Chapter 221: Kannazuki Kyouhei
The moment the words fell, the sound of tearing wind came from behind. Slightly puzzled, Franklin calmly raised two fingers and clamped onto the blade of Sandalphon as Princess swung it down.
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward, and the flowers covering the ground were instantly shredded into powder and scattered in all directions.
"So you really… are on the same side as them after all?"
Turning around, Franklin saw that Princess—whose expression had shown slight changes just moments earlier—had once again sunk into gloom. Recalling what he had just said, Franklin suddenly wanted to slap himself.
Why did he have to run his mouth about "cooperating in a performance"? With Tohka's airheaded personality, she would absolutely believe whatever she heard.
"Idiot big brother, are you okay?!"
Hearing the voice coming through the earpiece, Franklin ignored it. He gently released his grip on Sandalphon.
"Sorry. What I said caused a misunderstanding. I actually don't know them at all. What I said earlier was just polite talk."
Looking at Franklin's faint smile and sensing his consistently calm emotions, Princess finally realized that she might truly have misunderstood him.
Just as she was about to say something, a strange spatial fluctuation appeared once more. Even Franklin felt the sensation of being about to be teleported.
But considering that there would still be another opportunity in the afternoon and there was no need to rush, Franklin forcefully broke free from that strange spatial power.
Princess instantly vanished from before his eyes.
A perfect situation—ruined by just two sentences. Franklin couldn't help but feel helpless.
Still, she had taken the roasted lamb shank with her. That kind of deliciousness was something no foodie could resist. The chances of easing their relationship in the afternoon were still quite high.
"The spirit's fluctuations have disappeared. She should've returned to the Neighboring World. What are you planning to do now?"
Listening to Kotori's voice through the earpiece, Franklin smiled and replied, "No need to rush. Things need to develop slowly. I have absolute confidence in my cooking skills."
Silence. Endless silence. The earpiece was shut off directly, leaving Franklin standing alone on the empty street.
Looking at the AST girls watching him warily, Franklin smiled and directly teleported away using the Flying Thunder God mark he had left on the Fraxinus.
From the moment he had contacted Tokisaki Kurumi in the Neighboring World, Franklin had already placed a Flying Thunder God mark on her spirit armor.
And when he clamped Sandalphon earlier, he had also placed a Flying Thunder God mark on the sword.
At this point, Franklin could freely place Flying Thunder God marks at will. He had never encountered any limit on the number of marks.
Due to abundant spiritual energy, he had also never experienced a situation where teleportation was impossible. As for whether he could cross between the Neighboring World and the real world—that was something he hadn't tried yet.
But now was clearly not the time.
Looking at the various expressions on the faces of the people in the control room, Franklin smiled.
"There were some mistakes. My wording was indeed inappropriate. I'll be more careful next time. But realistically speaking, that delicate roasted lamb shank is my main strategy."
Hearing Franklin bring up the lamb shank again, a vein popped on Kotori's forehead.
"First meeting, and you give a girl something like that—what do you think that looks like?"
Franklin smiled, then snapped his fingers. Based on his deep understanding of Kotori's tastes over the years, a Chupa Chups lollipop with sweetness and flavor perfectly matched to Kotori appeared and floated in front of her.
"Give it a try. Maybe then you won't think giving food as a gift is so tacky."
Seeing Franklin's confident expression, Kotori was half-doubtful. She slowly pulled the lollipop she hadn't finished out of her mouth and directly tossed the one Franklin created inside.
In an instant, the miniature restoration and cleansing formation on the lollipop activated. Her dulled sense of taste immediately returned to peak condition—and was even amplified.
Kotori, who had been slightly frowning, gradually felt an indescribable sensation as the lollipop slowly dissolved.
"The sweetness suits me, the flavor suits me too. Feels pretty average though. Not as good as the Chupa Chups from earlier."
Franklin just smiled without arguing.
But when Kotori put the previous lollipop back into her mouth, her expression instantly collapsed.
The next moment, she spat it out, then took out another one to try—only to spit that one out as well.
"What is this? Why does it taste bitterly sweet, and the flavor's so weird—like rotten fruit? Big brother, did you mess with it?"
As Kotori spoke, a golden figure flashed beside her. The discarded lollipop was instantly caught in his hands.
"Captain, leave small tasks like throwing away trash to me."
Just as Franklin was about to explain to Kotori, his attention was instantly drawn by that familiar voice.
That voice sounded exactly the same as Zastin's. It gave Franklin the uncanny feeling of facing an old acquaintance.
"Zastin?"
Sensing Franklin's gaze, the man immediately hid the lollipop Kotori had eaten behind his back.
"What Zastin? My name is Kannazuki Kyouhei, vice-captain of the Fraxinus."
That familiar voice sent Franklin briefly into a reel of memories. It really had been many years since he last saw Lala and the others.
Nostalgia aside, there was no way Franklin was going to let something Kotori had eaten fall into the hands of a pervert—especially one with the same voice as Zastin.
If he really ate it, Franklin felt he'd have no face left to look Zastin in the eye.
A snap echoed through the control room—followed immediately by a scream.
Kotori instantly flashed down from the control platform and slammed a fist straight into Kannazuki Kyouhei's abdomen.
"Th… thank you very much…"
With a blissful smile on his face, Kannazuki Kyouhei collapsed to the ground.
Franklin's expression turned even stranger. He couldn't help but overlap Kannazuki with Zastin in his mind—it was becoming harder and harder to watch.
"Big brother, ignore him. Let's talk about your side first. Are you sure you don't need our help with Princess? These are all seasoned veterans of romance—having them help would boost affection really fast."
Franklin smiled and shook his head.
"No need for help for now. I'll ask when I really can't handle it. Besides, you've seen my strength.
Saying the wrong thing doesn't matter—I'm not afraid of getting hit.
If I really wanted to, I could even chase her into the Neighboring World. But that's clearly unnecessary right now.
Even if spatial tremors happen a few more times, it doesn't matter. As long as no one is hurt, I can reduce the damage to the real world to the absolute minimum. There won't be any lasting impact."
Knowing that Franklin was stating facts, Kotori didn't insist further. She pulled him out of the control room.
After confirming no one followed them, Kotori quickly dragged Franklin into an empty cabin. She untied the black ribbon and replaced it with a white one.
In an instant, her gaze changed.
She clung tightly to Franklin's arm, eyes wide and filled with longing as she looked up at him.