Chapter Summaries

Ash tried to win over Minami, confessed loudly that he loved the Pretty Cure, and explained his idea of pure love as loving every Pretty Cure. Minami laughed at his absurd reasoning and felt less afraid of him, then found Kivat inviting her through Ash’s portal.

• Ash backed away from Minami and said he liked her dignified confidence and dancing, then explained that he wanted her as a Queen because he genuinely liked her.
• Minami asked whether Ash wanted the Pretty Cure’s power or their dreams, and Ash said he wanted everything about them, including their hearts.
• Ash shouted a public confession to the Pretty Cure outside the dance room, drawing a crowd and prompting the platinum-haired dorm supervisor to question him.
• Minami pulled Ash away before he could reveal her identity, and Ash told her he was a pure-love enthusiast who loved every Pretty Cure.
• Minami laughed at Ash’s explanation, and he left through a portal; Kivat then beckoned Minami to enter it.

Minami entered Doran Castle Dragon hoping to learn more about Ash, but fled after discovering that its fairies were ghosts inside costume bodies. Meanwhile, Yui settled into her apprentice-maid role and reunited with Minami, whose fright caught Ash’s interest.

• A little bat offered to guide Minami into the Black Night Kingdom, and Minami entered Doran Castle Dragon to learn more about Ash.
• Minami overheard fairies praising Ash for bringing them leftover Family Day snacks, then saw them unzip their costumes and emerge as ghost flames.
• The ghost fairies recognized Minami as a Queen-in-waiting candidate and tried to help her, but she panicked and ran from them.
• Little Blue officially assigned Yui to clean Ash’s room and introduced her to the castle’s fairies, while Yui described her dream of becoming a picture-book illustrator.
• Yui spotted Minami fleeing from the ghost fairies and realized that the normally fearless student council president was afraid of ghosts.
• Ash watched Minami’s escape through the little bat’s eyes and asked what she had shouted while running.

Ash arranged a ghost-themed test to help Minami confront her fear of ghosts, recruiting Yui and several ghostly fairies to stage a frightening scene. Minami discovered Yui surrounded by the ghosts and struggled to decide how to save her, while Yui played the terrified victim for Ash’s plan.

• Yui told Ash that Minami was afraid of ghosts, and Ash announced he would help Minami overcome the fear through exposure.
• Ash showed Yui a Dress Up Key and asked her to cooperate with his plan for Minami.
• Minami returned from the Black Night Kingdom and followed a second Dress Up Key to a Blue-Eyes White Dragon projection that demanded she prove her Radiance and strong heart.
• Minami saw ghostly flames surrounding Yui and panicked when she recognized her friend in danger.
• The ghosts, who were playing along with Ash’s scheme, asked Yui to act more frightened as Minami watched.

Minami faced Ash’s test and chose to risk herself to save Yui, earning the Dress Up Key and awakening as Cure Mermaid. When Shut immediately turned Yui into a Fortress of Despair, Minami fought alone and knocked the monster down, but it began to rise again.

• Ash disguised Yui’s predicament as a ghost attack and told Minami to flee, but Minami ran toward the danger to save her friend.
• Minami protected Yui from the fake ghosts, learned about Ash’s test, and received the Dress Up Key after Ash judged that she had passed.
• A Dysdark attacker sealed Yui in a cage and turned her dream into a Fortress of Despair, while Shut confronted Minami alone.
• Minami transformed into Cure Mermaid and used water, agile movements, and a Rider Kick to bring down the Fortress of Despair.
• Shut pointed out that the injured Fortress of Despair was getting back up.

Minami struggled against a strengthened Fortress of Despair that had stolen Yui’s dream, until Ash appeared and angrily attacked it for harming one of his people. After Ash proved too powerful for the monster and lamented its weakness, Minami sealed it with Precure Bubble Ripple.

• Minami dodged the Fortress of Despair’s newly real attacks, while Shut claimed Lady Dyspear had granted him greater power.
• Ash appeared, praised Minami’s Mermaid Angel form, and confronted the Fortress of Despair for taking Yui’s dream.
• Ash overwhelmed the Fortress of Despair with punches and a kick, then mocked its attempt to draw something capable of defeating him.
• Ash complained that the Fortress of Despair was too weak to be a worthy enemy, while Minami wondered about his concern for Yui and his intentions toward Pretty Cure.
• Minami used Precure Bubble Ripple to seal the Fortress of Despair.

