"I actually just met Yuuya yesterday!" Index said innocently, her clear green eyes utterly devoid of any deception or impurities.
"Huh? You just met him yesterday?!" Fukiyori Seiri's expression suddenly turned sharp. She narrowed her eyes dangerously at Yuuya. "Didn't you just tell me she was your distant cousin visiting from England?"
Yuuya's lips twitched slightly. Such a clumsily fabricated excuse had been instantly shattered by the very person he was trying to protect. 'I have absolutely no idea how to hide something like this when she has zero filter,' he thought helplessly.
"Yes! I am the 'younger sister' he met yesterday," Index continued cheerfully, completely oblivious to the tension. "I was being hunted by evil Magicians and was on the absolute verge of starvation when I happened to run into Yuuya. Yuuya not only treated me to a massive meal but also defeated the evil Magician chasing me! You could truly say he is my savior."
Once Index got to the important parts of her story, she immediately started talking non-stop.
"An evil Magician? Hunting you?" Fukiyori asked in total confusion, suddenly at a loss for words.
"Yes! They are terrifying evil Magicians. If I get caught, I'll be in massive trouble because I'm the vessel for the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. They might use torture or terrible curses on me! So I'm incredibly grateful to Yuuya. And besides, Yuuya's cooking is absolutely amazing!"
Index was excitedly stuffing her cheeks with the glowing food as she spoke.
"..." Fukiyori was utterly dumbfounded. She slowly turned her head to look at Yuuya.
"Don't worry about it, Fukiyori," Yuuya sighed heavily, reaching over to pat Fukiyori's shoulder in a deeply sympathetic, pretentious manner. "It's that specific mental illness that kids usually get in the second year of middle school. She's deep in her Chuunibyou phase. I feel incredibly ashamed whenever I have to explain it. It's a dark reality I just don't want to face."
"Chuunibyou... Eighth-Grader Syndrome..." Fukiyori suddenly understood, her eyes widening in surprise.
She then vividly remembered the embarrassing, dark history of her own middle school phase. Her cheeks instantly flushed a bright, burning red, and she quickly crossed her arms in sudden realization, coughing into her hand.
"A-Although I don't know the exact details of her delusions, it's obvious you wouldn't lay a hand on a middle schooler like that. So I'll believe your cousin excuse for now," Fukiyori stammered, desperately trying to hide her own shyness.
She quickly looked down at the dish in front of her, which was still emitting a mouthwatering aroma, eager to change the subject.
"Oh... I really didn't expect you to have such high-level culinary skills, Takahashi. I completely underestimated you." Fukiyori picked up her chopsticks, tasted a piece of the meat, and her eyes widened in shock.
"This is so delicious..."
"I'm an all-rounder. I'm a master at literally everything. Sigh, the burden of my immense talent is just too much to handle sometimes," Yuuya smirked, rubbing his forehead dramatically.
"..." Fukiyori was speechless. Even with godly cooking skills, this guy was still as shamelessly narcissistic as ever.
Just then, the classroom door slid open, and a tall boy with spiky blond hair and blue sunglasses strolled in.
"Oh my~ Having lunch in the classroom, nya~? Oh my, what is that smell? It smells absolutely divine!"
Tsuchimikado Motoharu walked over casually, his nose twitching wildly as he caught the scent of the cuisine.
"My mouth is literally watering! Did Fukiyori make this for Takahashi-san? Fukiyori's cooking is amazing, nya~!"
"I didn't make this. Takahashi made it himself," Fukiyori quickly denied it to avoid any weird rumors. She was, in short, just freeloading off Yuuya's lunch.
"Takahashi-chan, I never expected you to be such a master chef! Is this some kind of super expensive, high-class Chinese cuisine?!" Tsuchimikado's eyes lit up. He rubbed his hands together and twisted his fingers as if to say, 'I'm not going to hold back!'
"Even if you stand there and drool all over the floor, I'm not sharing a single bite with you," Yuuya said with a dismissive shrug.
