Chapter 111

The Sixth Discussion Among the Girls, Knights Reappear

“Exactly what kind of person is he anyway!”

Thinking back to the strange man named Ash who had appeared in front of them recently, transforming into a Kamen Rider, Rikka felt anger boiling up inside her.

Even though they had clearly explained things to him, and further action would lead to irreparable consequences, he continued attacking and almost hit Ash’s good friend Ai.

At this moment, Rikka’s impression of that man was extremely negative. She had never before met someone this unreasonable.

“Calm down, Rikka. There were no serious problems in the end, right?”

Ai Aida, on the other hand, who had barely escaped disaster, didn’t think so deeply about it. She remained as cheerful and optimistic as always.

“Next time we meet Mr. Ash, we can explain everything about Pretty Cure and the Selfish Organization.”

Mr. Ash will definitely understand by then, and become our friend!

No matter what Ash did, Ai still held such thoughts in her heart.

“Makoto is just too kind-hearted, you happy prince.” Seeing her loyal friend helping others when they are in trouble while never seeking help for herself, even defending Ash despite being a victim, Rikka was at a loss for words.

However, even now, Ai never believed that Ash could be a bad person.

“Sorry, we are late.”

Two more girls joined the conversation. The gentle young lady Yotsuba Arisue with curly hair resembling a yolk roll, and the sharp-looking girl Makoto Kanzaki with short purple hair, sat down beside the others.

These two were major figures: The former was the daughter of the president of the internationally renowned “Yotsuba Conglomerate”, a genuine young mistress. The latter was a super idol with sales of a million copies for her debut work and advertisements featuring her products everywhere.

Though seemingly worlds apart from the ordinary Ai and Rikka, they had become close friends and shared the secret identity of Pretty Cure together.

They were CureRosetta (Raspberry Angel) and CureSword (Sword Angel), the Pretty Cures fighting alongside Ai and the others against the Selfish Beasts.

The fairy partners of the Pretty Cures played around, while they themselves gathered in a circle, bringing out snacks and tea, engaging in discussion as if having a tea party among girls.

“Mana, the person you asked me to find has been located, Sebastian.”

When Yotsuba Arisue called out, Sebastian, the butler of the Yotsuba household, the loyal attendant of Arisue, and the one supporting Pretty Cure behind the scenes, appeared like the wind.

“Misstess, these are the clues regarding the person called Ash that you asked me to look for.”

He inserted a disc into the projector in front of the table. The projection showed footage from street surveillance cameras recording Ash renting a house and entering an internet cafe.

“After our search, we found that Mr. Ash has rented a house near the Yotsuba Tower, seemingly intending to stay temporarily in Dai-bet City.”

“The intelligence system of the Yotsuba family really is impressive.” No matter how many times Rikka saw it, she was amazed at the capabilities of the Yotsuba Conglomerate, while Arisue simply smiled saying it was just basic operation.

After all, given the international scale of the Yotsuba Conglomerate, such feats were considered trivial.

“But, aside from this, we couldn’t find any other information, and there are no records in the international database. It’s like…”

It’s as if there never was such a person in the first place. Sebastian silently mused in his heart.

But how could such a thing happen? Nobody materializes out of thin air, and leaving no trace on earth is almost impossible.

Yet precisely this impossibility became reality for Ash — they found no traces of his existence in the past.

As if Ash suddenly appeared on the day of their meeting with the girls.

“Apologies Miss, I’ve disappointed you.”

“Why would you say that, Sebastian? You’ve done well.”

After comforting him and letting her steward rest, the conversation returned to the lively banter of the tea party.

“Hmm, even the Yotsuba family hasn’t found anything substantial, have they?”

If the Yotsuba Conglomerate couldn’t uncover Ash’s past, then as middle school students, they stood no chance. Rikka immediately felt vexed. Their attempt to gather more insight about him had failed.

“Oh, it seems Mr. Ash is really something special.”

Arisue, sipping her red tea with a calm demeanor, admitted to herself that this mysterious Mr. Ash also intrigued her.

“Could he be like Makoto P, someone coming from the Poker Kingdom?”

Calling Makoto “Makoto P,” Ai proposed a new theory.

In truth, Makoto wasn’t from this world; she came from the alternate universe of the Poker Kingdom, invaded by the Selfish King. Her presence played a considerable role in inspiring Ai and the others to become Pretty Cures as well. As someone wanting to save her own world and the princess she serves, Makoto was also one of the most concerned parties regarding issues with the Selfish Organization.

