Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

The old man was not at all surprised by the appearance of the two elves. He touched their heads as if he had seen friends he had not seen for a long time, and took out the elves' favorite nectar drink to treat them.

"Why, is that so..."

Her eyes kept turning to Lily and Ash beside her, as well as Erika who looked embarrassed. Lei lowered her head and felt very embarrassed. Her little girlish heart was hurt so much that she wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

Why did Sister Lily and the store manager choose this place too?

That's not right. If you think about it carefully, Lily is a senior Pretty Cure, so it's not surprising that she knows about grandma.

"Are you the young man named Ash that Lily and Rei were talking about?" The kind-looking old man before Ash was the director of the botanical garden and Rei's grandmother. She had long known about this young man from her younger generation. "I want to thank you for your support of Rei and the others. You're truly a man of character who's worth seeing in person."

Just like Xunzi who was observing himself, Ash was also observing the botanical garden. He was surprised that there were so many hidden talents in the botanical garden. All the plants were in good condition. There was not a single sick seedling in the huge botanical garden, and there were many plants he had never seen before. He was a little absent-minded and didn't react until the other party talked about himself.

Jianwu and Dagu would probably jump for joy after seeing this - ah, don't be distracted!

"No, what I did is nothing compared to the contribution that Pretty Cure has made to the world." Although they were not enemies, Ash felt a rare sense of oppression.

"But what you did to them was equally significant." Fumiko turned to Lily with a gentle expression on her face. "Especially to Sayuri."

But I know how important the helping hand that Sayuri often talks about, the person who "saved" her from the abyss, is to her heart now.

Xunzi was very happy, but Ash, who felt inexplicably bored, was very unhappy. He just wanted to complain about why there was another such shrewd and calculating elder type character - it was so troublesome!

However, looking at her, Ash guessed that she must also know about Pretty Cure.

So, there's another supporter? Wow, interesting. Kamen Rider is a grandfather, and Pretty Cure is a grandmother? That makes sense.

Ash didn't plan to say too much, otherwise he would always feel like he was being seen through.

"Are you all here to enjoy the flowers?" Xunzi took a sip of her warm tea, not surprised by the awkward atmosphere between them. "After all, these are rare otome yuri lilies."

"I guess so." Lei and Erika had indeed come here simply to enjoy the flowers, but now they bumped into two other people who they thought were going on a date, and Lei was still embarrassed.

"Yeah." Lily's answer was much more straightforward. "Grandma Xunzi, you've said several times that you wanted to meet Ash, so I invited him over."

However, it would be nice if I could appreciate the rare maiden lilies with the store manager later.

Lei, who couldn't read minds, was originally in a depressed mood, but Lily's words instantly turned her mood to sunny.

Eh, so it wasn't a date?!

Opportunity! I still have a chance!

"Your name is Ash, right?" With a kind smile, Xunzi, like any elderly person, reminisced about the past with her younger generation. "You know what? Sayuri and Rei used to come to the botanical garden to enjoy the flowers and relax whenever they were troubled. But lately, they haven't been coming much, and I, an old woman, am feeling very lonely."

“Grandma…Grandma!”

"Oh no!" As if she hadn't heard her granddaughter's distress, the grandmother said something completely unrelated. "Tea and snacks are all finished."

"I'll go buy it!"

"Ah, Lily-sister, I'm going too!"

"Then I--" Ash was about to follow everyone's lead when he felt resistance on his arm that stopped him.

"Little Ash, come chat with an old woman like me for a moment." As if a grandmother was reluctant to see her grandson leave, Xunzi gently tugged on Ash's sleeve. "Let's have a good chat with those of us who also support Pretty Cure."

Chapter 40: The Unrecognized Soul of Pretty Cure

Hanasaki Fumiko could see it.

When this person looked at the newly born Pretty Cure, besides genuine kindness, there was also a sense of emptiness as if she was seeking something, which made her unable to leave it alone.

"Why do older people always say 'small things' in front of others?" Ash sighed, but still sat down obediently as the other party asked.

Of course, he also realized that the other party wanted to say something to him alone.

