Chapter 172

Sixty-Sixth Idle Hands

Dramatically, the Royal Jewels that both sides had finally acquired turned into a beam of light and flew away at the moment they were gathered. According to Arisu’s family satellite survey results, the landing point of the jewels should be the summit of an easily inaccessible snowy mountain.

Seemingly, everything had returned to the starting point. However, both the Pretty Cures and Regina believed this must be an omen that the jewels had unlocked some miraculous power. Therefore, without hesitation, they planned to head straight for the location where the jewels landed to investigate.

But none of this had anything to do with Ash. He applied for a paid leave to Regina, who had recently begun to show a mysterious sense of admiration towards him, and went to play.

“After all, I don’t like places like snowy mountains… Oh?”

Seeing Raiga and Mamu, who apparently intended to set out, back to back, Ash casually placed his hands on their shoulders as if nothing had happened.

“Yo~”

“You… you…!”

Seeing it was Ash, their faces were like squeezed rubber chickens, with barely restrained screams almost surging from their throats.

“What’s with you ‘you’?”

Seeing Ash raise an eyebrow, waiting for their next words, they hastily adjusted their expressions, forcing a smile in an attempt to brush it off.

“Have you eaten? If not, I’ll go cook for you?”

Ever since he exposed his lighter trick in front of them and them, losing more than 2,100 yen, they couldn’t hold their heads high in front of Ash anymore; they had developed a deep-seated feeling of “humans are scary.”

The wicked officer, who was supposed to invade humanity, had developed a genuine fear of humans, which demonstrated how much psychological shadow Ash had left them with.

“I’m not interested in your cooking skills; I’m just reminding you that the princess is temporarily under your watch while I’m gone.”

“Better not try any tricks, or I’ll send you to reunite with Belu.”

“Sure! Absolutely!”

Hearing Ash mention Belu, even more cold sweat started to pour down their foreheads. They had successfully obtained the unsolved mystery of where Belu went, and now it could be considered their official conviction, but they no longer had the nerve to report to the Princess.

After all, humans are scary!

While bullying his colleagues and humming a certain live-action show’s opening theme song leisurely, Ash’s Gatling phone rang in his pocket.

[You have a new message.]

“They?”

By the way, Ash and Ai exchanged contact information, setting up a special group chat just for the Pretty Cures, initiated by Ai.

[ShieldKnightGuard: We’re heading to this place to look for new clues about the Royal Jewels. Would you like to come along, Mr. Ash?]

See, the sender even sent a location. Ash chuckled and shook his head. Really, they had no wariness at all.

[AshFightsForJustice: No, I have my own things to deal with. Go ahead, but be careful. I’m looking forward to facing you all again.]

[YourSwallow: We’ll probably just laze around anyway!]

[GuardianKnightMakoto: Hmph, good. I didn’t want to see you anyway!]

[AshFightsForJustice: Oh, really? Next time I see you, I’ll spank you when put on my lap!]

[GuardianKnightMakoto: No fair! Pervert!]

[GuardianKnightMakoto has logged out]

[WorldsFirstPresident: Seriously, Ash, stop bullying MakotoP. She’s a girl too and gets hurt when you bully her!]

[AshFightsForJustice: It makes me happy! .jpg]

[WorldsFirstPresident: Hmm, then I’ll protect MakotoP. I won’t let you bully her! But will you join us this time?]

[AshFightsForJustice: No, but maybe next time.]

[AshFightsForJustice has logged out]

Upon looking up after finishing the chat, Ash saw the bright sunshine, which instantly uplifted his mood just by seeing it.

“What a nice day for sleeping,” he thought, shielding the intense sunlight with his hand. Ash felt increasingly comfortable living in this world. Apart from the fact he didn’t enjoy dressing up as a girl or feminizing himself and thus lacked the traditional fun of抢变身道具 (grabbing transformation devices), the experiences here ranked among the top three best in his entire journey.

However, speaking of a paid leave, there wasn’t anything specific Ash wanted to do. Though he meant to sleep in, he felt a little uneasy and decided to find something else to do.

“Next time… next time…” As his hand pulled out a thin card from his pocket, Ash recalled who it belonged to. This was the kid he bumped into while summoning Great Adventure to battle the Pretty Cures.

“It must be that impolite kid, ah…”

Just as thoughts about that day filled his mind, an impolite idea came forth.

“I hope you can pique my interest.”

In the afternoon, as the sun neared the horizon, the school bell at Dabi Elementary School rang on schedule. After the teacher painstakingly explained the homework assignments, impatient students joyfully rushed out of the gates, chatting excitedly about their favorite games or last week’s episode of their live-action shows. These young minds, still free from academic pressures, prioritized enjoyment.

However, amidst these carefree students stood an anomaly—Dai, dressed in red like a fire in the night sky; this not only referred to her appearance but also the unique demeanor she projected, different from other children. Unlike other kids of her age who were usually quite open and outgoing, Dai seemed to suppress her outward emotions. Her mature and serious demeanor always showed on her face, which was enhanced by her frequent instances of defending lower-grade students and timid boys and girls at the school.

She had quite a reputation amongst the school population.

“Akuri, a fourth-year student at Dabi Elementary, harbors a secret identity as CureAce, a member of the Pretty Cure, albeit formerly. Due to various reasons, she can no longer transform.

Lately, someone spotted the yellow Pretty Cure battling Kamen Rider Ryuga near the dojo…

After numerous battles, the Pretty Cure couldn’t defeat Ryuga, though by his original setup, he shouldn’t have been a match for them.

Even the Bounding Warriors were seen in the neighborhood during that incident… Could it be that they have joined the Selfish Organization? If so, how could the Pretty Cure ever win?”

Worriedly hoisting her backpack for home, a school broadcast caught her attention.

“Attention, class six of the fourth year, Akuri Yaguri!”

It’s calling me?

Akuri’s expression tightened upon hearing her name. Could it be that my身份暴露 (secret identity has been revealed)! Have they come for me?

Before she got far with her theories, however, Akuri remained frozen when she heard the following announcement.

“Your brother brought two cans of Forget-Me-Not milk for you!”

“Your brother brought two cans of Forget-Me-Not milk for you!”

The announcement repeated, causing all eyes around her to converge on her.

“Wow, your brother really loves you so much.”

In the envious glances of her classmates, Akuri’s petite face flushed first from blush, then from anger, turning a dark shade before dashing toward the broadcast room without looking back.