Hello, everyone! Now that Mikoto has experienced her first battle against a magician, it's time for her to learn some more about magic.

HunterX097: Yep, Tsuchimikado adapted fabulously to the situation.

GG Vegito: Thanks, though it's not quite time to go to the UK yet.

Guest10032: Yes, in fact this chapter takes place after the Acqua fight but before Touma and Index go to the UK. I also thought Tatemiya's lecture was way too harsh, so I wanted Mikoto to cheer her up a bit. I didn't even think of having Mikoto railgun the mace, that's pretty good! Though I didn't want to change the final fight too much, since they would've already won without Mikoto joining in. There may not be enough time for her to use that Neko Maid outfit now, but she'll have plenty of chances later. And Kuroko definitely can't ever find that outfit.

Surayo: Yeah, I had Tsuchimikado switch his target, since Kanzaki had already lost her chance, and it did indeed relieve the pressure on her a bit. Lessar will probably have a somewhat different reaction. Mikoto hopes that Kuroko will never find that outfit, and Aogami will probably be pleased when Tsuchimikado tells him about it.

YoLO1992: Yeah, she'll look really good in it when she decides to show it to Touma. A jealous Touma would definitely be interesting to see, though Mikoto doesn't really know any boys besides Touma that well. The fake Unabara will probably stay away from her, and Touma's not really going to get jealous of Kuroko.

Clearwing Yuta: Thanks! Regarding Touma's memories about Shokuhou, I'm not currently planning on having him recover them, at least not until it happens in canon, though maybe he could at least regain the ability to retain memories of her.

0 Jordinio 0: You make a good point, in canon it was important for Touma to get there by himself, and Mikoto let him go. However, since they're together in this fic, I wanted her to help him and for him to accept her help. He still played his role in the final battle without Mikoto interfering. You're right that Mikoto and Itsuwa didn't really think about that comparison during the fight, though they did so afterwards, when they had more time to reflect. I guess I'm probably still having too much dialogue compared to description in some scenes, so I'll keep working on including more description.

fencer29: Yeah, Acqua is very overpowered, and Accelerator would have a tough time against him, especially with his time limit. Don't worry, Mikoto will be told about the problems with espers using magic, and she won't be looking to use magic herself. That seems like a funny doujin.

Hercules8: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

The One who saw All: Yes, it is happening! Yeah, I wanted to focus on scenes between Mikoto and Touma, especially ones that are different from canon. I think it's reasonable for Acqua to overpower Mikoto's magnetism, since a similar thing happened when Mikoto fought Brunhild Eiktobel in NT6. Yeah, I wanted Itsuwa to be cheered up a little after that harsh scolding. Mikoto will definitely want to join Touma in his battles, though since Touma and Index were kidnapped, it'll be hard for her to join him in England, especially since she's also involved in the Jailbreaker arc. She'll still try to get to him during WW3, though.

MarauderPrime12: Thanks, I'm happy you enjoyed it!

Sentient Mop: Thanks!

Stryper88: Yeah, Touma's perverted thoughts about his girlfriend will continue to strengthen. I do like writing the lighthearted scenes, but it's also fun to write about the fights, especially when Mikoto is involved. Both the British Halloween arc and the Jailbreaker arc are soon, and I think they actually overlap a bit. This chapter is a bit of a respite before those arcs.

xellos540: I think Mikoto can control her powers enough to not shock everyone in the bath, though in an OVA, she worked for a bathhouse and gave people electric massages. It would be interesting for her to take a private bath together with Touma, though that would probably require a hotel room or something. Yeah, I think there have only been 4 Saints shown in canon: Kanzaki, Acqua, Silvia, and Brunhild Eiktobel. The battle was indeed very one-sided, though Mikoto tried her best. That was very harsh of Tatemiya, but he did do that in canon as well. Mikoto wouldn't really react to Index's presence since she already knows about Index. The dragons are mentioned again, and they might be a bit relevant soon. Touma indeed could have done it without her, but it would've been harder and he still appreciates Mikoto's help. I think Kanzaki is aware, though she might deny it to other people. You're right about Mikoto being more sexually innocent compared to some girls, but she probably does still have dirty dreams about Touma. I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter!

