Chapter 374

Chapter 107 The Behind-the-Scenes Deal of Greed

After luring three of the Pretty Cures into a conversation at the cafe first, the three Imps then surrounded Ash, forming a circle around him.

“I really didn’t expect you all to show up here. Shouldn’t the Time Train be more like a Space-Time Train?” Ash honestly expressed his thoughts. “But it’s not surprising either; after all, your words are as unpredictable as a gambler’s G that proliferates anytime.”

In Ash’s journey, some he might never see again, others he often encountered because of a cameo, such as the pink-touched and runny-photographer, the cosmic guy who just went through a rebellious phase, or these Imps in front of him.

During the Den-O period, the only rider who fought alongside him, he couldn’t even remember his name, but these Imps with their random colors, like those from another combat team, he was quite familiar with them. If forgetting could have helped, he would have.

Wait, was he the only one?

“What, proliferating what… wait, G… you dare say I’m a cockroach! This time, I’ll tear your mouth apart!” Tatsumosu rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight Ash, but was thankfully stopped by Urataros and Jintaros.

“Instead, you, jerk, haven’t appeared for a long time, everyone thought you were really dead this time! Hmph, I didn’t expect you to end up here in this… world of Pretty Cures,” Tatsumosu hammered lightly on Ash’s chest and said with a snicker. “You said yourself, evil lasts a thousand years.”

“Senior, men shouldn’t act petulant when proud.”

“As men, we should be more straightforward, Ash, you too!”

The nearby Imps mercilessly added fuel to the fire against Tatsumosu. Seeing such a chaotic scene, instead of feeling annoyed, Ash smiled out of nostalgia.

“Huh, stop it, who’s being petulant!” Tatsumosu became even more agitated, then suddenly switched to confront Ash. “Why are you laughing? And don’t tell me you’re playing some hero training game?”

Facing Tatsumosu’s question, Ash responded calmly but with a significant tone.

“Now I am merely their good manager, so I need to care for them. For the sake of this world and their future, sacrifices are inevitable.”

“Hah, why do you sound like our demon lord?” Seeing Ash remained unchanged, Tatsumosu resorted to the trump card. “Since you feel great, let me inform them for you!”

“… Looking at the proud Tatsumosu, Ash raised a finger. “A pudding.”

“Ha? I am—”

“Ten puddings.”

“Aren’t bribed by puddings—”

“Fifty puddings.”

“Demons… huh, how many did you say?”

“One hundred puddings, right away.”

“Of course, old turtle, little bear, as friends, we must help cover for Ash properly!”

Seeing the easily bought senior who danced with excitement, Urataros looked at his companion with an ‘this person’s hopeless’ expression and shook his head.

At the end of the adult greasy deal, the three Pretty Cures behind the counter also nervously stared at the three new customers today.

The bloodred devil with dual horns looked ferocious, akin to a creature that could eat two or three children like Tatsumosu; the blue devil dressed in hard armor looked like a mythological beast, casting eerie glances occasionally; Urataros cast suspicious looks; the yellow fierce ghost exuded a terrifying aura, making Jinataros, standing at a distance, hold his breath.

Not only was he scared by the grim faces of the other side, but before they possessed him like earth-bound spirits, controlling his body to perform incomprehensible affairs, which was a black memory that he didn’t want to recall. This experience was far from friendly for the girls.

“Your body training is great, you should keep working on it to gain more muscles!”

“Haha… t-thank you, but having too many muscles… would look bad…”

Looking at Wuki, Jinataros gave a thumbs-up, while she laughed awkwardly and rubbed her sore jaw.

A blue rose appeared in Urataros’ hand, performing a standard gentleman bow, he presented the rose to Erika.

“This visit was not my wish; this kind-hearted lady, please accept this rose as an apology for the trouble caused.”

“I don’t want it…” Erika pouted and retreated further back. Her words made the other party freeze. “And don’t think I didn’t notice, the flower came from Lei’s flowers.”

Speaking of which, Erika felt she had found a blind spot. Since Lei came to visit the patient, why were there roses among her flowers?

“I merely borrowed it to give it to someone who deserves its beauty more.”

“Due to the manager’s terrible conduct, sweet talk has no effect on me, Erika!”

Meanwhile, Lei, who was also controlled, just glanced at Tatsumosu, her eyes avoiding his as she tremblingly took back the gaze.

“Demons are even scarier than the Desert Apostles… but to use someone else’s body for such indecent affairs…”

Thinking about her previous experiences when she moved like a female thug under possession, Lei’s cheeks flushed red.

“If this was seen by the manager, oh! How embarrassing!”

And yet, even though it was that demon doing the evil, why was she the one being punished? My head hurts…

In fact, if not for the manager being so courteous, they would have transformed and dealt with the demons earlier!

“I wonder how the manager remains so calm…”

“It is not calmness, but unnecessary tension.” Ash, carrying a cup of freshly brewed coffee, appeared behind. “Actually, not just me, you should have met them too.”

“H… h-huh…” The three girls tilted their heads, racking their brains for when Ash might be referring to. He picked up the remote control and hit the on-demand channel, which was playing the剧场版 of《假面骑士电王》.

“W-wait!” The girls watched the active Imps on the TV, then looked at the ones eagerly waiting for coffee in their shop, each with a gaping mouth of surprise.

Wait, wait, is this real or fake? Although Pretty Cures seem quite fantastical, they still wanted to know if it was scientific.

“The characters on TV actually appeared here in reality…” Leaving aside the somewhat insane meta-comment for now, Erika first focused her attention on Ash. “In general, would a usual store manager remain so composed in such situations?!”

“Having characters from TV appear in reality isn’t strange. Besides, I’ve always liked watching special effects shows, so being friends with heroes from TV is completely normal, isn’t it?”

“Where is the normalcy here?!”

Erika couldn’t help but fall silent on her complaint, speechless.