After Minami defeated Fortress of Despair, Nanase Yui unexpectedly woke inside her despair cage and Ash carried her out, stirring unfamiliar feelings in her. Ash decided he would help Yui grow stronger, while he and Minami reflected on how he had changed them; the chapter left Minami blushing at his praise.

• Nanase Yui woke inside her despair cage after Minami defeated Fortress of Despair, surprising both Minami and Ash.
• Ash tore open Yui's cage, carried her out, and encouraged her to believe she could become as strong as Pretty Cure.
• Minami purified Fortress of Despair with Mermaid Ripple and reproached Ash for teasing Yui, who blushed and struggled to explain her feelings.
• Ash decided to cultivate Yui's strength, while Minami and Ash bickered about his treatment of others as possessions.
• Yui defended Ash for helping them, and Ash told Minami that she had changed too and called her cute, leaving her blushing.

Ash reunited with Haruka, Minami, Yui, and Kirara, and the girls began to see him in a more complicated light as he repaid Haruka and offered to help Minami. Kirara remained resentful and increasingly unsure whether she was the only one who still opposed him, while Ash continued wondering what his own sparkle might be.

• Haruka told Ash she would defeat him and prove him wrong, then suggested he seek a sparkle of his own.
• Ash returned Yui’s glasses and told her that her glasses were part of her real self, making Yui smile happily.
• Ash greeted the girls with overfamiliar affection, and Haruka and Minami defended his character while Kirara questioned why they were getting along with him.
• Ash repaid Haruka for their amusement park outing, and she accepted only half the money after reminding him they had shared a parfait.
• Minami said Dysdark had stopped competing as actively for the Dress Up Keys, and Ash offered to help her grow stronger.
• Ash wondered what his own sparkle was, while Kirara stayed apart from the others and remained upset with him.

Kirara struggled with her anger toward Ash and wondered whether they were alike in their selfishness. Hoping to understand him and change him, she secretly followed him and discovered he worked at a construction site before he headed to a convenience store for another job.

• Kirara complained to Yui about Ash, but Yui pointed out that Kirara had once put modeling ahead of becoming a Pretty Cure, just as Ash acted selfishly.
• Kirara decided her own resemblance to Ash might explain her hostility and resolved to learn more about him so she could help him change.
• Kirara disguised herself and followed Ash after work, hoping to uncover how he had gotten money to repay Haruka.
• Kirara watched Ash work as a construction foreman and overheard his coworkers crediting his advice with helping one of them get engaged.
• Ash left the construction site and entered a Lawson, where the store owner asked him to fill in for an absent worker.

Amanogawa Kirara followed Ash through his many jobs and confronted him about treating their relationship as shallow despite his claims to like her. After Ash asked what she had learned from watching him, Kirara realized that his effortless attitude toward work was part of why she hated him.

• Kirara watched Ash perform several jobs flawlessly and felt frustrated by how capable he was compared with her.
• Ash revealed that he had noticed Kirara following him, and he told her she was free to act as she wished, just as he was free to pursue his own desires.
• Kirara angrily rejected Ash's suggestion that their relationship was fine as it was, and Ash shielded her from the café customers' attention.
• After they were kicked out of the café, Ash asked Kirara what she had felt while watching him, and she asked why he worked so many jobs without getting tired.
• Kirara realized that she hated Ash partly because she believed in hard work, while he treated difficult tasks as effortless.
• Ash explained that his original reason for taking the jobs had been to earn money and repay what he owed Haruka.

Ash sought to understand the lives of his citizens and grew closer to Kirara, who began to see the sincere motives behind his strange behavior. After Kirara found his guidebook for pleasing girls, Ash continued his awkward courtship by complimenting Haruka on using his gift.

• Ash explained to Kirara that he wanted to experience life beyond being a King and understand how his citizens lived.
• Kirara’s irritation toward Ash softened, though she rejected his offer of friendship and questioned how he intended to spend his wages.
• Ash left his red bucket behind, and Kirara found a book titled “One Hundred Wonderful Phrases to Please Girls” by Otoya Kurenai inside it.
• The next day, Ash praised Haruka for keeping and using his gift, while Haruka asked why he had originally expected her to reject it.

