Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

Just a brief answer. Lily swallowed the rest of her words.

"But before that..."

His gaze fell on the two fairies in Lily's arms, and Ash narrowed his smile and eyes slightly.

Lei, who was lying on the sofa, turned over, as if she had dreamed of something extremely terrible. Her face looked uncomfortable, and finally she woke up from the sofa with a look of horror on her face.

"Ah—Erika, please don't die!"

"Lei... so noisy..."

"Eh?" The voice beside her made Lei stunned for a moment. Only then did she realize that she was not lying on the open space on the lawn after the battle. She could smell the faint aroma of coffee with a slight movement of her nose. The romantic dark yellow light hit her and the wall behind her, bringing some peace to Lei who had just woken up from the previous battle.

A gramophone nearby played some romantic music. For some reason, the interior, which was so magnificent that it was dazzling, seemed to be such an elegant place, a cafe.

Erika was lying next to her, which made Lei feel a little relieved. But a new question arose: what happened to Timmons who suddenly attacked her? Had they been let off? And why was he here?

"Are you awake yet? You can sleep a little longer if you're tired."

"Thank you, I've rested enough...eh?" This voice sounds so familiar.

Lei looked towards the source of the sound, and Ash was sitting next to her, smiling at the girl who seemed still dizzy.

“Eh, eh eh eh——!”

After seeing Ash's face, Lei, who was instantly awakened, had her cheeks flushed more and more, and a series of screams burst out from the depths of her throat.

Lei's eyes began to roll around, and she was no longer sleepy. The thought of being seen sleeping by the person she cared about before made her feel shy. Her cheeks became soft and she was so embarrassed that she stopped thinking.

Even though she is a Pretty Cure who can fight monsters as powerful as the Desert Monster, she is still a little girl who yearns for the things she desires in her heart.

Why, why is that handsome store manager here? No, why at this time? Could it be that I am...?

"Welcome to Nasta Cafe."

Ash took off his bowler hat and saluted.

Chapter 9 Ash and Lily, a close relationship?

"Hmm..."

Even the recent defeat did not affect her mood. Erika, who was immersed in sleep, smacked her lips, turned over and continued to dream sweetly.

"Well......"

As for Lei, she was not in such a good mood. She pulled up the blanket in front of her to cover half of her blushing cheek. Facing Ash's smiling expression, Lei was unable to speak.

Lei, you have to stand up for yourself. You can't be shy and timid just because the other person is a handsome guy. Courage - muster the courage you have when facing the desert monster. Okay, you must make the problem clear to the other person!

"Hanasaki Rei, right?"

"Yes!" Hearing the other party read out her name, the courage she had finally gathered was shattered on the spot. Lei answered subconsciously, and her face flushed even more. "W-Why do you know my name?"

"You just stopped by my shop a while ago and introduced yourselves. I guess I don't forget things that easily. Am I right, Miss Lei who likes flowers?"

"Well, that's right... I forgot." Lei, who had never been treated so gently by an adult male other than her father, really didn't dare to look Ash in the eye. It was as if her heart would start pounding as soon as she saw the other's smiling face.

But, he's really handsome - could it be that Hanasaki Rei's romantic luck is about to arrive?!

What Ash didn't know was that his one-sided perspective in Rei had already been filtered through a layer of girl's manga, but even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care too much.

However, Hanasaki Rei did not completely indulge in fantasy. She had not forgotten that the most important thing for her now was to figure out what had happened from the time they were defeated to the time they appeared in the cafe.

"You're asking about this."

While Ash was talking to Lei, he secretly glanced at the curtain leading to the backstage, where Lily's words were hidden.

As the girl's thin lips opened and closed, Ash understood what she meant.

Please keep it a secret for me... Lily, is that what you mean? It seems that even though you pretend that everything is fine, you still haven't gotten over it.

Do you still want to hide, are you sorry?

But I refused.

It seems that in order for you to stand up again and revive Cure Moonlight, you need an opportunity.

No matter how his thoughts were changing, Ash remained calm and talked to Lei.

"My waitress found you, so you have to thank her."

"Varied....."

Noticing the subtle look on the other side, Ash shrugged his shoulders indifferently. After all, although he was usually willing to help her, in order to get his clerk out of the shadow as soon as possible, he still had to help to this extent.

Oh, when I think about it this way, I am truly the most kind-hearted person in the world.

"Lily, come over and say hello to everyone."

With a light sigh, Yueying Lily, who was wearing work clothes, walked from the backstage to the front of the stage and was immediately recognized by Lei.

"Ah, you're the person I met last time at the botanical garden!"

Seeing Lei's reaction, Ash immediately understood.

"What? It turns out it's someone you know. This makes things easier."

"Last time, it was you who gave me advice, which gave me the opportunity to help my friend." Facing Lily, who seemed a little surprised, Lei expressed her overflowing gratitude. "This time, you also saved Erika and me. Thank you!"

"No, I just told you the language of flowers last time, and this time I just brought you here, I didn't do anything..."

"But these things are important to us and we must be grateful, so!" Lei looked at the work badge hanging on Lily's chest and bowed her head solemnly to express her gratitude. "Thank you, Miss Lily!"

Hearing the girl's sincere thanks, an inexplicable emotion flowed in her heart. Glancing at Ash who was smiling beside her as if he had expected this, Lily's mouth corners also curled up slightly without her knowing.

