Chapter 262: The Silent Origami Tobiichi
"Lin, can I make my move now…"
Only then did Franklin remember that there was still someone beside him who harbored an intense hatred toward Spirits. Looking at Origami Tobiichi, who had been holding back for a long time and was clearly about to strike, Franklin once again turned his gaze to Tokisaki Kurumi.
"Today's conversation ends here. The Origin Spirit is also my target."
"Yamada Saya is still waiting for your apology, so please don't think about seeking death. Your life is important—it doesn't belong to you alone."
At the end, Franklin transmitted with divine sense: "The Origami Tobiichi beside me—her parents both died at the hands of Spirits, so she hates Spirits to the bone.
"I'll leave her to you. As long as you don't kill her, just make her recognize her own shortcomings."
Seeing Kurumi give a slight nod, Franklin stepped aside. "The talk is over. Try out your new equipment."
The moment Franklin finished speaking, Origami Tobiichi had already transformed into a streak of light and rushed straight at Tokisaki Kurumi.
Gun and light sword. Gun and gun.
White versus red and black.
Franklin sat cross-legged beside Tohka. "They'll probably take a while. Once everything's over, how about riding the Ferris wheel?"
Following the direction of Franklin's finger, Tohka glanced at the slowly rotating Ferris wheel and decisively shook her head.
"It'll definitely be boring. It's spinning way too slowly. If it were faster, then it'd be a decent choice."
She gently rubbed her stomach and looked at Franklin with a wronged expression. "I feel hungry again. Lin, can you make me something tasty?"
"I'm not—"
Just as he was about to mention cake, Franklin realized that everything that had just happened had already been negated by him on the temporal level.
Illusory World Genesis activated. A strawberry cake instantly took shape in Franklin's hand. After handing it to Tohka, Franklin's domain expanded at once.
Carefully contemplating the method of unfolding the sword-path domain, only an instant passed before a chill spread outward.
After shielding everyone within the domain from perceiving it, Franklin carefully comprehended the operational principles of the sword-path domain and ways to further refine it.
At this moment, Origami Tobiichi was wildly swinging her light sword, yet every single attack was precisely blocked by Kurumi.
She quickly retreated, fired her wrist cannons, and manifested virtual floating cannons for nonstop bombardment, all of which Kurumi evaded with extremely elegant movements.
"Student Origami, right? Care to tell me why you hate Spirits so much?"
Facing Kurumi's question, Origami showed no intention of answering. She was only thinking about how to kill the most evil Spirit before her.
Seeing this, Kurumi didn't mind. She continued smiling, teasing the white-haired girl while dodging attacks.
"If you don't want to talk, that's fine. Then how about telling me this—why do you hate Spirits so deeply, yet end up falling for Mr. Franklin, who very much likes Spirits?
"Don't you think that's contradictory? Mr. Franklin has said he wants to bring all Spirits into his harem.
"Aren't you curious why, since he plans to deal with all Spirits, he uniquely accepted you—a human—into it?"
In an instant, Origami's eyes turned somewhat red. Her Realizer flared even brighter, verging on overload.
The effect was obvious. A previously hidden regional barrier was instantly activated. Kurumi, who had still been nimbly dodging, was immediately trapped at the center of the barrier.
The wrist cannon, charged to its absolute limit, fired. Blood mist instantly filled the barrier, and the exhausted Origami collapsed straight to the ground.
"Lin, I did it… You won't be angry, right…"
Franklin helplessly shook his head, flashed to Origami's side, and restored both her body and spiritual power to peak condition.
"You only killed one of Kurumi's many clones. She has hundreds, thousands, or even more of them."
Hearing Franklin's words, Origami instinctively refused to believe it. But then she saw Kurumi reappear beside Franklin.
Looking at the bloodstains all over the ground, looking at the completely unharmed Kurumi now standing there, Origami wanted to keep fighting, but Franklin stopped her.
"What you need to do now is continue improving your strength. You should understand that you're not her opponent yet.
"She can even stop your time and toy with you at will. Charging in recklessly like that is just sending yourself to your death—it has no meaning at all."
Origami didn't want to listen. She continued struggling to get up, but in the end, Franklin pressed her back down.
"Don't be so stubborn. Changing your way of thinking is also an option."
"Since you're willing to entrust everything you have to me, why not think about demanding something of equal value from me? You know it—I would never refuse."
As he spoke, Franklin casually waved his hand. The Kurumi clone that had turned into a pool of blood and fragments instantly returned to its original form.
She looked at Franklin with gratitude, performed a skirt-lifting courtesy, and disappeared back into Kurumi's shadow.
Seeing this, Origami Tobiichi fell silent. She said nothing, merely stood up quietly, put away her Realizer, gently took hold of Franklin's arm, and headed toward the amusement park.
Franklin couldn't quite understand it—but at the same time, it felt like he did.
After gently shaking his head, Franklin transmitted with divine sense to Kurumi behind him: "Don't forget—our deal is still valid. Now that you've thought it through, it's time to put it into action."
Seeing Kurumi nod slightly, Franklin let out a quiet breath. Calling Tohka over, the three of them headed into the amusement park.
Only after sensing Franklin's domain dissipate did Tokisaki Kurumi's expression instantly turn uncertain.
She thought back to the bits and pieces of help Mio had given her at the beginning, then to the ruthless, decisive betrayal at the end.
She still maintained a certain level of wariness toward Franklin's existence. Even if his target was also the Origin Spirit, a trace of unease remained in Kurumi's heart.
Throughout the entire afternoon, Origami Tobiichi remained silent.
Whether it was riding the roller coaster or the drop tower, even when Tohka openly monopolized Franklin in front of her and showed off, Origami's expression never changed.
At this point, even Tohka noticed that something was wrong with Origami. After hesitating for a long time, she looked seriously at Franklin.
"Lin, can you help bring back the Origami from before? It feels like something's seriously wrong with her."
Looking at Tohka, then at Origami, Franklin hesitated for a long time before finally nodding. "I will. But what about you, Tohka? Won't you feel hurt inside?"
"No. Lin is everyone's Lin. I know I can never have Lin all to myself, so I just need Lin to keep loving me and looking at me."
After saying that, Tohka turned around and ran toward Kotori. On her body, Franklin once again saw a faint black aura.
Suppressing the urge to investigate, Franklin turned his gaze to the expressionless, silent Origami Tobiichi beside him.