Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

This was a fact that neither Haruka, Pretty Cure, nor a certain apprentice maid could understand.

"That's not it." He carefully folded the handkerchief and put it away. "But it was definitely a gift from someone very important to me."

Although I can't find it now and can't remember it.

But one day I will find it, find my past! I am such an amazing person, so my past must have been amazing too!

"Okay, it's about time to move on."

"Sir," they were about to stand up when a voice from the dessert shop behind them suddenly called out to them. "Two cups for 6,400 yen. Cash or card?"

"Huh, what is this?"

"Well, you haven't paid yet..."

"Money?" Ash turned around with a puzzled look on his face. "What is money?"

ha?

Standing next to Ash's confusion at this moment, Haruka's mouth opened even wider than when she heard him say that he wanted to make them his queens.

As the King of the Night Kingdom, Ash, in complete control of everything he wanted, took whatever he needed without needing a reason, and no elves ever objected. Coupled with the elves' frequent tributes, he never needed to buy anything, as his food, clothing, and shelter were all taken care of. This led him to develop a bad habit of completely ignoring money.

As a king, do I have to spend money to buy things? Is there any law against this?

"Uh huh..."

Looking at her pocket money wallet, all the good mood she had accumulated for the day was gone along with the two sad tears shed by the girl.

Although I have made preparations in this regard, such as the AA system, I never thought that I would have to pay for everything.

The pocket money I originally used to buy new picture books and flower arrangements =SAN..Sayoulala!

"Tsk." Ash clenched his fists as he stood up from the plastic chair. He hadn't expected to end up indebted to her, and for her to look so sad for someone other than him... How utterly inappropriate!

"I'll ask him to return your money. If he doesn't—"

"If Ash were to break the law like this for me, I would be really angry."

The girl immediately looked up and met the man's gaze with tearful eyes, and finally relied on the flash of light in her eyes to make the man come back.

"Tsk." Ash sat down unhappily, looking at the girl across from him, who was carefully clutching her wallet. He knew he owed her a favor this time. "I understand. I'll find a way to return the same amount to you later."

"That's not necessary. After all, a date costs money anyway."

Free is the most expensive thing, so you should give me a chance to return the favor!

Otherwise, it would be so awkward!

------

"Pretty Cure and that person?"

Just when they were immersed in the atmosphere of the date and didn't notice, Chat, who was standing on the clock tower of the amusement park, looked down at the two people below, and his fingers used force to break the black rose in his hand.

One is a Pretty Cure who has hindered their actions several times, and it is rare that she is alone.

One is the king of the elves who embarrassed him yesterday.

It’s just right, let’s settle all the new and old grudges here!

Chapter 30 There is only one king, and that is me!

The smile originally brought by the date disappeared from Ash's face unconsciously, but it was not really disappeared, but transferred to Haruka's face next to him.

"Then according to Ash's next plan, we are going to the concert hall to enjoy music together..."

"No." Ash's face darkened slightly, and he even turned his head to the side after letting go of her hand. "Forget it, I'm not going."

Are you kidding? I don't have a penny on me right now. It was already embarrassing enough that Yao had to pay for me before... I won't do anything more embarrassing!

"Alright, alright, stop being so stubborn." The girl quickly took his hand, as if she was afraid he would run off again if she let go. "How about this, let's go in and take a look, and just pretend we've been there before."

Pointing to the shop where various musical instruments were hung, the girl's eyes flickered with a subtle look.

"A music store..."

The musical instruments I use are all handmade, but I have never seen them arranged so neatly.

"But, are you actually interested?"

After all, when you were in school, I noticed that you seemed to have a hard time with vocal lessons. You didn't look like you knew much about this area.

"This... is just like a TV drama!" Having almost been caught by Ash, Haruka hastily defended herself. "Isn't it that kind of thing? You hear music you like and suddenly get so moved that you want to join in the story, hahaha~"

"Well...come on in."

Fortunately, Ash just gave her a strange look, and the girl, who was easily let off, breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, I've made up my mind this time to try to change Ash's character in order to make him feel happy and content....

That's not right! It seems like I'm the one who's enjoying the date more!