“Impossible,” Makoto shook her head, dismissing Ai’s theory. “I haven’t seen such a person or characteristics typical of residents from the Poker Kingdom.”

“Could it be he came from another world invaded by the Selfish King like Makoto?” Arisue posed her own speculation. “That would explain why he showed no mercy to the Selfish Beasts.”

“But, it’s not like he wouldn’t listen to reason at all.”

“And let’s talk about that unique transformation mechanism unlike the Pretty Cure’s—what exactly could that be?”

Over on the side, Ai-chan, a baby in a cradle whose entire appearance was covered in steel-like luster, shook the bottle in her hand enthusiastically, clearly very interested.

This was something Ash previously placed on Ai-chan’s side, which he hadn’t taken back.

“I haven’t seen it. But I can feel its power, distinct from the powers of Pretty Cure or Negative Will. Dabi, do you know what it is?”

With unverifiable origins, peculiar behavior patterns, different abilities, and enigmatic artifacts, everything was shrouded in mystery, leaving numerous questions among the girls.

“I have no idea what Dabi it is.” The fairies said after careful scrutiny.

“Shall we ask the older brother at the gift shop?”

“I already did, but he couldn’t clarify either.”

“Can we only get the answer directly from him?”

The conversation gradually fell silent, yet the girls still savored their snacks and tea, though it lacked the usual flavor.

This silence persisted until Ai pulled out a toy from her pocket.

“In a sense, I found Mr. Ash.”

When Ai mentioned it, all the other girls widened their eyes. They observed that the soft vinyl doll Ai pulled out perfectly resembled the black Kamen Rider that Ash had transformed into, except that Ash was black while the toy was red.

“What is this toy from?”

Rikka picked up the toy, examining it closely, noticing the similarities.

“It’s a toy I borrowed from a little kid next door.”

The fairies couldn’t keep up with their conversation anymore.

Through the word “henshin,” Ai confirmed that Ash must be a Kamen Rider. That evening, she spent the night watching Pretty Cure shows, from the very first episode all the way up to the currently airing series.

Finally, Ai identified the Knight that Ash transforms into was Kamen Rider Ryuga.

“Oh, why did you take a leave that time? You were catching up on TV shows and sleeping!”

“Be…because, I needed to verify if it was truly a Kamen Rider!” Ai hastily explained, omitting the part where she got engrossed until the wee hours of the morning.

“I finished watching Dragon Knight. The hero Toma sacrifices himself to save a girl. Eventually, no one recognizes anyone else. Sniff, sniff, so touching!”

When she grew emotional, tears welled up in Ai’s eyes.

“Ash isn’t this person’s character, right.”

“Rikka, don’t speak ill of others.”

Startled!

Summer Shalulu suddenly leapt onto the table, ears perked, eyes serious.

“This is Dark Incitement Shaluru!”

Their partner fairy had the ability to detect darkness. With this statement, it meant a Selfish Beast had appeared somewhere, necessitating the intervention of Pretty Cure.

The girls, accompanied by their fairies, rushed towards the location indicated by the Dark Incitement. Upon arriving at a warehouse with an eerie atmosphere reminiscent of the OOO series, they found no one, nor any sign of a Selfish Beast.

“Nothing here. Did we misinterpret the detection?”

“That’s impossible, Shaluru. Ah, there!”

Shaluru pointed toward a silhouette. A black figure slowly emerged, holding a ball of dark flames. It was none other than Ash.

“You have arrived, as expected.”

With a burst of energy, Ash squeezed the black flames extracted from Ira. His expression suggested it was precisely as he expected.

[“Absorbing the Dark Resonance…”]

Indeed, the darkness energy [Negative Will] of this world contained what he sought.

“Ash—” Ai exclaimed with delight, but Makoto swiftly dragged her away, noticing the darkness energy Ash wielded was identical to that used by the Selfish Organization.

“That’s Negative Will!”

Whenever they discussed matters concerning the Selfish Organization, Makoto immediately turned solemn.

“How did you obtain this? Could it be you’re a new officer of the Selfish Organization?!”

Upon hearing this, the other girls were shocked. They never imagined that this man could have any connection to the Selfish Organization.

“Is it true?”

“Hey, don’t dismiss people like that,” Ash spread his hands, appearing innocently. “I’m a real human being.”

Relieved upon hearing Ash’s words, the girls were quickly met with a startling revelation.

“But if you think I am just a regular human, you’re mistaken.”

Ash revealed a belt wrapped around his waist beneath his clothes.

“Henshin.”

A mirror below reflected the form of Kamen Rider Ryuga.

[End of Translation]