Chapter 299: Younger Sister Kotori
Letting out a soft breath to steady himself, Franklin suppressed the body that was still trembling unconsciously.
Sensing the slightly worried gazes from the people around him, Franklin completely calmed his excited emotions.
Subconsciously glancing around, Franklin saw Tohka's eyes, filled with concern yet tinged with curiosity, as well as Kotori, who was already kneeling beside him, her face full of worry.
As for Murasame Reine, she seemed to know that Franklin was fine, maintaining her usual expressionless face and vacant eyes, only giving a slight nod the moment her gaze met his.
Finally, Franklin looked at Kotori beside him, her face full of concern. He smiled and scratched his head.
"Sorry for making you all worry. I just thought of something extremely important and lost myself for a moment."
Hearing that it was for such a reason, Tohka immediately let out a sigh of relief, but Kotori was not so easily fooled.
She stared at Franklin with concern, the intense worry she felt for her older brother overflowing without restraint, making Franklin's heart ache.
"I'm really fine, Kotori. I just thought of a hidden application of the ability I awakened."
Kotori did not believe him. She looked seriously into Franklin's eyes.
"I need your promise, big brother. Right now, you're the only family I have by my side.
If something happened to you, I really wouldn't know what to do."
Franklin smiled and rubbed Kotori's head, then directly demonstrated. He raised his hand and pointed toward the empty sky above the sea ahead.
"Kotori, do you believe I can teleport Fraxinus into the sky over there?"
Faced with such a claim, Kotori decisively shook her head.
"Big brother, don't joke around. I don't want to hear that right now. What I need is for you to promise you're fine."
Franklin smiled and nodded. Then, Illusory World Genesis activated instantly. The Fraxinus, which had been hovering above Tengu City, was directly teleported into the sky before them.
"This is the new ability I just discovered. This is only a simple manifestation. On a deeper level, it can do quite a lot more."
At this moment, Kotori, wearing her white ribbon, stood there with her small mouth slightly open, completely stunned.
She subconsciously looked toward Murasame Reine and saw Reine gently press her earpiece, then lightly nod to her.
Seeing this, Franklin waved his hand again. Illusory World Genesis activated once more, and the Fraxinus was instantly sent back to its original position above Tengu City.
Using Illusory World Genesis again, Franklin now truly sensed how extraordinary it was.
This time, he didn't think about any steps at all. He simply believed that he had the ability to make the Fraxinus appear before him, and the Fraxinus directly appeared in the sky he envisioned.
It didn't feel like spatial transfer, nor like teleportation—more like appearing out of nothing in a certain sense, then being sent back out of nothing again.
There was no reliance on anything, no logic involved—just pure will.
Only then did Kotori finally believe Franklin's words. Even so, despite still wearing the white ribbon, she angrily punched Franklin in the stomach.
As if suddenly feeling pain for him, she then tightly hugged him.
"Big brother, don't ever do that again. I'll really worry myself sick."
Feeling Kotori's concern, Franklin gently hugged her back. After a long while, the two finally separated.
"Oh right, big brother, what was that 'power of yang' you mentioned before? Is it related to the ability you just used?"
Hearing the term Kotori brought up, Franklin awkwardly scratched his head and gently shook it.
"You'll know in the future. If I explain it now, it'd be hard to make clear."
Kotori didn't press further and instead looked seriously at Franklin.
"Where did the Yamai sisters go? Big brother, weren't you supposed to win them over? Why did you just leave them alone?"
Hearing Kotori's question, Franklin finally remembered that after creating the endless fire domain, Yamai Yuzuru and Yamai Kaguya had disappeared somewhere again.
Carefully sensing through his domain, Franklin saw the two girls deep in the sea, using their control over water elements to catch fish.
After a brief thought, Franklin stood up and took Kotori's hand, then reached out his other hand toward Murasame Reine.
Looking at her feigned look of confusion, Franklin said helplessly, "Take my hand.
Just watching the sea and piling sand here is too boring. I'll give you some protection—and prevent you from getting hurt."
Only then did Murasame Reine step forward and take Franklin's hand.
After transferring the Five Elements Formation and a trace of domain control to the two of them, Franklin looked toward Tohka, who had just finished her sundae and looked completely satisfied.
"Tohka, are you staying here, or do you want to go into the sea and take a look?"
Hearing Franklin's question, Tohka—whose yin power had not yet fully recovered—looked at the sea, then at Franklin.
When she thought about how no one would manage her if Franklin left, the happiness on her face was obvious.
"I'll stay here and wait for you to come back, Lin. Besides, if I follow you, wouldn't I be getting in the way of you winning over the other Spirits?"
Hearing that answer, Franklin was rather surprised. Seeing that Tohka's expression was completely normal, he relaxed slightly.
"That works too. Just remember not to eat too much. Be careful of spiritual energy buildup—it really can make you gain weight."
Tohka smiled indifferently. "Lin definitely won't mind. And I believe Lin will help me solve my troubles."
Sensing the obvious change in Tohka's state of mind, Franklin was still a little surprised.
Gently rubbing Tohka's head, Franklin didn't delay any longer and chose to leave.
With a snap of his fingers, Franklin, Kotori, and Murasame Reine appeared beside the castle that Yoshino and Yoshinon were building.
Looking at the sand that had already been condensed and shaped, along with the vine decorations, the entire castle had an extremely retro, Western fantasy style.
The interior of the massive castle was still somewhat rough, but with the help of the two little ones and Nagisa, it was being continuously refined.
Seeing the sparkle in Kotori's eyes beside him, Franklin smiled and said, "Want to join in?"
Seeing Kotori's instinctive look of wanting to refuse,
Franklin continued, "I'm going to find the Yamai sisters now. If you follow me, I might have trouble fully using my advantages."
Hearing this, Kotori fell silent. Franklin smiled and rubbed her head.
Then he leaned down and softly whispered in her ear, "You're only fourteen, after all. Don't put so much pressure on yourself.
Your brother isn't stupid or useless. He's someone you can rely on—so it's fine for you to be a bit more childish."
Seeing the slight blush on Kotori's cheeks, Franklin smiled and then looked toward Murasame Reine.
"I'll leave Kotori to you. No matter how you look at it, your relationship isn't shallow."
After meeting Franklin's gaze, Murasame Reine hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"I'll make sure the commander enjoys her vacation."
"Big brother, you're so annoying. Stop talking already."
Looking at Kotori's shy, blushing face, Franklin smiled and instantly teleported away.