Chapter 356

The Eighty-Ninth: The Silent Duo

CureBlossom and CureMarine were still protecting the city today despite some issues between them.

“PrettyCurePinkForteWave! (Pretty Cure Pink Strong Wave)”

“PrettyCureBlueForteWave! (Pretty Cure Blue Strong Wave)”

Two large flower buds of energy hit the Desert Beast one after another, colliding and getting stuck together, highlighting their out-of-sync coordination.

“If they were in sync as usual, they would have used a combined attack…”

Unable to purify the enemy this time, Wuki scratched her soft cheek awkwardly while looking at the girls with their backs turned to each other.

For some reason, Lei and Erika fought especially fiercely today, almost frighteningly so. After defeating the Desert Beast, they could have used a stronger combined attack to purify the enemy, but instead, they chose to use their skills separately. It was like…

It was as if they were trying to outdo each other.

“Tch, what’s up with Pretty Cures today?”

Cobra Saga looked displeased. He hadn’t even had time to boast about summoning the Desert Beast when two figures, one pink and one blue, charged at him. The intensity of the fight made it look like they were fighting against an old enemy, which sent chills down his spine, even for a villain.

“Ho, not bad!”

Ash, hanging upside down from a tree by webs, watched their performance with admiration. His heart raced in excitement.

“Not bad today. That’s how legendary warriors should be… Oops!”

Alerted by his “Ash Jerk,” Ash quickly turned his head away just in time to see the stone thrown by Lei slicing through the clouds and shooting toward the upper atmosphere.

“You scoundrel, if you say anything nasty today, we’ll make you regret it!”

Masked and maintaining a smile, Ash felt a sweat drop on his forehead.

“Timons, shall we continue?”

“Meh, assessing situations is one of the essential skills for villains too. If we continue, it might not be wise.” Faced with Erika, who was glaring directly at him, Timons pretended nothing happened by turning his head away.

The incident from yesterday seemed to still bother both of them.

“Timons, didn’t you claim to have a plan to deal with the Pretty Cures? Isn’t that fake?”

At Cobra Saga’s words, Timons’ compound eyes from his helmet narrowed, staring intently at the seed recovered by the girls.

“I generally don’t lie.”

“Then why are you hesitant?”

Reflecting on yesterday and the subtle feelings he had when Erika talked to him, Ash fell silent, an unusual occurrence.

“Yes, I am hesitating… I’m also searching for the answer to this question,”

In Nasta Café, Wuki observed Erika and Lei with a delicate expression.

Though they were usually the best of friends, they now found themselves in an inexplicable silence. They brushed past each other wordlessly, doing their own tasks as if the other didn’t exist.

“Did they get into a fight?”

“If that were truly the case, this silence would be impossible,” Lily concluded, glancing at Ash who was reading a Dragon Ball manga.

“After all, they are your employees. Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“No.”

He couldn’t quite piece together the whole situation, only knowing that Lei had looked deeply troubled since she opened the door that day.

By tradition, it’s too common for the protagonist team to have internal conflicts. At least this isn’t as bad as some, where it leads to defectors turning into villains. Based on his experience, to avoid making things worse, it’s best not to say anything in such situations.

“It’s precisely because of these times that a random comment will just make things more chaotic.”

Ash spun his chair around to hide his eyes while covertly watching both girls from between the pages of his manga.

Lei glanced at Erika, then at Ash, feeling a painful ache in her heart.

Yesterday, when Lei saw Erika hugging Ash, a strange emotion, a feeling of betrayal she had never experienced, surged within her. This emotion was too early for her.

She even thought she had come to the wrong place, or perhaps she shouldn’t have returned to the café at that time.

But she was there nonetheless.

Why did this happen?

Her beloved and her best friend forever, with both happy things overlapping, it should bring even more joy. But why…?

She found love, albeit slowly progressing, yet she was trying hard to build a relationship.

Erika, her best friend, had promised to support her. So why did it end up like this?

After all, I believed in her!

Stopping her work, Lei walked toward Ash with a low head and a low voice.

“Manager, I’m feeling unwell and want to go up to the rooftop for fresh air before coming back.”

“Sure.”

“Manager, I also want to go up to the rooftop.”

“Sure.”

Watching Erika follow Lei without looking back, Ash closed his manga with folded hands.

“Really, leaving work without permission… troublesome employees.”