"Wow!" The girl was dazzled by the dazzling array of musical instruments as she entered the store. "Is this a drum set? And these are harmonicas, and I've seen this orchestral piano on TV!"

Hehe, I thought I would be exposed. Don’t I know a lot of them?

"Ah, I recognize that!" Haruka eagerly spoke up when she saw the long stringed instrument Ash picked up, wanting to show off her knowledge. "Isn't that a guitar? Momoka said she only calmed down after hearing Ash's playing. So, Ash is a guitarist!"

"I'm certainly interested in playing the guitar." Looking at the four-stringed instrument in his hand, Ash's mouth twitched. "Also, this is a bass."

"Really? You named it so quickly, how romantic~"

Without intending to correct anything, Ash shook his head silently and put his hand back. His glance finally settled on the electric guitar hanging beside him.

Guitar...I like both the passionate and clear vocals.

"What about you?" He plugged in the guitar, lightly strummed his fingers across the strings, and then closed his eyes to enjoy the melody. After a while, he took his hand away. "Which one of these do you like best?"

But for King, how could he play such a crude instrument in front of the public? If it's just a hobby, he should just treat it as a hobby.

"Me?" Awakened from the fleeting moment of surprise she'd witnessed when Ash hadn't noticed her, the slightly surprised girl finally fixed her gaze on the violin hanging from the special stand overhead, her azure eyes suddenly gleaming with yearning. "Of course, it's the violin. Wonderful!"

Although her knowledge of musical instruments was limited to following the rhythm and keeping her steps, it did not stop her from yearning for it.

Elegance and beauty, when it comes to the instrument that matches a princess, it must be the extremely elegant violin!

"Violin? Not bad."

The elves also happen to like this kind of performance, I have confirmed it. Although you are not as beautiful as them, as the queen you will make everyone very happy.

"Could it be that Ash can even play the violin?"

"Of course, and I'm the one playing it, too." Ash picked up another long-pole instrument beside him that was clearly not a violin, and he actually held it against his face like a violin and played it. "But I can even play like this."

"?"

The female store manager who had been watching the shop and watching the conversation between the "young couple" rubbed her ears. She couldn't understand how this person could make the sound of a violin with an erhu.

"Haruka really does like princess things."

"However, the reason why I mentioned the violin isn't entirely because of my fantasy about the princess."

She recalled the wonderful sound she heard from the noble "king" that day... However, speaking of this.

"Mr. Ash, since you are the King of the Kingdom of Night," the girl knew this topic would make him angry, but she still mustered up the courage to speak. "Do you know Prince Kanata of the Kingdom of Hope, and... another king who is even more skilled in music?"

"How dare you bring up another man in front of me while we're on a date?" As expected, a heavy, oppressive gaze shot towards her. After putting down his erhu, Ash didn't bother her anymore, turning his head away. He simply sneered. "You actually dared to ask? As a Pretty Cure, I recognize your courage."

Let's not talk about the former one called Kanata for now. Anyway, the prince and his ilk are definitely no match for me. Their dominance makes me not need to worry about them. But as for the latter...

"You actually know another self-proclaimed king?" Ash's unsteady gaze and stern expression raked Haruka over, giving her goosebumps. "Hmph, I've never heard of that! Besides, there's no king who'd give up his duties to become a musician. It was just that the self-proclaimed king deceived your feelings when you were still young and ignorant!"

"What are you talking about? That king was so caring, encouraging, and gentle to me, unlike Ash!" Haru, slightly lost in his reverie, refuted Ash's slander. "Although I couldn't tell whether it was a violin or a guitar at the time, a king who could play such a moving instrument must be a king with a noble and gentle soul!"

"Huh?" Upon hearing Haruka's response, Ash's expression was exaggerated, even brushing her hair off her forehead to test her temperature. "One is a guitar major and the other a violin major. You can't even tell the difference between two completely different instruments? Is there something wrong with your ears?"

If that's the case, I'll have to call our doctor to take a good look at you.

"I-I didn't understand these things when I was little, so I can't hear them!"

Really, is there such a big difference?

