"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Alaric smiled. "Frank will be thrilled to have his ideas recognized and to help others. If things go well, his talents might truly transform this world."
"It sounds promising…" Klein nodded, momentarily filled with anticipation for such a future.
That anticipation came to an abrupt halt when Klein followed Alaric onto the Future.
What unfolded before him was utterly fantastical. The deck of the Future was overrun with oversized fruits and vegetables, far larger than any normal plants, and lush green vines sprawled everywhere. Klein watched, stunned, as a cow with a giant watermelon sprouting from its head trotted past. Not far off, a pile of colorful mushrooms was attacking a fish with legs, while a pirate with sprouts growing from his head argued with what looked like a sunflower…
"The cannon's spewing milk!"
At that moment, Klein heard someone shout. He turned stiffly to see a cannon, clearly meant to be an mystical weapon, gushing streams of milky white liquid.
Klein's mind went blank, unable to process the scene.
In that moment, he had only one thought... could all this really be Frank's doing?
Klein wasn't the only one whose brain had crashed. Bernadette, who had come with Alaric, stared at the unfamiliar Future, equally dumbfounded. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if she was trapped in some kind of illusion.
"Queen, you're here…"
It wasn't until Cattleya's slightly flustered voice broke through that Bernadette confirmed this was reality. Her heart tightened, and she carefully scanned Cattleya from head to toe, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, nothing extra was growing on her.
"What in the world is going on?" Bernadette couldn't help but frown, asking.
"This…" Cattleya hesitated, clearly struggling to explain. After a few seconds, she bit her lip and said honestly, "Frank was so excited when he heard someone appreciated his work. He wanted to do something to welcome you all… Then we ran into Agalito, the King of Immortality and had to flee into this divine battle sea. It seems this area holds residual powers from the Earth Mother, which reacted strangely with Frank's experimental creations, and… this happened."
After hearing Cattleya's explanation, everyone fell silent.
Bernadette's expression was hard to describe. She took a moment to compose herself before asking, "Where's Frank?"
"Who's calling me?"
Frank must have heard his name, poking his head out from the other side of the deck.
Everyone instinctively turned to look, only to fall silent again. Frank, at that moment, didn't look remotely normal... his entire body was green.
"Frank, are you alright? I swear you weren't this green three minutes ago…" Cattleya frowned, visibly concerned.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just a normal detox reaction. I've already figured out how to expel these forces from my body." Frank said, waving it off.
As if to prove his point, the tip of Frank's finger began to swell, quickly forming a bulge the size of a mushroom. As the "mushroom" appeared, the green hue faded from his body.
Frank produced a dagger and, without hesitation, sliced the mushroom off at its base, trapping it in a glass bottle.
Yes, trapped... because the mushroom was alive, bouncing around inside the bottle with a thump-thump.
"All done! Captain, I've got this under control. I'll go help the others now!" Frank flashed a bright smile and announced.
Faced with this scene, Cattleya was speechless.
"…"
"…"
After a few seconds of silence, Cattleya nodded with difficulty. "Alright, go help the others."
Frank happily bounded off.
After he left, Klein turned to Alaric, his expression a mix of wanting to speak but holding back.
It wasn't that Klein couldn't handle unconventional ideas, but the sheer chaos on the Future exceeded his expectations, sparking a flicker of doubt... could humanity's future really be entrusted to Frank?
He wasn't the only one with such thoughts; two others shared similar concerns.
In contrast, Alaric remained remarkably calm. After the initial shock, he offered a faint smile. "Don't worry. The worst-case scenario is just a Mushroom Apocalypse. It'll be fine."
"…"
How could that possibly be fine?
And what even was a "Mushroom Apocalypse"? This was no time for puns or dark humor!
Klein suddenly understood where Jack's penchant for puns and bad jokes came from... it must be etched into their lineage's DNA.
Did great beings play with puns too?
Klein's thoughts briefly spiraled.
Ahem… Cattleya coughed at that moment. Though she, too, was somewhat worried about the world's future, as the captain of the Future, she felt compelled to defend her crew, at least to avoid looking too unreliable in front of the Queen.
So, Cattleya said, "This is just an accident. Normally… uh, normally Frank isn't this extreme, really, haha." By the end, her confidence waned, and she let out a dry laugh.
"So, normally he's just less extreme?" Bernadette zeroed in on the key point.
Cattleya fell silent, stammering for a moment. She cautiously glanced at Bernadette, then at Alaric, before looking back at Bernadette. "Queen, I thought you knew."
"…"
No, she didn't.
"I was aware of this." Alaric said with a smile, stepping in.
Klein wasn't sure whether to feel relieved.
"Let's deal with the Future's problems first. We can talk about the rest later." Bernadette said, wanting to say more but ultimately dropping the topic.
"Alright!" Cattleya nodded immediately.
"Shall I handle the Future's issues?" Bernadette turned to Alaric for confirmation.
"Go ahead. I can help too." Alaric nodded with a smile.
Klein naturally pitched in as well.
With the three of them joining in, the Future's problems were quickly resolved. Afterward, Alaric, Klein, Bernadette, Cattleya, and Frank gathered together again.
"So, you're the one who appreciates my work and wants to invite me to join your lab?" Frank asked excitedly, his eyes practically sparkling as he looked at Alaric.
"That's me." Alaric nodded, smiling at Frank. "You can hear about the purpose of my lab first, then decide if you want to join."
***
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