Chapter 428

Chapter 163: A Date is a Battle

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m not that fragile anymore!”

Although her eyes were still red, she could no longer hold back her tears. When she returned the handkerchief to Ash, their fingers touched, causing Lei’s face to redden slightly.

However, now that she was with Ash, she no longer felt as shy or embarrassed.

The man and the girl sat side by side. At this moment, neither he nor she had any reason to fight, so they both slipped into an aimless confusion for a while.

What could be done right away?

“Lei.” Ash suddenly spoke from beside her. “Is today a special day?”

“Oh—today.” After some thought, Lei actually remembered what day it was. “Today is the annual school festival of private Myodo Academy.”

Ah, I remember. She once said she would model for us at the school festival. Now, not to mention modeling, even the school festival can’t happen. …A liar.

“Alright!”

Ash shouted loudly and suddenly stood up, startling Lei. The man patted off a little dust on his jacket before pulling Lei up without hesitation.

“Since that’s the case, let’s go on a date today. A date!”

“Huh?”

It seemed Lei didn’t quite understand him. Her head tilted in a dazed manner, and her glasses slid down towards her ear due to gravity.

Why did he bring up dating at a time like this….. Wait, d-dating?!!!

Realizing what Ash meant, Lei’s confusion was replaced by an overwhelming sense of awkwardness. Lei’s face turned bright red as she looked back at Ash, who smiled indifferently.

“Since we’re the only two people here, why don’t we just do what you want….. Well, consider this my compensation for breaking our date.”

“Do you know what a date means, Mr. Ash?” Lei asked secretly in a small voice, thinking about past “tragic” moments of being a young girl.

“Of course, it’s where a guy and a girl eat together, watch movies, and play games. How could I not know?”

Fine, I’ve supervised similar couple dates with teammates from other worlds. Although these dates usually end tragically, at least I’ve seen what a relationship is like. Don’t underestimate me!

Now that his mechanical creator motorbike has been destroyed by Eddie, Ash had no choice but to change to another vehicle. He rummaged through his inventory ocean and finally pulled out a sakura Lockseed. With Ash’s command, the Lockseed automatically unfolded and transformed into a motorcycle.

“Alright, please get on.” Without waiting for Lei’s reply, he carried her over and placed her on the back seat of the Sakura Hurricane.

“Wai- wait, I haven’t agreed—!” Her cheeks flushed red as her temperature soared. Before she could respond, Ash put a helmet on her head, hopped onto the bike, and accelerated.

“This is my personal decision. I didn’t mean to ask for your opinion. Do you understand?”

Of course, if you can make me fail during this date….. That really would be impressive.

“Gah…” Tied up by such a domineering method, Lei gave Ash a sightseeing glare with zero attack power. However, for some reason, when Ash took control without hesitation, Lei found herself feeling slightly happy.

In the world of Pretty Cure, there’s no underworld, so they don’t have to bother with the speed limit of the Sakura Hurricane and other such things. By twisting the throttle all the way, the specially made motorcycle from the world of Kamen Rider picked up speed rapidly.

“Wait, too fast—too fast! This isn’t how a date should be!”

She wrapped her arms around the man’s waist from behind, leaning her upper body against him entirely. Feeling the heat transmitted through her body, Lei protested hoarsely, feeling both reassured and frightened at the same time.

“Really, women are troublesome.”

In the end, despite his reluctance, Ash slowed down, allowing Lei to catch her breath and see many acquaintances scattered outside.

The girl who lost her mother embraced her sister, her face lit up with joy of reunion. The shy student, who dared not become friends with others, slept peacefully with a smile on her face. The gardening club president who loved planting flowers held her flower pot and slept soundly. And Eddie lay on the trash bin, muttering something as he slept soundly.

These people, all of them had their heart flowers plucked out by desert apostles due to flaws in their hearts. Their sorrow from the past was vivid before her.

But now, everyone was truly happy…

Even the power of Pretty Cure couldn’t help them achieve their dreams. But…. Despite this, seeing their smiles in their dreams, Lei increasingly found this reality less than ideal.

“Ash, what will happen when the flower bud of Qi Xie La blooms?”

Looking at Qi Xie La hovering motionless overhead, Lei quietly asked.

“The moment it blooms, all humans will believe the world to be a paradise. In that case, Pretty Cure will lose their purpose.”

Holding the throttle with both hands, Ash explained calmly. As he spoke, he clearly felt her embrace tighten.

“It’s definitely wrong…..” Without needing to look back, Ash could feel the intense gaze on his back. “I do not approve of this. Do you….. Will you try to stop me?”

“No, I will only watch, whether the choice is yours or not. Interference would only render it meaningless.”

Ash’s answer caught Lei off guard.

“I, I’ll try to stop Qi Xie La from spreading these seeds. If using the power of Pretty Cure, I could even dig them out by the roots!”

“Is that so? But Qi Xie La is actually Earth’s final gift to humanity.”

“We don’t need any such gifts!” On the small motorcycle, Lei and the man close by engaged in a fierce battle of wills. “We can tell both Earth and the Heart Tree that I will achieve a dream better than Qi Xie La with my own strength!”

“But if the people are already living in a world without regrets, and if they choose Qi Xie La instead of Pretty Cure, what then?” Ash’s words left Lei speechless. “Doon will be here within a month, and without finding any连胜 fighters, how will you save all of humanity?”

In such a situation, humans would surely choose Qi Xie La.

“But, but!” Lei’s voice gradually took on a crying tone. “Mr. Ash, do you really think this is right? Even the most beautiful dreams are just that—dreams! Humans are not such frail beings!”

“But to those in the dream, it is real.”

As if morphing into a relentless machine, Ash used his genius rationality to temporarily suppress his emotional self, hoping for one more chance to reach a satisfying answer.

“If you stick to this path, I can give you a possible answer. Someone who has lost everything after gaining everything, people won’t thank you for waking them up but will make the whole Earth your enemy.”

“You say you want to pull Qi Xie La by its roots?”

Finally, Ash added solemnly:

“Human desires are deeper than the roots of Qi Xie La.”