"We've finished our refreshments." Instead of immediately "torturing" Ash as he'd expected, Hanasaki Fumiko casually pulled Ash aside to chat about family matters. "If you're lucky, little Ash, you might be able to enjoy some freshly baked daifuku. Let me tell you, our daifuku here is famous far and wide!"

"Yeah, well, ah." Unable to find a topic to talk about, Ash could only agree stupidly. This kind of meaningless chat really didn't interest Ash, but since the other party was Lei's grandmother, he couldn't do anything rash, so he could only sit there and stare blankly.

"There's only two of us here. Tell Grandma I can satisfy my curiosity." The old woman, who was stroking a Pokémon with Ash each, looked at the three retreating figures with a gossipy tone that didn't suit her age. "Who do you like best of the three? The energetic youngest daughter of the Lai Hai family? The icy beauty Sayuri? And my granddaughter who's still a little short of blossoming?"

"Emm..." Ash thought for a moment and then slowly gave an answer. "It's not just three of them. Can't I like them all?"

"Ha ha ha ha--!"

Xunzi laughed out loud at this answer, wiping away tears of joy as she did so. "If young people are too greedy, they will suffer unbearable losses."

Hanasaki Fumiko shook her head. It was the first time she had met such a "frank" person, although the consequences of this frankness were somewhat bad.

"I know." Ash shrugged. He'd been like that before in other worlds, provoking too many opponents at once, only to be overwhelmed and then killed. It wasn't the first time. "But I just can't change."

But this is also part of the pleasure he pursues. What's wrong with it?

"You told me, grandma, let me tell you something too." Seeing that Ash was not interested in what she said, Xunzi said mysteriously.

"Grandma, I used to be a Pretty Cure too."

"Eh--!?"

Ash's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the elderly woman in her seventies. It was as if he was getting to know her all over again.

Well, this was indeed something he had not expected, and he began to become interested.

There was some silence between the three people walking together on the street. Lei couldn't help but look at Lily beside her who still had a calm face, and then met Erika's eyes.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but ever since Lily's last emotional outburst exposed her identity as a Pretty Cure, her interactions with them have become less frequent, as if she was deliberately avoiding them. Except for work-related matters, a sad film seemed to cover the distance between them.

"Lei~~ (falling tone)" I heard the low whisper of my best friend in my ears.

"Could it be that you and Lily-san have become a love rival that's why you've become like this?" (Falling tone)

"What is a love rival--" Lei's little face flushed red in an instant and she almost shouted out. She quickly covered her mouth to make sure that no one heard her before she whispered to Erika.

"What love rival? We haven't even started dating yet!"

"But aren't you pursuing the manager?" Erika's eyes inexplicably turned a little disdainful. "But the manager has always been closest to Lily, so isn't it normal for them to become rivals in love?"

"That's not the case!" Lei almost yelled again at her friend's off-key remarks. "I just wanted to build a good relationship with the manager to repay him. I didn't (lower tone) think I was dating him. Lily-san didn't do that either. It's Erika who misunderstood me so terribly."

"Hey, is that so? How about I join in on such a fun thing?"

"Okay, whatever you want, Erika." Isn't it clear about this funny-looking best friend Lei? She's great at talking big, but when it comes to actually doing it, she's probably even less courageous than Hanasaki Lei.

"But since nothing has happened, now is the perfect time while the store manager, whom Lily cares about, is away, Lei!"

The opportunity is....ah!

Lei immediately understood what Erika meant. Now was the perfect time to ask this senior about various issues concerning being a Pretty Cure.

"Sister Lily, can you give us some advice?"

"suggestion?"

Lily turned her head and looked at the duo of Pretty Cure who had been whispering behind her back.

"Yes, suggestions! Like the essentials of being a Pretty Cure, the weaknesses of the Desert Apostles, anything is fine, please!"

"please!"

The two girls bowed deeply to Yueying Lily together. They were so nervous that they didn't know how long it took, maybe 10 seconds, maybe a minute, before Yueying Lily finally responded to them.

"I don't have any advice for you."

"Eh?"

"You may not realize it yourselves, but after constant training in battle, you have become very strong." And it goes without saying who this training comes from. Although Lily couldn't figure out the other party's intention of helping her last time they met, it didn't affect her anger at him.