"Manager, did you anticipate this?"

"What, isn't this good?"

At some point, a few cups of coffee appeared on the tray in his hand. Ash picked up his own cup, blew away the steam, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Lily, you need to be more generous so that you can make more and better friends."

"Of course I have friends. People who keep interfering too much are annoying."

"I'm sorry, someone once said I was the most self-centered person in the world. And all of this is for your growth, Lily."

If you don't cheer up quickly, how can you become the shining Pretty Cure again?

"Manager." Lily calmly pushed the coffee in front of her away. "You're harassing me."

"Haha, Miss Lily has a really good relationship with the store manager." Lei smiled softly, but the hope that had finally risen in her heart fell all the way into the abyss of despair.

"Could it be that they're already dating? Doesn't that mean I have no chance, and my relationship... has failed again?!"

"That's right. Lily came here to work because she has a crush on me. She likes me so much that she wants to marry me in the future~"

Yueying Lily took out her flip phone from her pocket without saying a word and dialed three numbers.

"Hello, is this the Hope Flower Market Police Department? I'd like you to come to Nasta Cafe. There's a harasser who needs to be arrested."

"Wait, Lily, calling the police is against the law!"

Seeing the two of them "fighting" over the phone, Lei's mood improved all the way to a perfect level.

"It seems that's not the case, Lei. Your chance isn't over yet! I still have a chance too!"

"What? It's so noisy..." Erika slowly climbed up while holding Lei in her arms, rubbed her sleepy eyes, looked at the mess in front of her, and finally locked her gaze on Ash, her mouth wide open.

"Ah, you're the one—"

When everyone's eyes were on her, she gasped and slowly uttered the last few words.

"Who is that?"

"Really? If you forgot, don't scare me like that, Erika, you idiot!"

"Ah! That annoying Spider-Man called me an idiot, why is Lei calling me an idiot now too!"

"Because Erika is such a big idiot!"

The girls' fight didn't last long. After Lei declined the coffee, saying she didn't like the taste, Ash pushed the cup of coffee in front of Erika and explained the matter to them.

"So, that's it, ladies of Pretty Cure."

"Puff!" The coffee that spurted out of Erika's mouth splashed onto the tray shield that Ash had prepared long ago. "It's so awful! It's such a high-end cafe, but the coffee is so awful—no!"

"Why does the store manager know about this?"

Now even Lei beside her widened her eyes. She was so anxious that she didn't care about being shy. She nervously pinched the corner of her clothes with her fingers, waiting for Ash's answer.

"because this."

Ash pulled out the two little ones, Sifley and Cofla, who were licking their ice cream, from under the counter like catching rabbits.

"Slurp?"

"Ah—!" Erika suddenly jumped forward and grabbed Covell's soft cheeks and pulled them back and forth. "You traitor who forgot about your partner after having ice cream! Give me a bite of ice cream!"

"Just speak freely!"

"Um, Mr. Ash, we—"

Faced with Lei who was as nervous as a little rabbit, Ash gently waved his hand to signal her to sit down and calmed her down.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this. Let's just keep it as a little secret between us."

"After all, you're superheroes protecting this city." Seeing the shy smiles on the two girls' faces, Ash continued. "I'm also your supporter. It's an honor for us to host Pretty Cure."

"How about this? You can use this place as your secret base as Pretty Cure."

"Ah, how can this be so embarrassing--" Lei quickly interrupted the complacent Erika and asked Ash seriously.

"But why?"

After pondering for a while, Ash answered seriously.

"Because I really like Pretty Cure."

Chapter 10: Yuri Tsukikage's New Daily Life

"Lily, let's go home together today?"

"Oh, yes, there's a new dessert shop on East Street. Do you want to come with us?"

"No, I have something else to do."

After packing up today's textbooks and notes, Lily once again declined her classmates' invitation.

But even after she left, the discussion about her did not end. A few female classmates looked at Yueying Lily's back and started chattering about her behind her back.

"Do you think Lily has changed recently?"

"That's right. Lily-chan, who used to be so cold, isn't so difficult to get along with now."

Gossip is human nature, especially when the topic revolves around the mysterious Moon Shadow Lily.

"Did you hear about that? Last weekend, a man came to pick her up on a motorcycle. Who do you think he was?"

"Lily comes from a single-parent family, so it's impossible that she's his father. If that's the case... that means!"

Several people said it in unison.

"This must be Lily's secret boyfriend!"

"So, Yueying didn't go home because she was having a tryst with her boyfriend?"

"Ah, I didn't expect someone like her to have a boyfriend! But this feeling... Tooth White, super exciting!"

"Who do you think it could be? Could it be someone from outside the school..."

The voice behind her attracted Lily's attention. It was a tall blue-haired girl greeting her. The woman with eyebrows that looked 60% similar to Erika smiled and hugged Lily from behind.

"I caught you~ Seriously, Lily has been so busy lately, it's really not easy to find you~"

"I'm really busy, Momoka, you know that."

Miss Momoka Lai Hai, as her close friend, naturally knew that Yukie Yuri was working at Nasta Café. In fact, out of concern for her friend, she had personally visited the café several times, but the results were not ideal. The coffee in the café left a slight psychological trauma on her.