Chapter 119: The Sudden Divine Fall
"In school, I'll be watching your every move. You're strictly forbidden from getting too close to any girls!"
After seeing Franklin nod in agreement, Yui Kotegawa finally turned and walked into the school building.
Just as Franklin let out a sigh of relief, Lala once again threw herself into his arms. He pressed a hand lightly against her forehead, keeping her at arm's length.
"You heard her," Franklin said helplessly. "We should behave while we're at school. I don't want to end up wearing a sign in public."
Lala pouted, her cheeks puffing out slightly. Amused, Franklin reached out to rub her head.
"Go change into your indoor shoes. As for that suggestion you mentioned before… I think we can try it in the virtual world. Maybe we can get the same result that way."
Lala froze for a moment. When she realized what he was referring to, her face instantly turned bright red.
"Lin, you idiot! How can you talk about that at school?" she cried, her face aflame as she dashed inside, changed her shoes, and sprinted toward the classroom.
"No running in the hallway, Lala! Be careful!"
Yui Kotegawa, who had just finished changing into her indoor shoes, was about to scold her when she spotted Franklin strolling casually through the doorway.
Behind him were Tenjōin Saki, Rin Kujō, and Aya Fujisaki, all following him in at a relaxed pace. Seeing that, Yui stopped in place, quietly standing guard as if Franklin being out of her sight for even a second posed a threat to public safety.
That cold, watchful gaze made Franklin's whole body feel uncomfortable.
"Kotegawa," he said, "could you please stop staring at me like that? It feels weird. Also, could you move over a little?"
After a short, indignant huff, Franklin sighed and walked up beside her.
"My indoor shoes are right behind you. I can't reach them unless you move."
Realizing her mistake, Yui stepped back in a fluster—only for her heel to catch on the raised step behind her. She lost her balance and began to fall backward.
Franklin reacted instinctively. Time seemed to slow around him as he reached forward to catch her by the arm. But the moment his hand made contact, a sudden dizziness overwhelmed him.
The vertigo struck so abruptly that even with his mid-Stage Core Formation cultivation, he couldn't resist it. His consciousness swayed, and both of them tumbled to the ground together.
When Franklin's awareness returned, his cheek was pressed against something soft and faintly warm. He felt a slight, smooth movement against his skin and caught a whiff of detergent—and something else, hard to describe. For a second, he couldn't quite process what was happening.
Then he looked up—and saw pink panties right above his face.
His mind went blank. I'm doomed, he thought, just as a piercing scream rang out.
Franklin didn't fight back. He relaxed his body completely as Yui's foot kicked his shoulder, followed by a sharp, resounding slap that echoed through the entire hallway.
Moments later, Yui Kotegawa walked into the classroom with an icy expression. The room instantly fell silent. Then Franklin followed her in—his face calm but dignified—and everyone burst into murmurs.
Hanging from his neck and back were two large wooden signs:
[Shameless Pervert. Girls Beware. Boys, Be Ashamed.]
"Hey, hey, hey, Lin-senpai," Tenjōin Saki teased, eyes gleaming. "You totally did that on purpose, didn't you? There's no way that position was an accident."
Her nosy comment made Yui's face darken even more, while Franklin could only sigh helplessly. With his current level of ability, claiming it was an "accident" sounded like a joke to everyone.
"Lin," Lala whispered between giggles, "I thought you said she wasn't going to punish you. What happened?"
Franklin sat back in his seat, looking defeated.
"Don't mention it. Something unexpected happened… I accidentally took advantage of Kotegawa. Since I already promised, I had to wear these signs."
Outside the window, a small head peeked in—it was Nana.
"You expect me to believe that? With a pose like that and your six-thousand combat power? As if that could be an accident. I'm writing this down—you really are a pervert!"
Rubbing his temples, Franklin muttered, "Do you really think I'd lie about something like this?"
Nana ducked out of sight. "Who knows? Pervert!"
Lala, meanwhile, was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. When she finally managed to stop, she wiped her eyes and said softly, "I believe you, Lin. And don't worry about Nana—she doesn't mean any harm."
Franklin scratched his head in frustration. "I'm not worried about her. What bothers me is why this kind of thing keeps happening. Once could be an accident—but this is the second time. Something's definitely off with my body."
"Then have Ryōko check you out," Lala suggested. "It's no big deal."
Franklin shook his head. "With her medical skills, she wouldn't find anything. I think this might involve something… on a higher level."
"So what do we do? Just ignore it?"
"I don't know." He sighed. "For now, I'll just stay away from Kotegawa. It only seems to trigger when she's nearby. It's not dangerous, so I'll leave it for now."
Just then, the classroom door slammed open and Ren burst in.
"Franklin! You got away yesterday, but today I'll definitely fight you! I'll prove I'm more of a man than you are—and when I win, Lala will fall for me!"
"I already told you," Lala replied sternly, "even if you're stronger than Lin, I'll never like you. You're being childish, Ren."
After calming Lala down, Franklin extended his divine sense. The surrounding spiritual energy gathered instantly, forming an invisible cage that pressed Ren flat to the floor—without disturbing a single object around them.
"Let me go!" Ren shouted, struggling futilely. "Fight me fair and square! You don't stand a chance against me!"
Franklin sighed. "Lala's made it clear she's not interested. Chasing her like this is pointless. There are so many beautiful girls on this planet—you could find someone else easily. Look around the class—plenty of pretty girls here. Why go after someone who'll never return your feelings?"
Ren's eyes burned with rage. "Did you just call them garbage? How dare you compare those nobodies to Lala! You're the one who doesn't deserve her! I challenge you!"
"What did you just say?!"
Risa Momioka stormed forward and kicked Ren to the floor. Several other girls quickly surrounded him near the doorway.
"You're saying we're garbage?"
"Of course! You lowly, common girls aren't worthy to stand beside Lala!"
But before he could pull something from his pocket, Franklin's brows furrowed. Lightning flickered faintly around him—he infused it with his spiritual energy and shot it into Ren's body from afar. The current paralyzed him instantly, freezing him to the floor.
The girls didn't hold back either. Whatever sympathy they'd had for his good looks was gone. They kicked and stomped him without hesitation, a flurry of shoes raining down on his face.
Then, Franklin suddenly sensed something off. His divine sense detected a surge within Ren's body—white smoke began to rise from him. Realizing what was about to happen, Franklin quickly dispersed the girls with a wave of spiritual energy.
A moment later, the beaten Ren vanished—replaced by a blue-haired girl lying on the floor. Had Franklin reacted a second slower, Run would have been caught up in the beating as well.
"You useless idiot!" the blue-haired girl yelled furiously. "You actually let me take the hit for you?! How can someone like me share a body with trash like you?!"
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)