He had originally considered recruiting Tsuchimikado—a guy with incredibly deep magical information channels—to join his Dark Side faction. 'But thinking about it, I decided against it,' Yuuya mused. 'It would be entirely inappropriate to have a scheming husky mixed in with my group of girls.'
"Aaaaaah...! Takahashi-chan, how could you be so utterly cruel?!" Tsuchimikado wailed, dramatically lowering his head.
Through his blue sunglasses, he subtly shifted his gaze to Index, sighing heavily inward. The last time he had truly spoken to her was three years ago back in England. Because her memory had been completely erased three times since then, Index had absolutely no idea who he was now.
When he looked back up at Yuuya, his goofy expression instantly hardened into something deadly serious.
"Takahashi-kun, there's something private I need to ask you."
"What is it?" Yuuya asked nonchalantly, picking up his chopsticks.
'It's obviously going to be about Index,' Yuuya thought. 'What else could a Puritan double-agent planted in Academy City possibly want with me right now?'
Tsuchimikado leaned in close to Yuuya and whispered something that only he could hear.
"If you want to know the truth about why Index is being hunted by those Magicians, please come with me."
Tsuchimikado didn't bother with any fancy spy games or roundabout codes; direct dialogue was far more effective when dealing with a monster. Going around in circles would only ruin the fragile chance at negotiation.
Yuuya squinted slightly, a mocking smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Well, to casually say something like that in broad daylight... you must be quite something yourself, Tsuchimikado Motoharu."
"Likewise," Tsuchimikado replied softly. He then turned and walked out of the classroom.
"Um, Fukiyori, keep an eye on her. I'll be right back." Yuuya stood up and walked out of the classroom, his hands stuffed casually in his pockets.
"?" Fukiyori looked between the doorway and the happily chewing Index, her expression thoroughly puzzled.
Yuuya and Tsuchimikado arrived on the deserted school rooftop, the heavy metal door clicking shut behind them.
"So, Tsuchimikado Motoharu. What exactly are you trying to say? Judging from what you just whispered, you're not a simple guy. You're definitely not just an ordinary slacker in Class 7, are you?" Yuuya said mockingly, looking at Tsuchimikado with half-closed eyes.
"Takahashi, I am definitely not just a student... and neither are you. You're the leader of the Harmony, a highly classified Dark Side espionage organization operating directly under Aleister Crowley," Tsuchimikado said earnestly, pushing his blue sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Then cut the crap and tell me your actual purpose for bringing me up here. Is this about Index, or is it about me?" Yuuya said, seeing right through the spy's posturing.
"Yes, it's about Index. But before we begin negotiations, please allow me to formally introduce myself."
Seeing that Yuuya's aura had completely shifted into that of a ruthless Dark Side executive, Tsuchimikado dropped his fake "nya" accent entirely.
"I am a formal member of Necessarius—the Church of Necessary Evil—a covert branch of the English Puritan Church. I also actively work for Academy City as a double agent to handle incidents caused by rogue Magicians and maintain the fragile balance of power in the world. And... I was once a close ally of Index."
"What an impressive, convoluted resume, Tsuchimikado. Are you subtly suggesting that I should just hand Index over to you?" Yuuya asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously, a hint of dark amusement in his voice.
"That's not my intention at all. I was just the bait to lead you out here. I have absolutely no intention of fighting you. Compared to you, I'm just an ordinary person," Tsuchimikado said, quickly raising both hands in a gesture of surrender upon sensing Yuuya's killing intent.
'If I were to actually fight this guy,' Tsuchimikado thought, sweating nervously, 'needless to say, a specialized Magician like me would probably be erased from existence in less than two seconds.'
"Oh~?"
Yuuya suddenly felt the distinct vibration of heavy footsteps landing lightly on the concrete behind him. He slowly turned around.
A tall, aloof figure stood near the chain-link fence, the afternoon wind whipping her long black hair and the asymmetrical hem of her jeans.
"Young man," Kanzaki Kaori spoke, her hand resting firmly on the hilt of her massive Nodachi. "It's me who wants to talk to you."
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