Half an hour later, inside a restaurant, Su Mo found himself becoming increasingly curious about the physical makeup of the silver-haired nun sitting across from him. And to be clear, it wasn't any kind of physiological curiosity, but purely a biological one — specifically, the structure of her stomach. How could such a petite girl, barely more than a loli-sized frame, consume this much food? In just thirty minutes, she had devoured ten full combo meals, and her stomach didn't even seem bloated. What's more, she was still eating.
It was like she had a bottomless pit for a stomach. Fortunately, Su Mo wasn't exactly short on money. Otherwise, if he were just an ordinary student, she would have eaten through his entire weekly budget in a single meal.
With a clang, she polished off her eleventh meal, not leaving behind a single grain of rice. The surrounding diners and even the waitstaff looked on in stunned amazement. Patting her now-content stomach, Index folded her hands and smiled gratefully at Su Mo. "Thank you for your kindness! I haven't eaten this well in a long time! May the Lord bless you!"
Hearing her words of gratitude, Su Mo handed her a napkin and pointed to the rice grain stuck at the corner of her mouth. "Wipe your mouth first."
"Ah…" Embarrassed, Index quickly took the napkin and cleaned her face. Only then did Su Mo casually ask, "Earlier you said you're a nun from the Anglican Church?"
"Yes, that's right." Index nodded cheerfully. "I'm a nun of Neccessarius, the Church of Necessary Evil under the Anglican Church. My name is Index. Thank you again for your help." With no hint of caution, she openly revealed her identity, as she often did in the original story — never hiding anything from those who helped her, whether it involved magic or grimoires.
"Index? As in… an index?" Su Mo feigned curiosity. "Why did you take that name? Do you like reading books?"
"No," Index shook her head. "It's because of my duty. I was chosen by Neccessarius to protect people from the disasters caused by grimoires. My mind contains 103,000 grimoires, so people call me 'Index,' as in the keeper of these texts. Oh, and my magical name is Dedicatus545 — meaning 'the lamb who offers herself to protect the knowledge of the mighty.'"
Though fully aware that she was essentially a sacrificial vessel chosen to seal dangerous knowledge, Index remained surprisingly cheerful about it, showing no resentment towards her role.
Then, she looked at Su Mo curiously. "By the way, kind sir, you never really answered me earlier when I asked if you were a believer. You said, 'yes, but not entirely' — what does that even mean?"
Su Mo smiled and shook his head. "It's not something convenient to talk about here." Then he made an invitation. "If you want to hear the full story, we'll need to find a safe place. How about coming to my place? My home's quite spacious, and after our talk, you can get some proper rest too."
To anyone else, inviting a young girl to his house at night would seem highly suspicious, but thankfully, Index was completely oblivious to any such implications. Still, she frowned slightly and hesitated. "I would love to have a place to stay, but… right now, I don't think it's a good idea."
After thinking for a moment, she decided to speak honestly. "The truth is, I'm currently being pursued by magicians. If I stay in one place for too long, they might find me. So, while I really appreciate your kindness, for your safety, it's probably best if we part ways soon."
With her experience, staying in one place too long would eventually allow the two magicians chasing her to track her down. As much as she longed for the comfort of a real bed, she didn't want to put this kind stranger in danger.
However, Su Mo didn't show the slightest concern at her words. Instead, his expression was more curious. "Magicians? How many divisions could they take on?"
"Hm?"
Index tilted her head, a bit puzzled. "What do you mean by 'divisions'?"
"It's a unit for measuring combat strength," Su Mo patiently explained. "One division is equivalent to the firepower of a modern armored mechanized unit — enough to saturate an entire district of Academy City with overwhelming firepower. To put it simply, it's capable of flattening a mountain range with ease."
After pondering for a moment, Su Mo gave a brief but clear explanation of what "a division's firepower" meant. Index was stunned after hearing it. "Science has advanced that far already?"