DBZLEGEND154: Yeah, Mikoto saw just how strong one of the strongest magicians can be. I'm not sure if she'll be in time to witness Fiamma, but we'll see. I'm glad you enjoyed how I wrote Itsuwa, I wanted to treat her a bit better even though she got her heart broken.

Streetmud: Yeah, I wanted Itsuwa to be cheered up by Mikoto, especially since they both felt the same way about losing to Acqua. Indeed, this wasn't Touma's first time being princess carried, but he probably enjoyed this time a bit more.

Guest: Yeah, that will definitely be a fun scene to write!

RandomAlchemist: That's right, I'm not writing any lemon scenes, but there will be some T-rated scenes eventually.

Blankow: Yeah, I wanted there to be a special meaning in Touma choosing to accept her help in this case, in contrast to canon. He'll definitely find it hard to control himself when he sees his girlfriend in that outfit, but she will spoil him like he deserves.

That evening, Mikoto and Touma decided to have dinner at Joseph's, since the boy had already recovered quite a bit. Mikoto got there a bit earlier, looking forward to seeing her boyfriend again and eager to talk to him about magic. When the boy arrived, she greeted him, "Hey, Touma!" She grabbed onto his shoulders, while he grabbed onto her waist, and they went in for a quick kiss. After separating, they proceeded to enter the restaurant.

They sat next to each other at a table and ordered their food. Mikoto began by asking him, "So, how are your injuries? Do they still hurt?" Although she knew that he somehow always recovered quickly, he had taken a major amount of damage in the first fight against Aqua, and he hadn't had much time to recover before he went back to fight Acqua a second time.

Touma smiled at her, "They're a lot better now, thanks!" Although he regularly got hospitalized because of the fights he got into, he usually didn't take too long to heal.

Mikoto was glad to hear that, and she was once again amazed at his ability to recover so quickly. She was eager to ask him a bunch of questions about magic. However, they had already decided to wait until later to involve Index in the discussion, since the nun knew much more about magic than Touma did. Instead, Mikoto decided to ask him, "So, what other kinds of magic-related encounters have you had?" Touma had already told her about multiple Magic Side incidents he'd been involved in, but she was eager to find out even more about his past battles.

Thinking back to all his Magic Side encounters, Touma wondered which one to tell her about. He decided to tell her about one that sort of indirectly involved her. He recalled, "There was one very weird incident. At the end of August, after we beat Accelerator, rumors started spreading about it, so the higher-ups apparently wanted me to leave the city for a while. I went on a beach trip with Index and met up with my family."

Mikoto replied, "Oh, that's when you spent the night at the beach." She recalled with embarrassment how much she had freaked out when she'd learned about that during the Daihasei Festival. The girl then realized something, "Wait, you didn't remember anything about your family, right? So to you, they were like complete strangers."

Touma nodded, "Yeah, I was really worried about them finding out about my memory loss, and I didn't want to make them worry by telling them."

The girl wasn't sure if it was right for him to keep his memory loss a secret from his parents, "You haven't told your parents? I know you don't want to hurt them, but don't they deserve to know the truth?" Mikoto knew that she'd probably want to tell her parents if something this big had happened to her. But then again, she hadn't told them about the over ten thousand sisters she now had, so maybe she didn't have any room to talk.

Touma frowned and looked down, "Well, I just don't think it would change much. They'd just be sad that I can't remember my childhood. And I can still interact with them pretty well. After all, I somehow managed to get through the entire trip without them figuring it out."

Mikoto sighed, "All right, I guess that's your decision to make. So what kind of weird things happened during that trip?"

The boy replied, "Yeah, so I was anxious about meeting my family, since like you said, they would be complete strangers to me. But when I first saw them, I immediately knew that something was weird. It turns out that there was a spell that made everyone look like different people. My mother looked like Index, Index looked like Aogami, heck even the American president on TV looked like Shirai-san."

Mikoto was amazed, "Wow, a spell that switches people's appearances? That is pretty weird. But did it alter the TV image, or did it actually affect the real president in the US?"

Touma answered, "Apparently it affected everyone around the entire world, but everyone still saw each other as normal, except for me and the person who cast the spell. Actually, the most awkward one was my little cousin. She actually looked like you, so I was very confused and a little weirded out when she immediately glomped onto me. Though, now that I think about it, I guess Last Order did the same thing in the amusement park. Anyway, at first I thought this was all some sort of prank, but I learned later it was a spell."

