Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

Moved by this, he vowed to become Princess Ann's strength, passed the trial of the Poker Kingdom and became Cure Sword, the Pretty Cure, and stayed by her side as the princess's bodyguard and best friend.

Despite having the remarkable title of a legendary warrior, and even after training as a Poker Kingdom warrior, Makoto's performance in battle proved that she was never cut out for combat.

The only thing I’m good at is singing with my heart.

The princess has done so much for me, but when I wanted to help her, I failed at the first step.

Because... of my incompetence...?

Princess, where are you?

Just as Makoto was stepping into the despairing pit of self-doubt, her mind was about to be shrouded in a deep haze when the voice that made her angry rang out again.

"What's wrong? This won't work? Your princess is still waiting for you."

Ash wants to use his power to the fullest, fight for interesting things, fight for things that make him happy, all for the purpose of living a fulfilling life and making every moment he experiences more "sparkling and shining".

Most of the heroes he met, including Pretty Cure, fought to protect something. Even if this desire to protect others actually came from personal desire, it was morally nobler than Ashu's selfishness.

The two sides can't be said to be in perfect harmony (I wouldn't even think of it that way if there were no sensitive words), but at least they are incompatible.

But even though he often speaks harshly and uses realistic logic to say that their ideas are worthless, it does not prevent him from actually liking those heroes very much.

After all, when fighting with these heroes who hold innocent and beautiful beliefs, the emotions conveyed through fists and the collision of beliefs always make people feel palpitating, making him feel as "refreshing" as drinking a glass of ice water in the middle of winter.

The same is true now. Although he joined the selfish organization and called himself the enemy of Pretty Cure, he did not hate these girls whom he often called "idiots".

After all, who wouldn’t like a little girl who is always full of confidence, sunshine and vitality?

So when Ash saw Makoto looking like she was "no, hopeless", he suddenly felt that he had gone too far. He didn't expect that she could be so vulnerable.

It's not just that I have no interest in people who have lost their faith. Just talking about the tasks from the system, collecting dark echoes requires a long-term approach. In fact, as long as you have frequent contact, you can get them anyway, it's just a matter of time.

The only thing you don't get is that you take the lives of others, and the heroes and villains lose their faith and recognition of their own identities.

Now Ash is also confused.

That's not right. Normally, shouldn't he jump up and punch himself in the face?

Only then did he remember that no matter how strong the Pretty Cure were, they were still just a group of girls who had just entered junior high school.

He had never been good at comforting others.

But he would use another way of enlightenment, which was to divert attention.

Then Ash started talking weirdly.

"It seems that just thoughts alone cannot change the facts."

Although every hero is rich in idealistic elements, idealism is not omnipotent, and it is impossible to accomplish the feat of transcending omnipotence in one go.

Of course, if he couldn't do this, it might be because he wasn't idealistic enough. But this kind of thing was beyond Ash's thinking. Who knew what was going on?

"People like you—"

Makoto choked and wanted to curse this annoying guy, but the next words turned around in Makoto's throat for a long time before the girl remembered that she didn't know how to curse at all.

"Wu-wu-wu, I'm sorry...Princess..."

The girl, unable to speak, fell to the ground and sobbed uncomfortably.

"Hey, stop crying."

Ash felt that he had clearly agreed to give her a chance, and if she couldn't beat him, she couldn't beat him. It was fair enough. So what was the point of crying now? But Ash did feel uncomfortable when he heard this voice.

I wanted to scold her, "What are your tears worth?", but then I remembered that she was just a junior high school girl. Not only was she different from me in mentality and experience in meeting various heroes in the past, but she was also very different in age. So this sentence didn't seem appropriate.

"A person won't fail until he admits defeat. What, are you planning to admit defeat already?" Ash asked in a seductive tone to see if he could arouse Makoto's interest.

So how about trying harder?

"That's enough. People like you just want to see Makoto in pain! Just stop it, Dabi!"

