Type Moon, My servant is Tom Chapter 5

Chapter 20: What Should We Believe In?

"Hah... Ugh—huh?" The truck driver, who was lying on the steering wheel, woke up with a strange sound.

Confused, he looked around, wondering where he was, until he noticed the phone in his hand. He realized that he was sitting in the driver's seat with the seatbelt on.

"I remember I was looking at my phone while driving... I hope I didn't get distracted and crash somewhere!"

Startled, the driver quickly got out of the truck to check. It was a relief when he saw that his vehicle was parked by the dock.

"That was too dangerous... I should never play with my phone while driving again!"

As Bel was defeated by the combined forces of Precure and Kamen Rider, the purified Psyches returned to its rightful owner. This incident also taught the driver the importance of staying focused while driving, which was a welcome realization.

"To think that two people can possess such power... How infuriating! I'll teach you a lesson next time!"

Bel, in a sorry state, struggled to get up from the ground. He planned to use his teleportation ability to escape back to the base.

But would Ash let him get away after offending him?!

"No need for a next time. This time will do, he's yours."

Dragblacker, who had been waiting patiently, emerged from the water and once again sank its large teeth into Bel. It still remembered the humiliation of being blasted away by a single attack and now eagerly sought to settle the score.

"You again—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Bel was completely trapped and thrust into a rippling mirror, leaving only a splatter of water on the ground.

"So... scary~ charl!" Even though Sharuru was an enemy, she continued to cower in fear and hid further inside Ai's pocket upon witnessing Bel being taken away.

For the spirits who were synonymous with kindness and purity, Kamen Rider had become a frightening presence due to Ash's earlier "representation." When the spirits privately discussed him, they trembled in fear.

"Um, so Bel was captured?"

Finally, Ai mustered up the courage to ask Ash this question.

"How would I know?"

Ash replied that she shouldn't ask him about that and should instead ask Dragblacker, the true dragon.

"~kyupi~" It wasn't until Aii-chan flew into her arms, flapping its tiny wings, that Ai realized she had already lost her combat abilities.

Overwhelmed with joy from rescuing Aii-chan and defeating the enemy, Ai's face was filled with happiness. She hugged Aii-chan, who was equally happy, and rubbed her soft cheeks against it. After all, she was the hero of this battle, summoning the Love Heart Arrow.

"Ash, we did it! As expected, as long as we join forces, we can accomplish anything!"

"Tell that to your Precure comrades," Ash replied without acknowledging her words. He summoned the DX Diago Speedy and prepared to leave.

Leave the teamwork to the righteous ones like them.

As someone burdened with a mission from the system, he was destined to be alone, without any companions who could join forces with him.

"How can you say that when Mana saved you~charl?!"

"You have no reason to save your enemies. Unnecessary actions are simply foolish. Besides, that move didn't require any defense. If it didn't hit, it served no purpose. You deserved to be punished by standing there."

Upon hearing Ash's words, Ai's emotions became somewhat dejected. "I didn't realize Ash-san had already noticed. I'm sorry for doing something unnecessary..."

In reality, she didn't think too much at the time. She just instinctively wanted to protect Ash in front of her. But now, she felt unfairly scolded or something.

"You don't need to apologize."

Normally, Ai would find it amusing to see the righteous or villainous characters getting their comeuppance. However, she couldn't find any joy in it now.

Thinking it over, Ash realized that he couldn't accept the fact that he had objectively been helped, especially because the other person got hurt in the process.

The outcome of fighting against someone was one thing, but getting injured for his sake was another.

Ash disliked owing favors to others.

But soon, Mana didn't have time to feel dejected anymore. She suddenly remembered that she had promised to help the baseball club as a guest player today, but she had to skip it to rescue Aii-chan, who had been taken hostage.

Ai pleaded with Ash to give her a ride to the school as a favor, but Ash immediately refused.

"No way. Besides, you could just skip that kind of thing. You're not their mom. Why do you care so much if they haven't done anything for you?"

"Even so, I'm really worried. I have to go and check on them! So, Ash-san, please give me a ride~"

At this point, Ai fully utilized her advantage as a cute little girl. She blinked her big watery eyes and acted spoiled. However, seeing Ash's cold expression, it was clear that her strategy was ineffective.

"What are you saying? We are enemies."

"Huh? Aren't we already friends?"

The response from the other side clearly exceeded her expectations. An indescribable silence hung between the two, enveloping them in its weight.

"..."

"..."

A helmet was thrown to Ai, and she immediately recognized that it was the same helmet she had worn last time!

