Chapter 380

Chapter 113 Welcome Aboard the Electric Train

“Welcome aboard the time train. Please… Eh?”

Naoko, a female attendant in red and white tight uniform, greeted the passengers as usual with her trademark smile, but the familiar sense of déjà vu that arose when she saw the black leather-clad man made her hesitate slightly.

“Are you… Ah, yes!” She suddenly remembered her time spent with everyone, the black figure wandering through different timelines. She joyfully approached Ash. “It’s little Ash! Long time no see, want a hug?”

“What do you mean, hug? I’m not a child,” Ash dodged Naoko’s attempt to grab him, along with Gintaro and the others, dragging桃塔罗斯, who was lying on the ground with eyes spinning, inside.

“Why… How could this be? The old Ash would never have refused before.”

“Did you set it up so I’d lose my memory?” Despite not remembering, Ash was quite certain he would never act like that, no matter how old he was; it would be embarrassing, for sure.

“Wait, I haven’t even boarded yet!”

The voice outside caught Ash’s attention. Looking out the window, he saw a purple light ball fly from the smiling “Eddie” and into the train.

“Heh heh, Dragon Taro, here I am!”

Dragon Taro, with a purple dragon head poking out from the dark coat, was the last demon rider to board the train. The playful Dragon Taro came over happily upon seeing his familiar faces.

“Yeah! Long time no see, it’s Ash. Ash came to ride again, hooray!”

“Ha, you guys never change.”

Holding a half-heart seed with an odd feeling of having returned, Ash smiled relieved.

Dragon Taro, hopping around Ash, noticed the “red object” on the ground and took out a feather from his pocket, tickling its nose.

“Oh, what happened to Peach? Is he dead?”

“I won’t die!”

Peach Taro sat up abruptly, yelling loudly, but then winced in agony and lay down again.

“Aah—the wicked black woman, more violent than Hana. With such strength, she nearly destroyed my kidneys—Hey, Ash, give me back my belt, I need to find her and get revenge!”

“Senior, once the electric train has started, don’t force it to return just because you wish. Use kid language.” Urataros advised from the side. “That woman seems to be the villain from the Pretty Cure world. If you really face her, even Kamen Rider Den-O might not stand a chance.”

“Is she that strong?”

“Hmph, she is indeed that strong,” Ash, knowing Little Dark’s true power, was first to protest. “She can only be dealt with by carefully guiding my Pretty Cure. The rest of you have much more to learn.”

As he spoke, a sudden pride and joyful satisfaction welled up inside him, making his nose almost point to the sky.

“What? Ash, does this still qualify you as a Kamen Rider? Which side are you standing with?”

Facing the accusation of betrayal from Peach Taro, Ash ignored him, continuing to fiddle with the heart seed.

“I help whoever I like; where I play happily is where I’ll support them.”

“You—you—how could you become such a traitorous friend like a pervert, I must teach you a lesson!”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s fight!”

“This will not do.”

Just as it seemed a full-blown melee would break out in the carriage, a strict yet uncertain voice echoed behind them.

“The Den-Liner is a place for comfortable passenger travel.”

A middle-aged man in a high-class black uniform approached the unruly group. His conductor badge clearly showed his high-ranking status, though the ladle on the badge lightened the tense atmosphere.

“Therefore, please refrain from causing commotion. And Mr. Ash, please do not hijack the electric train today as you did before, or else it’ll be problematic for me.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, there was something like that once.”

Recalling his past exploits, Ash felt slightly embarrassed. He remembered hijacking the time train—twice? Or maybe three times. Yes, he recalled trying multiple times to go back in time to see someone or other, all due to impulsive desire. Too bad, he couldn’t remember if he actually succeeded.

“Don’t forget I have the final card to refuse boarding.”

“Alright, alright. This time, I’m here to help with nothing malicious in mind.”

Usually, if there’s no need, I’m rather friendly… well, at least I try.

Seeing the conductor pull out a red prohibition card seriously, albeit struggling to maintain his composure, Ash raised his hands in surrender, explaining his purpose.

Realizing how nervous he made the conductor look, it seems I’ve done too much. Still, letting me on shows great leniency.

“Oh, I have many questions for you, conductor.”

“Your queries are numerous, and I cannot answer them lightly…”

Before the conductor could finish, Ash slammed his Shooting Blinder onto the table with a loud clap.

“I might hijack the electric train again under certain circumstances.”

“You said you’re here to help?”

“Yes, I’m here to help.”

Ash patted the table where the gun rested and pointed to each person—including himself.

“What I mean is, I want your help.”