My Daughters Are Regressors

Chapter 154: My name is Ha Taeho. And I... (5)

Elle Cladeco was a ruthless woman.

All that filled her head were numbers, formulas, runes, and incantations.She was an outstanding researcher.

Having come from an orphanage, Elle Cladeco believed she had to excel to survive and nearly perfected her skills.

She met the man when she was handpicked for the Graham Academy and was walking the path of success.

The man's name was Eugene, and he was a thief who had snuck into Elle Cladeco's lab with his dirty feet.

—Ah, I just wanted to steal a few potions.

Honestly, Eugene's skills were terrible. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that even she would be able to do a better job than him.

However, Eugene's greatness lay not in his thievery, but in his knowledge.He wildly explained to Elle Cladeco about amazing things like computers and airplanes, suggesting that a remarkable magician and researcher like her could make such things.

—I want to drink cola. If you keep inventing, one day you might make cola too. I don't know about other things, but I really want to drink a cold cola in an ice cup.

Elle realized Eugene was from a different world. A being from another dimension. Naturally, this caught Elle Cladeco's keen interest.

‘Maybe I could even become headmaster, surpassing my advisor.’

Elle's prediction was spot on.She became an advisor through the ideas of the items the man shared.

And she had to admit, the man—Eugene—might not have been good at stealing items, but he had some knack for stealing a woman's heart.

Elle gave birth to Tywin with difficulty.Tywin was so frail in the womb that she almost didn't make it into the world.

As an exceptional researcher, Elle thought maybe her and the man's constitution was causing problems for the child inside.

Eugene was a man from another world, naturally lacking mana.And Elle was a reasonably mana-rich magician.It was clear that this opposing constitution was causing a collision and tormenting the child's body.

Elle managed to obtain the best medicine in the world and even developed some herself, finally succeeding in giving birth.It was a daughter.Truly, those were happy days.

—Elle, how about we have a proper wedding?

Eugene asked.Elle, having left the orphanage determined to walk the path of success, honestly thought of marriage as nothing more than a burden.

Up until then, she inwardly regarded marrying Eugene as simply acquiring a 'sample from another world' and obtaining research material on 'the hybrid of a Pangean human and a human from another world'.She grew up never knowing love from a young age.

However, the problem arose in the year Tywin Cladeco turned six.

Tywin lay ill with a fever of unknown cause, losing consciousness.All Elle could do was maintain her life so Tywin wouldn’t lose it.Looking at her daughter placed on a cold machine, Eugene said,

━This is a disease of my world. It probably can't be cured with the substances of this world. I should go back home. I'll bring medicine.

With those words, Eugene vanished.It wasn’t until he didn’t return for months that Elle Cladeco had to admit she loved that man very much.

Elle Cladeco became the headmaster of Graham Academy that year, known to possess all the knowledge of the world, and became the most successful mage.Yet, she didn’t know how to wake her daughter, and Eugene never returned.

「Bring him back.」

At some point, that single sentence revolved in Elle Cladeco's mind. To summon Eugene back to this world.

Elle Cladeco repeatedly researched the magic circles installed in the undergrounds of Freesia, and finally gathered enough energy to tear through dimensions and summon a man.

Although it cost all the money she had saved over a lifetime─ money was just a means, no longer important to Elle Cladeco.Woong─The magic circle activated, and Elle Cladeco finally tore open the portal to summon something.But there was nothing in the magic circle.

Several months later.Tywin heard rumors of an extraordinary and strange thief traversing the continent of Pangaea.

━An extraordinary and strange thief? What's the name?━Judas. They say he's a Barbaroy with black hair, stealing people's shadows.

'Black hair...'

Eugene had red hair.Two years later, Elle Cladeco met Judas on the continent of Freesia and felt the same hair-raising sensation she had when she first saw Eugene.

'This man. The one I summoned...! Using this man, maybe I could accelerate my transcendence plan even further...!'

The man even had a child who had just turned six.Elle Cladeco's clock started ticking again from that moment.Much time has passed since then, and now-.

"Come here. There's no shadow to hide in. This room is special; it doesn't cast a single shadow. You're like a rat in a poison jar."

━Grrr...!

Elle Cladeco cornered the summoned Molumolu.However, Molumolu dodged Elle's attempts with its small body, like a volleyball.

Even using binding magic, Molumolu was a great being, both a Demiurge and mortal Elle Cladeco's magic could not dare hold Molumolu.So Elle had to move her hands diligently to catch Molumolu, but being a researcher who usually sat at a desk working, she lacked the physical strength to catch the agile Molumolu.

Thud— Thud—Without the stone door opening, someone entered the room.Tywin and someone large... very large...

‘Who?’

