Broken Possessors of Infinite Regression Academy

“You did a great job, sister.”

“You figured it out pretty quickly. We even pinky-swore to keep it a secret between the three of us. I guess food wasn’t enough to bribe them.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m closer to them. Or rather, I shouldn’t be the one apologizing. You were the one who was taken advantage of.”

As we entered the empty room on the third floor, Diana greeted us as if she had been waiting for us. She had changed out of her elaborately decorated party dress into something more comfortable.

“When did you ask them? They were with me, weren’t they?”

“I asked a passing maid to bring me some more cookies. They were happily munching on the limited-edition marshmallow cookies I had specially prepared. They seemed to enjoy them, the two of them. It’s amazing how much they can eat despite their small bodies.”

“How much did they eat?”

“Together, they ate three large cookie jars, which is almost 3kg in total. That’s what Beatrice told me.”

Three large cookie jars would be a little less than 3kg. Beatrice had probably made up the story, knowing that they were goddesses.

“Be careful that they don’t overeat. It’s not good to eat too much.”

“It’s fine. If they get a stomachache, I can just use healing magic.”

“They shouldn’t get a stomachache in the first place. You don’t know how to take care of kids, do you?”

“Well, if you’re going to blame it on something, blame it on the erotic novels. If I hear you reading them again, your bookshelves will be a lot lighter tomorrow morning.”

“…… Anyway, whose kid is it? The women around you seem too young to be the mother.”

Diana blatantly tried to change the subject. “Anyway, it’s a child of a relative on Ciel’s side.”

“Didn’t I tell you that Ciel was an orphan? That’s why she needed our sponsorship to transfer to Bellium Academy, if I remember correctly.”

“Did I say that?”

I casually dodged the question. She didn’t ask about Ciel’s background when I brought her over, and that was still true. As long as it didn’t harm the family, we didn’t interfere with each other’s secrets.

Moreover, with the Crown Princess, the Hero, and the Saint here, they were confident that we knew their identities. They were just preventing the information from spreading for some reason.

“Personally, I think it’s more likely that our daring little brother has a hidden child. What do you think?”

“You just said that the women around me are too young to be the mother. Aren’t they around the same age as me?”

“It’s possible that they used magic to change their appearance. After all, Erestika, the principal of Bellium Academy, is one of the candidates. I know that she likes you a lot. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the Sword Saint. What if she fell in love with a man and then disappeared?”

“That’s not very likely.”

Diana nonchalantly took a sip of champagne, as if to dismiss the topic. Her slender body looked even more delicate as she held the long-stemmed champagne glass.

“So, how does it feel to have the bomb passed back to you?”

“It’s unfair to call them bombs just because they came to celebrate my sister’s birthday. It’s not like they’re your friends.”

“They’re not just my brother’s friends. If you say that, the ‘friends’ will be very disappointed. They all seemed to want to be called something else.”

Diana had a sharp sense of perception as always. I nodded in agreement, and Diana shook her head.

“Be careful, Mira. There’s an old saying that the place where a man is most likely to be stabbed is in bed, and the most common reason is because of a woman.”

“That’s not an old saying, it’s something you read in an erotic novel.”

“…… Anyway, the women around you are all extraordinary people.”

Diana sent me a sharp, piercing gaze, as if she had hit the nail on the head.

“It’s fine. They’re not the kind of people who would do something like that. It might sound a bit trashy, but…”

“That’s not trashy, that’s trash. You need to speak properly, our beloved little brother.”

There was nothing I could say, knowing only part of the truth. We both laughed at the situation.

Diana held up the champagne bottle as if to offer me a drink. I sat down on the opposite sofa without hesitation. The greenish-yellow liquid, like grape jelly, filled the glass.

“Why are you drinking alone without any snacks? Aren’t you worried about the attention you’re getting by bringing so many women here on the first day?”

“I couldn’t help but drink because I was worried about the next two days. Thanks to you, everyone’s attention is on us now.”

“You should have just stayed healthy like me. Didn’t our parents always throw me a small, quiet birthday party before?”

“Didn’t you hear? Starting this year, they’re going to throw you a birthday party just like ours. They were so sad that you always had to celebrate your birthday alone, so they’re determined to make it up to you now that you’re better.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

My parents, who casually committed all sorts of money-related eccentricities, had made up their minds. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how grand the scale would be.

“Ah, don’t worry. I will do my best to mobilize all my connections to make our beloved little brother’s first birthday party a grand success. You have a week left, so you better prepare yourself.”

.

.

–

“Mira, you heard too, right? They’re planning a huge birthday party for you?”

Rosalia rushed towards me, making a fuss. Even Karna, who had come to the clubroom for the first time in a while, widened her eyes.

“Really? We were just going to celebrate quietly among ourselves.”

“That was the plan, but it’s changed now.”

There was a reason why the situation had changed. The Crate family’s entire merchant group had started a discount event to commemorate my birthday.

The Crate family owned one of the largest merchant groups in the empire. When all those countless stores started advertising discounts, the impact was immense.

Even the department stores located throughout the empire were no exception. Beatrice said that this was just the beginning, and I was truly shocked when I first heard the news.

“Great! Birthdays should be celebrated grandly!”

Rosalia pounced on me, and before I knew it, she had grabbed my head and tried to bury my face in her chest. I quickly grabbed her armpits and lifted her up.

Due to the nearly 20cm height difference, Rosalia was left dangling like a cat lifted by its front legs. Her face turned sullen.

“Why are you treating me like a cat? What’s wrong with you?”

“Well, anyone can see that you’re acting awkwardly. Shouldn’t you know better than anyone else?”

Laura quietly pressed her temples, and Priscilla stood by with a disdainful look on her face. It seemed that the two of them were somehow involved in this.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, then forget it.”

Erestika sat Rosalia on her thighs and hugged her from behind, just as she had done to me. Although her head poked out over Rosalia’s shoulders, this was enough.

Rosalia, who had been suddenly hugged from behind, stiffened.

“I was going to keep it quiet because some of us had already celebrated our birthdays before we became like this. It’s not like we’re close enough to throw a big party.”

In fact, some of them had already had their birthdays before we became close. We had given them small gifts, and I had planned to celebrate more grandly starting next year.

“It’s good that you had such a ridiculous plan. We would never have agreed to it.”

“Yes, it’s good that it didn’t happen.”

Elysier drew a clear line, and Leona agreed. The others seemed to have similar thoughts. I had a strong feeling that this was going to be a huge deal.

As always, my bad premonition did not miss the mark. That very day, I received a message from the Magic Association.

“We, the Magic Association, have developed a magic that will set off fireworks in the skies across the empire for 18 hours to commemorate the eighteenth birthday of Mira Crateㅡ”

“If you dare to do such a thing, I will show you what I am capable of.”

Eighteen hours of fireworks? Did these people have any conscience at all?

They never had any to begin with.

Fortunately, the Magic Association was something I could stop at my discretion, unlike the proposal from the Emperor, which I had to politely decline.

“Ho ho ho ho, my child…”

And the biggest hurdle, Erestika, greeted me with a seriously ominous smile when I visited her after hearing the news. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of affection and desire.

“Why are you smiling so ominously?”

“I was thinking about what to do for your upcoming birthday.”

“I don’t see how a smile and a birthday have anything to do with each other.”

Fortunately, Erestika did not go as far as announcing my birthday to the entire Bellium Academy. However, it was clear that she was planning something unusual.

“It’s not an ominous smile at all.”

“……”

It did seem ominous, though.