Unlimited Ambition

"If we're talking about safely retrieving the library, that's no problem (rapid freezing + superb surgical skills + precise surgery, giving you a living brain). But keeping the girl safe at the same time... that's a bit..."

"Stop beating around the bush! If you can, just say so. If you can't, I'll leave right now and take her to the Royal Knights!" I rolled my eyes and delivered the most effective threat directly.

"Yes! Of course I can! If His Highness the Crown Prince commands, I, Luo, will go through fire and water without hesitation. What is a mere automatic secretary?!"

"You absolutely mustn't go to the Royal Knights. You know what kind of people they are. All brawn and no brains. If that girl were handed over to them and then returned, she'd probably only have her brain left."

"...That was your original idea, wasn't it?" I looked at him with disdain.

Chapter Eighteen: Automatic Bookkeeping, the Dragon King Sighs, Disappointed?

However, after Roger took on this task, he said he would wait for Leonard to return so that Leonard could take charge. I rolled my eyes. Let that serial killer save people? You really have an imagination. Why don't you think about how Jehovah forcibly took a woman and made her pregnant out of wedlock?

“Even in automatic recording mode, she would never surpass the Saint level.” I looked at Roger’s wry smile and decided to give him another nudge.

"What's wrong? Even our Grand Commander Roger has moments of fear?! Tsk tsk tsk tsk, who was he when I was little, bragging like a madman? He said he'd killed countless people in his life, including at least a dozen Saints. Hmm?"

Roger shook his head upon hearing this, thinking to himself that he shouldn't have boasted so much. Who would have thought this master would be so difficult to deal with? A baby only half a month old and already knows how to remember things?

And so, Roger and I made our plan. Using a teleportation magic circle, we brought Index to the desert outside Jerusalem. We gave her some candy (laced with a strong sleeping pill). Then we forcibly removed the collar from her neck.

—Automatic recording activated. Prioritize eliminating intruders.

Index seems to be in a very bad state right now, her eyes are lifeless and she looks like a puppet. Her body, which was originally devoid of any magical power, now possesses true Saint-level strength.

"Tch," I rolled my eyes. "So what? We have two top experts here. Which one could kill a saint in ten moves? You, a mere nun, could take care of it in a minute—Dragon King Sigh?"

Hey!

I'd just boasted and immediately got my comeuppance. My Heaven's Sanctuary technique couldn't absorb all the power. I was sent tumbling backward. Roger, however, seized the opportunity, unleashing the Dark Knight's Secret Assassination Technique in an instant. With just a dagger in his hand, he sliced ​​through the entire St. George Domain. Then, in a flash, Index was about to be decapitated—

"Did you ignore me? Don't kill her!" At the crucial moment, two low-powered energy blasts struck Roger in the back. He finally reacted, retracting his dagger and changing direction—only to be struck by a Dragon King's Sigh. He wasn't as lucky as me. He rolled his eyes and passed out.

However, Roger's sacrifice (Roger: I'm not dead yet!) was still meaningful. After the collapse of St. George's Domain, countless scattered feathers formed. Immediately afterwards, little Index also fell from the sky.

"Index!" In my panic, I watched as the little girl plummeted headfirst from a height of over ten meters. Even though it was all sand below, who could say for sure about a head? If anything happened to her, I'd be in deep trouble.

And so, I used the Shrinking Earth Technique again, becoming Index's human cushion. The nun's head slammed into my stomach, causing me to scream and pass out.

After that, feathers scattered from the realm of St. George covered my body. My body immediately changed, radiating a powerful divine aura.

The pain was healed in an instant. Then, I stood up and opened my eyes. But those eyes weren't the black pupils of an ordinary person; they were golden, the light of an angel.

Behind me, three pairs of six blazing wings unfurled. Though only thirteen meters long, they possessed an immense aura that blotted out the sky.

Immediately after regaining my memory, I burst out cursing: "Damn it! That's so unfair! Old man, don't you feel guilty?! You're the only one who's so fickle! All the help I've given you has been for nothing!"

Who am I?! I am the first and last six-winged Seraphim!! I am the Star of Dawn!!! I am the one who stands before the God who commands the central army of Heaven in the Ninth Primordial Heaven!!! You actually want me to kneel before a mortal?! This is an insult to an angel!!!

Think about how much I've done for you! Mount Olympus in Greece, the Pantheon in Norway, the Egyptian pyramids, even the expeditions to India and the East! How much effort I've put in! And you turn your back on me like that! You're a heartless old man, you have no conscience at all!

As I spoke, I couldn't help but burst into tears. I was both angry and anxious, completely disregarding the fact that my strength hadn't fully recovered, less than one ten-thousandth of what it once was. I stood up, drew my sword, and pointed it at the sky, ready to utter defying the heavens, when suddenly my eyes rolled back and I collapsed to the ground.

