The girl turned around and blinked her large, vibrant green eyes.
A boy who looked just a little older than her had struck up a conversation. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she asked him happily, "Are you going to help me?!"
"Hmm! You certainly look like you're in trouble," Yuuya smiled gently at the nun, who currently looked like a pitiful stray kitten. She looked really cute, and even younger than he had expected in person. He couldn't help but feel a natural desire to protect her.
But beyond Index's lovely appearance, the massive, brilliantly glowing Treasure Chest symbol hovering above her head attracted his attention even more.
"Mmm!" Index immediately stood up, seemingly full of energy again. She ran a few steps over to the kind stranger and said innocently, "I'm incredibly hungry! Can you treat me to a meal? I'd be very grateful if you could make me very full!"
The girl's sweet, innocent voice was very pleasing to Yuuya. Looking into her guileless eyes, he smiled slightly and said, "Will you have dinner with me? I have no problem treating you, but how will you thank me?"
"I will pray to God for you every day, and God will bless you!" the girl said piously.
"God? I don't think I need His favor," Yuuya chuckled. "If you let me pat your head, I'll treat you to dinner. How about that?"
"Pat my head?" Index blinked, tilting her head like a puzzled kitten, before taking a wary step back. "Are you some kind of bad guy who tries to bully any girl he sees alone on the street?"
"No way!" Yuuya immediately retorted, lying through his teeth and stating matter-of-factly, "My motto in life is that I will not do anything without a reward. Even when doing good deeds, I will accept a reward."
Although he claimed not to be a bad person, he was definitely not a traditionally good person either. He would accept any reward, no matter how small, for helping others.
"Is that so? What a strange person," Index said curiously. Then, she smiled innocently. "Then I'll let you pat my head, and you'll let me eat my fill, okay?"
In the past, the kind elderly people at the church would often pat her head when they fed her, so she was used to it.
"Of course. A deal is a deal," Yuuya smiled brightly. He reached out and slowly placed his hand on Index's head. Because her head was covered by her white monastic veil, he couldn't actually feel her hair at all.
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for accessing a Supreme-tier Treasure Chest. Unlock Condition: Gain Index's absolute trust and have her regard you as her most important person.]
Yuuya's eyes lit up.
'Huh! This condition is actually quite simple. Due to the Church's memory-wiping collar, Index is currently suffering from amnesia and has no active memory of her former companions. It will be incredibly easy to become the person she trusts the most right now. I came here for Index in the first place.'
Only to the person she trusted the most would Index willingly reveal the 103,000 Grimoires locked inside her mind.
"Alright, let's go. What do you want to eat?" Yuuya withdrew his hand and looked at the girl, whose eyes were practically sparkling with expectation.
Index must have been hungry for a very long time; her stomach was rumbling loudly. Because she possessed Perfect Memory, her brain was under tremendous, constant strain.
Even when an ordinary brain is at rest, it consumes 20% of the body's caloric nutrients. For a brain maintaining a flawless Eidetic Memory holding the toxic, mind-shattering knowledge of 103,000 Grimoires, the caloric demand was astronomically high.
"There, there! I want to eat that!" Index's eyes sparkled as she looked through the restaurant window, pointing excitedly to the biggest cake on display, drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.
"No problem. Eat as much as you want. I promise I won't run out of money," Yuuya said with a smile. Looking at this completely innocent and guileless girl, his own heart unconsciously felt a bit lighter.
It was true: being around gloomy, scheming Dark Side operatives made you feel gloomy, while being around innocent, carefree people made you feel pure inside.
"Really?! Then I won't hold back!" Index happily jogged into the family restaurant and quickly found an empty booth to sit down.
She grabbed the menu and immediately started ordering.
"I want that big cake! And this pasta, and this steak, and this..." Index couldn't wait, rapidly ordering more than twenty heavy dishes.
"U-Um... is this just for the two of you?" the waitress asked doubtfully, sweating as she wrote down the massive order.
"Yes, yes!" Index nodded quickly.
"But... but can you really finish all this?" the waitress asked in a low, concerned voice.
"I can finish it all! My stomach can hold a lot! If it's not enough, I'll just order more," Index said innocently.
"Um... sir?" The waitress looked at Yuuya for confirmation.
"It's no problem. Just bring the food," Yuuya waved his hand casually.
The waitress left, shaking her head in disbelief.
"By the way, let me introduce myself. My name is Index," the girl said in a sweet, childlike voice, giving the impression of someone who was still quite young. "As you can see, I am a member of the clergy. Ah, but here's the important part! Not the Roman Catholic Church, but the English Puritan Church!"
"Then let me introduce myself as well. My name is Takahashi Yuuya, and I am an Esper from Academy City," Yuuya said.
"An Esper?!" Index blinked and said in surprise. "Although I don't remember things very clearly right now... aren't Espers only supposed to be inside Academy City? Did I accidentally wander into Academy City?!"
Although she had no memories of her specific companions or friends due to the memory wipes used to protect the Grimoires, she still retained her basic general knowledge and common sense.
She knew perfectly well that this Far Eastern country was home to Academy City—the ultimate stronghold of the Science Side, a walled metropolis where superpowers and advanced artificial intelligence reigned supreme, acting as a direct counter to magical hubs like Rome and London.
"This isn't Academy City yet. But if you walk two main streets over, you'll hit the perimeter wall and the main gateway," Yuuya pointed in a certain direction.
"Here is your cake, miss," the waiter arrived at that moment, placing a massive, multi-tiered cake on the table.
"Wow...! I'm digging in!"
Index looked at the cake with absolute adoration. Her eyes looked exactly like those of a starving kitten that had just been pulled out of a wet cardboard box and handed a bowl of warm milk.
She couldn't wait. She grabbed a fork, shoveled a massive chunk of cake and cream into her mouth, and immediately got frosting all over her cheeks.
"Mmm! So delicious~!"
Index ate incredibly fast, stuffing unbelievably large mouthfuls into her cheeks like a chipmunk, swallowing as if she didn't even need to chew.
Her eyes narrowed in pure bliss as she savored the food, looking completely radiant.
"It's so delicious!"
Yuuya opened his mouth slightly, staring in disbelief at the scene. Although he had expected her to be a big eater based on the anime, seeing it in person was quite a shock.
'How can such a huge piece of cake be stuffed into such a tiny mouth and swallowed whole?' Yuuya thought, bewildered. 'This doesn't make sense. It's not scientific at all.'
"This is the first time I've ever eaten such a delicious cake! And there's so much of it! It's so good, waaaah~!"
.....
.....
.....
Support me and read advance chapters on patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter