Chapter 16 - Mixing with Ash, Going Hungry for Nine Meals
In a city where the text, scenery, and direction of buildings were all reversed, Ash drove the Ride Shooter through a deserted world.
The Mirror World of Precure was now very quiet, devoid of Mirror Monsters, alter egos, and a certain golden lunatic who enjoyed slapping people and constantly chanted "Fight" in your ear.
"But it's true that there's nothing here."
However, this calmness was not good news for Ash. He glanced back with a slight headache to see Dragblacker trailing behind his car, inhaling exhaust fumes.
His relationship with the Contract Monsters wasn't good. Not only had he repeatedly hindered and attacked it, but now Dragblacker was starting to get hungry.
When he received the Ryuga Card Box, he hadn't really considered this issue. In the original series, you could feed the Contract Monsters by defeating Mirror Monsters and obtaining their cores. But in the world of Precure, where could he find wild Mirror Monsters?
If things continued like this, Dragblacker might end up preying on the people of this city, or even attacking Ash, its contractor.
Although the latter was highly unlikely, it wasn't impossible for a starving Contract Monsters.
Should he let it go to feed on humans? He couldn't help but feel that he would be losing if he resorted to that...
"But there's no other way... Would you eat this?" Ash took out a Helheim fruit from his inventory and waved it in front of Dragblacker. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about accidentally eating it due to his helmet.
Dragblacker seemed to understand his words and slowly approached, sniffing the suspicious fruit.
Then, it almost spewed water (fireballs) all over its contractor's face.
"You're such a picky eater. I wonder if there's anything in the Precure world that can serve as an alternative life energy."
Thinking about Precure, Ash continued to drive into the center of the Mirror World, where he happened to catch a glimpse of Aida Mana through a mirror.
"President, this is the application from the Gardening Club! This one is the budget adjustment for the Napping Club, including other administrative documents."
"Put them over there, I'll take care of them right away!"
"President, this is the disbanded club application from the Fashion Club."
"Put it... huh, do we have that club in our school?"
"President, please help me!"
Surrounded by a group of students seeking help, Aida Mana didn't seem overwhelmed or bothered. Instead, she confidently waved her hand, indicating that they should come forward one by one. It was clear that she was prepared to take on all the requests.
"Leave everything to me!"
This president seemed to be too responsible, even just as the president of the student council.
Seeing Aida Mana eagerly taking on all these tasks, Ash couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
"Who does she think she is, Superman? A naive country girl? Clark Kent?"
Ash didn't deny that selflessness was indeed a noble quality, but when acts of lending a helping hand become a daily obligation, the original virtue loses its noble quality and becomes a mere "foolish" expectation.
If this gradually growing "foolish" help continued, in the end, it would only become trouble for both herself and others.
Hasn't she considered what would happen if one day she couldn't help them and they turned against her?
Watching Aida Mana on the other side of the mirror, ignoring Rikka's advice and agreeing to join the baseball club as their reinforcement, Ash guessed that she probably hadn't thought about such a situation at all.
He remembered her response to his question that day, where she simply said that she had no reason and just wanted to help others.
"You might be just like me, Mana."
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Suddenly, Aida heard a grating voice from behind. When she covered her ears and looked back, she caught a glimpse of Ryuga's figure passing by in the mirror.
"Huh?!"
Aida quickly rubbed her eyes, but this time, there was nothing in the mirror.
"What's wrong, Mana?"
Facing Rikka's concern, Aida couldn't make up her mind. "Well... I actually saw Ash-san, but maybe I'm just really tired?"
"That's what I'm saying, Mana. You rely on others too much."
"No, I'm just doing my best to help others with these small tasks."
"That's too much power you're exerting!"
Having failed to find something for Dragblacker to eat, Ash decided to set that issue aside (amidst Dragblacker's displeased growls) and lay on the bed in the rented cottage, contemplating what he should do next.
What should he do next? Should he continue collecting Dark Echoes as before, while seeking amusement for himself, only to be killed by someone or disappear when the game ends, with no one knowing?
Continuing to collect Dark Echoes would be easy, considering the abundance of "Dark Heartbeats" in this world.
Speaking of which, what exactly are Dark Echoes? If judged solely by the name, they sound like something very evil. But why do both good and bad people in every world possess them? Moreover, the quality of Dark Echoes in good people seems to be higher.
Even the Precure, who appear incredibly virtuous, and the Ultraman, considered moral beacons, have them!
Unfortunately, the system didn't provide him with an answer to this question. In fact, it wouldn't respond to him at all.
