Chapter 13: Heart-to-Heart and Training
In the first year, Franklin spent every day testing the effects of different potions in small doses. It wasn't until the second year, when the results became significant, that Risa Momioka realized something was off. When she confronted Franklin, he admitted it openly.
When she threatened to call the police, Franklin played his trump card — because he had been the one paying for every expense and she had given him nothing in return, she was also breaking the law.
And due to the aphrodisiacs, Risa could no longer clearly distinguish her feelings toward Franklin. Caught between threats, infatuation, and Franklin's financial manipulation, the two maintained a vague, ambiguous relationship — experimenter and test subject — for three years.
In the end, Franklin began to sense that Risa had grown dependent on him. After some reflection, he realized her state was similar to Stockholm syndrome. Not wanting to become a true psychopath, he sought help from Ryōko Mikado, and with her assistance, Risa finally returned to normal.
After that, she forgot many things — but she still remembered that Franklin had treated her like a lab rat and bullied her for two whole years. And she swore she would get her revenge.
Since graduating from middle school, Franklin had long forgotten about all of that — after all, it had happened four years ago.
Now, seeing Risa Momioka appear before him once again, the now more mature and composed Franklin finally realized just how much of a beast he had been back then.
At the time, he had shown all the signs of an antisocial personality — doing things only a deranged person would do. Fortunately, he still had a line he wouldn't cross and hadn't gone completely off the deep end.
The sound of the class bell snapped Franklin out of his memories.
[Ding: New Mission Released]
[Mission: Earn Forgiveness]
[Mission Difficulty: E-]
[Objective: Earn Risa Momioka's forgiveness. Mission success: 10 low-grade spirit stones. Mission failure: Risa's route will be permanently severed.]
[Time Limit: 365 days]
They really would turn anything into a mission. Franklin sighed helplessly — he wasn't in the mood to deal with this mess right now. Better to just let things unfold naturally.
"Lin, come with me."
Before he could gather his thoughts, Lala grabbed him by the arm and dragged him up to the rooftop. Seeing the hesitant look on her face, Franklin was a little puzzled.
"Lala, what's wrong? You can tell me directly."
"Lin… they said that boys like girls who can cook, but I can't cook at all…"
Before she could finish, Franklin cut her off. "Don't worry about what they say. I've told you before — everyone has different experiences and different perspectives. The reason they say that is because cooking is their way of attracting guys.
"But you, Lala — you're already perfect from the start. To me, you're flawless. You don't need to care about things like that at all. You're on a whole other level. You could invent a robot to cook for you — isn't that even better than knowing how to cook yourself?
"So don't worry about what others say. Just be yourself. I like you as you are — whether it's your bravery, your optimism, or even your desire to become more attractive to me. You don't need to change. Just stay true to yourself."
Lala's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and her smile returned. She threw her arms around Franklin, feeling the sincerity in his words.
"I understand, Lin. I will. And if you ever get tired of my personality, I'll change it then."
Franklin felt both happy and helpless — happy that Lala was willing to change for him, and helpless that she still didn't truly understand his feelings.
"Lala, can you help me get in touch with Zastin? And could you ask the teacher for leave for me too? If you don't feel like going to class either, you can ask for leave as well."
Lala stopped in her tracks, confused. "Huh? Why?"
"I just had a sudden impulse — I want to improve my strength. I remember Zastin uses a sword too, right? Then he should know what the Sword Qi Realm is."
"Hmm… I don't really get what you're talking about, Lin. But since you said so… Zastin, if you can hear me, come down here. Lin wants to see you."
Without hesitation, Lala pulled Franklin back to the rooftop. A flash of white light descended, and Zastin appeared before them, clad in white bone-like armor. He studied Franklin intently, as if trying to see right through him.
Wanting to test his theory, Franklin let spiritual energy surge into his eyes. Instantly, countless white frames appeared before his vision. Spotting the entry labeled "Zastin Deviluke," he selected it without hesitation. In just an instant, more than half of his spiritual energy was drained. Fortunately, he wasn't completely depleted. As he examined the data before him, he summoned a supreme-grade spirit stone to quickly replenish his energy.
Name: Zastin Deviluke
Gender: Male
Birthday: April 1
Blood Type: O
Height: 205 cm
Weight: 108 kg
Measurements: B125-W111-H116
Specialties: Swordsmanship, Manga
...
Age: 35/276
Race: Devilukean
Bloodline: Deviluke Bloodline
Body Cultivation: Late First Origin Stage
Spiritual Cultivation: Green Energy Source (Equivalent to Foundation Establishment)
Mental Cultivation: Mortal Heart Realm
Sword Dao Cultivation: Sword Light Realm (Second Stage of Sword Path — Sword Light)
Cultivation Method: None
Spells: None
Innate Talent: Unawakened
Overall Combat Power: 496
The moment Franklin used the Eye of True Sight, Zastin sensed it. He was visibly surprised, almost in disbelief that Franklin could wield such a technique.
"As expected of you, son-in-law. No wonder you had the confidence to make such a wager with His Majesty. His Majesty has ordered me to meet your every request, whatever it may be. What would you like me to do?"
Hearing this, Franklin was stunned. He had practically abducted the Deviluke king's daughter, yet the king bore no grudge at all.
Since that was the case, Franklin spoke frankly. "I want to know — what exactly is the Sword Qi Realm? I want to walk the path of the sword, but I have no one to guide me. You've already reached the Sword Light Realm, so you must have a deep understanding of the Sword Qi Realm. I hope you can guide me in stepping into it. Of course, you can name your conditions — I'm not the kind of person who only wants to take without giving anything in return."
Zastin shook his head solemnly. "There's no need for that. I'm His Majesty's personal guard. Assisting you is His Majesty's command. So there's no need for any compensation. Please follow me — I will share everything I know with you."
As he spoke, Zastin turned and bowed respectfully to Lala. "Lady Lala, I will be taking the young master for training. Please take care of yourself."
Lala gave him a bright smile. "Zastin, you've been monitoring Earth all this time. Since there are no aliens coming here right now, I'll be fine. Go ahead with your training."
Hearing her words, Franklin's face darkened. Great, that's basically waving a giant flag saying something's definitely going to happen. It made him hesitate about going to train.
But then he remembered that his strength was still inferior to Lala's. If danger really did come, he'd just be a burden. What he needed most right now was to focus on improving himself.
As a beam of white light enveloped them once again, Franklin found himself transported with Zastin to the middle of a vast, open forest. As Zastin drew a green energy sword from his waist, Franklin's eyes were immediately drawn to it.
With a casual swing, Zastin unleashed a crescent-shaped arc of faint green sword light that shot toward a tree as thick as a man's waist. The sword light vanished in an instant, racing far into the distance.
Five seconds later, the tree reacted — and one after another, trees toppled to the ground. The line of destruction extended for a full kilometer before the sword energy finally dissipated.
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