Mikoto wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. She imagined herself excitedly jumping onto him and hugging and nuzzling him, and blushed profusely in response. Eventually, she replied, "Th-that does sound awkward. So what happened afterwards? Did you find out who caused the spell and why?" She wondered what the purpose of such a weird spell could be.

The boy replied, "Yeah, so the main effect of the spell was to bring an archangel down to Earth."

The girl's eyes widened, "An archangel? Are you telling me that angels actually exist?" The existence of magic had already been hard to believe, but this was even more incredible.

Touma answered, "Yeah, I couldn't believe it either until I saw it. Kanzaki and Tsuchimikado were also there, so she ended up fighting it while Tsuchimikado and I tried to figure out how to disable the spell."

Mikoto was a bit confused, "Wait, why was your perverted friend there?"

The boy replied, "Yeah, I was confused about that too, but he revealed that he was actually also a magician!"

The girl was shocked to hear this, "Wow, I never would've guessed!" But that did explain why Tsuchimikado had been at the hospital that morning, he must have heard about the fight with Acqua from the other magicians. But then she realized, "Wait, he's a student at your school, so isn't he an esper too?"

Touma nodded, "Yeah, he's both a magician and an esper, which is actually really dangerous for him. Espers are not supposed to use magic, since whenever they do, they get severely injured. I think it has something to do with magic and esper powers being incompatible or something. When Tsuchimikado used magic, he vomited a lot of blood. But even though he's a Level 0, his esper ability, Auto-Regeneration, lets him repair his body somewhat."

Mikoto's eyes widened in shock, "That's horrible!" She wasn't planning to use magic herself, so she wouldn't have to worry about that, but it was still a sobering warning. She then realized, "Wait, doesn't that mean that any esper that can repair their own body with their ability, like Accelerator, could survive using magic?"

Touma replied, "In theory, yes, but it's still really risky, since there's a chance the damage is too much to heal."

The girl agreed, "Yeah, that's true." She knew she could potentially heal her body if she further developed the Rampage Dress ability she'd been learning from Hokaze Junko, but that ability had side effects by itself, let alone the side effects from using magic.

Touma then continued, "So anyway, the craziest thing is that my dad accidentally caused that spell by arranging thousands of good luck charms and souvenirs around their new house. It wouldn't work for me to negate them one at a time, so Tsuchimikado ended up having to destroy the entire house to break it. Fortunately, my parents were able to move back into the old house." He left out a few details, such as Tsuchimikado pretending to betray him or the damage he'd suffered for using magic as an esper, though he made a note to himself to mention the latter point later.

The girl was completely astounded by his story. "Wait, so you're telling me that your dad set up a huge world-altering spell by accident? Why did he even have so many good luck charms and souvenirs?" She wondered whether his dad was some sort of hoarder.

Touma answered, "Apparently, my misfortune was even worse in my childhood, and scared away both other kids and adults. My dad would try giving me good luck charms, but they would never work because my right hand negates all my luck. That's actually why they decided to send me to Academy City. They hoped that people here wouldn't be so superstitious." He felt sad that his parents had to go through all that because of him, and he was grateful that they sent him to Academy City, since he got to meet so many people, including his girlfriend Mikoto.

Mikoto was surprised at his reason for coming to the city in the first place. "So that's why you came here. I didn't know you had such a bad childhood." She knew he often complained about his bad luck, but having it drive away any potential friends sounded absolutely awful. The girl wondered for a moment if it wasn't some sort of blessing that he didn't remember his childhood, but then berated herself for thinking something like that.

The boy replied, "Well, neither did I, until he told me. You know, I actually got a bit mad at him for trying to cure my bad luck."

Mikoto was surprised to hear this. Touma often complained about his misfortune, so why would he get so mad at his father for trying to alleviate it? She asked, "Is it because it never worked, even after so many tries? Or is it because it's a part of who you are?"

Touma was glad that she understood, "Yeah, because it's a part of who I am. Yes, a lot of bad things happen to me because of my misfortune. But it also helps me better understand when people are suffering, so I can help them out."

The girl gave him an adoring smile, "You really are incredible, aren't you?" She really admired how he was able to have such a positive outlook on his misfortune, and use it to help other people in need.

