Tsuchimikado Motoharu hung up his encrypted phone and remained silent on the deserted rooftop.
He felt a heavy weight in his chest regarding Kanzaki's words and his underlying mission for Necessarius. He let out a long, tired sigh.
'The idea that Index's memory needs to be erased annually because the massive volume of the 103,000 Grimoires is crushing her brain... It would be a believable excuse to Magicians who have absolutely no understanding of how the human brain functions,' Tsuchimikado thought bitterly. 'But to claim that perfect memorization uses up more than 85% of her cognitive capacity? That is a complete, unscientific lie fabricated entirely to deceive those ignorant of modern biology.'
"Archbishop Laura... you really are a leader who leaves one completely speechless," Tsuchimikado muttered sarcastically to the wind.
The entire purpose of the lie was simply to ensure Index remained a docile vessel without any thoughts of resistance or independence.
He was well aware of the ruthless pragmatism driving the English Puritan Church's leadership. To them, it would be infinitely better if the Index Librorum Prohibitorum became a mindless, automated puppet that only knew how to dispense Grimoire knowledge upon command. However, the Church's foundational doctrines explicitly forbade them from performing such inhumane lobotomies on devout, innocent believers unless those believers had formally abandoned their faith and become heretics.
If Index ever became a heretic, she would simply be tossed into a dark magic laboratory to become a disposable tool for esoteric experiments.
Because the Queen of England was the official head of the Anglican Church, and Archbishop Laura Stuart merely held the position to manage the Church's magical branch on her behalf, blatantly evil magical experiments on innocent children were not permitted at the national level.
However, such moral constraints didn't always exist in the Roman Catholic Church, where the Inquisition historically treated heretics as if they weren't human beings at all. Fortunately, the current Pope was a relatively benevolent leader who actively prevented modern Crusades from happening in the open.
'If Kanzaki ever found out the truth about Index's memory wipes, she would probably go berserk. She's completely tied to Necessarius out of guilt over this lie. The Archbishop really is a cunning, terrifying old fox, just as shrewd as Aleister Crowley. It's definitely best not to offend her,' Tsuchimikado shuddered.
Although Archbishop Laura usually acted approachable and didn't mind her subordinates talking back in a casual manner, if someone genuinely angered her... well, there was a reason she rose from being a mere nun in a small parish to ruthlessly subjugating the entire Puritan magic faction.
...
Inside the Classroom.
As usual, the first period for Class 7 of the first year was taught by Komoe-sensei.
Because Kamijou Touma hadn't finished his homework due to his all-night marathon from the Skill-Out thugs, Komoe-sensei was so dramatically upset that she actually started crying at the podium. This immediately caused all the boys in the class to turn and stare at Kamijou with extremely "kind" and murderous eyes. Kamijou trembled and covered his face in despair.
'You bunch of shameless lolicons...' Kamijou thought, sweating profusely. 'I feel like this whole class is doomed. You're all a bunch of absolute perverts!'
"Ugh! You rotten Kami-yan! I'd rather you just let me ascend to heaven right now while I'm stuck in a class full of such degenerate lolicon worshippers," Aogami Pierce, the blue-haired boy with the earring, sighed loudly.
"Hehe, don't be so pessimistic, Touma! I didn't do my homework either! Komoe-sensei will definitely call me to her office for private counseling later. Let's keep each other company," Aogami said proudly.
"Huh? You forgot to bring it too?" Kamijou asked.
"I deliberately 'forgot' about it so that I would get scolded by Komoe-sensei in private! Don't you think it's a wonderfully happy thing to be scolded by such an adorable, legal loli teacher?"
"You are a complete and utter pervert," Kamijou deadpanned.
"Tsk, tsk. I can't stand listening to you narrow-minded fools anymore. You don't understand high art at all. You just want to be verbally abused," Yuuya chimed in, looking at Aogami with pure disdain.
Kamijou and Aogami both looked over at Yuuya.
"You two are still playing at the first level, while I am operating at the fifth level. I set my sights much higher. My goal isn't just to be scolded by Komoe-sensei... it's to obtain the legal qualifications to register our marriage. That is the ultimate goal," Yuuya declared, raising his head and glancing contemptuously at the two dumbfounded boys.
"Hiss—!" Kamijou and Aogami both took a sharp, deep breath, absolutely horrified by his shamelessness.
