Chapter 499

The Tenth Unexpected Gains

When Miyuki returned home with the injury on her forehead, her mother was shocked by her daughter’s appearance.

After all, her child may not be very smart or diligent in studies, but she wasn’t the type of kid to get into fights. Could it be that she somehow tripped herself? That was quite plausible.

“How did this happen?” Dabbing a cotton swab in antiseptic liquid, Yukida gently applied it to the scraped wound, her heart aching at the sight of Miyuki’s tearful eyes and trembling from the pain. “Does it hurt much? Maybe we should go to the hospital?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just bumped into a wall while playing with friends today,” Miyuki quickly put on her usual carefree smile to reassure her mother. “It’s not that bad, and I drink milk every day, so I’m healthy. There’s no need to worry!”

While she was indeed in a fight, as a Pretty Cure, she needed to be strong like Cinderella. Oh, how painful! Even as a Pretty Cure or Cinderella, painful places still hurt!

Miyuki’s attempt at smiling turned into a grimace from the pain, unbeknownst to her, her poor acting was already seen through by Yukida. Not pressing for more, Yukida leaned close, blowing a gentle breeze from her reddened lips over the wound.

“Hush~ It’s alright, I’ve blown away the pain for you!”

“You’re~ Mama, I’m not a little kid anymore!” Miyuki pouted in her mother’s embrace, feeling warmth spread though her. Though the pain seemed to vanish too.

“To me, you’ll always be my child, no matter how grown up you become,” Yukida slowly patted Miyuki’s back, using her index finger to curve a smile over her daughter’s lips. “Besides, you look much prettier when you laugh.”

“Mama…”

“Miyuki, I don’t know what happened, but remember, I’m here for you no matter what, and I’ll share your burden.”

“Your smile is all I need.”

“Mother truly is kind.”

With a bandage on her forehead, Miyuki closed her door, leaning against it and sitting on the floor with her knees hugged in defeat.

But none of the tragedies in the Kingdom, nor Pretty Cure matters, nor [Wangjian]’s affairs, could be mentioned. Sorry…Mama.

“Smile?” She forced a grin by pushing up her lips, but the expression fell as soon as she released it.

Enemies proclaimed their world domination, even more evil than in fairy tales, had crushed them and taken their healing accessories. Moreover, not only were Akane, Naoko, and Yayoi stripped of their transformation devices, but also sealed, leaving them powerless. How could one smile after such incidents?

“Ah ah ah!”

Before Miyuki could brood for half a minute, she let out strange noises, shrieking as she rolled around, scrambling her iconic cow horns.

“Why am I sulking alone here! This isn’t my style at all!”

Where has my optimistic nature gone?!

“Miyuki…”

“Ah, Sugar!” Upon noticing the despondent white sheep sprite coming from her backpack, Miyuki hurriedly scooped her out. “Hungry?”

“Right, the healing accessories!” Retrieving a petite strawberry-shaped charm from her collector book, she installed it into an empty slot in her makeup box and pressed the central activation emblem.

Collected from fighting the Clown Monsters, the healing accessories not only housed incredible power for Sugar’s mission to save the fairy kingdom but also activated unique powers corresponding to each.

“Let’s go Strawberry!”

As the strawberry healing accessory was activated, the light from the makeup box turned into a large crimson strawberry about the size of Miyuki’s head.

Tired and hungry, Sugar immediately forgot about her depression when the sweet scent hit her. The tiny creature, almost as big as herself, hungrily devoured the strawberry, boosting her happiness levels.

“It’s so filling, now I can relax— Wait!” Lying on the ground with a bloated stomach, Sugar suddenly snapped to attention. This silly idea nearly distracted her! “Everyone else is going to the Wonder Library to discuss plans!”

“Right!” Miyuki punched her palm with her right fist. “That’s right, I completely forgot!”

“Is this something to be proud of?”

“Hm, now it’s time for the Pretty Cure secret base!”

Approaching the bookshelf in her room, she slid a few books aside, revealing a light portal leading to another world.

Before entering, she recalled a sinister thought. Could that sword-wielding villainous brother also have a dark lair filled with treasures like a dragon’s hoard?

Ha, seriously, why am I thinking of this nonsense? If it were true, he might be hunting our secret base to find treasures.

Amusing herself, Miyuki took Sugar’s hand and stepped through the portal.

“Clink!”

In an artificial, damp cave, many contraptions were set within. A closer look revealed these constructs exceeded external technological capabilities!

Within, the stripped-down Ash lay face up, drenched in sweat.

Lifting a heavy barbell overhead without system-enforced [Showa Renovation Class Output], relying solely on his body strength, muscles in his arms twisted and tensed like taut cables while his chest moved subtly with each motion.

“Pant—” Discarding the barbell and slowly sitting up, he wiped his forehead. “Passed, right?”

[The weight was 600 pounds. You can try 630 pounds next time.]

“Really?” The beeping tone was unmistakable despite the racket of the barbell landing. The shirtless man squinted at the red dot on his screen now showing a [Signal Off] message. He couldn’t hide a grin of interest.

“What a surprise,”