The boy blushed in response to her earnest praise, uttering, "Thanks, Mikoto."

At this point, the waitress delivered their food, and they began digging into their meals. Mikoto then wondered, "How do you fight against magicians if they can use multiple different types of spells? Isn't it hard to know what to expect?"

Touma pondered her question for a few seconds before answering, "Well, it's sort of easier for me in a way because I know my Imagine Breaker will negate any magic it touches, without me having to figure out what kind of magic it is. Whenever you're in a fight, you probably have to think about whether you're using the right type of ability and if it's strong enough, right? I don't really have to think about that, I just have to raise my right fist."

Mikoto was impressed by his analysis, "You make a good point there. I mean, it's usually not too hard for me to decide which move to use, but sometimes I do have to think about it a bit. But even with your ability, there could still be an unexpected attack that catches you off guard, right?"

Touma nodded, "Yeah, I have a pretty good reaction time, but I do sometimes take hits. But as long as I can get back up, I'm still in the fight. And if the fight goes on long enough, I can often figure out the patterns behind the magic and find some sort of weakness."

The girl mused, "I suppose that makes sense. I've certainly done that before when battling other espers, but it's a lot easier to figure out powers that are scientifically based."

Touma then replied, "Yeah, that's true. So for example, there's Terra of the Left, who Itsuwa and I fought against. He used a spell that let him give one object a higher precedence than another. So if Itsuwa tried to hit him with her spear, he'd place his body on a higher precedence than the spear, which would make her attack useless. He had a blade made of flour, and he also used this spell to put the flour blade on a higher precedence than our weapons or our bodies."

Mikoto observed, "That seems like a pretty straightforward spell. So was he able to do that whenever he wanted? And could he apply that effect multiple times at once?"

The boy grinned at her, glad that she was thinking on the right track, "No, he could only use that effect once at a time. So I just had to use an object he didn't specify to defend myself with. You probably wouldn't have had too much trouble defeating him, since you can attack in multiple different ways."

The girl felt she was making some progress, but she noted, "But that's just one spell, right? Was that the only one he used? If so, he must not have actually been that strong." She was surprised that this other member of the Right Seat of God was so weak compared to Acqua.

Touma chuckled, "Yeah, that's exactly what I told him! There are definitely much stronger magicians that I've faced. But they all follow some sort of rules, even if they're not based on scientific laws. If you can figure that out, fighting against them gets a lot easier."

Mikoto sighed, "It still sounds pretty complicated, but at least it's nice to know that there is some reasoning behind how magic works."

During this time, the TV that was playing in the restaurant showed news of the Eurotunnel bombing. Apparently, the underwater railway tunnel between the United Kingdom and France had been bombed, forcing it to shut down completely. It seemed that, though this damaged both the British and French economies, the British economy was much more at risk due to being heavily reliant on it.

Touma was a bit confused by this, "Can't they just do their trade by sea or air instead? They're an island country, right?"

Mikoto replied, "It seems the British reduced the capacity of their ports to focus on that land connection. But it certainly is strange, since after all, it's much easier to transport things by water or air." She thought for a bit and then wondered, "Could this have anything to do with those Right Seat of God guys? Weren't they behind those religious protests in France?"

The boy's eyes widened, "It could be, they're definitely willing to stir up trouble like this. Though I'm not sure what their goal would be in this case."

Mikoto frowned, "Well, it's already led to tension between the UK and France. Maybe that helps them somehow?"

Touma shrugged, "Yeah, I don't really know. But if they did cause it, we'll probably find out more pretty soon." If so, he knew that he would probably get into another fight. But he decided to enjoy the current respite he was getting.

By now, they had finished their food, so they then left the restaurant and began heading back to Touma's dorm. Mikoto looked forward to learning about exactly how magic worked, even if it would be from Index.

A bit later, the two of them entered Touma's dorm room, with the boy announcing, "I'm home!"

Index greeted them, "Welcome home, Touma! Oh right, you're here too, Short-Hair." Touma had previously asked her to help teach Mikoto about magic, so she had known that Mikoto was coming. While she was starting to get used to Mikoto always being around Touma now, Index was still a little annoyed that she didn't get to spend as much time with Touma anymore.

Mikoto and Touma sat down next to each other on the living room floor, leaning against the bed. Touma casually wrapped his arm around the girl's waist, and Mikoto laid her head on his shoulder.

