Chapter 22: Ash's Preparation to Freeload on the Little Girl
Ever since Regina, the princess, arrived on Earth and smoothly took over leadership of the selfish organization, the positions of the two executives, Ira and Marmo, had been steadily declining. On the other hand, Ash, as a human, had been rising in status, and there was even a subtle trend of him overshadowing these "senior" members.
The reason behind this was undoubtedly Ash's enthusiastic "willingness to comply." Even the stubborn and capricious Regina rarely found fault with him.
Compared to the negative attitudes of the other two towards her various demands, Ash could almost conjure up delicious and fun things that tempted the little girl as long as he provided enough Dark Heartbeat. Regina wanted to award him the Best Employee Medal on behalf of her father.
As a result, the two members who felt themselves being excluded didn't hold back from making snide remarks behind Ash's back, labeling him a "bootlicker." However, after one night when Ash invited them to a "gathering" and they returned with bruised faces, they no longer dared to criticize him.
On Ash's side, he treated Regina as his "wallet." Every day when he logged in, he would open and use a few items from his inventory to satisfy her daily desires, and he could see the Dark Echoes collected by the system increase a little. It brought him a sense of bountiful harvest.
Ash didn't like being subordinate to others. It wasn't just that he preferred to act according to his own will, but also because being someone else's underling was usually tiring and offered few benefits. However, this once-in-a-century great boss was enough to motivate him.
They say there's no harm without comparison. When he thought back to his previous world, Ash's boss was a slimy extraterrestrial serpent creature constantly scheming to backstab him. In contrast, his current boss had only assigned some small tasks and was a lovely blonde girl.
Except for the coffee that the serpent made, which suited Ash's taste, the treatment was virtually nonexistent.
No wonder Ash enjoyed the benefits in his previous world, slacking off and loafing around every day. In the end, he even used the Blizzard Fist from the protagonist's group to ambush and crush the serpent creature's evolution trigger.
If Evolto had also been a cute blonde girl boss who paid "salaries" on time, would Ash still have betrayed her?
Of course, he would still betray her. After all, he couldn't really let the serpent destroy Earth. That would be a real loss.
At most, he would delay the betrayal for a few more episodes.
"Princess, here's the ice cream you requested."
Regina took the ice cream cone and extended her soft, tender tongue to lick the creamy sweetness, savoring the taste of vanilla. A look of happiness appeared on her face, and the red bow on top of her head bounced along with her expressions.
"Indeed, you always do it so well, Ash. When Marmo brought back the ice cream, it had already melted. They are useless compared to you."
"Who do you think I am?"
Of course, the real reason was the amazing inventory system that came with the game. Just throw the food in there, and there's no need to worry about the freshness.
Ash, who spent his days pleasing Regina, noticed that as their points increased, so did her fondness for him. It seemed like Regina was starting to value him more.
However, it seemed he had gone a bit too far. If it weren't for Ash being naturally lazy and rejecting various "service" requests, Regina might not even bother having him help her get dressed or even get out of bed.
Enjoying the delightful combination of coolness and sweetness on her taste buds, Regina's attention gradually shifted from the ice cream in front of her to the enigmatic figure of this black-clad man.
Regina liked Ash.
It wasn't the kind of love, friendship, or family-like liking. Perhaps because her own father was King Jikochū, Regina enjoyed the scent of self-centeredness that emanated from Ash.
How could a human achieve such a level of self-centeredness?
"Ash is clearly a human, but why does he possess a self-centeredness that rivals ours?"
Regina had also used her special powers to observe Ash's inner self. To be honest, she was shocked when she saw his heart completely enveloped in darkness for the first time.
Regina found it hard to imagine what kind of monster would be created if she used Ash's heart to make a Jikochū.
Why is there so much darkness in the place where his heart should be, even though he is a human? And what are those darknesses that resemble Dark Heartbeat but are different?
"Why? Whether it's using my powers to the fullest or showing kindness to people who have never seen my face, I'm simply acting according to my own will."