Still processing what she had just learned, she tried to calculate. "The two magicians chasing me are quite powerful. One of them is even a Saint. The other may be weaker, but still very strong. Together… I guess they would be equivalent to several divisions?" she said, borrowing the new unit of measurement she had just learned.
"Several divisions, huh?" Su Mo paused for a couple of seconds before flashing a smile and giving an answer that left Index completely surprised. "If that's all, then you probably don't have to worry. I should be able to handle them."
Su Mo certainly wasn't about to let such a lucrative opportunity slip away. With his current abilities, those two who were chasing Index posed no threat to him whatsoever. Even if he used only his esper powers, he was confident in securing victory.
"Eh? But they're really powerful magicians! One of them even bears the Stigmata of a Saint!" Index stared at him with disbelief. "You really don't have to take this risk for me, kind sir!"
To Index, magicians were simply part of everyday life. What she failed to realize was that for an esper from Academy City, the very notion of magicians even existing was already an extraordinary thing. But all she worried about was Su Mo underestimating their strength and getting hurt.
Seeing the worry in her eyes, Su Mo chuckled softly. "It seems, Miss Nun, you still don't quite realize which city you're in right now."
At this, Index blinked in confusion and replied.
"It's called Academy City or something like that? I didn't really pay much attention." When she had escaped into the city, its defensive systems had barely reacted to her presence, so she hadn't noticed anything particularly unusual about this place.
Hearing her casual response, Su Mo formally explained, "This is Academy City, a place primarily dedicated to developing esper powers. And standing before you right now is Academy City's third-ranked Level 5 esper. If your pursuers are only as strong as you say, then you really have nothing to worry about."
—Whether a Level 5 and a Saint could be directly compared was debatable, but they definitely weren't at a level that would pose any real threat to him. Su Mo was simply phrasing it this way intentionally.
Under Su Mo's insistence, the still slightly skeptical Index finally followed him back to his home — a spacious villa.
"Wow, it's so big!" Standing in the living room, Index's eyes sparkled as she looked at the large, soft sofas. "Are you sure? I can really stay here tonight?"
During her time on the run, chances to sleep in a real bed had been few and far between, and soft beds like this? Practically none. The thought of sleeping here made her want to throw herself onto the bed and never get up again.
"Of course," Su Mo nodded, taking some fruit and snacks out of the fridge. "Aside from the rooms that are already assigned, you can pick any room you like."
Naturally, this house wasn't meant for him alone. Occasionally, when there were matters to discuss, Misaki Shokuhou and Nunotaba Shinobu would also stay over, so he had prepared fixed rooms for them as well.
"Yay!" Receiving both permission and snacks, Index's eyes grew even more grateful as she looked at Su Mo. "You're so kind! You're practically the embodiment of the Lord Himself!"
The way this nun casually uttered words that would no doubt be deemed heretical by any orthodox believer was almost amusing.
"You keep calling me 'kind sir' over and over — it feels like I'm being handed one of those 'good guy' cards," Su Mo joked, then finally introduced himself properly. "My name is Su Mo. Just call me by my name."
"Su Mo… Su Mo!" She repeated his name several times, as if trying to commit it firmly to memory, and then nodded earnestly. "I've got it. You're Su~ Mo~!" Her intonation was a bit odd toward the end.
Turning his head, Su Mo saw that she had stuffed another pile of snacks into her mouth. This gluttonous nun really had no limit. Not bothering to wait for her to finish, Su Mo got straight to the point.
"It wasn't convenient to say earlier, but remember you asked me if I was a believer? Now, I can give you the real answer. In addition to being an esper, I'm also a magician from the Roman Catholic Church. The reason I'm here in Academy City is because I've been stationed here as an undercover agent."
According to his original plan, Su Mo straightforwardly revealed his supposed identity. The moment those words left his mouth—
"Mm! cough cough cough..." Index choked in shock, her face turning slightly red as she struggled.