Index asked, "Touma, why does she need to know about magic? Espers aren't supposed to be involved in the Magic Side!" She was still a little annoyed that Mikoto was involved in the fight against Acqua of the Back while Index had been left in the dark, so she didn't like the idea of the other girl getting even more involved in the Magic Side.

Touma replied, "Well, she was there the first time we fought against Acqua. That might happen again with other magicians, so I figured it's best if she learned about magic." He didn't want Mikoto to get hurt due to not being adequately informed about magic.

Index frowned, wondering why he seemed to be okay with Mikoto fighting against magicians, but always tried to keep Index out of those fights. Nevertheless, she began, "All right, Short-Hair. The first thing you should know is that magic is something completely different from esper powers. It was first created by untalented people to do what talented people could do."

Mikoto questioned, "What do you mean by talented people, Index?"

Index replied, "These talented people were the ones with natural esper powers. Untalented people were jealous of them and of religious miracles, so they created magic."

Mikoto nodded in understanding, "Oh, you mean Gemstone espers. That's right, in rare cases, an esper can naturally result from their environment without going through the Power Curriculum. Apparently Gemstones have existed for a long time, even before Academy City was founded. Does that mean that magic's been around for a while too? And can anyone use magic?"

Index replied, "Yes, magic has been around for thousands of years. And since it was created by untalented people, it shouldn't be used by talented people. The two power systems are incompatible. But anyone who's not an esper can use magic."

Mikoto replied, "Oh yeah, Touma told me about that earlier, how espers can get really injured if they use magic." The girl thought back to his description of what happened to Tsuchimikado when he used magic and winced. After composing herself, she continued, "So, magicians can use multiple spells, right? For espers, we can only have one specific power, though it's possible to have multiple abilities based on that power. Are there any restrictions or limitations on what spells can be used?"

Index explained, "That's right, Short-Hair, but a magician's spells are all usually based on a set of laws, from religion or other mythologies. For example, there are Norse magicians and Aztec magicians, but there are also magicians that use multiple different bases."

Touma then said, "Yeah, like how the Amakusa use spells with a mix of Christian, Shinto, and Buddhist influences." He recalled how they created effective spells using ordinary items by adapting themselves to their cultural environment.

Mikoto replied, "Huh, I didn't realize that. That Saint Destroyer spell was a Christian one, right?" Her guess was based on the giant cross that had been prominently displayed, as well as Acqua mentioning the Son of God.

Index nodded, "Yes, it's based on the crucifixion of the Son of God. But they have other spells with more Eastern influences. But no matter the origin, casting spells often requires making some sort of preparations or using symbolic tools." This was one of the restrictions of using magic, compared to esper powers.

Mikoto thought back to the previous battle, "You mean like Itsuwa-san's spear? Or how she had to set up those random items around Touma to attempt a healing spell on him? Most esper abilities don't require something like that, though I have to carry around coins to use my railgun."

Touma explained, "It's very common with magicians. I've seen one magician who uses rune cards, another who uses a binder of flash cards, and another who writes with chalk on the ground or walls to cast their spells. And there are magicians who use the movement of their weapon to cast their spells, like the Amakusa."

Mikoto nodded, "Okay, I think I'm starting to get this. But the one big thing I'm confused about is, how does magic work on a fundamental level? Esper powers are the result of one's Personal Reality, so what's the mechanism that magic works by?"

Index the began to explain, "Humans have a special type of energy flowing through their body. Magicians can refine this inner life force into mana, which is how magic is produced."

Touma then made an analogy, "So it's like needing to refine crude oil to gasoline before it can be used." Magic still required the use of energy, but it had to be refined into the proper form first.

Mikoto mused, "Hmm, that still seems a bit vague, but I guess it's not any worse than the explanation for Personal Realities." That explanation involved an esper imposing their own reality on their environment by violating the Uncertainty Principle. There was the usual analogy to Schrodinger's Cat, but it wasn't a completely satisfying explanation.

Index then continued, "To perform magic, magicians must use commands to manipulate their mana. It's theoretically possible to do this from scratch, but it's much easier to base these commands on an existing legend or story."

