Crack... A sound of glass shattering came, and the magic circle surrounding Index instantly broke.
As the magic circle shattered, Index continued to whisper, "The Saint George's Sanctuary is ineffective against intruders. Switching to other spells, continue to try and destroy the intruder."
"The Saint George's Sanctuary enters its second phase: 'My God, why have You forsaken me!'"
As Index completed her chant, the magic circle reappeared.
And a new, thicker white pillar of light shot towards Zhong Chen and the others.
"Heh, so you're the only one who can chant, huh? 'Ah! My pillow, why have you forsaken me!'"
As Zhong Chen finished speaking, a sponge pillow with a Q-version dinosaur printed on it suddenly appeared in front of him.
The white pillar of light directly hit the pillow, but miraculously, the pillow blocked the attack completely unharmed.
"What is that thing? It can actually block the Saint George's Sanctuary!"
Kanzaki Kaori looked at the pillow-shaped item that had suddenly appeared and asked in a loud, surprised voice.
"I've noticed that not only is your IQ problematic, but your eyes are too! Can't you see how obvious it is?"
Zhong Chen reached out and patted the non-existent dust on the pillow, then stepped forward, and his figure instantly vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of Index.
"Hehe, little girl, take this heavy blow!"
Zhong Chen raised the pillow and unceremoniously smashed it down onto Index's small head.
Splat!
The magic circle surrounding the struck Index instantly vanished, leaving only a shower of white glowing feathers falling from the sky.
And Index herself began to fall to the side.
"Warning... Final Chapter, Section Zero... Collar fatally damaged... Unable... to regenerate..."
Zhong Chen looked at the constantly falling feathers in the sky, and a smile of delight spread across his face, as if he had found something good.
His figure weaved through the feathers, and miraculously, the feathers, which were originally made of energy, were one by one caught in Zhong Chen's hands.
"You fellow, quickly let go of those feathers! You'll lose your memory!"
Kanzaki Kaori looked at Zhong Chen's actions and urgently shouted a warning.
"No, these things are perfect for stuffing into my pillow. I feel like they could improve sleep quality!"
Zhong Chen said, while frantically stuffing the feathers into his pillow.
As if he was afraid Index would wake up and ask him for money.
"You..."
Kanzaki Kaori looked at Zhong Chen, who seemed completely fine, and her words of warning got stuck in her throat.
"Spiky-head, do you want two?"
"Huh? Me?"
Kamijou Touma looked at Zhong Chen, who was holding two glowing feathers and waving them at him, and pointed to himself with a surprised expression.
"Yeah, you put in some effort too. To the victor go the spoils, don't worry, I'm not one to hog everything."
"No need, Mr. Zhong Chen, please keep them all."
Upon hearing Zhong Chen's words, Kamijou Touma quickly waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need them.
"Alright then, I gave you the chance, but you didn't want them. Don't come asking me for them again, because I won't give them to you."
After saying that, Zhong Chen gleefully stuffed the feathers into his pillow.
And the pillow, now stuffed with numerous feathers, also began to emit a soft white glow.
"Ho ho, now I even have a night light, how delightful!"
As Zhong Chen put away his pillow, Kamijou Touma also quickly went to Index's side and picked her up.
Looking at the unconscious Index, Kamijou Touma asked Zhong Chen with a worried expression:
"Mr. Zhong Chen, is Index alright?"
Hearing Kamijou Touma's words, Zhong Chen waved his hand with a mischievous smile and said:
"Don't worry, she's fine. I guarantee she'll be able to bite your head accurately when she wakes up tomorrow."
"Cough cough... That won't be necessary."
After saying that, Kamijou Touma turned his head to Kanzaki Kaori, who was standing nearby, and continued:
"Miss Kanzaki, I think it's clear now that the so-called absolute memory is a scam."
"I won't be handing Index over to you for now."
Kanzaki Kaori nodded solemnly at this, then said in a serious tone:
"I know, I said before that Index would be entrusted to your care for now. I need to go back and demand an explanation from my superiors."
"Alright, since everything's been cleared up, I'm going back to sleep."
After saying that, Zhong Chen turned and walked outside. After a few steps, he suddenly stopped and, with his back to Kamijou Touma, said:
"Kamijou Touma, if you encounter anything you can't handle, you can come find me at Sakugawa Middle School."
"Remember, this world isn't yours alone. There's no need to work so hard for others!"
"Besides, you're already so unlucky. Being a little selfish occasionally isn't a fault! So... Sayonara (Goodbye)!"
After saying that, Zhong Chen took a step, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.
Meanwhile, Kamijou Touma took out the pendant from his chest.
He suddenly realized that he hadn't experienced any bad luck all day.
Remembering what Zhong Chen had said with his back turned, his eyes couldn't help but redden.
For so many years, many people had treated him as a jinx.
Even if someone befriended him, it was only because they thought he could absorb all bad luck.
The friends who genuinely cared for him were few and far between.
And he could feel that Zhong Chen didn't discriminate against him at all; on the contrary, he had always been helping him.
Kamijou Touma blinked his eyes to prevent his tears from falling.
Holding Index, he bowed deeply in the direction Zhong Chen had left.
"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Zhong Chen!"
"It seems this guy isn't as detestable as I thought..."
Kanzaki Kaori, who had witnessed everything, had a flicker of surprise in her eyes and said faintly.
When they first met, Zhong Chen's initial impression on Kanzaki Kaori was that of a cynical but terrifyingly powerful fellow.
It wasn't until Zhong Chen's recent words that Kanzaki Kaori's perception changed.
"Indeed, Mr. Zhong Chen has helped me a lot..."
Meanwhile, Zhong Chen, who had just returned home, was excitedly hugging the glowing pillow and rolling around on the bed.
"System, wasn't my speech just now especially cool!"
"Damn it, you actually managed to pull it off!"
"Hehe, I've always wanted to act like a master who sees through the mundane world! I finally found an opportunity! Hahahahaha!"
Click... Just as Zhong Chen was rolling around, his bedroom door was gently opened, and Kochou Shinobu walked in, blushing, holding a pillow.
"Um... you bad guy, you're back?"
Seeing Kochou Shinobu, wearing a dinosaur pajama matching his own, walk in, Zhong Chen immediately stopped rolling.
He deliberately put on a puzzled expression and asked:
"Shinobu, is there something you need?"
Looking at Zhong Chen, who was still playing dumb even at this point.
Kochou Shinobu remembered her sister's teachings, gritted her teeth, and immediately came to Zhong Chen, pushing him onto the bed.
She then climbed onto the bed herself, straddling Zhong Chen, and said loudly with an indignant expression:
"Hmph, today this young lady is going to 'eat' you, you bad guy! Even Rimuru-sama can't save you, I said so!!!"
"Huh!!!"