Immediately afterward, a flash of light appeared where I had just been standing. My adoptive father appeared, covered in sweat. His gaze towards me was incredibly complex.

However, my appearance as a father was quite different from his usual seventy or eighty-year-old self; he seemed at least sixty years younger. And he also had a pair of wings spread behind him, just like the angels most frequently described in Christian scriptures.

"How could this be?! How could this be?! How could the Lord... no... no, no, no. There must be some misunderstanding."

However, the messenger of the Lord was now drenched in cold sweat, his emotions extremely complex. He felt a mixture of fear at having heard the secrets of heaven, relief at having stopped me before I could, and disbelief at what I had said.

He thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with anything. Seeing me fall to the ground, he sighed softly. Then, he stretched out his hand and, using all his strength, barely managed to seal my memories again.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the six blazing wings on my back vanish without a trace. Then, he could no longer maintain his angelic form and reverted to human form. His face, however, was deathly pale, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

Immediately afterward, the angel did something completely out of character—she took out her phone and dialed the Ministry of Internal Affairs: "Send someone over. The Crown Prince, Deputy Commander Roger, and the Crown Prince's maid have collapsed in the middle of the desert." She then hung up and plopped down on the ground.

※※※

When I woke up, I thought about it carefully and realized that I seemed to have lost a little bit of my memory. But I quickly put that aside. The most important thing now was to check the spoils. Spoils, oh spoils. Nothing else could interest me.

So, I dressed and asked the lady-in-waiting beside me where Index was. I learned that she had been placed in the room next to mine. I nodded and declined the lady-in-waiting's offer to lead the way. I left the palace alone, pushed open Index's door, went in, and locked it.

Index doesn't have my level of recovery; she's still fast asleep.

But this is perfect, it adds a bit of spice...hehehehe. Immediately afterwards, I pulled out the black crystal necklace I had prepared beforehand, climbed onto Index's bed, and put it on her. Then I reached out my wicked hand...

He was immediately slapped away by the little nun: "Um... Wright, don't be like that, hehe, hehehehehehe..."

Whew, that scared me to death! It turns out I was just talking in my sleep.

I breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately reached out my wicked hand again...

Enter Index's sea of ​​consciousness.

……

……

……

I'm rich! I'm rich! I'm rich! I'm rich!!! There really are 103,000 copies of A Certain Magical Index!!! I'm really rich this time!!! Ahahahahaha...

I glanced at the numerous magic books swirling around me, then burst into uncontrollable laughter.

With these, my strength will definitely increase by leaps and bounds. Destroying that damned cat is impossible, of course. But at least I'll gain some ability to protect myself…

Thinking of that death-bringer girl, my eyes darkened again. I grabbed a spellbook at random...

Damn it! What's going on?! A wave of excruciating pain from the magical backlash swept through my body. Then, I was forcibly thrown out of Index's consciousness.

...It seems these magic books weren't obtained for nothing. I chuckled softly. Then, I once again entered Index's sea of ​​consciousness.

This time I came prepared, but with such a large quantity of 103,000 magic books, plus those magical backlash-like defensive measures, I couldn't take them all at once.

After a moment's thought, I strained my eyes and scanned the titles of all the spellbooks. Then, after a brief pause, I managed to produce only four spellbooks, despite using all my skills.

"The Profound Path of the Sword" is a secret, unspoken martial arts manual passed down only among sword cultivators of the Eastern Lands. Although the author is not explicitly stated, it is undoubtedly one of the ancient sword masters. It records various exquisite sword techniques and extremely powerful killing moves. For someone as accustomed to wielding a sword as I am, it would be of great benefit.

The *Huainanzi* is far more famous than the previous book. It was written by Liu An, the King of Huainan, a Daoist master who cultivated Qi, after gathering a large number of top Daoist practitioners from the East. It is a comprehensive Daoist classic, perfectly complementing my limited offensive strategies.

The title, "The Secret," is simple. It also lacks an author attribution, and the text is written in ancient runes, making its nationality indistinguishable. Like other compilations, it offers unique insights into the fundamental principles of the universe. It is believed to be of great help in the execution of various magical techniques.

This last book, "Wings of Light," is a spell created by ancient magicians after studying the characteristics of angels. However, it's not as useful as angel wings. It only increases movement speed. But it certainly has the ability to intimidate.

And so, just as I was laughing like an idiot while hugging a bunch of magic books, Index woke up...

Chapter Nineteen: Where is Cao Cao?!

When Index woke up, she sensed something was wrong. Anyone would feel uneasy if something was missing from their head. After rubbing her eyes, she saw me rolling around on the floor, clutching several magic books. Her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

“Damn Wright! That’s mine!” Index shouted, then pounced on me and bit my head.

