Thank you for the invitation. He's in heaven now, he's become God.

"Having lost the guidance of God, has the church in this world fallen to such a state?"

"What……"

Before Stiyl and Kanzaki Kaori could react, a sublime aura appeared before them.

Yawes had no interest in wasting time on them like he did with Index.

Even a barely perceptible wisp of aura made Stiyl and Kanzaki Kaori feel as if their hearts were being gripped, making it difficult for them to even breathe.

This aura is...

Great and holy, having everything, being supreme.

It is as vast and boundless as the universe, encompassing everything.

As a follower of Christianity and possessing the qualities of a "saint," she instantly recognized the identity of this gentle young man.

"……"host"?!"

Kanzaki Kaori felt a dryness in her throat, and even the long-handled katana in her hand, named "Seven Days Seven Blades," seemed a little unsteady on her grasp.

"........."

Recalling what he had just said, Stiyl's hands trembled slightly.

Is it too late for him to kowtow and repent now?

"Kind person...is he really 'the Lord'?"

Index, standing beside Yawei, also had an extremely adorable, blank expression on her face.

Was the kind person she met on the road really the god she believed in?

........................

"What do you want to drink?"

Finally, at Yahweh's suggestion, the group decided to talk at a nearby dessert shop.

After Yahweh ordered his drink and Miri, he handed the order book to Kanzaki Kaori and the other person.

Still somewhat confused, the two naturally chose to politely decline.

They never imagined that they would encounter "the Lord" during the process of "reclaiming" Index.

Index, what would you like to order?

Yahweh didn't pay any attention to this, placed the order book in front of the silver-haired nun beside him, and asked with a smile.

"No need, my lord!"

Index seemed to have the presence of a deity, and at this moment she was completely different from her usual gluttonous nun. She looked devout and gentle, and her tender smile had a unique charm that seemed to purify the soul.

Unfortunately, her true personality was already revealed when she asked Yawei for ice cream.

"My lord, why...why have you descended upon this place?"

Seeing Yahweh calmly pick up the black tea without saying a word, Kanzaki Kaori finally couldn't help but ask him cautiously.

As one of the fewer than twenty remaining saints in the world, Kanzaki Kaori holds a relatively high position within the Puritan Church and has a vague understanding of the situation of the "Lord" she worships.

However, since the "Lord" has already descended into the world, none of this matters anymore.

But the problem is...

Why Academy City?

As a deity worshipped by Puritans, the fact that he chose to descend upon the opposing scientific center—what does this signify...?

Kanzaki Kaori dared not think any further.

"This is just a temporary stop."

Fortunately, her worst fears did not come true.

“My Lord, the Church has no intention of using Index as a tool.”

With her worries dispelled, Kanzaki Kaori turned the conversation back to Index.

"This child possesses the ability to remember everything."

"With her absolute memory, she can remember anything, no matter how many leaves a tree has or how complicated a thing is, after just one look. Therefore, she is able to seal the original texts of magic books from all over the world in her mind."

"However, 85% of the brain was eroded by the magic book, leaving only 15% for survival."

"Therefore, Index has to erase her memories once a year to prevent her brain from breaking down."

As she said this, Kanzaki Kaori bit her lip, a sad expression on her face.

"Index is also an important friend to us, and we wouldn't want to..."

P.S.: Speaking of which, I feel like writing a story with Shokuhou at the beginning is really difficult. I originally considered turning her into a female version of herself and having her join the group, but unfortunately, this setting isn't popular on Nekoker. I really like Mai's character design (I recommend "The Devil's Second Dimension" here, an older book, with a female version of herself as a mother, and Kamijou Mai is super cute!).

Chapter 247: Index's "Collar"

"........."

Beside Yawei, Index, who had learned the "truth," looked somewhat stunned.

The evil sorcerer who had been hunting her down suddenly became her friend, a change in relationship that left the naive nun momentarily at a loss for how to react.

However, in contrast to Index, Yawei's expression remained unchanged as he calmly sipped his tea, showing no intention of expressing his opinion.

On the contrary, the brown-haired girl sitting on the other side of Yawei seemed to have a change in her expression.

Yes, that was the look in their eyes, as if they were looking at an idiot.

"Given the current state of affairs in this world..."

After a long while, Yawey finally put down his tea and spoke.

"...As a magician, it is indeed normal not to understand scientific knowledge."

"However, sticking to old ways is not a good choice."

"In this city, there are quite a few people with superpowers who possess absolute memory."

Meili, standing to the side, kindly explained in a nonchalant tone.

"However, no one needs to have their memories erased to survive."

"Perhaps there is indeed an upper limit to the amount of memory that the brain can store."

"But there is no problem in accommodating the memories of a normal human life."

"That's how Misaka explained it to the ignorant magician."

what? !

Upon hearing Miri's words, Kanzaki Kaori's expression changed.

She didn't doubt the truthfulness of Meili's words, after all, Yawk was sitting right next to her.

But what's wrong with Index?

Could it be...

As a saint of Christianity, Kanzaki Kaori is no fool.

She was simply unaware of this before, but now that she has learned about it from Meili, she immediately guessed the truth.

Thinking about it carefully, "Lord" is omnipotent and omniscient, so how could he misunderstand Index's situation?

"By erasing memories, I can control the 'A Certain Magical Index,' which contains records of 103,000 magical books..."

Yahweh's words proved her guess.

"...Without divine guidance, it is indeed normal for the church to have developed into this state."

"My Lord..."

Yahweh's words revealed no dissatisfaction, but Kanzaki Kaori still couldn't help but tremble, even temporarily forgetting about Index.

After all, given the status of the person in front of him, even if he did nothing, simply revealing his attitude and thoughts would be enough to turn the world upside down in the magical realm.

"However, that is precisely why the existence of God is necessary."

However, Yahweh's subsequent words made Kanzaki Kaori breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Although the Lord is not entirely satisfied with the current church, does He not intend to completely deny the church?

"My lord, about Index..."

Kanzaki Kaori turned her gaze back to Index, a hopeful look on her face.

After all, the person who erases Index's memories every year and tries to control her in this way is the Grand Bishop of the Church of Necessary Evil, Laura Stuart.

Despite being a saint in Christianity, she was completely helpless with her boss and didn't know how to save Index.

But now that Yahweh is here, the situation is completely different.

If the "Lord" is willing, solving Index's problem is a piece of cake.

After all, "the Lord" seems to really like Index...

And Yawei, just as she had thought, was clearly not going to leave Index unattended.

At his prompting, Index opened her mouth, revealing a dark purple magical mark at the back of her throat, a combination of Hebrew and rune.

It exudes an ominous aura.

Upon seeing this, both Kanzaki Kaori and Stiyl's expressions darkened.

Even though they already knew the truth, the reality still made them feel terrible.

They actually acted as accomplices in indirectly harming Index for so long...

This made both of them feel even worse.

The "collar" is the magical mark on Index's throat. It is a magic and ritual that erases her memories every year, which is used to blackmail her with her life. It is also a shackle that binds her to prevent betrayal.

Stiyl is skilled in fire magic. Although he can use other types of magic, he only has a basic understanding of them.

Although Kanzaki Kaori is a saint, she is only skilled in sword-drawing techniques and the idol magic of the "Amakusa Cross Cult," and knows very little about anything else.

It's fair to say that neither of them had any solutions for the "collar".