How To Raise Your Regressor

239  Finalised deal

"Dora doesn't like them much anyway, and the Millers cannot defy me," Jennifer smiled.

Hmm, interesting.

"Are you sure Dora really doesn't like them?"

"She told me that herself."

"What if she said that after being scolded by them, or something similar to that effect?"

Children- no, most people are likely to say things like 'I fucking hate you you fucking piece of shit I hope you choke on a dick and die!' when they've been hurt by the other party in some way or the other, even if they do not actually mean it.

"She has said that to me on more than one occasion, and it's also very clear to see."

Well, Dora's relationship with the Millers did seem colder than usual. The latter do not seem to be that fond of the former either.

"Then why is she still with the Millers?"

"Because at the very least, she is safe there," Jennifer's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"A child needs a loving environment just as much as they need a safe one. You're stunting her emotional growth by letting her stay with the Millers who clearly do not care for her as their own child. This could have long lasting effects even into her adulthood. Trust me, I'd know."

"You'd know, huh?" An indescribable expression formed on Jennifer's face.

Oh right, I'm apparently an abused, traumatised boi. Forgot about that.

"I speak that as a psychiatrist, okay?"

"Don't worry, I know," Jennifer smiled with a sigh. "That's exactly why I'm going to bring Dora back to live with me. It might be a bit late, but we can finally make a new start," her smile sweetened as she thought about finally living with her niece.

"Nice," I nodded. "However, to maintain the life that you're envisioning, be sure to make a good example of those who come after Dora. You must not show any weakness, or your enemies will definitely take advantage of it."

"How many enemies do you think I have," she chuckled.

"Enough to blot out the horizon?"

Jennifer standing on a cliff with a sword as she's sieged by so many foes that no matter where her eyes go, she can't see anything but them, with red of the sun being a metaphor for the sea of blood that would soon cover that place, would make for a very nice and expensive painting.

Huh, should I instigate her enemies to band together and finish her off once and for all? I mean, while I could just imagine the scene that I just talked about, painting it when it's right in front of my eyes would make for a better picture.

So what if my actions would lead to Jennifer's dreams, ideals, even her very life being trampled over by an angry, unreasonable mob of wankers who are too stupid to look at the bigger picture and realise they need the Sword of the World? Her existence is clearly not worth more than a picture painted by the Origin himself.

"Obviously… not!" She exclaimed. "It's just that my 'enemies' are very powerful and would be willing to do anything to take me down as long as it's in their interests."

Sadge. No epic painting which I can sell for trillions, I guess.

Huh, I wonder who the enemies are for the Sword of the World to speak so highly of them.

Eh, must be some dumbfucks who'd put their own interest over the survival of the world. Classic beta 3rd rate villain energy.

"Then even more of a reason to make a good example, no? It doesn't matter how you think of it; objectively speaking, Dora is an exploitable weakness that's not easy to cover up or protect. So the only thing you can do is to show them that this weakness is not worth exploiting."

"And how would I do that?" She smiled bemusedly as her brow raised.

"Prove to them you are an absolutely batshit crazy maniac who'd stop at nothing to take revenge if someone so much as touches your weakness. To do that, don't just stop at killing the person who comes after Dora. Go after every single person connected to him and hang their corpses at the plaza."

"That's obviously too much!" Jennifer exclaimed in what seemed to be horror.

"Hmm, you're right," I couldn't help but nod. "Hanging the corpse at the plaza would be akin to spitting in the face of those in charge of the security of this city. But we still need to let the others know that you're the one who massacred everyone. This is a dilemma."

Hmm, maybe we should record the unhuman torture we suspect those criminals to and send the video every suspected enemy of hers.

"That isn't what I was talking about…" she sighed.

"At the very least, you would need to kill everyone connected to the incident, as well as everyone who might hold a grudge at their murders and come back for revenge later. Never leave loose ends, especially when you have someone to protect."

Huh, look at me, asking her to kill absolutely everyone when I once used to be the advocate of verbal conflict resolution.

As they say, even the Gods fall.

"…I'll remember that," she squinted. "Seriously, sometimes I find it hard to believe that you are just a 13 years old child."

"The correct term would be teenager."

"Ah, right, you are a teenager now," she nodded. "Anyway, what do you say? Are you up for the task?"

"I can be the bait and protect her, but I won't make any promises about teaching her or being a good friend."

Protecting her just requires installing a few automatic conditional magic spells on her. Teaching, on the other hand, would require conscious effort from me.

And everyone knows how bad I'm at that.

"I was told you are a very good teacher, though?" Jennifer tilted her head a bit.

"My methods of teaching are a… bit questionable. I'm not sure if you'd approve of them, assuming you love Dora."

There is still the possibility that Jennifer is doing so much for Dora only because she wants something in return.

I wonder what that could be.

"Oh, of course, I love her. Why else would I do so much for her?"

"Probably because you need something from her?"

"…" Her eyes narrowed a bit. "I can see why you might feel that way, but I genuinely love her."

Sadge. Also a questionable decision to admit that so blatantly in front of me.

"I see. Is she really your niece then?"

"We are not blood-related, so she's more like a daughter to me."

They are not related by blood? Why does she love Dora so much then?

"Really?"

I wonder how they met, and what led their relationship to develop to what it is today.

If I were to make an educated guess, Dora's the daughter of Jennifer's friend/relative who asked her to take care of Dora before taking their final breath in her arms.

"She's the daughter of a friend who left her in my care. She had always been irresponsible, but to leave their own daughter behind is just too much," Jennifer shook her head.

Hmm?

"Did your friend abandon Dora?"

I thought the friend died, but it turns out they were just a shitty parent. Wow.

"Yup. She died when she should have lived for her daughter."

Oh. It's just Jennifer being a salty wanker.

So what if your best friend died and left their daughter to you? Show some emotional maturity, chief.

"I see."

"…Would you like to hear the story?"

Hmm, am I willing to listen to what could be another unoriginal story?

"It should be a 7/10 backstory at the very least, so it should be enjoyable."

Hah, she even knows that?

"Arteria told me," Jennifer continued with a smirk. "I'm interested in seeing what score this story would get."

"Well then, by all means, go ahead."

Time to channel my inner IGN reporter and incompetently give the story a score of 0 to make Jennifer choke me to death.

"It started 5 years after I came to this world. My best friend on Earth, who was pregnant at the time, got transported to the Tutorial zone."

I can already see where this is going. 5/10.

"In case you don't know, the Tutorial is a 3 floor dungeon that every person coming into this world must survive or clear. If you succeed, you enter this world. If you don't, you die."

How nice of her to set the background first. This also introduces an element of mystery into this story; did her friend die after giving birth to Dora inside the Tutorial, or did she clear it but died in this world later on?

"My friend, Arla, cleared the Tutorial, but sustained fatal injuries while doing so."

Mystery resolved.

⟦⟦Wait a minute, the name sounds familiar, doesn't it?⟧⟧

Hmm, it does, now that I think about it.

Oh wait, isn't that my granddaughter?

3 done, 3 left.

Anit666