. When he had taken out the sunscreen earlier, he had been unsure, but now he was certain. The alcohol bottle he had seen earlier was now gone.

“The footprints on the sandy beach are faint, so it’s hard to be sure, but…… it looks like they came here already quite drunk.”

Karna shrugged as he examined the footprints on the beach.

“Can you tell that just from the footprints?”

“The depth of the footprints isn’t consistent. Here, the right side is deeper, and here, the opposite big toe area is deeper. Even taking into account the sandy beach, their center of gravity isn’t stable. Oh, and they even stumbled and fell over there. Their wobbly footsteps came here, took the alcohol, and then returned. What does that tell you?”

“They were already quite drunk, and they came back for more alcohol because they didn’t have enough?”

“Correct.”

Karna grinned.

ㅡ”……”

From what he could gather, there were only one or two people who could have taken the alcohol.