"Get on the bike."

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After a moment of confusion, Ai happily agreed, but regret kicked in just a few seconds after getting on the bike.

Ash, with a passenger on board, pushed the already powerful motorcycle to its maximum speed. The elegant bike lights formed a line of streaks along the continuous bends, without any sign of slowing down even when overtaking multiple vehicles.

The blade at the front of the bike ignited flames, and if a Mewtwo appeared in front of them now, it would be instantly impaled by the protruding horn.

As a knight, Ash had long been accustomed to such speeds. He could even fight with Gurongi while riding the bike with one hand, making it child's play for him. 

But unlike the daring Ash, for the model student Ai, this level of high-speed riding was beyond thrilling.

"Stop! Stop, Ash-san, slow down, slow down—"

"~Kyupi~!" Aii-chan, who was being held in Ash's arms and had no idea what was happening, simply enjoyed the exhilarating sensation of the wind blowing against her face and burst into laughter.

As for the Pokémon Sharuru, it had already vomited while Ash was speeding, and it continued to vomit throughout the entire journey.

Ash glanced back at Ai, who tightly clutched his clothes and screamed in panic as a large truck narrowly passed by. A wicked smile once again appeared on his lips.

Hey, guess what? Seeing her like this made him happy again!

So he continued to twist the throttle, increasing the speed to its limit amidst the roaring sound of the DX Diago Speedy's engine.

Ai, who was already unable to utter a sound, fearfully wrapped her hand around the rider's waist, trembling and unable to move.

—(Dangerous behavior, readers please do not imitate, especially with passengers)— 

"That should repay the favor."

In barely half a minute, Ash dropped Ai off at her school. Just as he was about to leave, Ai stopped him with a question.

"Ash-san, can't we really be considered friends?"

"I already told you, save the sleep talk for your dreams. It's best if you still think of me as an enemy."

As the holder of the system and the chosen one tasked with collecting "Dark Echoes," Ash fought against both the heroes and the villains for the sake of collecting them. In other words, regardless of which side they were on, they were all his enemies.

Not only that, but while browsing through the system, he came across a note from his past self to his future self: "[Ash doesn't need companions; it will only harm you.]"

He trusted himself more than anyone else, even though his memories of the past were blurry. So, he chose to believe this piece of advice as an important recommendation.

But sometimes he wondered, why?

Who would harm me?

And I'm already to some extent, an undying being. Why emphasize the significance of mere injuries?

"Ash-san—"

Ai's loud call from behind made Ash stop in his tracks.

"I guess—I—!"

Ash didn't catch the rest of her sentence.

He simply waved his hand without looking back.

"Goodbye."

The plan to become friends with Ash had failed, and the joy of gaining new power couldn't overshadow the melancholy in the girl's heart.

After saying goodbye to him, Ai quickly found her companions and the members of the struggling baseball club. To her surprise, even without her help, the baseball club members were able to defeat their opponents with their own strength.

Having accomplished something she originally thought was impossible, the excited members of the baseball club explained to her the lesson they had learned: "You can't rely on others for everything."

The story should have ended satisfactorily at this point, but coincidentally, some students witnessed Ai arriving on Ash's motorcycle.

News of this quickly spread throughout the school, and the young students were always enthusiastic about such exciting youth-related matters.

"I saw it with my own eyes! The student council president got off that person's motorcycle, and they were hugging tightly. Could it be... a boyfriend!?"

The students immediately surrounded their school's star student council president with layers of speculation.

"The student council president actually has a boyfriend! It's so discouraging!" a group of female students expressed their sorrow inexplicably.

"No wonder the usually punctual student council president didn't come today. It was because of her boyfriend! Now it all makes sense!"

"That person is a high school student... or a college student? Are they really not just playing with the student council president?"

"Student council president, can you tell from my face if I have a chance?"

Just as chaos was about to break out, Ai timely shouted, "Stop!" and silenced the crowd, capturing everyone's attention.

Finally, everyone asked the same question in unison.

"So, is that really the student council president's boyfriend?!"

Surrounded by the topic, Aida Mana remained calm and explained to everyone, "Of course not. How could I have a boyfriend? I just hitched a ride with someone in a hurry."

As the student council president, she should set an example for everyone. How could she lead the way in dating?

"Mana, whose ride did you hitch?"

Rikka, with a slightly dangerous look, approached her.

"I asked Ash-san for a ride."

"Eh?!"

"But I didn't expect Rikka to have had that kind of experience with Ash-san. Well done, Rikka!"

"Eh?!"