Chapter 26: A Clever Misunderstanding
"Don't act like you're about to die. I was just joking. I'll be staying here for a few days and then I'll leave. I won't do anything to you. Take a look at this—have you seen it before? I heard Dr. Brief once saw one."
A Dragon Ball rolled onto the floor beside her. Bulma, who had been planning to just lie there and accept her fate, was instantly captivated by the yellow, translucent orb. She immediately sat up and picked it up to examine it closely.
"Are you here to look for others like this?"
"What? You really have seen one before?"
Bulma's bright eyes darted mischievously, and then she smiled. "I have seen one before. I remember even playing with it when I was younger, but I don't remember where I lost it. If you promise not to hurt me or my mom and dad, I'll help you find the others. How about it?"
Bulma's playful expression made Franklin laugh even more. "Not a bad little scheme you've got there. Too bad this one is the one your family owns—and the only one. The other six are scattered all over the world, and no one knows exactly where. Finding even this one is already considered lucky. But gathering all seven within a human lifespan? Impossible.
Keep this Dragon Ball for me for now. Once I've rested, I'll take it with me when I leave.
You can go now. And remember—keep my presence here a secret. Don't say a word to your parents. And as for the Dragon Ball, you'd better take good care of it. If anything happens to it… you know what the consequences will be."
As he spoke, Franklin withdrew the water shield. Ignoring Bulma's look of despair, he opened the door. With a casual wave, his aura of neutral spiritual energy wrapped around Bulma and gently pushed her out into the hallway.
With the door shutting behind her, Bulma stood there dazed and confused. She still had no idea what Franklin really wanted. Imagining all kinds of threats to her life, her mind raced. Soon, she came up with a plan to save herself. At the same time, her imagination filled in all sorts of gaps, making sense of things that otherwise made no sense at all.
Without hesitating any longer, she hurried downstairs toward the lab.
"Hm? Bulma? What are you doing home? Shouldn't you be at school right now?"
Bulma ran past Mrs. Brief without even glancing at her, too focused on her mission to care that her mother was heading upstairs with a glass of juice.
"Good grief… She's only ten and already doesn't listen to a word I say. What are we going to do with her…" Mrs. Brief sighed.
A knock sounded on Franklin's door. Already knowing who it was, he opened it with a smile and invited Mrs. Brief in.
"Sorry to bother you, Kolin. You told us not to interrupt you, but I couldn't resist coming to check on you. How do you find the room? Are you comfortable here? If not, I can arrange a different one."
Once they sat down, Franklin smiled. "It's great—bigger than my room back home. Honestly, if I didn't have something important to do, I'd love to stay here indefinitely."
Hearing that, Mrs. Brief looked delighted. "I'm glad you like it. If you need anything, just say so. Oh, and this is a smart device Dr. Brief prepared for you.
There's 300,000 in the digital bank app—password is six sixes. You'll get 300,000 transferred automatically every month. If that's not enough, just let us know."
Franklin accepted it without protest, which made Mrs. Brief even happier.
"Oh, and Bulma's back. Do you want to go see her? I have no idea what's gotten into her—skipping school like that. If only she were half as sensible as you, Kolin."
"Please don't say that, Auntie Brief. Students are under a lot of pressure these days—it's normal for them to have mood swings. You and Dr. Brief are both remarkable people. I'm sure she'll achieve even greater things in the future."
"I hope you're right. If so, her father and I wouldn't have to worry so much."
Seeing her warm, genuine smile, Franklin smiled back and continued flattering her. "Don't worry, Auntie Brief. She will. Since she's already back, I'll go say hello. I might be staying here for a while, so it's best we get to know each other sooner rather than later."
While they chatted, Mrs. Brief led Franklin to the door of Bulma's lab.
"Bulma, do you have a moment? I want to introduce you to a big brother. He'll be staying with us for a while."
A knock at the door was followed by Bulma's irritated shout from inside. "Don't bother me! I'm working on something important right now!"
Rejected, Mrs. Brief didn't get angry. She just gave a small, apologetic, helpless smile and shook her head at Franklin.
"She's growing up—getting more independent. Sorry to make you come here for nothing, Kolin."
Franklin shook his head with a smile. "It's fine. I'm free anyway. Why don't I try? Maybe it's something about school she doesn't want to tell you. I've been through that, so I might have some experience."
Mrs. Brief didn't refuse. She stepped back to give him space. As Franklin knocked again, something thudded against the door from the other side. Ignoring it, he spoke calmly:
"Bulma, is someone bullying you? I'm pretty good at handling those kinds of situations. You can talk to me."
Hearing his voice, Bulma's face immediately turned sour. She hadn't expected Franklin to already be talking to her family. The realization left her at a total loss.
A long silence followed. Mrs. Brief sighed and was about to lead Franklin away when the door finally opened. Bulma stood there, looking furious.
When she saw Franklin standing next to her smiling mother—her very happy mother—Bulma felt like the sky was crashing down. Meeting Franklin's amused gaze, she took a deep breath to steady her racing thoughts and said reluctantly, "Come in. Mom, wait outside."
Franklin didn't refuse. He exchanged a glance with Mrs. Brief—his expression saying, Don't worry, I've got this—then followed Bulma into the lab.
Once the door was firmly shut, Bulma exploded. "Didn't you say that as long as I built a radar to find those orbs, you wouldn't harm my family?"
Franklin's head filled with question marks. What on earth was going on? Did I ever say that? All he had planned was to guide Bulma toward building a Dragon Ball radar. How had she already jumped to that conclusion before he'd even said anything?
"Uh… Did I ever say that?"
"You did! You gave me the orb and a deadline. Isn't that exactly what you meant? I've already figured out the direction.
Three days. In three days, I can build a machine that can detect the same magnetic field as the orb. In a month, I can make a portable radar that will help you find the other six."
Hearing Bulma's declaration, Franklin was stunned. He could hardly believe what he was hearing—Bulma was that much of a genius.
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