Chapter 151: Facing One's Heart
"Feels like we haven't gone out together at all since coming to Blue Star. Today we're definitely making up for all the days we missed."
With a bright smile, Lala ran happily toward the entryway, Nana following right behind her. After helping Ikaros take off her apron, Mikan removed her own as well.
Looking at Ikaros' revealing combat suit, Mikan gave Franklin a strange look.
"We're really letting Ikaros go out dressed like that?"
Franklin immediately took off his track jacket and handed it to the silently waiting Ikaros.
"I remember your angel wings can shrink, right? Put this jacket on. If you go out dressed like that, someone will definitely take advantage of you."
"Yes, master."
In an instant, the light-pink wings behind Ikaros shrank down, the tiny pink wings pressing flat against her back.
Imitating Franklin, she put on the track jacket, only for Mikan to grab her hand and pull her toward the door.
"Franklin, isn't Ryōko going?"
"Uh… she's been watching the indoor cameras. If she wanted to go, she would've come up already. Since she hasn't, we'll just go."
Six girls and one guy walking down the weekend streets of Cainan City was enough to draw every eye.
Lala's perfect figure and lively personality made her stand out even more.
Nana and Momo, with their petite bodies and flawless proportions, plus the fact that they were twins, only added to the allure.
Bulma, the lone splash of blue amidst so much pink, drew attention naturally.
Ikaros, with her confused, melancholic gaze, the track jacket that completely hid everything below her hips, and the collar around her neck, had every man who saw her lost in endless imagination.
With the added effect of the Youth Retaining Pill, every man who looked at them froze in place, unable to recover until the group had already walked far ahead.
All along the way, only Franklin and Mikan went entirely unnoticed. With Ikaros quietly walking in the rear, the three gradually slipped to the back of the group.
"Bro, what exactly are you thinking?"
"What am I thinking about?"
Mikan's sudden question left Franklin puzzled. Meeting her eyes, Franklin noticed a faint sense of… unfamiliarity in her gaze.
Or perhaps it was because his attention toward Mikan had dropped from one hundred percent to not even ten over the past days.
"I mean how you see all those girls up front. Do you like all of them? Are you planning to marry them all someday?
Do you have anyone else you like? Just how many sisters are you planning to bring home for me in the future?"
Franklin fell silent. He had never made any real choices—he had only been passively waiting for things to unfold. And although everything had been going well so far, would it always stay that way?
"I'm not really sure. I think I do like them—more than anyone else. Spending the rest of my life with them sounds… pretty nice."
Mikan gently shook her head. "That's not the answer I want. You still haven't answered me. Your choice. Your life's choice. How many girls are you planning to pursue?
And how do you plan to balance them? Anyone can say pretty words, but once conflicts build up, a few sentences won't be enough to fix anything."
Being lectured by Mikan left Franklin completely at a loss. He had never truly thought deeply about these problems. He just liked Lala, liked Bulma, liked Momo.
And they all said they were fine accepting each other. Those were their choices. But what about his own? Choosing Lala, choosing Bulma, choosing Momo—
Choosing the several girls in his class who also had feelings for him. Or opening the door to a harem and loving every girl who approached him.
That internal self-questioning and self-examination sent Franklin into deep thought. Taking a long breath,
Franklin realized he truly didn't know what direction he wanted for his future. Letting things drift passively had always seemed easiest.
"You really have no idea? Or is it that you do have an idea, but because you're too gentle and don't want to hurt any of them, you just let things stay passive?"
Mikan's words struck Franklin's mind like a thunderclap, leaving him frozen in place.
"Lala is perfect. You already had a choice, but then Bulma won you over too. Both of them give you so much freedom, but you don't dare to take it.
You're afraid that if you choose one, you'll hurt the other. You're very gentle… but you're not very decisive. That makes your gentleness seem a little cowardly.
If you were really decisive, you would've directly rejected Momo's advances. Since you didn't, that means beneath your gentle exterior, you're repressing a wild, indulgent beast.
And if that beast is your true self, then I hope you stop hiding it. Be gentle to every girl, but when it's time to take action, take action.
If you can't stick to a single love, then truly love them all—pursue every girl you like.
If some girl can't accept it and chooses to leave, then let her leave. I don't believe you're the kind of person who would give up an entire forest for one tree."
Franklin took a deep breath. He never expected his sister to understand his heart better than he did himself.
Not only understand it—she saw through even the parts he would rather keep buried.
"Is it really okay to be like this? I feel like I'm really letting Lala, Bulma, and the others down."
Mikan's lips twitched upward, though she pushed the smile down quickly. She stared at Franklin seriously.
"If you really want to talk about who you're letting down, then the one you've wronged the most is Ryōko. She's been with you for fifteen whole years.
She went from a lively teenage girl to the thirty-year-old woman she is now. And then you suddenly told us you had a fiancée.
I can clearly feel how unsettled Ryōko is. She hides it well, but she hasn't eaten with us in a long time.
She barely talks now. In those five years when it was just the three of us depending on each other, was she ever like this?"
Remembering his conversation with Mikado Ryōko in the basement, remembering her joyful smile when he brought her food, and now thinking back to her clumsy excuses—Franklin let out a soft sigh.
"Mikan, you're right. I won't hide my heart anymore. The ones I love, and the ones who love me—I'll accept them all. Since my future won't be ordinary anyway, becoming a true carnivore doesn't sound bad."
"Hurry up, Lin, Mikan! You two are way too slow!"
Lala, who had run ahead, came sprinting back, grabbing both Franklin and Mikan by the wrist and pulling them forward. At that moment, Franklin also reached back and took hold of the quietly trailing Ikaros.
From now on, he wouldn't abandon anyone.
From now on, he would take the initiative.