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Since today was only the opening ceremony, students were free to go home after it concluded.
However, on a day like this, few students would obediently head home. Instead, they'd likely seize the opportunity to hang out in groups, right?
Kamijou Touma, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, and Aogami Pierce had invited Fang Li to join them, but he declined.
After all, a hungry young girl was waiting for him in his dorm room, and if he wasn't back before dinner, he feared she might repeat last night's antics.
So, as soon as the opening ceremony ended, Fang Li left school and hurried back to his dorm.
"Hey, hey, where should we go next?"
"Let's go to the underground mall."
"Sounds great!"
Perhaps because the entrance ceremonies had all concluded, students from School District 7 were gathering in groups on the streets, their voices filled with excited chatter as they began their day of fun.
Meanwhile, in the sky above, a blimp drifted slowly, always broadcasting the latest trending topics.
Fang Li glanced at the blimp and smiled faintly.
"Lately, it seems like Sylvie's been dominating all the headlines, hasn't she?"
Academy City's public image had changed drastically over the past year. Instead of being represented solely by its seven Level 5 Espers, it was now fronted by the world's first famous idol, the legendary Diva Sylvia Lyyneheym.
The return of the world-famous Diva, Sylvia Lyyneheym, after her concert tour was naturally the hottest topic in Academy City.
In fact, since Sylvia announced her return after this concert, nearly every news report in Academy City had revolved around this event.
It was clear just how meteoric Sylvia's popularity had become.
"I doubt there will be any other news for a while," Fang Li mused.
Unfortunately, Fang Li was wrong this time.
"Before 7:00 AM this morning, Academy City was invaded by unknown assailants."
The sudden announcement made Fang Li's footsteps halt abruptly. He raised his head, gazing at the airship hovering in the sky.
The report continued:
"The attackers launched a direct assault on Academy City's main gate, forcibly breaching its defenses. Fifteen people were injured in the attack, including three with serious injuries who have been rushed to the hospital for treatment."
"Due to the severity of this incident, Academy City's upper classes have decided to issue a Red Alert, a special alert for counter-terrorism operations. Effective immediately, all entry and exit points to Academy City are completely sealed off. Anti-Skill and Judgment personnel are conducting a city-wide search for the intruders."
"Therefore, please remain vigilant for any suspicious individuals. If you spot anything suspicious, report it immediately to Anti-Skill or Judgment. Do not approach the individual directly, as this could put you in danger."
Hearing this report, Fang Li fell into thoughtful silence.
"An intruder so soon after the start of the semester?"
Fang Li's mind immediately flashed back to the events of the original story, and he curled his lips into a dismissive smile.
"Whatever. That's Aleister's problem to deal with, not mine."
No, to be precise, this incident wasn't entirely unrelated to Fang Li.
The intruder was likely a Magician targeting the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
But that wasn't Fang Li's problem to solve.
"Since they brazenly broke in, Academy City can handle it."
In other words, Fang Li couldn't be bothered to get involved.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the only event related to Fang Li.
Vrr... Vrr...
The next moment, Fang Li's cell phone began to vibrate.
Because he was in class, Fang Li had switched his phone to vibrate mode.
He answered the call.
"It's me."
The voice on the other end was one he was somewhat familiar with.
This caused Fang Li to raise his eyebrows slightly and say, "The delinquent priest from the Anglican Church?"
The caller was none other than Stiyl.
"We're both delinquents, Skill-Out," Stiyl replied. "I don't have time to waste on small talk. Answer me one question."
"Is that so?" Fang Li said in a detached tone. "Let me guess. The question you want to ask is probably about the 'Book of the Law,' isn't it?"
The other side fell silent.
"Tch..." Stiyl clicked his tongue. "So it really was you who did it?"
"This is a terrible misunderstanding," Fang Li corrected. "While it's true that the original copy is currently in my possession, I didn't steal it. Someone used it as payment after I completed a task for them."
"Payment?" Stiyl sneered. "That's quite a payment, considering it's thrown the Roman Catholic Church into chaos."
Indeed.
'The Book of the Law', an Original Grimoire of unparalleled significance, had always been sealed deep within the Roman Catholic Church's headquarters, inaccessible to anyone.
It was a forbidden book said to herald the end of the Christian era upon its opening.
Given the circumstances, it's easy to imagine how panicked the Roman Catholic Church, the largest faction within Christianity, would be over the disappearance of such a book.
"Thanks to this, the Roman Catholic Church went completely berserk, searching everywhere. At first, they suspected you, but the Vatican City's barrier remained intact, untouched by the mythical Mystic Eyes. So they concluded there must be a traitor within their ranks, leading to many people being implicated."
Stiyl recounted this matter in a calm tone.
"The Anglican Church also suffered some fallout from this, resulting in chaos. Some opportunistic individuals seized the chance to do some unsavory things. I imagine things are already starting to unravel on your end, aren't they?"
Stiyl was referring, of course, to the Magician who had infiltrated Academy City.
"That Magician is a member of the Anglican Church's Necessarius faction, but he belongs to the faction that opposes the peace treaty with Academy City. Now, while the Anglican Church is preoccupied with the Roman Catholic Church, he's infiltrated Academy City, likely intending to cause chaos and completely sabotage the agreement between the two organizations."
To achieve this, he's bound to target someone who could plunge relations between Academy City and the Anglican Church into turmoil.
"And who that person is, I'm sure you already know, right?" Stiyl said.
"So, your Quest is to protect that child. Don't concern yourself with anything else."
With that, Stiyl hung up.
Listening to the busy signal on his cell phone, Fang Li couldn't help but feel speechless.
"In the end, you just wanted to warn me that someone might target Index's life, so I should protect her, right?"
Everything else, the Roman Catholic Church's affairs, the Anglican Church's internal conflicts, they could handle themselves.
"Fine by me. I'm happy to stay out of it."
(End Of This Chapter)