"Ouch! That hurts! Index, what are you doing?!" After suffering such an inhumane attack, I fought back with all my might, trying to pull Index off my head.

“Ze Si Wo De Su! Ni Ze Ge Xiao Dou! Gua Di Ba Su Huan Ge Wo!!” Index said indistinctly while biting my head.

This is my book! You thief! Give it back to me right now!!

That's pretty much it.

I tried, but I couldn't pull Index off no matter what I did. Afraid of hurting her by pulling too hard, I blurted out, "Okay, okay, I promise you, I promise you everything—get off my head right now!!"

The nun thought for a moment, then released her grip. She seemed a little disappointed?

"Could she have mistaken me for food?" This thought suddenly flashed through my mind. Immediately afterward, tears streamed down my face.

"Alright! How old are you to still be crying? You said it! Give me back the book right now!!" After Index finished speaking, she grabbed the magic book that I had just thrown aside, hugged it to her chest, and chuckled foolishly, perhaps feeling more at ease that way.

……

But then Index was troubled: "How do I put this thing back?" She then picked up a book called "The Profound Path of the Sword" and tried to shove it into her head. Of course, it wouldn't go in—if it did, she'd be dead.

The young nun hesitated for a moment before remembering me. She then pointed at me and said, "Wright! You have to take responsibility!"

What responsibility do you want me to take?

After much pleading and persuasion, I finally told the little nun that it was basically impossible to put the thing back in (mainly because I didn't want to). The little nun seemed very disappointed.

Well… a little kid will forget after a good night's sleep, right? I thought to myself, then tried to lift the little nun onto my lap. She resisted a couple of times, then resigned herself to being held on my lap, looking completely at ease.

"If girls are more open-minded, their breasts will grow bigger," I continued to comfort Index with this reasoning. Unexpectedly, Index burst into tears upon hearing this.

"What's wrong? Who bullied you?" I wanted to slap myself as soon as I said that. So far, it seems like I'm the only one who has bullied the little nun.

"I...I'm so scared..." The little nun turned around and hugged me. "Before this, I don't remember anything. Only you, Wright...If you're not nice to me either, I don't know what I'll do." The little nun said this, and then burst into tears.

...What a poor child. I sighed softly, then hugged her in my arms: "From now on, I'll take care of you."

The little nun nodded: "Wright, you'd better treat me well..." Then she closed her eyes. When I looked at her again, she was already asleep.

...What an idiot, actually trying to rely on me.

I looked at Index, who was fast asleep. A bitter smile involuntarily crept onto my lips.

I don't want these ties. If I could, I'd rather be alone.

It just seems impossible now.

Thinking about this, my smile became even more bitter.

—But Index is really cute… even though her figure isn’t quite there. Thinking this to myself, my hands started to wander again, making the sleeping little nun blush and make her make sweet noises.

And so, the little nun settled down in the palace. I also made time to play with her. The little nun ate well and slept soundly every day, but when I weighed her… there wasn’t a single change. Her constitution is truly enviable.

Of course, while some are happy, others are worried. Seeing a little girl by my side, Kanzaki seemed rather sullen. Watching me play with the little girl every day made her very sad. She felt she should go and sing the Nagato Ode.

I could tell that Kanzaki wasn't feeling well. Considering that I was the one who provoked her first, I felt a little uncomfortable. So I explained to her that I considered Index a little sister. Kanzaki felt much more at ease after that.

A week passed like this. One day, when Leonard came to me for instructions about a mission, I saw him and remembered that unfortunate kid Roger. So I casually asked him about it.

Leonard then said: "After Roger was found, his external injuries were easy to treat, but for some reason, he suffered from amnesia. As a result, he can no longer be the vice-commander. He'll just have to lie in bed and receive treatment every day."

Fortunately, the Dark Knights were quite capable. After a week of rest, Roger was showing signs of improvement, though his condition fluctuated; sometimes he could recognize people, and sometimes he couldn't.

When I heard that, I wondered if he had been hit by that Dragon King's Sigh? Then this matter was somehow related to me. I felt a little guilty. So I told Leonard about the A Certain Magical Index. Then I suggested that he could choose a few books to take back on Roger's behalf. Consider it my apology.

Leonard's eyes lit up when he heard this. He stared at Index, who was watching TV next to him, with the same look Roger had given her a couple of days ago. He was probably thinking the same thing: he wanted to take her brain out and study it.

I coughed a few times. Leonard then came to his senses, his face flushed, and he fell silent.

I didn't have time to say much to him, and then I called Index over. I had Leonard enter her sea of ​​consciousness.

A little while later, Leonard came out looking disappointed, carrying three books.