"If Princess refers to obeying one's own heart as self-centeredness, then so be it."
Collecting Dark Echoes, fighting alongside both righteous and villainous allies, all of these actions are simply due to one very simple reason.
He is willing, he enjoys it! That's all there is to it.
"Is it also because of this reason that you obtained Dark Heartbeat from me?"
“Is your diligent obedience towards me solely because of this reason? Are you willing?”
What is this person doing? He's really... self-centered!
“Of course, what else could it be?”
“Hmm, so if one day Ash gets tired of the selfish organization, would he hesitate to leave?”
The red bow on top of her head trembled as Regina asked a rather dangerous question.
“That's right, if it becomes boring, then it's time to leave.”
“There's no concept of resignation in the selfish organization, even if you plan to oppose Dad and the others?”
This question was almost like a trap.
Narrowing his eyes dangerously and invoking the strongest entity he knew, Ash awaited Regina's answer.
“As long as you dare to provoke me.”
With such an obvious question, Ash naturally understood the intentions of the other side, but he disdained to hide his thoughts.
He was also eagerly awaiting Regina's response.
Even in front of others, Ash, you really dare to say that.
Just like the CSM belt displayed at the top of the toy section, the more expensive it is, the more you desire it. Faced with such self-centeredness, Regina wanted Ash more and more.
“I favor you. You are no longer a servant; from today, you are my exclusive knight, Ash!”
Regina didn't confront Ash on the spot due to his lack of respect. Instead, she happily promoted him again.
Pointing at Ash's nose with an impolite gesture, Regina proudly announced, and Ash could only shrug helplessly at her words.
“I've been a knight for a long time already.”
Why is Kamen Rider no longer considered a knight? In the past, Rider 1 also fought on horseback with Shocker.
But looking at Regina's triumphant look, he felt like he was starting to like this little devil.
After all, who wouldn't like an ATM?
“We've played with the interesting toys of the human world quite a bit, Ash. Is there anything else interesting?”
“If you're looking for something interesting, I've got something.”
Ash, who has traveled through countless worlds, has collected a tremendous amount of items, so much so that he himself has forgotten the exact number due to his hoarding and junk-collecting tendencies. Because of this, he was once targeted by a certain treasure-hunting Kamen Rider. As the saying goes, it's not the thief that you fear, but the thief's interest. After being targeted for a while, Ash put that person, along with Tsukasa Kadoya, whom he had defeated several times, at the top of his blacklist.
Setting aside those items for now, as per Regina's request, Ash begins searching through his collection.
Eiji's spare underwear, a coupon from the colorful Sweet Treat House, a pudding hidden in the crevice of Yao Hui's refrigerator, fake Star Peace powder residue in a bottle, a magical device left behind by some fallen Kamen Rider...
Hmm, it seems like there's nothing interesting... Ah, what's this?
As Ash rummages through his inventory, he discovers a pile of items that he had forgotten about in a corner.
Suddenly, a devious plan to take advantage of the situation forms in his mind.
"Princess, would you like to see this?" Ash asks, facing Regina's expectant gaze, as he brings out the entire pile of items.
"Clatter, clatter, clatter..."
He holds his hands together and pulls out a large heap of gears from behind him. The quantity is so vast that some gears slip through Ash's fingers and fall to the ground, creating a crisp sound upon impact.
"What is this?" Regina takes out one gear with a deep purple shell, which has numbers written on it and an unknown person's face in the center.
"This thing is called the Dark Sentai Gear. It's a marvelous tool that compresses the immense power of various Super Sentai teams from parallel worlds. However, it's out of energy now, so it can't be used."
"So, Your Highness..."
Ash picks up a gear depicting the number 30 and the face of an adventurer, and slowly pushes it toward Regina.
"Can this loyal knight be of assistance to you?"
Unconcerned about whether the roles of the helper and the one being helped are reversed, Ash entices Regina with a peculiar tone, hoping she'll take the bait.
Hoooooo, dark sentai eh
ReplyDelete