The purple cat spirit Dabi stretched out his tiny arms to block Makoto and loudly scolded him on behalf of his partner.

For a moment, Ash was also stuck.

Forget it. Anyway, I have completed the task assigned by the princess. I can go back to sleep at night.

Pretending nothing happened, Ash whistled and disappeared into the alley, but he returned less than half a minute later.

Seeing Makoto still lying on the ground, Ash rubbed his thumb with a headache. After all, it was just his impulsive decision. If he just left her there, he would feel uncomfortable... probably.

If he just walked away like this, it would be troublesome if something unkind-looking like picking up corpses happened. Even Ash, who didn't consider himself a good person, didn't want to see such a development.

So he bent down slightly and extended his hand to Makoto.

"You'll catch a cold if you fall asleep on the floor. Do you want me to help you?"

"No...I don't need your kindness..."

Makoto, who was lying on the ground with no expression on her face, sounded muffled and could even hear the sound of sniffling.

Who knows what you are trying to do by suddenly being kind?

"Do you want to go to the hospital or do you want me to take you home? But if other people see me on the street, they might think I'm kidnapping you, right?"

However, Ash did not hear the rejection in Makoto's words, but was just thinking about what to do next.

"I've already promised Dabi on behalf of someone else..."

The elf who originally wanted to sacrifice himself to protect Makoto was also confused by Ash.

As expected, Makoto also felt that she had no idea how to understand this man.

Bad guy, good guy, which side are you on?!

"Besides, who would tell someone as suspicious as you where they live?"

"You're really too prejudiced! I consider myself a pretty responsible person."

The two were just starting to argue and when Ash was about to forcibly carry Makoto up, another familiar voice suddenly came from behind.

"Well done Ash, you did a great job!"

Regina?

Without looking at Ash, he could tell from the voice of this arrogant little brat who was behind him. Wasn't it the princess who asked him to be her knight?

"It's-it's you! The daughter of the Selfish King!"

Makoto also made a surprised sound, obviously knowing the other person.

"How rude! My name is Regina. You'll have to remember this lesson."

Seeing Makoto who had been knocked down, Regina immediately came over with a smirk on her face. Ash looked at this somewhat strange "composition" from the side and suddenly remembered the famous scene of "You look jealous of me".

"Because you spoke ill of me in front of Mana, I'm sending my knight Ash to teach you a lesson."

"You'd better learn your lesson and stay away from my Mana, otherwise I can't guarantee that I won't attack again."

Faced with Regina's provocative words, Makoto angrily retorted loudly.

"Don't talk about Mana as if she's yours!"

"I've been so generous as to let Mana become my friend. So, it should be mine, right?"

Grabbing Ash's hand that had not yet been withdrawn, Makoto endured the pain in her chest and hugged his arm to support her body.

"No matter what your intentions are in contacting Mana, I will not let you succeed! You are the ones who destroyed my hometown, the Poker Kingdom. I will never forgive you!"

"Why are you mad at me? This is none of my business." Regina wasn't interested in what Makoto said. Instead, she acted as if it was a matter of course. "Anyway, it was Dad who did it, not me."

“People like you…!”

Before Makoto could continue to get angry, Regina took a closer look and noticed that Makoto was holding Ash's arm. She immediately became dissatisfied and her voice became threatening.

"But you, you were so close to my Mana, and now you're hugging Ash's arm. What's the meaning? Ash is my knight, which means he's also my thing! You are not allowed to touch him!"

It seemed as if the two girls were vying for his affection, which was enough to make any man have wild thoughts, but Ash only felt like a toy in kindergarten being snatched away by others.

The workplace is not easy, Ash sighed.

Just have a quarrel, why drag me into this?

What’s this? Am I the teddy bear that kids fight over?

Chapter 28: There are bad things ahead, so friendship is very useful

"Did you...really tell her that you swore allegiance to her and became her knight?"

Ash didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that the grip on his arm seemed to be getting tighter.

