Chapter 239: Spirit Sealing Yoshino and Yoshinon
Yoshino stepped forward and stood right in front of Franklin. "Of course I go first. If kissing doesn't work, how could I let Yoshinon take that kind of loss?"
Franklin smiled and rubbed her head. "Then we'll start with you. If it doesn't work, don't even think about getting revenge on me."
"Don't worry, I'm not that petty. I've learned a lot about you.
My affection for you only came after I really understood you. I'm not like Tohka—my memories have always been complete."
Franklin's expression shifted slightly. He didn't say anything more, gently lifted Yoshino's chin, and kissed her lightly.
For a long time there was no effect. Franklin sighed helplessly and started to pull away, but then he felt Yoshino's arms wrap around his neck.
He was puzzled at first, but the next instant his eyes widened—Yoshino took the initiative and pressed in. It was small, inexperienced, and a little stiff.
Franklin didn't refuse. He understood what she was doing and responded actively.
The spirit seal, which had shown no sign of activating, suddenly triggered as time passed. Thick spiritual energy poured continuously from Yoshino's body into Franklin's.
[Spirit Seal on Yoshino: Success]
[Acquired Divine Authority Spirit Dress · Fourth: Ice Puppet]
[Current Connection with Origin Spirit: 58%]
[Current Mission Objective: Establish close bonds with the ten great spirits (3/11)]
After a long moment their lips parted, a crystal-clear thread breaking between them. Franklin's expression grew extremely complicated as he watched her spirit dress vanish and her arms move to cover the important parts of her body.
Yoshino was very shy right now, but she still gathered her courage, looked at Franklin, and spoke with a hint of pleading in her eyes.
"Please take care of Yoshinon. You have to make it work."
Meeting her gaze, Franklin couldn't even bring himself to say anything about refusing.
"I'll… do my best…"
Franklin snapped his fingers lightly. In the next instant, a cute black bunny outfit appeared over Yoshino's body.
Yoshinon, who had been watching the whole thing, had already covered her eyes, peeking only through a tiny gap.
When Franklin turned to her, her already flushed cheeks turned even redder. The sight made Franklin smile from the bottom of his heart.
"Yoshinon, are you ready? Yoshino already succeeded."
"Yoshino can do it… Lin… I… I can too…"
Seeing how she looked, Franklin smiled, gently lifted her chin, and kissed her. In just an instant he felt endless spiritual energy surge into his body.
[Spirit Seal on Yoshinon: Success]
[Acquired Divine Authority Spirit Dress · Fourth: Ice Puppet]
[Current Connection with Origin Spirit: 61%]
[Current Mission Objective: Establish close bonds with the ten great spirits (4/11)]
It happened so fast that Franklin didn't even react. He stayed stunned for a long time until Yoshino grabbed his arm and yanked him away, snapping him out of it.
"Idiot Franklin, what are you doing? Taking advantage of Yoshinon on purpose? I may not have spiritual power anymore, but I'll still beat you up."
Seeing Yoshinon—face red as an apple, covering her private areas—Franklin scratched his head awkwardly.
"Sorry, I didn't expect Yoshinon's affection for me to be that high. It worked right away."
With a light snap of his fingers, a green bunny outfit similar to Yoshino's appeared over Yoshinon's body.
"It's okay… As long as it's Lin, it's fine… And thanks to Lin… I finally got to meet Yoshino…"
As she spoke, Yoshinon hugged Yoshino tightly. "It feels… really good… Thank you so much, Lin…"
Yoshino wore a doting expression and gently patted Yoshinon's head.
"Leave this to me. Your jealous Tohka is glaring over here again. If you don't deal with it, she might actually axe you."
Franklin rubbed his forehead helplessly. He wanted to argue but realized he had nothing to say.
"From now on we're all family. You can't talk about Tohka like that—it's rude. Yoshinon learns everything from you. If you teach her bad habits, could you forgive yourself?"
The moral guilt-trip worked perfectly. Yoshino shut her mouth and gave Franklin a huge eye roll.
Franklin smiled, turned back toward Tohka, and—seeing her puffed-up cheeks—picked her up in his arms.
"Lin?"
Ignoring her confused call, he carried her straight over to Yoshino and Yoshinon before setting her down.
Then, right in front of the two little ones, he wrapped an arm around Tohka's waist and kissed her deeply. Tohka, caught completely off guard, instantly forgot everything—her mind went blank.
Only when he pressed further did she come back to herself. Feeling the stares of the two beside them, she no longer cared about anything that had happened before. Shyness completely took over.
She pounded on Franklin, but he only kissed her more intensely until her now-powerless body went soft and she had to lean on him to stay standing.
Only then did Franklin stop. A thin crystal thread stretched as he pulled away. He scooped Tohka into his arms, and she buried her shy face completely in his chest.
Yoshinon's cheeks had stayed bright red from beginning to end. Yoshino, who had watched the entire thing, just pursed her lips.
"Kissing's all done, and we're all human now. So how are we getting back?"
Franklin's expression stiffened slightly. He hadn't yet tested whether Flying Thunder God could cross worlds.
If it didn't work, the only option would be to wait for Kurumi to return to the neighboring world and then teleport back to the present world with her.
Franklin let out a soft breath, his gaze turning more serious. "There's a way, but I'm not sure if it'll work. You two, hold on to me."
"Hold on to you? What do you mean?"
Yoshinon didn't ask any more questions. She stepped forward, grabbed the hem of Franklin's clothes, and used her other hand to pull Yoshino close.
At that moment, in the familiar park, the sky had gone completely dark. Only a single dim yellow streetlamp lit the area. A girl in a long black dress sat at a wooden table, gently sipping red tea from her cup.
"You're already this relaxed? Before, you were collecting time and spiritual power with a death wish."
"What can I do? After becoming human again, then turning back into a spirit, my whole mindset changed too much.
It used to be just my fight alone. Now I might have an ally—a very mysterious, very powerful ally.
It's not easy to go back to that desperate, ready-to-die attitude just to change everything. So I have a plan…"
As Kurumi spoke, her eyes shifted slightly. A violent space storm that seemed capable of destroying everything flashed past in an instant. Kurumi, who had just brushed shoulders with death, trembled faintly as she held her teacup.
At that moment, four figures appeared on the empty ground beside the wooden table.