Chapter 215

Chapter 112: The Caged Skylark

A slight chill on her shoulders brought Makoto back to full consciousness.

“What’s happening…”

Right, I was defeated by Lord Ash, and now I must be captured!

Although the wounds have been treated, she didn’t feel pain anymore. Dabi wasn’t by her side, so was she taken to his base? If that’s true, then would Arisu also be there?

Makoto attempted to stand up, but her movement caused the “ground” beneath her feet to suddenly sway, making her lose balance and fall back down.

Instinctively reaching out to grab nearby objects, Makoto realized for the first time that she was encircled by a golden fence.

The ones who confined me are the fences, standing on an unstable ground in mid-air. The girl finally understood her current predicament.

She had become a caged bird!

“Lord Ash, as always, has effortlessly accomplished amazing feats! Capturing Cure Sword, the second Pretty Cure!”

“As a result, defeating and gathering all Pretty Cures will just be a matter of time!”

Sitting on his throne with legs crossed, Lord Ash listened to the flattering remarks from his subordinates and hummed contentedly.

“Hmph, a natural outcome.”

“Makoto Kanzaki, I hope you enjoy the special gift prepared specifically for you.”

“How could I ever like this!” Trapped inside a specially designed golden cage, each shake from grabbing the bars made the cage sway in the air. Makoto resolutely protested.

In such a situation, wouldn’t I end up being a bird in a cage for entertainment?

Once a hero, how could one become so vulgar!

“No, I meant clothes, not a cage.”

“Clothes? Ah—!”

Looking down, Makoto’s face turned crimson instantly and she let out a highly feminine scream of embarrassment.

Replacing her formerly male-styled jacket, she now wore a very luxurious headdress and high heels. Her body was dressed in a revealing deep purple gown that emphasized her feminine beauty. A light, flowing ribbon wrapped around her exposed shoulder, and sheer gloves added to her discomfort.

Although she might dress elegantly as a popular idol during concerts or for music videos, wearing such a light and luxurious gown felt like complete nudity to her.

“What is this?!”

Makoto screamed and tugged at her skirt, unable to get rid of her flush. Even though the dress covered everything, the light feel made her extremely insecure, especially when every breeze sent chills through her body.

“Wait, my clothes, why did they turn into this? Could it be because of you, Ash?”

Then wouldn’t I be completely seen through!?

“No—not an idiot, vulgar, disgusting, pervert!”

While Makoto usually dressed in a gender-neutral way and was often seen as aloof, this didn’t mean she didn’t care about her femininity.

Mentally worried about Arisu before, Makoto now had to worry about herself too. Facing her red-eyed and shameful protest, Lord Ash merely shrugged it off, even cleaning his ears coolly.

“So noisy.”

“Ah, Makoto, you misunderstood. I’m the one who changed your clothes.”

Arisu on the other side with a composed smile restored Makoto’s near-limit sanity, allowing her to relax a bit. She crossed her arms and sat back down.

“Don’t know what you’re thinking,” Lord Ash accepted a can of Coke from Arisu and drank it through the straw, relishing the moment.

“I don’t find your physique interesting. Come back when you develop a mature figure and we’ll see.”

Ash’s dismissive comment pierced Makoto’s heart, turning it stone-cold.

“You’re saying nasty things, I can feel your harassment!”

“Troublesome woman.”

Recalling how her clothes were torn during the fight, Lord Ash thought of changing her outfit; however, the choices were terrible. It took Arisu’s persuasion to get her into this more decent dress.

“Surprisingly, the紫色 girl looks quite pretty after dressing up,” Lord Ash commented, looking down at Makoto, as if evaluating her unseen chest. “Though, she doesn’t look as good as my original choice.”

“Ash, the outfit you chose earlier suited her too well.”

Thinking back to the costume Ash picked from the mall, supposedly worn by a villainous former officer named Shirenda, Arisu almost couldn’t help but attack him.

“There’s nothing. Such cosplays are part of the kids’ show, airing weekly where kids see those outfits.”

“I guess your idea of kids’ shows is different from ours.”

Arisu wanted to remark again: Is that a barely-covered-up outfit even suitable for kids?

“Arisu?”

Makoto widened her eyes.

In her imagination, when caught by the enemy, Arisu should be like TV shows depicted: wearing dirty prisoner attire and restrained. But here,

“Oh~”

“Yes.”

Arisu fed grapes to Lord Ash who didn’t even stretch out a hand to take them.

Now seeing their seemingly close and happy conversation, Makoto’s mind froze.

It’s normal for reality to be slightly different from expectations, but aren’t their actual relationship better than imagined?

“Ara, Makoto, well, it is like that.”

Realizing a friend’s gaze, Arisu smiled and explained.

“In fact, Lord Ash isn’t that bad.”

“What way?”

No way!

Makoto’s widened eyes gradually narrowed until they were just tiny dots.

Arisu—

Have you really betrayed us?

But if what Arisu said was true.

“Then why am I imprisoned here!”

Shaking the cage in frustration, Makoto seemed abnormally agitated.

“Why do you think? It feels like keeping a skylark.”

“I don’t feel good about it at all!”

“If you insist on why.”

Chewing and swallowing, Ash stood up from his throne and approached Makoto.

“Because I crave some music now. Though it’s a different genre from my preferred rock, I found Makoto Kanzaki’s voice quite pleasant.”

What kind of strange reason is this!

“Weren’t you aiming to spread love’s song to the world?”

“Then how about singing only for me first?”

“I refuse!”

Sharp in rejecting the offer, Makoto didn’t want to sing. Doing it here would make her feel like a captive in a cage.

“If you want me to sing, set me free first!”

“Tsk, troublesome.”

Hearing Makoto’s plea, Ash’s face instantly twisted in annoyance. Suddenly remembering something, he regained composure and gave a mysterious smile.

“You’ve slept a whole day, so you wouldn’t know. Let me share some good news…”