"However, the battles with the Desert Apostles will only get more exciting." Lily turned away, no longer gazing at the two men who were still recovering. "I've already been defeated by the Desert Apostles. There's no future for you seeking advice from a defeated, stripped of your glory."

Yueying Lily's heart was not as calm as she appeared. In the past, she had always fought alone except for her only elf partner. In order to protect this world, she had endured all the painful things alone.

But now it's different. Whether they are companions of Pretty Cure or pillars of support, these younger generations are different from me.

After that day, Lily, who understood the matter, had an inexplicable feeling in her heart, which made her reluctant to face these two juniors head-on.

"But, Lily-sister—"

Sister Lily, who fought hard, is not a loser!

"I'm no longer Pretty Cure."

Lily cut the topic short and continued on her way to buy refreshments.

"I'm tired of fighting now and don't want to be associated with anything related to it anymore."

Facing Lily's departing back, Erika pouted in dissatisfaction.

"We wanted to become Pretty Cure because we saw the Moonlight Angels fighting in our dreams. How could she say that?"

"Aren't we recognized by Lily Sister?"

At this time, neither Pretty Cure nor Ash noticed.

An unusual, twisted light flashed across the sky.

Chapter 41: Hanasaki Fumiko's Test

"Young man, could you accompany an old man like me for a while?"

"I'm not so impatient yet."

This time, Ash didn't make a fuss or feel bothered. When he confirmed that the old man in front of him was once a hero, Ash's attitude became much more respectful. At least he was no longer absent-minded when the other person was talking.

But speaking of this, it turns out that Grandma Fumiko was a Pretty Cure from the Showa era, which is quite interesting.

Ash and Xunzi walked through the lush and vibrant botanical garden. The collection in the botanical garden, which the old curator had spent countless time and energy to manage, was truly a feast for Ash's eyes. He couldn't help but pick up the camera mode of his bulid phone and took a lot of photos.

"The collection has grown again."

Seeing that there was a new alien landscape in the album collection, Ash nodded happily. This way he could find an opportunity to show off to them...ah...ah.

I almost forgot that unless there are special circumstances, I may never see my old friends again.

Ash shook his head. The fact that he kept traveling through the world was very special in itself, and returning to the world where he had left traces in the past was something that had never happened before.

Even though we often encounter lineups like the All-Star Suit Battle that brings together everyone, most of the familiar faces we meet are just the most familiar strangers under their masks.

Ash shook his head to get rid of the thought, no longer thinking about the things that made him feel bad.

After all, it is because he has been letting go of the past that he has the courage to live in the present and face the future.

He just needs to live in the present, that's enough...

"This is?"

Standing in front of a huge light green plush doll with a single horn, which was two or three meters tall, Ash had to look up to see its entire body.

"This is the legendary fairy, Mr. Science!"

The elves in the two people's hands almost immediately pounced over with joy. Their tiny bodies could even play hide-and-seek by drilling into the furry fur on each other's bodies.

"Super cool desu!"

Ash couldn't help but take a step back.

"Oh my god! Boss, this thing is alive! Look at its seemingly limp claws, I guarantee it can pin my demon ancestor, Bell, to the ground and beat him until he can't even get his hands up!"

'You don't have to tell me, I'm not blind.'

After arguing with Kain, whose inner voice was terrified, Ash clearly saw the other party's dull eyes moving with Siflei and the others.

At the same time, Ash's intuition told him that what Kain said was right. This weird-looking large doll-like thing was probably no less powerful than Xiao An.

"He's my former elf partner, Koop."

When talking about this partner, Grandma Xunzi's voice seemed to return to the vibrant past, and it can be heard that she is quite proud of her partner.

"So it's an elf?"

If you hadn't told me, I would have thought it was the same robot as the one from the next team, some secret weapon of Pretty Cure.

Ash looked at the two little ones who were really playing hide-and-seek in the fur on Kop's body, and then looked Kop carefully from head to toe with a dazed look on his face.

Wait, are these really the same species? Such a small thing can actually grow to this size!

"I have a feeling the manager is thinking of something rude desu~"

Ignoring the subtle glances from the two elves, when Ash turned his gaze to Cope's face, the other's seemingly dull eyes were also staring at him.