Chapter 117

Chapter Twelve: The Troubles of a Maiden

Thinking back to the incident a few days ago where she was inexplicably beaten up, Rikka felt terrible all over.

After hearing Ai’s account of Ash’s statement, it was completely unreasonable for Rikka to accept.

“Throwing away Mana’s goodwill by saying everything was just for his own sake! That’s too much!”

“Don’t you think that’s extremely selfish?”

If not for the fact that the elf confirmed Ash was human, Rikka would have believed he was a senior officer from the Selfish Organization due to his self-centered behavior.

Rikka’s feelings for Ash had already sunk below the bottom line, though there weren’t many to begin with. To the point where Rikka even secretly prayed that she would never run into him again.

But today, because her friend Ai and Makoto were being unusually close, feeling somewhat stifled, Rikka decided to go out for a walk to clear her mind, only to run into someone standing on the roadside pointing at empty air—Ash.

It seemed he hadn’t noticed her yet, so Rikka hurriedly hid herself.

“Rikka, that person is!”

“I saw… whisper quietly, Raquel!”

Curiosity slowly rose and, unable to help but want to see what this person intended to do, Rikka stealthily followed after him.

But she was dazzled by Ash, who had become far too enthusiastic like a headlight.

“Wiped, Wipedia—(it’s so bright)!”

Struggling to rub her eyes for a long time, and then when Rikka’s blurry tears finally cleared, she saw Ash’s face right in front of her.

Similarly curious about what this stalker was doing, Ash unknowingly leaned closer, giving Rikka a big “surprise.”

“Hey.”

Imitating the way his previous world’s boss, a certain café owner, greeted, he made a remark, then watched as Rikka’s cheeks turned rapidly crimson and she screamed and fell backward.

“This is really carelessness.” Ash caught Rikka’s arm before she could fall back, causing her expression to become even more flustered.

“Waaaah—what are you doing?!”

Her face was too close!

She was right, Mana. This man is really dangerous.

“What am I doing? I should be asking what you’re doing.”

Seeing the way Rikka reacted, Ash’s playful side came out. He purposely adjusted Rikka’s askew glasses.

“Rikka, run!”

Just as the teenager’s brain was about to shut down, her elf shouted loudly to revive her spirit. The two screamed and ran off.

Ah, they ran.

“Am I really that scary? Come on, I’m not some huge beast.”

So, Ash chased after them.

Chasing closely behind Rikka, Ash, treating the chase like a casual jog, continued until the long-haired girl finally stopped out of breath.

“You—you—you—” Rikka, who had no athletic skills, held her knees while breathing heavily, drenched in sweat.

“Why are you chasing me?! ”

“Because you ran. It’s natural for me to chase.”

The instinct to pursue others is deeply embedded in human genes, so isn’t that obvious?

“No—we won’t let you hurt Rikka!”

Raquel, who appeared weak but tried to yell at Ash to retreat, instead caused Ash to approach her even more.

“Don’t come any closer!” The out-of-breath Rikka, clutching the wall behind her and holding the equally terrified Raquel, felt lost and finally decided to make a loud declaration.

“If you get any closer, I will call for help!”

Although wanting to retort with, “screaming your lungs out won’t get anyone to save you,” considering that she might actually shout and land Ash in jail, he reluctantly stopped pressuring her.

“Then why did you run?”

Hearing this, Rikka looked at Ash with full resentment. How dare you ask?

“Given how you attacked us unreasonably, how could I trust you?!”

Ash nodded; that made sense.

“Did you join the Selfish Organization?”

“It’s not joining. I took some malice power from them, so think of it as a strategic partnership.”

Ash revealed the situation without hesitation.

“Is that the reason to oppose the Pretty Cure, Raquel?”

“So aren’t the reasons I’ve said enough? Didn’t that girl Ai tell you? Looks like you don’t have a good relationship with her.”

“For fun, attacking the Pretty Cure is too excessive, Raquel….”

“It’s not!”

The sudden outcry startled the elf in Ash’s arms and even caught Ash’s attention. When he mentioned the relationship between her and Ai, she suddenly became so agitated.

“Ai and I have been childhood friends, best friends! Nothing can compare to that idol that’s caught everyone’s attention within these few days!”

This surprised Ash. It seemed like Rikka’s back was emitting a black shadow of grudge. It was truly bizarre.

As Rikka poured out her thoughts quickly, Ash pieced together what happened: the purple idol, “Makoto P,” transferred to their school, attracting everyone’s attention, especially Ai, and now seeing her formerly closest friend, Rikka, always around with the idol, she was jealous.

“So, because of liking Ai, and seeing her with that Makoto, you became jealously?”

“Sort of….”

While fundamentally correct, Ash’s words sounded strange to Rikka.

This was unusual for Ash, as his previous worlds usually involved intense male friendships. The novelty of this new dynamic intrigued him.

“So, what kind of relationship are you guys in? Middle school students nowadays play it real open.”

“What kind of relationship?” Rikka, puzzled by Ash’s riddles, blushed intensely upon noticing his gesture, and screamed while slapping it away.

“What on earth are you talking about!” It was the several times Rikka had blushed from Ash’s comments in a short amount of time.

“Are you stupid? We’re both girls. How could we be in that sort of relationship!”

“That kind of relationship has nothing to do with gender.” Ash acted indifferent and then seriously stated, “But even if it is, such relationships often don’t have good endings.”

“?

Even childhood friends and Pretty Cure partners wouldn’t be able to stay forever despite their closeness.

Saying it casually, but listening intently.

Ash babbled on nonsensical things from a roadside magazine, but Rikka took these seriously.

“In the end, you’ll form separate families, and your friendship might just fade away. That’s — what?!”

The elf Raquel, looking like a dog, kicked Ash red-faced.

“Don’t corrupt the pure friendship among girls with your filthy thoughts, Raquel!”

Ash, who corrupted one of the Pretty Cure.

Elf Raquel surprisingly showed anger.

“Just joking.”

“This joke is too far!”

Rikka reconfirmed Ash’s actual danger.

But, it sounds reasonable.

“But worrying over something like that is indeed youthful.”

Shaking his head, Ash recalled his junior high years…

The memory got stuck here; he only remembered things before the age of 12. He could speak about elementary school memories, but middle school was a blur.

Regardless, he formed his conclusion.

“I suppose, that maiden sees you as her most important friend, because of that bond, all your interactions seem natural.”

“Don’t look at her sometimes caring for others more than you, in her view it’s normal. While with you, she trusts you entirely without the need to prove it.”

Rarely, Ash actually spoke logically, perhaps stealing lines from some tokusatsu hero.

“Really?”

Ash’s explanation instantly brightened Rikka’s mood.

“Perhaps, she views your friendship as ordinary, thus ignoring your presence. Indifferent to familiar people, yet friendly to strangers, which is also common.”

“How unfair! But Ai isn’t like that…”

Hmm… wrong!

Rikka realized, they were still enemies, right? How did they suddenly have such a pleasant conversation?!

“So, what are you really trying to do?”

Finally, the issue returned to its first query stage.

Ash scratched his head and pulled out an action disk.

“I’m fine either way. Even though I’m not eager to play, since I’m free, shall we play?”

Maybe helping you will cheer me up.

“No!”

Rikka hugged Raquel and backed away, refusing. Why should she fight!

She was a well-behaved student, never getting into fights over trivial matters.

“Just listen.”

“No!”

She shook her head.