"Hmph, then listen to me! The kind of existence you yearn for does not exist at all!" When the girl was constantly "quibbling" on behalf of herself and the person in her memories, the domineering Ash raised his hand to interrupt everything and pointed at her eyebrows.

"Because there is only one king, and that's me!"

A superior being called the King has no need for so-called gentleness!

Chapter 31: The Foolish "Princess" and the Disturbing Enemy

Even Haruka could tell that Ash was irritated by her mentioning other "kings" even though he didn't say it.

I thought he had his usual overbearing and indifferent attitude, but he might unexpectedly care about this aspect... Or maybe it's because of the reasons I mentioned?

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you this..." Seeing Ash's visibly improved mood after his apology, the girl became even more convinced of the matter. "So, does Ash know anything about the other side?"

If he's a prince instead of a king, then everything will be fine. He shouldn't be so petty, right?

"I'm not interested in people with that name, but I do know about the Kingdom of Hope. It used to be a friendly neighbor of the Kingdom of Night."

"Neighboring country? Then can you tell me about it?"

Seeing Haruka's surprised and expectant look, Ash couldn't help but smile evilly and decided to punish her a little.

"They're just a bunch of idiots who put their hopes on a single individual, only to be buried with him when something goes wrong."

After the princess, who was the hope of the nation, was accidentally lost, all the citizens also lost hope and were easily defeated by Disdak's men without any resistance.

I've heard about the developments from my subordinates, so don't underestimate my intelligence network!

"H-How can you say that!" Haruka, having learned about the Kingdom of Hope's fall from Kanata, shook her head in disbelief after hearing the full story from Ash. "They were just living their lives normally, right? And after all, you're the king of a neighboring country! How can you say that..."

"Why not? I'm the King!" Now, as the "King of the Night" instead of "Ash," the "contempt and arrogance" in his eyes almost made the girl unable to look directly at him. "The only thing that could lead to such a tragedy is the incompetence of a leader! If it were me, I wouldn't let this happen!"

"So what's wrong with me calling them idiots?"

The Kingdom of Hope is the homeland of Kanata, Aloma, and Puff. It was because of her childhood encounter with the people of the Kingdom of Hope that she became a Pretty Cure and had the opportunity to interact with people like Kirara and Minami! Because of this, even though she has never met them, she feels pity and affection for this otherworldly country and its princess and prince.

And now, seeing Ash mocking it needlessly and wantonly, Haruka felt a little sad.

A little angry...

"If it were me, I would make those who dare to take my things pay a heavy price! No, I would make sure they don't even think about it!"

"Say something like that again...!"

The goodwill that had been hard-earned during the date, and the harmony that had been hard-earned during their previous interactions with Ash, now turned into "fuel" for the two people to glare at each other again!

"Don't misunderstand me, you just want to be a princess, but I am already a great king!"

"Including the Kingdom of Hope that you have infused with longing, especially that lost princess, she is nothing more than a reckless fool and not worthy of your affection."

So, don’t try to infect me with your “silly and sweet” nature as a “princess”. Do you think I can’t see what you are planning along the way?

How could he not bear a grudge when I bullied him so badly back when we were enemies? And how could someone who was semi-forced into a date look so happy and even offer to pay for it themselves?

I just don’t believe it!

"You—" The girl, who hadn't expected to be attacked by such outrageous words, widened her eyes. "How could you be like this? You treat others like fools!"

"What are you talking about! I thought you would be different—am I seeing things?!"

“I really, really—!”

He's clearly a dignified "king"! Yet, he's always treated the people like his "objects" and never repented. Now, he's insulting my dream of becoming a "princess"!

I'm really about to explode!

"D-What did you do?"

The store manager was so tired of eating melon that he was dumbfounded to see the two people who were originally having a good time suddenly quarreling with each other. However, when their dangerous atmosphere was about to reach its peak, Ash suddenly took a step back, frowned and looked to the other side.

"It looks like the problems between us need to slow down a bit."

"What happened suddenly?" Haruka was so angry that she couldn't hear what Ash said. Seeing him turn around and leave, she hurriedly followed him. "Want to escape? Wait--!"

"ah!"

"Fort Despair—!"