Elle frowned at the sight of the unfamiliar woman.Her face seemed known to Elle, but she couldn't pinpoint who it was.How could she have guessed that it was Cecily Von Ragdoll from 25 years in the future?

Cecily spoke.

“Elle, please cooperate with us. You must have had some kind of contingency in case the experiment with Mara might have failed, right?”

“Who are you?”

“I am Cecily Von Ragdoll.”

Elle, who rarely showed emotion, was truly startled now. With that explanation, many things became clear.It was indeed a surprising turn of events.

“Elle, if you help us defeat Nocturne, Cecily, Naru, and Hina will also aid in your research. Though it might take some time for us to grow up...?”

━Meow.

Pop—Elle Cladeco was momentarily distracted as Molumolu leaped towards Tywin. Instinctively, Tywin embraced Molumolu, who was warm, squishy, and soft.

“...And if I refuse?”

Elle looked over her glasses at Molumolu cuddled by Tywin, her thin eyes opened wide. What would happen if she refused Cecily's proposal?

While saying this, Elle silently recited a spell.Shadowless Spear.It was her specialty, acquired after surpassing level 40.

However, Cecily's leap was quicker.Cecily elegantly soared into the air, rolled twice in midair, and caught Elle Cladeco from behind. Then, she pressed her finger against the nape of Elle’s neck.

“Pressing here will knock you out.”

“......”

Elle obeyed, raising her hands.She had no intention of fighting Cecily seriously.It was just curiosity to test her skills, nothing more.She was a natural-born experimenter, after all.

“Take this.”

Pop—Elle Cladeco pulled a potion from her pocket.

“Blood of Demiurge Epar. Sprinkle this on the magic circle where Nocturne has been resurrected. It will completely neutralize Nocturne for a while. For about 10 minutes, to be exact.”

That was the end of it.Cecily turned her back and Elle said nothing more.As if no conversation was necessary.Tywin couldn't bear it.

“Mother...”

Tywin said.

“...Mother!”

But Elle Cladeco treated Tywin as if she were non-existent.Tywin craved Elle's affection, but Elle did not love Tywin.

“...You are not my daughter. Like things seek to merge. You haven’t merged with my daughter, Tywin. You are not my daughter Tywin. You are something else.”

Elle was cold.Like things come together into one—that was the truth.

But the Tywin within the mechanism and the Tywin before my eyes were indeed different beings.If they had been the same, they would have drawn each other in to become one.

I wondered... if perhaps stimulating the vegetative mind of Tywin could wake her from her coma, but it was a failure nonetheless.

Thus, Tywin Cladeco became a failed creation, drifting to the corner of Elle Cladeco's heart. An entity with her daughter’s face, her voice, but not her daughter...It only brought sorrow to Elle Cladeco’s heart.

"You’re not even my familiar anymore. Just go away."

Elle harshly spoke to Tywin.At those words, Tywin’s ash-gray eyes moistened, and finally, she began to weep, barely parting her lips.

“Hic...”

Tywin knew that she could never, ever return to her original home.For Tywin was a clever girl.

Even though she had a false mother and she herself was a false daughter, and they never even shared a meal... Tywin still cherished her home.

But now, Tywin truly became an orphan.An orphan without a single family member.

“Waaah...!”

Finally, Tywin burst into intense sobs.She wiped her tears with her hands, but they seemed endless.

“......”

The tall Cecily quietly raised her hand to comfort Tywin by stroking her head—but in the end, she withdrew her hand.

‘Tywin rarely cries. It's best to let her cry when she does.’

“With this, we can neutralize Nocturne.”

The tall Cecily handed a potion to the tall Hina.It was a bottle that seemed to contain the Milky Way.It was incredibly beautiful, shimmering like the starry night.

“Epar's blood...!”

The tall Hina was startled.After all, this was nothing less than a 'mythical treasure.' According to the myth, Epar neutralized Nocturne with his blood and used the opportunity to seal him in another realm.

“Elle had it. With this...”

Hina sprinkled Epar's blood on the large magic circle drawn on the ground.Then, as if the magic circle had been waiting, it started to activate with a low hum.

What was about to happen?Whatever it was, it was clear something tremendous would occur.

Goooooooooooooo━─!!!

The surroundings began to churn.An earthquake caused much to collapse, ruins tore apart, and debris fell from the sky. Everyone panicked in this sudden situation.

The small Naru, Hina, and Cecily clung even tighter to their Judas' body.As if to prevent him from leaving to anywhere.

Instinctively, the children realized that if they missed this moment, they might never see him again.That everything depended on the next 10 seconds.

Crack━─!!!Finally, a breaking sound emanated from the body embraced by the /genesisforsaken