He didn't know what type of system this was, but it probably wasn't the Nekoyaku's powerful FW system. After all, it didn't communicate with him, nor did it transform into a loli or exhibit playful behavior. It only coldly issued tasks and occasionally urged him. It belonged to an outdated system flow that was too old-fashioned.
Although the rewards it provided were generous, and it didn't use punishment or coercion to force him to complete tasks, apart from the occasional system harassment, Ash had to give it a thumbs up.
"Ah, how boring. I don't feel like doing it anymore..."
Just like an employee working long hours every day, Ash, lying on the bed, was now consumed by a sense of laziness.
Why not just let go of everything and settle in this world as an ordinary person? After all, this world was excessively kind, even friendly to him as an outsider.
But Ash knew that this idea was nothing more than a fleeting thought. After all, every time a task given by the system was completed or when he died, he would leave this world and continue his journey.
With a familiar motion, Ash swiped away the system panel that would generate intense statements on his face whenever he entertained such thoughts. Yawning, overcome by drowsiness, he slowly sank into the softness of the bed.
If there's nothing else to do, why not go and cause some trouble for the Precure? Or simply play with them, which seems quite entertaining.
Speaking of which, that blue-haired girl... Rikka, was it? She mentioned coming to see me. Is that true?
Lost in his thoughts, Ash realized that he quite liked these sparkling girls, the Precure.
[You have a new message]
Approaching dusk, Ash was awakened from his slumber by the vibrating Gatlphone placed near his pillow. Opening the message, he saw that it was from Bel, a member of the Selfish Organization.
In reality, Ash didn't really like the Selfish Organization as an antagonist group. Despite having a lineup of cute boys, mature women, and middle-aged men, the organization had nothing interesting to offer him in terms of props or abilities. It was simply unexciting.
Thinking about the villainous organizations he had encountered, he still preferred places like the Closed Kingdom or the Sword of Truth. Once you pleased the boss there, you could freely take all the good stuff without spending a penny. It was incredibly satisfying.
"It's rare for them to contact me voluntarily."
Then he heard an unexpected topic from the other end of the line.
"You said you have something that will interest me?"
"There will be Precure who is absolutely willing to fight you, at the pier tomorrow morning. How about that?"
Beside him was Aii-chan, wrapped in bubbles by his own power. Seeing that Ash was interested, he hung up the phone.
A subtle smirk appeared on someone's lips.
Indeed, Ash had developed an interest in this matter.
After all, defeating an opponent who doesn't give their all doesn't provide any sense of accomplishment, even if they are "legendary warriors."
Let me witness their true strength then.
After ending the call with Ash, "Ryuga" standing on a lamppost grabbed Aii-chan by the back of their neck, looking down at Joe who lay on the ground with a worried expression on his face.
"Ash-san, why attack Joe-san when he has nothing to do with this?"
Ai, who had just come from the hospital, encountered Joe, accompanied by Aii-chan, and they were having a friendly conversation when they suddenly fell victim to Ryuga's attack.
Concerned about the surrounding bystanders, Ai didn't have time to transform, resulting in Joe being knocked down to the ground.
Before she could even blame herself, the beloved mascot of the Precure, Aii-chan, was snatched away by Ryuga once again.
"Precure, if you care about this little one's life, come alone to the pier tomorrow morning!"
Without answering Love's question, Ryuga left the scene with Aii-chan.
Discarding the disguise as Ryuga and revealing their true identity, Bel couldn't help but burst into laughter.
This disguise was so convenient this time. After all, Ryuga's appearance was that of the dark Kamen Rider. Bel didn't have to worry about exposing themselves due to any discrepancies in their actions.
Simply and easily, they instigated the conflict and set the two already discordant individuals against each other.
"What nonsense are Precure and Kamen Rider !"
Watch as I, the great Bel, take you all down and resolve everything!
Getting up early in the morning and riding DX Diago Speedy, Ash looked up and spotted Aida Mana not far away, also searching for something at the pier.
The girls suddenly changed their attitude and were willing to have fun with Ash, but was everything really going as smoothly as that Bel said?
Ash remained skeptical.
"Is it just you?"
Looking at Ash, with his collar fluttering in the sea breeze, Love reached out to him with a serious expression.
"Ash-san, please give Aii-chan back to me!"
Hearing Ai's questioning tone, Ash wore a completely innocent expression on his face.
However, he raised the card deck and reflected it on the shimmering water, switching out his belt.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
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