Chapter 119

Chapter Fourteen: A Heart in Diamond迷茫 下

“I don’t know…. I don’t know what happened to him. Doctor, please, please help her!”

The helpless father knelt almost on the ground, pleading with Ash to save his child.

Ash ignored this pair of parents who were completely scared by the current situation, he raised his hand to flip open the child’s eyelids that hung limply to confirm that consciousness was lost, then ascertained that the child was no longer breathing.

“Did she eat anything?”

“I don’t know…. Oh, oh! Cake, she liked the cakes in the cake shop, so I bought one for her!”

Giving such a small child cake…. Squatting down, Ash shook his head, then opened the infant’s mouth and propped it up on his thigh and turned it over, so that its face was facing downwards. Then he shouted to the Rikka still sitting on the ground.

“Hey, Diamond!”

Suddenly called by their battle name, Rikka pointed to herself, “Me? Are you talking about me?”

“Who else could it be? Start timing!”

“Timing?”

“What are you doing just standing there? Hurry up!” The shouting made Rikka shudder, she responded with a yes, and then obediently started timing for him.

Listening to Rikka’s shaky counting voice, Ash used one hand to support the base of the baby’s neck, while spreading out his palm and using the heel of his hand to rhythmically tap on the center of the shoulders.

Around them was a chaotic mix of sounds as though a wave and sea, but for Ash, he only heard the voice of a girl.

With perfect force and a mechanical precision the tapping continued until the fifth time, and then the baby “popped” and spat out a pit.

“Woo waa —-”

When the baby cried out loudly, Rikka felt the huge stone that had been hanging in her heart finally land safely.

Great! It’s great…

“Take the child to the hospital for a checkup. Also, learn when a child should be eating certain kinds of food. If you can’t do even this much, you shouldn’t even be parents!”

After some scolding, the young couple bowed their heads in submission. Feeling no fight left in him after all this, Ash put away the seal and left.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you…”

He left without looking back, leaving behind the crowd that clapped and cheered for the successful resuscitation, and the young couple who thanked him profusely.

Without walking far, Ash turned around, sure enough, Rikka, who was bowing her head as if she had done something wrong, followed closely behind like a shadow.

“Hey, this time instead of running away, you decided to follow?”

“Uh…”

Ash interrupted what Rikka was going to say. “How long did you time?”

“8, 8 seconds….”

8 seconds… Repeating that number, Ash showed an unhappy expression. “I am slow. Have I let my guard down?”

Letting me count was really just to keep track of time? Rikka was taken aback by her realization that she had thought she’d helped Ash somehow.

“Is there anything more… Hm?”

He unexpectedly saw Rikka, whose eyes were red and swollen, constantly wiping her tears with the back of her hand, but they kept falling on the ground despite her efforts to contain them.

“I can’t do anything—”

When that child and the parents needed help, she could only watch helplessly, unable to do a thing.

She was nearly unable to watch as a life so tiny went away from her hands.

This was something Rikka couldn’t accept.

“It has nothing to do with you, so why are you so anxious?”

Ash couldn’t do anything for crying Rikka, he didn’t understand why she was crying.

With a thickened voice, Rikka began slowly recounting her story of admiring her doctor mother and how she aspired to become a doctor.

“I…. worked hard to become a doctor like my mother, studied diligently, learned various medical things, but, but!”

“But when I was supposed to help, I couldn’t, I could only watch….”

This experience was entirely different from being a Pretty Cure. When fighting, she hardly had time to think.

But just now, she was completely stunned by the surroundings, it was difficult to believe someone capable of making such a mistake could become a good doctor constantly faced with life and death.

“That’s true, then maybe it’s time to change dreams.”

Speaking of not hurting the feelings of others, the seemingly harsh Ash didn’t offer comfort, but cut her deeply instead. It wasn’t a good idea to say “I have no dreams but I can destroy yours.”

“But ultimately, is becoming a doctor even your dream?” he recalled the pediatrician in another world who was often busy, risking life itself to solve the virus source problem.

“Children often aspire to mimic their parents’ lives, but adoration doesn’t necessarily mean it’s their true desire.”

Isn’t it said that adoration is the farthest from understanding?

“Before clarifying everything, think carefully while you still have time.”

Just as he said, after this event shook her, Rikka couldn’t determine whether becoming “a mother-like doctor” was truly her wish or merely a mirroring and yearning for her mother.

And, is she really suitable to be a doctor?

“Perhaps…”

“Don’t give up so easily, Rikka!” Raquel, hiding her true identity and always appearing as a doll, hurriedly comforted her. “Rikka will definitely overcome these difficulties and become an excellent doctor!”

Yet, unlike Raquel imagined, at this moment, what Rikka wanted wasn’t just support, but also a place to lean on.

In ordinary times, her friend Ai would undoubtedly take on this responsibility. However, now—

Feeling low spirits and having eyes that glowed red, Rikka suddenly remembered something and looked up at Ash.

“Mr. Ash, are you a doctor?”

“If it’s a matter of being a doctor… I do have this.”

Facing Rikka, he took out a license from his pocket (System item).

“When passing through a certain hospital, the sweet-toothed doctor claimed I was a genius in medicine that comes around once in a hundred years, and hauled me into learning all sorts of things.”

Thinking about the cold guy who discovered his talent and forced him to learn those knowledge, Ash shuddered with fear. Yet, unexpectedly, he actually learned everything taught to him by that person. Perhaps he was truly a genius at this.

“And then I just took the exam, quite simple.”

“Well—”

Looking at the certificate in Ash’s hand, Rikka’s eyes glimmered, seeming to have an idea, but hesitated to say anything.

“You won’t understand unless you explain clearly.”

“Ah—”

“Mr. Ash, perhaps, just like you said, I may not actually be fit to be a doctor, and I’m uncertain what my dream is…”

“But I don’t think aiming to become a doctor is wrong either.”

“So, not only Mom, but can I aim to achieve something worthwhile from you, Mr. Ash, who has this certification?”

The girl looked at Ash hopefully, hoping to get an answer.

Ash’s obsidian-like pupils met her gaze. After a long moment, he shook his head. Just as Rikka thought it was over, Ash’s next words rekindled her hope.

“It won’t hinder me, so feel free.”

“Then— Mr. Ash!”

Seeing Ash walking away, Rikka shouted out her biggest question with all her might.

“Why, Mr. Ash, why did you save that child?”

Ha.

The brilliant sunset illuminated his face, and under the shade of the warmth of the light, the man turned his profile to the girl, smiling demonically.

“I wanted to.”

That night quickly descended, marking the appropriate bedtime for children. Her friends were already asleep, even her partner spirit breathed rhythmically, leaving only the girl tossing and turning in her bed.

Why?

This great doubt tormented the girl, she couldn’t make sense of it.

Why does Mr. Ash so casually call upon a demon which could harm people?

Why, yet again, does he save a child without hesitation?

What exactly are you fighting for? What do you want?

Faced with this Ash, who seemed to be a contradiction himself, the girl’s pure definitions of good and evil were of no use. In truth, if not for her other identity as a Pretty Cure fighter, she might never have dwelt on such thoughts.

These questions were too early for Rikka, a middle school student.

“Mr. Ash… Who on earth are you…”

Hugging her pillow, somewhere along the way, the girl’s mind wandered entirely towards the person who wasn’t so disliked anymore.

So confusing…

Maybe I’ll ask more about him later.

For the girl, tonight was surely to be a restless night.