Mikoto then replied, "So that's why magicians use religion and mythology as a reference. But how do you come up with spells? Do you think of a power you want to use and find a legend that matches it, or do you start with a specific legend and figure out what type of power you can obtain with it?"

Index answered, "It can work in either direction. And if the legend involves some sort of special object, magicians can use a specialized tool that represents that object. For example, if it involves a legendary spear, using an actual spear when casting the spell is more efficient, or even something like a pole or an umbrella that represents it."

Mikoto thought back to the Saint Destroyer spell Itsuwa and her group had used to finally defeat Acqua. She asked, "So is that why the Amakusa were using a giant cross, a nail, and that wire crown for that spell?"

Index nodded, "Yes, those were all symbols of the crucifixion. Since Acqua had a part of the Son of God's power as a Saint, those symbols enhanced the Saint Destroyer spell."

Mikoto tried summarizing, "So basically, magic powers and spells require the use of mana, which is refined from a magician's life energy. And they are usually based on religious stories or other legends, and you can use props that represent parts of those legends to enhance them. Is that right?"

Touma nodded, "Yeah, that's the gist of it. Index knows a lot about the specifics behind all those legends, but when I fight a magician, I usually have to wing it and figure out the basic idea behind what they're doing."

Index then pouted and complained, "Touma keeps leaving me behind when he goes to fight against magicians, even when my knowledge would help him a lot!" He had been doing that ever since he had met her, no matter how many times she complained.

The boy replied, "Hey, sometimes I suddenly get into fights and can't reach you for help. Besides, I don't want you to get in danger if you don't have to." Although Index could use Spell Intercept to interfere with enemy magic, she couldn't cast any spells herself outside of John's Pen mode, so Touma knew that she'd be in danger in any fight.

Mikoto sympathized a bit with the other girl, knowing that Touma had often gone into fights alone rather than asking for help. She was happy that Touma had accepted her help, even if it hadn't been that useful, but she wasn't sure if that would continue in the future. Wanting to defuse the tension, she turned to Index and asked, "So, how do people become magicians in the first place?"

Index answered, "People only become magicians because they have a goal they want to achieve which they may not be able to without supernatural powers. Western magicians choose a magic name based on their goal. For example, my magic name is Dedicatus545, The dedicated lamb protects the knowledge of the strong. The number is just to avoid duplicates."

Mikoto grinned, "Wow, magic names are actually pretty cool! I guess they're sort of similar to how each esper has a specific name for their power, though there are a lot of duplicates there too. Are they always in Latin?"

Index nodded, "Yes, that's right. Anyway, magicians often join organizations with other magicians to try to achieve their goals. I am a member of the Anglican Church, and of a special division within it called Necessarius, the church of necessary evils. Because the United Kingdom is a country of magic, the Anglican Church had to develop ways to defeat other magicians."

Mikoto then realized, "So that's why you memorized all those grimoires. You're basically a living library that the Anglican Church can use to deal with other magicians?" Not only did this allow them to combat any rogue British magicians, but it also allowed them to combat against foreign magicians.

Index replied, "That's right, thanks to my 103,000 grimoires, I can analyze an opponent's spells and find a way to counter them. And since these grimoires contain information on magic from all around the world, they can help neutralize any magic, no matter the origin."

Mikoto said, "I see, that's really smart! So do magicians form organizations based on their religion? The Anglican Church is one group, but there are also magic organizations for other religions, right?" She was beginning to realize that there was a lot more to religion around the world than she'd previously thought.

Index nodded, "Yes, for example, the Christian Church was originally a single organization, but over time it split up into multiple groups. Now, Christianity is divided into Catholic and Protestant denominations, and Catholicism is divided into three major branches: the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican Churches. All of these denominations have their own magical organizations."

Mikoto was a little confused, "Wait, didn't the Eastern Orthodox Church break off from the Catholic Church about a thousand years ago? And isn't the Anglican Church Protestant?" She had learned about the history of these religions in school, so she knew a little bit about them. However, Mikoto knew that Index was much more knowledgeable about this, so she looked to Index to clear up her misunderstandings.

Index clarified, "You're right about the Eastern Orthodox Church, but it's officially known as the Orthodox Catholic Church, so it technically counts as a part of Catholicism. Both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches claim that they are the same as the original Catholic Church before the split, while the other one broke off. And while it's true that the Anglican Church is often considered as Protestant, we still consider ourselves as a Catholic Church, and it shares many similarities with Roman Catholicism."

