Chapter 202

The Ninety-Ninth – Second Game Begins

“Cough…cough…cough!”

“Are you okay, Makoto?”

Inside Pigtails Hotel, facing the concerned looks from the others, Makoto waved her hand, indicating that she was fine.

“I’m alright. Maybe I caught a cold from being outside these past few days. I’ll take some medicine when I get home today.”

“Really?”

Ai didn’t believe Makoto’s words, as an idol wouldn’t neglect her own health. Even if Makoto herself didn’t care, her manager would never let such a thing slide.

Just for reference, Makoto’s manager was the human form of her partner sprite, Dabi. Due to the pressure exerted by Ash, the other two sprites were striving to learn how to turn into humans like Dabi, but progress was slow and challenging.

“It’s nothing. Cough… cough—”

Makoto’s heavenly voice sounded low and hoarse. Ai felt her heart ache listening to it.

She had already lost one friend; she did not want another to suffer the same fate.

“In fact, Makoto’s voice started acting up when she decided to retire and was preparing for the press conference,” Sprite Dabi suddenly explained for her. “Makoto has felt something stuck in her throat, yet no diagnosis could be made. Her voice became lower and lower until now!”

This was incredibly strange – almost as if someone was stealing her voice!

“Dabi—cough!”

“But, Makoto, you can’t keep hiding this from us like this, especially from Ai! You must understand how important this is!”

“I don’t want everyone to worry about me at such a crucial time.”

Facing the genuine concern in Ai and Rikka’s eyes, Makoto turned awkwardly bashful.

“So, apart from Arisu’s predicament, we need to retrieve Makoto’s voice now.”

“That’s what you say, but we have no idea why it’s happening.” Rikka naturally supported Ai’s suggestion, but even with her wisdom, finding a solution was elusive. “None of us are doctors, and without any clues…”

“In that case, how about I give you a clue?”

“Thank you so much,” Ai replied instinctively with a smile as she heard a familiar voice behind her, but when she realized who it was, she shouted out.

“Mister Ash—!”

Not only her, but Rikka and Makoto next to her were shocked by the sudden appearance of a man. Their faces turned pale as they quickly prepared for battle, grabbing their transformation phones.

“Hey, Long time no see.”

Carrying shopping bags, Ash gave them a cheeky salute with a finger raised.

Arisu had asked Ash to buy things based on a list she provided, insisting he buy something really useful. Ash originally had no intention to go out, but after being repeatedly persuaded by Arisu, he ended up running the errand. By the time he realized it, everything was already bought.

After repelling a certain butler’s attempt to reclaim the young lady, Ash casually passed by a familiar shop, opened the door, and was surprised to find someone he knew inside.

“Ash, what are you planning—? What are you doing?!”

As Rikka cautiously approached Ash, ready to transform, he snatched a half-eaten omurice that was supposed to be her lunch.

Seeing Ash nonchalantly devouring the stolen food, all three girls and their sprites were stunned, unable to express their astonishment.

Shocked and embarrassed, Rikka felt more frustrated than anything else. This guy was truly insufferable!

“Can you stop this —cough!”

Makoto tried to scold Ash, but forcing herself to speak only exacerbated her sore throat, making her once confident voice weaker.

“What am I here for?” Ash swallowed the spicy egg roll and slowly explained. “I came to inform you of something.”

“It’s new game time now, and I’m specially here to state the game rules. That means the enemy, the Selfish Beast, is prepared too.”

Selfish Beast!

The mention of the name startled the Pretty Cures. After all, the Selfish Beast was their main adversary. They never thought Ash would do such extreme things, like arbitrarily taking away their Spirit Hearts.

“Have you completely thrown your lot in with the Selfish King?”

Disappointment was evident in the girls’ eyes. They hadn’t expected this man to have fallen so far. However, Ash immediately rebutted.

“No, this particular enhanced Selfish Beast is my creation. It’s 1000% more efficient than that inefficient beast which requires polluting others’ Spirit Hearts.”

“As it stands, I am the current leader of the Selfish Organization; the title of the Selfish King is now obsolete.”

“Stop confounding me with those commoners you’ve met before. This is my game, needing no external gamemasters!”

Flipping open his phone, Ash displayed a photo of the Selfish Beast. Unlike the various large mascot-like creatures they had faced before, this one stood at the same height but possessed more human-like features. With sharp spikes all over its body and a dangerous aura, it struck the girls as an extremely terrifying foe.

Comparatively speaking, they might just describe such an entity as a villain rather than a monster.

“Just one tip for you all,” Ash leisurely pointed at the bewildered Makoto. “Her voice issue isn’t due to her health; the Selfish Beast is gradually taking it away.”

“What!”

His words created a flurry of reactions. They couldn’t fathom such a result. So Ash had deliberately taken Makoto’s voice, just for the sake of the game?!

Ai found it hard to imagine, not just because Makoto was her dear friend, but also because Makoto was an eagerly anticipated idol. Without Makoto’s singing, it just wasn’t right!

My voice … Taken by Ash?

To add to her misery, Makoto struggled to articulate her feelings, biting her lower lip, glaring indignantly back at Ash. She had never imagined he could do such a thing to her.

Indeed, believing him to be less evil had been a misconception.

But no one felt the pain more than Ai. Seeing Ash boldly attack Makoto, and knowing his misdeeds, Ai only felt her heart ache.

“Ash, you can be so mean!”

“Oh, your words are misleading me.” Ash calmly explained amidst the increasingly furious glares from the girls. “I merely handed out an opportunity; initiating everything was not my doing.”

What did he mean?

The girls couldn’t understand his words, and Ash showed no inclination to explain further.

“The rule for this game is, defeat the Selfish Beast before the sun sets tomorrow.” Tossing aside the empty dish, Ash wiped his mouth with his glove. “If you fail, Makoto’s voice will be permanently taken then.”

“If you take it down before the sun sets, I’ll return Arisu to all of you. But if you cannot achieve this, I’ll collect my prize.”

“Do your best with your friendship, love, and powers.”