"Arata, I hate you the most!" Index shouted angrily, her voice trembling with tears as she threw the lamp at Arata.
Arata caught the lamp that Index threw at him, a bead of cold sweat sliding down his forehead. He knew that no amount of apology would help now.
"I will cook delicious food for you every day, so please do not be angry anymore." Arata clasped his hands together as if offering a priest's prayer. "Now, I will immediately go and prepare delicious food for Her Highness the Princess."
Arata wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His entire body felt numb. Index really bit wherever she could grab. How was he supposed to go to school like this? Teacher Komoe would definitely stare at him suspiciously, and Tsuchimikado would definitely tease him endlessly.
Arata immediately busied himself in the kitchen. Misaka Mikoto had already begun washing up, and Index was also hurriedly washing up using the toiletries Arata had prepared for her.
Throughout the entire year, she had only washed at places with free and clean water. This was the first time she had ever been provided with such complete bathing facilities.
After washing up, Index quietly peeked into the kitchen. She looked at the fried rice being stir fried in the pan, swallowed hard, her nose twitching adorably as saliva unconsciously flowed from the corner of her mouth.
The Misaka Sisters changed into their old Tokiwadai Middle School uniforms and stood on the balcony, silently watching the slowly rising sun.
Arata had prepared three plates, one large plate and two smaller plates. Index's appetite alone was enough to eat five times his portion, and that would only stop her from being hungry rather than actually filling her stomach.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips. The ability "Infinite Deception of Words" was indeed extremely useful to him. Although the activation conditions were difficult to control, it was particularly effective when used in relation to knowledge from grimoires.
"Alright, let's eat."
Arata first carried over Index's portion, looking somewhat awkwardly at Index who was still sulking.
Without hesitation, Index took the plate and drifted away like a ghost, carefully placing it on the small table.
She had just picked up her spoon when she turned around and said, "I will leave after I finish eating. Do not misunderstand. I am not angry with you."
"No." Arata's expression instantly became serious as he spoke.
"No matter how much you try to stop me, Arata, I am leaving," Index said with a gentle smile. Her smile contained helplessness and hardship, and her words were filled with warmth.
"No. I have already placed a spatial marker on your hand. No matter where you go, I can instantly bring you back to this room," Arata said calmly, as if he were discussing something completely trivial.
"Arata, you have truly made up your mind. Even if I go to hell, you are willing to stay with me." Index smiled faintly.
"To abandon a good deed halfway is simply committing evil in disguise. Index, do you want me to betray my own principles of life? Do you want me to carry such an indelible stain on my reputation?" Arata spoke gently.
"I understand. I respect Arata's decision, but..."
"Alright, alright. Is it not all because of the 'Index Librorum Prohibitorum'? If one more person possessed it, would the burden not become lighter?" Arata waved his hand dismissively.
"That is impossible. Do not treat it so casually." Index puffed out her cheeks and said, "The knowledge contained within the 103,000 grimoires is not something that anyone can read. I can memorize the knowledge of those 103,000 grimoires without any problem because of my special constitution."
"A grimoire is a book that contains magical knowledge. Even a single word recorded within it can form the basis of a spell. Ordinary people cannot read it at all. Just one glance can poison the human mind. Even the scribes of the Roman Catholic Church must sew their eyes shut with burial thread when copying a grimoire in order to prevent their minds from becoming contaminated."
"And even then, it still requires another five years of purification rituals to completely remove the remaining mental poison."
"As for the original text of a grimoire, the human brain is simply incapable of processing it. Even a genius magician would likely go insane after reading only a small portion. Therefore the only way to deal with the original text is to seal it."
"That is why the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, which contains the knowledge of the copied grimoires, is coveted by the entire world," Arata said.
"Yes. That is exactly why I cannot stay here. Otherwise a magician with malicious intentions would attack you first," Index said with a faint smile.
"What if that happens?" A strange light appeared deep within Arata's eyes.
"Index, the knowledge of the 103,000 grimoires within your mind will be copied instantly and permanently recorded within my brain."
Arata smiled and pointed toward his own head.
"And this will definitely become reality. It will become reality no matter what, and Index will absolutely believe it."
"This is not a lie, and it is not deception. This is simply the reality that will occur in the next second, and even the will of the universe will assist me."
Clearly these were lies, deception, and even exaggeration coming from Arata's mouth. As he spoke, he lifted the corners of his mouth in a mischievous smile and slowly opened his hands, as if welcoming the gaze of the vast universe.
Index blinked her glass like blue eyes while looking at Arata, who was making such exaggerated claims. She puffed out her cheeks before suddenly bursting into laughter, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
"Haha! How could that possibly be true! Arata, you really are unbelievable. One moment you are righteous, the next you are considerate, then you act like a pervert, and then you start saying such ridiculous nonsense."
Arata grinned widely as a strange light flickered deep within his eyes. Slowly, he spoke a string of strange syllables.
"A lie within a lie, and it can instantly..."
A soft thud reached the ears of Arata and Index, like the beating of a heart. In that moment, every other sound in the world vanished, leaving behind only the echo of that heartbeat.
The four words "reversing right and wrong" echoed in their ears like a divine declaration.
The entire world turned black and white in that instant.
And it lasted for only that single moment.
"Hmm?" Index blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "That feeling was strange. Was it just my imagination?"
Thump. Thump. Thump. The sound of a heartbeat echoed clearly in Index's ears.
"Huff... huff..."
Arata's face became deathly pale. He clutched his head as his pupils shrank to pinpoints. Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his heart began beating far faster than normal.
An unimaginable amount of knowledge and mental pollution had been forced into his brain all at once.
"Aiwass!"
"Aiwass!"
"Help!"
...
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