Chapter 328

Fifty-Ninth Chapter – The Third Sprite

“So, this is what you mean by the Heart Tree, Little Dark?”

Leveraging the Vulture Seal he obtained recently along with the Scorpion Seal, Timons, who has steel wings flapping from his back, passed through the clouds to arrive beside the Dark Pretty Cure, who was flying in the air.

Ash’s eyes under the mask couldn’t help but look toward Dark’s chest. Don’t misunderstand; none of the Pretty Cures he has met so far have had chest sizes larger than an A cup. None of them are within his strike zone, and even this newly created Dark Pretty Cure is rather pitifully small. He was now looking at something being held by her.

“︿(￣W￣)︿” Kayin, who was enjoying himself, was embraced in Little Dark’s arms with a face full of an expression so satisfied he looked quite smug. His flirtatious glances occasionally thrown his way seemed to imply, “This is the happiness only I can experience~” Ash had to take several deep breaths to calm himself and lower his blood pressure.

Stay cool, Ash. Stay cool. That’s your own body; there’s no sense making things difficult for yourself.

Endure it… Endure it… Just endure it. As they say, enduring one step leads to vast skies!

Okay, decided. Back home, I’ll get [self-censorship] started on this!

“Doctor Shabak discovered the Heart Tree’s reaction the day before,” Dark said, dismissing Timons’ very impolite gaze directed at her chest. “The Heart Tree is a collection of Human Heart Flowers and the energy source for Earth and Pretty Cure. It is our target we must eliminate.”

“Yeah, sure.” Ash replied absentmindedly. Thankfully, Dark wasn’t one to be too concerned about appearances, and she didn’t dwell on his lackadaisical attitude. Instead, she continued speaking while caressing Kayin.

“After finding the tree, I almost eliminated it completely this time.” Dark clenched her fist at the memory, as if deeply troubled by not being able to finish off Moonlight Angel. “But at the critical moment, a golden shield blocked my attack, causing the Heart Tree to disappear.”

“It’s probably because the new sprite protected it with its own strength.”

“Sprites?” Ash perked up hearing the term. “Oh! Sprites can actually do that?”

After all, in Ash’s mind, sprites accompanying Pretty Cures did little more than provide transformation items and act cute; they were essentially useless compared to Showa sidekicks or even Heisei Ultraman Defense Teams, which could still give monsters healing and crashes.

“Sprites grant humans the ability to transform into Pretty Cures. Our objective this time is to find and neutralize the new sprite.”

Dark Pretty Cure halted her hand’s sinister movements and shifted her gaze to Ash.

“Pretty Cure and everything related to them are our enemies who must be defeated.”

“Of course! This is certainly my goal! My grudges against them aren’t small!” Ash clapped, appearing ready to oppose Pretty Cure tooth and nail. “I hate those self-righteous saviors most! They must be taken down—completely crushed!”

Yes, they must be constantly defeated to grow into the form I expect.

Ash had calculated that fighting shinier heroes brought greater benefits; for example, the miracles caused by Pretty Cure in the previous world.

Even though那段记忆随着黑暗回响的转换而消失不见，亚修依然能够清楚地感知到，那是曾经改变了自己本质的存在，所以他才如此疯狂地追求现在自己。

无论如何，自己都想要再见一回那次的奇迹。

“But, Little Dark, if we need to find a new sprite, where should we go?”

“…”

Dark did not speak, but merely looked at Ash with a single visible eye, leaving everything unsaid.

‘Baka leader!’ Kayin, in some pain from being squeezed, waved for help. ‘She’s a girl, leader! Think about last time – you need to be more proactive!’

Ash blinked under his mask, feeling inexplicably annoyed.

Huh, why should I be the proactive one? But, since Kayin says so…

“Little Dark, I think another date like last time would work…”

“If it is for the mission.”

Ash, seeing Kayin collapse onto his chest after releasing the embrace and breathing heavily, found himself utterly confused.

Ah, is that all?

Women… can never understand.

However, finding a new sprite is something that should reach Leis and company. If I find one, it’s a perfect opportunity to bring one back along the way.

“So, this is the third sprite?”

Upon arriving as the manager of Nasta Café, Ash saw his beautiful staff playing with a little boy.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Popuri desu!”

“Manager, this is super cute!”

With a delighted Popuri, Erika was gleefully showing off this sprite like a toy, making airplane noises, and holding it as it flew about.

Newborn younglings basically had the universal skill of using their adorable appearances to elicit sympathy. This tiny sprite was as soft and cute as a newborn puppy, immediately winning over Lei and Erika. Watching the girls play with the sprite brought a strange melancholy to Ash’s heart, as if his private information had been squandered.

“Nice to meet you; I’m Ash, the manager of this Nasta Café.”

Despite a sense of despondency welling up inside, Ash shook hands with Popuri’s short, sticky stubby hand.

‘Indeed, the sprite of the Heart Tree is adorable. However, I’m confident in not losing to her in this aspect!’

‘I feel that comparing cuteness between a demon and a sprite means the demon has already lost.’

“Sniff-sniff—”

After releasing her hand, Popuri brought her little hand up to her nose and sniffed, then slowly floated over from Lei and the others into Ash’s direction.

“I can feel a strong presence!”

Seeing the approaching sprite, Ash feigned ignorance but secretly grew wary internally.

What’s going on? Is this new sprite, apart from using shields, also good at reconnaissance? If she could somehow detect my true identity through strange methods, I’d be in serious trouble…

“So…”

“So?”

As Ash awaited her response with caution, Popuri joyfully rushed over and hugged him, rubbing against him.

“You should be the third Pretty Cure!”