Hiss—I never knew this little girl had such strong hands! She could easily crush a can with her bare hands.

But my strength and jumping ability are only at the level of a Showa knight, and my body is still that of an ordinary person, so be gentle!

"I haven't taken the oath of allegiance yet, but the point about knighthood is certainly true."

After all, he didn't have a crutch and no one played songs for him. As for the latter sentence, it only referred to his identity as Kamen Rider and had no other meaning.

"I can't believe it... Mana is like this too, actually saying she really wants to become friends with her enemies..."

Makoto, who originally came to Earth, initially pursued a maverick approach, but was finally moved by Ai's perseverance and put aside her personal prejudices. She chose to fight as "Heartbeat Pretty Cure" with Ai Aida and the others, and the girls also became good friends.

Precisely because it is so hard-earned, Makoto regards this friendship with Ai as extremely precious.

So, when Ai said she sincerely wanted to be friends with Regina, who was her enemy, Makoto felt as if she had been betrayed by her friend, which led to a somewhat awkward relationship between them.

By the way, Ai once said in front of everyone that she wanted to be friends with Ash, but Makoto still couldn't figure out whether Ash was an enemy or a good person, so she didn't consider him for the time being.

Now, with the help of Ash as a catalyst, Makoto, who could no longer bear it, burst out the anger that she had suppressed in her heart.

"They're clearly enemies, and Mana has seen the Poker Kingdom reduced to ruins with her own eyes, yet she still wants to—"

Wants to be friends with the daughter of the Selfish King.

I have no idea what love is thinking.

I don’t understand. I totally don’t understand!

"I say, Kenzaki, aren't you taking things for granted?"

The voice came from beside Makoto, and now, after listening for a long time, Ash began to express his own thoughts.

Facing Makoto's face full of angry doubt, Ash continued to explain his weird and twisted theories.

"You said it yourself. The Selfish King destroyed the Poker Kingdom. As a survivor, it's understandable that you want revenge or hate the Selfish Organization. But, isn't that just your perspective?"

"what?"

Makoto frowned, and she instinctively began to feel that this person was going to say something unpleasant again.

No, Kenzaki Makoto, don't listen! This person always talks nonsense!

But even though Makoto was trying to divert her attention by giving herself crazy hints in her heart, her body still couldn't help but absorb what Ash said into her brain through her ears.

"You're from the Poker Kingdom, but the other three Pretty Cures are just Earthlings. So, while they're enemies of the Selfish King, they don't have any national or family feuds like you do. It's up to her to love whoever she wants to be friends with."

"That's right, that's right!" Regina came over excitedly to help Ash when she heard what he said. After all, teasing this purple thing made her very happy.

"You're just a nuisance~bah~" Regina hid her body behind Ash, leaving only her head exposed, making faces at Makoto and sticking out her tongue.

"You--" Makoto immediately became angry when she heard what Ash said, but she didn't dare to look at Ash with her angry eyes, because she found that she couldn't refute his words.

Yes, objectively speaking, what he said is indeed true...

"Besides, you've only been friends with her for less than two months, right? And you're already pointing fingers at her. Are you really that familiar with her? And since she's just an Earthling, there's no reason for her to save the Poker Kingdom for you, right?"

"You're putting her in danger, aren't you? Thinking about it that way, you're really selfish. That's why I said you're so self-righteous and take things for granted."

"No...I...I'm not!"

Makoto seemed to be greatly shocked when she was called selfish for the first time. She unconsciously loosened her hand that had been holding Ash's arm. Her face looked fragile and she unconsciously stepped back one step at a time.

"I-I just...!"

Ash's words tightened around the girl's soul like a giant python devouring her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

I just want to find the princess, defeat the selfish king who destroyed my country, and save the Poker Kingdom! Even if I love them, I'm still a Pretty Cure. Aren't Pretty Cure heroes supposed to save the world?

Why, why do you say everything like it's my fault?

Amidst her self-doubt, she remembered what Ash had said before: she was "incompetent".