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In a deserted alley, Fang Li was running at a speed comparable to a professional sprinter, his breathing steady and his face showing no sign of strain. The wind rushed against Fang Li's body, and with his upper garment discarded, a chill seeped into him.
"Should've known better than to play around with that girl…"
After all, even without relying on Enemy Detection Skill, Fang Li's sharp senses made it impossible for him not to notice Shirai Kuroko's approach.
"Forget it. If I got caught up with that girl, I can only blame my bad luck. I must be fated to clash with Tokiwadai."
This wasn't Fang Li making a random accusation. It was well known that the people who kept causing him trouble weren't just limited to Shirai Kuroko in Tokiwadai Middle School. So, it was no wonder Fang Li thought he and Tokiwadai were destined to be at odds.
"Better shake her off quickly."
With that, Fang Li's pace didn't slow at all. Like a motorcycle leaning sharply into a turn, he tilted his body and dashed toward a side alley.
However, right at that moment, Fang Li heard it.
"Ha… ha… ha…"
Amidst heavy panting, the sound of running footsteps came from the direction of the alley Fang Li was about to turn into.
Someone was running there.
And they were running this way.
"-----"
Almost instantly, Fang Li cut his speed to zero, stopping just before entering the corner. But while Fang Li could stop himself, the other party clearly could not. The very next second, a small figure burst out from around the corner.
"Bang!"
With a muffled impact, the figure crashed hard into Fang Li's body.
"Uwah!" With a clear and pleasant cry, a young girl fell to the ground.
"Uu…" The girl let out a sound like a mewling cat, tilting her head in confusion as if she had no idea what had just happened.
As for Fang Li, the moment he saw the fallen girl's appearance, his eyes narrowed sharply.
It was a girl with long silver hair flowing down to her waist. She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. Her body was clothed in a luxurious white monastic dress, embroidered with golden patterns, the hem reaching all the way to her ankles.
Upon her head rested a nun's coif, and hanging before her chest was a shining crucifix.
No matter how one looked at it, she was clearly a nun.
Only, this nun wore a completely bewildered expression, staring blankly at Fang Li who had suddenly appeared before her.
"You…"
It seemed this little nun wasn't hurt at all. Even after crashing into Fang Li at such force and falling to the ground, she only tilted her head and looked at him in surprise.
Fang Li, too, stared back at the girl.
And then, her pair of emerald-green eyes entered his sight.
What kind of eyes were those?
It was as though they held endless longing for the outside world, brimming with innocence, purity, and a dreamlike romanticism.
Such eyes, Fang Li had only ever seen in one person before.
That was Iris.
Eyes devoid of malice, so pure that one could not help but be drawn to them. Fang Li found himself gazing at the girl. The girl, in turn, tilted her head upward, her curious eyes locked onto him.
For that split second when their gazes met, it felt as though time itself had stopped, the air around them falling into silence.
Only after an unknown amount of time passed was that silence finally broken.
The silence was broken by Fang Li.
As if he had seen through everything, Fang Li let out a sigh and extended a hand toward the girl in front of him.
"Are you alright?"
An ordinary question, yet it failed to elicit any response from the girl.
She simply stared wide-eyed at Fang Li.
No.
More precisely, she was staring only at Fang Li's upper body.
And that was only natural. Because Fang Li's upper body was completely naked, he wasn't wearing anything at all. In such a situation, the girl's lips trembled as she forced out a single word.
"P-pervert…?"
Those words made the corner of Fang Li's mouth twitch. Perhaps this was the most disastrous encounter of his entire life? What's more, this meeting would become an eternal scar in Fang Li's memory. At the very least, in this moment, under these circumstances, there was only one thing Fang Li wanted to do.
"Pa!"
With a sharp sound, Fang Li smacked the girl on the head.
"Ow!" The girl immediately clutched her head, glaring at Fang Li and protesting, "What are you doing?!"
"I should be the one asking you what you're doing," Fang Li shot back. "Calling someone a pervert the first time you meet them? Where exactly did you learn your manners?"
"B-but you are a pervert!" the girl retorted indignantly. "Running around in the street with no clothes on, that's the very definition of a pervert!"
"…Is that so?" Fang Li fell silent, staring at the girl before replying, "Then what about you? Running around an alley in monastic clothes, what are you supposed to be? Taking part in some cosplay event?"
"It's not cosplay!" the girl leapt up in outrage, shouting back even louder than before. "This includes every essential element required by the Church, the weaving of the fabric, the stitching of the threads, the embroidery techniques, all carefully calculated! The cloth perfectly recreates the Holy Shroud of Turin, with durability reaching the rank of the Pope himself! Its defensive power rivals even that of London Cathedral! Unless the legendary Dragon of St. George descends upon the world again, it's absolutely impossible to destroy! This is a highest-rank Spiritual Item! And you dare to belittle it as mere cosplay attire?! If people from the Magic side heard this, they'd be furious!", , Spiritual Item.
That was an artifact that allowed magic to exist in tangible form. By using it, one could manifest magical effects. Its role was similar to that of a magical tool.
And this girl before him had called her monastic clothes a Spiritual Item, even mentioning the Magic side.
That could only mean one thing, This young girl, even if not a magician herself, was someone deeply tied to the world of magic. She absolutely should not exist within Academy City.
Fang Li's memory already held information about her.
Information from the original work.
He even knew this girl's name.
"My name is Index," the girl declared.
"I can be considered a magician of sorts. So please don't mistake me for a cosplay girl. I'd really appreciate that."
This was Fang Li's encounter with Index.
Unfortunately, this meeting didn't belong solely to Fang Li and Index.
"This is the stronghold of the Science Side. If possible, please refrain from carelessly revealing matters of Magic to unrelated people. I'd be grateful if you did."
As that voice came from the direction of the alley Index had run out from, Fang Li felt it.
The air suddenly turned scorching hot.
And then, a deep, resonant chant rang out.
"Flames (Kenaz)…"
A short incantation, yet like a word of power, it twisted the laws themselves, transforming the heated air into blazing crimson fire.
"Boom!"
An explosion suddenly erupted in that space.
(End Of This Chapter)