Mikoto was still a little confused. "Okay, I guess that both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches consider themselves the original Catholic Church, since they split in half in the Great Schism. But the Anglican Church came about because King Henry VIII broke with the pope so he could divorce his wife, right? And didn't England partially justify their wars against Catholic countries like France and Spain as a defense of Protestantism?"

Index replied, "That's true, but it's not the full story. Henry VIII wanted to remove Papal influence over England so that the country would be free from foreign interference. Therefore, he made sure that the monarch was the head of the Anglican Church and wouldn't have to listen to the pope. Perhaps you could say that the Anglican Church is politically Protestant, but religiously, it still considers itself as Catholic."

Touma had been silently listening to the girls' conversation for a while, since he felt he didn't have much to say. He was aware that Index knew a lot about religion, but he was amazed that Mikoto knew a lot too. He now said in an impressed tone, "Wow Mikoto, you know quite a bit about this stuff!" He had learned a little about those in school, but clearly not as much as his girlfriend had.

Mikoto smirked at him, "Well, I did take a class on European history at Tokiwadai! It was actually really interesting to learn about countries other than Japan!" She then turned back to Index and asked, "So what about the Protestant denominations? Do they also have magic organizations?" She noticed that Index focused on the Catholic half of Christianity, but glossed over the Protestant half.

Index explained, "There are some Protestant magic organizations, but none of them have close to as much influence compared to the three main Catholic denominations. In Europe, the only major country with a large proportion of Protestants is Germany, and even that is evenly split between Protestants and Catholics. The United States also has a lot of Protestants, but it has a secular government, so magic has very little influence there."

Mikoto then mused, "So whether a religion is influential in terms of magic is based on whether it has major political influence over a major country?"

Index affirmed, "Yes, because having the backing of a country makes magic organizations so much stronger. For example, the Anglican Church has a major role in the British government, and also some influence in the British Commonwealth countries. The Eastern Orthodox Church is very influential in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the Roman Catholic Church has a major influence over France, Italy, and a bunch of other countries in Western Europe and Latin America."

Mikoto mused, "Wow, I never realized that religion was still such a major player in those countries. It's a huge difference compared to Academy City." Indeed, pretty much everyone in Academy City was nonreligious. She then said, "So are there non-Christian magic groups too? Apparently I've run into an Aztec magician before, but most of the ones Touma has fought seem to be Christian."

Index answered, "Well, Christianity is the largest religion in the world, so that's why Christian magicians are so common. Islam also has a lot of followers, but Muslim magicians are not as common. But there are plenty of magic groups from other religions, such as ones using Aztec or Norse mythology, as well as Buddhist and Hindu magicians."

Since both of them had mentioned Aztec magicians, Mikoto suddenly recalled her time in Liberal Arts City. She said, "You know, when my friends and I visited Liberal Arts City, there were these weird craft called Mixcoatl and Xiuhcoatl attacking it. I think those are Mesoamerican words, so could they have been sent by Aztec magicians?"

Index's eyes widened, surprised that the other girl had encountered magicians on her own. She replied, "Yes, Mixcoatl is an Aztec god of war, and Xiuhcoatl is the serpent form of the Aztec god of fire, so Aztec magicians would definitely be able to create warcraft based on them."

Mikoto chuckled, "Wow, I can't believe we fought against magicians without even knowing it. I guess the girl we met there was an Aztec magician."

Touma smiled at her, "See, you actually have quite a bit of experience against magicians. You're really smart, so I'm sure you'll get the hang of fighting them over time."

Mikoto replied, "Thanks, Touma!" She then turned to the other girl with a grateful smile and said, "You too, Index, you were a big help!" She had learned a lot from the other girl, and felt that she now had enough context to be able to fight against magicians more effectively.

Index was a bit embarrassed by Mikoto's praise. She looked away and muttered, "You're welcome, Short-Hair." She still didn't like the idea of Mikoto becoming more involved in the Magic Side along with Touma, but she was pleased that the other girl at least acknowledged her expertise.

Touma was glad that the two girls were finally getting along somewhat. Although he was a little apprehensive about his girlfriend becoming involved in Magic Side fights, he was glad that she at least won't be as blindsided in the future.