Chapter 229: Shura Battlefield
"What condition? Anything is fine, Lin, is it that you want—"
Before she could finish speaking, Franklin directly covered her mouth, preventing her from saying anything else shocking.
"My request is very simple. No matter what you see later, you have to stay calm and restrain your emotions. And the most important point—no fighting."
Seeing how serious Franklin looked, Origami hesitated for a moment. When she glanced at the item she was holding in her hand, she stopped hesitating and nodded decisively.
"I will."
"Then the agreement is made. Go put that thing away and come downstairs with me."
After letting go of Origami and watching her run back into her room, Franklin rubbed his forehead helplessly. It took quite a while before she finally came back out.
Just as they reached the first floor, the sound of a key being inserted into the lock came from the entrance. As the door opened, Kotori, wearing her school uniform and a black ribbon in her hair, walked in.
In an instant, Kotori and Origami locked eyes. For some reason, Franklin felt as if he could smell gunpowder in the air.
"Um… dinner's already ready. How about we eat first? If there's anything to say, we can talk after dinner."
After changing her shoes, Kotori turned her head and headed straight toward the living room and kitchen.
"Wait, I still have something to say!"
Just as Franklin was about to stop her, he saw that Kotori had already opened the door leading to the living room and kitchen and walked inside.
"Didn't you just say we'd eat first and talk later—"
She froze halfway through her sentence.
"Big brother, wasn't Origami the only one moving into our house? Then the person in here is…"
Following her into the living room, Franklin and Origami saw Kurumi Tokisaki stand up from the sofa and face them, lifting her skirt slightly in a polite curtsy.
"Sorry to intrude. My name is Kurumi Tokisaki. I am the counterpart in a one-year rental girlfriend transaction with Franklin. This is our first meeting, so please forgive any discourtesy. For the next year, I look forward to your guidance."
Seeing that familiar face, the golden glow faintly lighting up in her hidden left eye, both Kotori and Origami instinctively stepped back, their guard rising.
Only Franklin stepped forward, positioning himself between the three who were on the verge of clashing.
"Can you listen to me first? Kotori, calm down. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen. If your emotions fluctuate too much, that's what will really cause trouble."
Hearing Franklin's words, Kotori was clearly unhappy, but she also knew he was thinking of her well-being. She took a deep breath and suppressed the hostility, then carefully observed Kurumi's attire and appearance.
After observing her for a moment, the only conclusion Kotori could draw was that she was an elegant young lady from a noble family, not the bloodthirsty Nightmare.
Seeing this, Franklin turned to Origami, who was currently just an ordinary human.
"Have you forgotten the contents of the deal? If you can't control yourself, the transaction will be void."
"But she is—"
Franklin directly cut off Origami before she could continue.
"This is Kurumi Tokisaki, one of tonight's important guests. And the other important guest is you. I don't want any accidents happening in my house while the two of you are here."
Looking at Franklin's serious expression, Origami quickly calmed the turmoil in her heart.
As everything returned to peace once more, Franklin finally let out a sigh of relief.
"You really did come suddenly. There were some twists, but at least it didn't turn into a fight. That's already a blessing in disguise."
Kurumi revealed a sweet smile and curtsied to Franklin once again.
"Well, I really should thank you for stepping in, Franklin. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to enjoy your perfect cooking tonight. After all, even ordinary black tea has that kind of effect.
If I couldn't experience such special cuisine for myself, I simply wouldn't be able to accept it."
Hearing this, Kotori looked at Franklin in surprise. She hadn't expected him to attract even a terrifying Spirit like Nightmare using this method.
Franklin smiled, neither confirming nor denying it, and snapped his fingers. In an instant, the spiritual energy barrier isolating the dishes vanished, and rich aromas and spiritual energy spread throughout the room.
Upon sensing that dense spiritual energy, both Kurumi's and Kotori's eyes lit up immediately.
At the same time, having realized how special Franklin's cooking was, Kotori shot him a resentful look.
Franklin could only smile helplessly and explain, "It's a newly awakened ability. I didn't have it before."
Understanding this, Kotori stopped pressing the issue and sat down. Seeing this, Franklin invited Kurumi and Origami to take their seats as well.
"Well, as you can see, because of me, our household has always followed a Chinese-style dining culture. I hope you don't mind."
"When visiting someone's home, one should follow the host's customs. I'm the one who's imposing."
Seeing how courteous Kurumi was, Kotori and Origami found it hard to imagine that the girl before them was an evil Spirit who had slaughtered more than ten thousand people.
After serving everyone spirit rice and handing out the tableware, Franklin also sat down.
"Don't hold back. Just eat. I made quite a lot, so there's no need to worry about running out. And if I want to keep cooking, it's relatively fast… fast…"
As his words fell, the three girls immediately picked up their chopsticks. As the food entered their mouths and went down, the gentle spiritual energy rapidly spread and was absorbed by their bodies.
All three girls' cheeks flushed slightly at the same time. After realizing the terrifying spiritual replenishment effect of Franklin's cooking, as well as the slight enhancement to their bodies,
their refined manners quickly disappeared. From small, careful bites at the beginning, they moved on to large mouthfuls, completely disregarding their image.
Watching the three of them, a term drifted through Franklin's mind—one of the Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony.
At this moment, the three girls were the very embodiment of gluttony, and also of greed.
It wasn't until all eight dishes on the table had been completely wiped out that the three finally came back to their senses.
"So? Are you all full? If not, there's still—"
Seeing Kotori's expression as if she still wanted to order more, Franklin continued with a smile, "If you keep eating, the spiritual energy will pile up in your bodies and you'll gain weight really fast.
You're Spirits. The effects of excessive spiritual energy intake are far more obvious than eating rich food. Today, all of you have already exceeded a reasonable intake, especially you two, Kurumi and Kotori. You already replenished quite a bit during the day, and eating so much again at night will be hard to fully digest."
Upon hearing Franklin's words, Kotori's expression visibly darkened, and even Kurumi's body trembled slightly.
Seeing their reactions, Franklin burst out laughing.
"Just kidding. There's no way spiritual energy would accumulate in your bodies. With your builds, that's impossible—unless you eat like this every single day. Only then would there be even the slightest chance."
With a casual wave of his hand, Franklin cleared the entire table clean.
At the same moment, a fist had already reached right in front of Franklin's face.