"Boys are all hopeless idiots," Fukiyori Seiri sighed loudly from the front row, glaring at the three of them.
She was used to Yuuya's complete unreliability and constant joking. But overall, she knew he was a good person deep down. Looking at Yuuya's ever-present, cheerful, and confident smile, she couldn't help but feel a little happier herself.
'I don't know what's wrong with Takahashi lately,' Fukiyori thought. 'I haven't seen him study hard at all, yet he somehow got first place in the last mock exams. It seems he's finally taking his academic life seriously.'
"Hey, you little kittens in the back row! If you don't speak quietly, Sensei can hear you!" Komoe-sensei called out, wiping her fake tears.
...
Lunchtime.
As soon as the bell rang, Yuuya left the classroom to find Index. However, when he arrived at the courtyard, she seemed to have already become quite familiar with the senior female students in the tennis club.
"Looks like Index had a lot of snacks bought for her! Are you even going to have room for a proper lunch?" Yuuya joked, looking at the large melon pan Index was already halfway through eating.
Because Index so easily won the favor of others with her innocent charm, he wasn't worried at all that she would be lonely at school.
"I didn't ask them to buy it! The nice upperclassmen gave it to me themselves! And one piece of bread isn't nearly enough to fill me up," Index pouted, her stomach letting out a loud gurgle. She tugged on the hem of Yuuya's shirt. "I'm so hungry, Yuuya! It's lunchtime already!"
"Remember, Index, call yourself my distant cousin from now on, or I'll be in big trouble," Yuuya whispered down to her.
"Yeah! Yuuya said this morning that this is my official identity to live in Academy City, right?" Index said innocently, giving him a knowing, serious nod.
"Yes, that's exactly right. Enterprise-level understanding."
During lunchtime, most students went to the school cafeteria. Nowadays, very few students brought their own homemade bento boxes, especially since the cafeteria offered decent meals and free miso soup.
When Yuuya and Index walked back into his classroom, only Fukiyori was there. Fukiyori always brought her own healthy, homemade lunch and preferred the quiet of the classroom.
"So this is what Yuuya's classroom looks like," Index said curiously, blinking as she looked around. She then looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Yuuya, where's our lunch?"
"Lunch is right here in my personal storage space," Yuuya said tapping his pocket.
"Takahashi, is she really your cousin?" Fukiyori asked, looking Index up and down with deep suspicion.
"Yeah," Yuuya chuckled awkwardly.
"Stop lying to my face. She is clearly of pure European descent," Fukiyori crossed her arms, her gaze gradually hardening into a glare.
"She's a cousin who is... not strictly related to me by blood," Yuuya scratched his temple. He had known all morning that this exact interrogation was going to happen. What was bound to happen, happened.
"Are you secretly a pervert?" Fukiyori asked bluntly.
"Hello! Are you Yuuya's friend?" Index bounded over, asking curiously.
"Yeah, I guess you could officially call me a female friend who is actively trying to keep him out of jail," Fukiyori sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"Hello! I am Yuuya's sister! And as you can see from my habit, I am a member of the clergy!" Index spoke with innocent, childlike enthusiasm, completely devoid of any guile or deception.
"Um... hello there," Fukiyori paused for a moment, disarmed by the girl's pure smile. She then looked over at Yuuya, who simply shrugged innocently, causing Fukiyori to blush slightly.
'Was I mistaken? Is it really just a simple, wholesome brother-sister dynamic?' Fukiyori wondered.
"Yuuya, what about lunch?!" Index demanded again.
"Right here. Let's all eat together. Come and try the special dishes I made myself this morning, Fukiyori," Yuuya offered.
Yuuya snapped his fingers, and a dozen steaming, perfectly plated dishes appeared out of thin air, floating gently down onto his desk via telekinesis.
"Well... alright then," Fukiyori was surprised for a moment by the impossible spread, but nodded with a slight blush as her stomach growled.
"Wow~! I won't hold back!" Index cheered.
"By the way, how exactly did you and Takahashi meet, Index?" Fukiyori asked as she picked up her chopsticks.
Yuuya's lips curled into a slight smirk. 'This conversation is getting interesting.'
At that moment, his gaze drifted out the classroom window, locking onto the roof of a distant office building across the street.
'Those two idiots really love spying with binoculars, don't they?' he thought, easily spotting Stiyl and Kanzaki's hidden vantage point.
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