Ash tried to advance his relationship with Haruka by touching her cheeks, but she challenged the gap between his sincere support and his intrusive behavior. Haruka began to fear that Ash was trapped in fixed roles, and his claim that he had no dream left her questioning who he really was.

• Ash pinched and kneaded Haruka's cheeks, and she told him to let go.
• Haruka confronted Ash about how his bothersome actions contradicted the hope and kindness she had sensed in him.
• Kirara hurried toward Haruka and Ash, determined to expose Ash's disguise.
• Haruka compared Ash to a game monster following fixed programming and asked whether he wanted people to worship him or like him.
• Haruka asked Ash what his dream was, and he said he had none because he was already the strongest genius and the invincible Ash.

Kirara confronted Ash over whether he truly liked Haruka, Minami, and Kirara themselves or only wanted the radiance Pretty Cure could provide, forcing Ash to question who he was beyond the roles he chose. Kirara left with Haruka, but Haruka stayed behind to speak with Ash, who remained uncertain about his feelings and identity.

• Kirara challenged Ash to say whether he liked the girls themselves, and Ash found himself unable to answer after a pink figure came to mind.
• Ash reflected on how he had taken on identities as a king, invader, janitor, and playboy, then wondered who he was when no one expected anything of him.
• Kirara called Ash a black hole who absorbed others' dreams and hearts, and accused him of pursuing an imagined version of Pretty Cure rather than the girls themselves.
• Kirara left with Haruka, saying Ash did not like them and only wanted to win over the Pretty Cure he had imagined.
• Ash questioned whether his indifference proved Kirara was right, and Haruka stayed behind to speak with him and asked to call him Ash.

Haruno Haruka told Ash that his pursuit of Pretty Cure’s brilliance might come from a lost dream and a person he truly liked, prompting him to realize his feelings for her. After confessing, Ash questioned whether learning the truth about his past would bring him happiness, while Kivat urged him to trust himself.

• Haruno Haruka suggested that Ash’s interest in Pretty Cure might be tied to someone he once loved and a dream he had lost.
• Ash laughed at Haruka’s intuition, thanked her, and confessed that he liked her for who she was in the present.
• Haruka was overwhelmed by Ash’s sincere confession and sank to the ground after he left.
• Ash asked Kivat whether Haruka and Kirara were right about him and admitted he was afraid the truth about his past might make him hate it.
• Kivat told Ash to trust himself and stay committed to his decision, while Ash wondered whether he was truly human.

Ash visited Amanogawa Kirara while she worried about her upcoming model show and her manager’s illness. He photographed her and tried to discover what made him genuinely attracted to her, leaving Kirara posing for his camera.

• Amanogawa Kirara worried that her sick manager’s absence would ruin her chance to shine at the model show.
• Ash showed Kirara his agency-approved press pass and asked what was troubling her, while she suspected he had come to take revenge.
• Ash admitted he wanted to find the parts of Kirara that truly made his heart race and took photographs for his personal collection.
• Kirara criticized Ash’s lecherous gaze, but he praised her appearance and continued photographing her as she tried to leave.
• Ash searched through the photos for the most beautiful, sparkling image, and Kirara turned back to strike a model’s signature pose for his camera.

Amanogawa Kirara regained her confidence while posing for Ash’s photos, then asked him to become her manager for her upcoming runway show. Kirara prepared to meet him, ready to take charge of the situation.

• Amanogawa Kirara posed confidently for Ash, and she admitted that the photos he took were beautiful.
• Ash told Kirara’s agency president that he would publish an interview feature centered on Kirara and believed she would not give up over missing the runway show.
• Kirara thanked Ash with coffee, and he drank the bitter espresso enthusiastically.
• Kirara asked Ash to temporarily become her manager for her upcoming runway show, and Ash agreed to take on the role of producer.
• Kirara checked her appearance, put on a mask, and left home early to meet Ash.

Ash met Kirara and took over the work of her absent manager, impressing her by quickly restoring her modeling schedule. He then urged her to share the burden of her dream with the people willing to support her, including him.

• Kirara met Ash, who arrived wearing a conspicuous P-shaped headpiece and agreed to act as her manager for the day.
• Kirara handed Ash her accumulated work documents and contacts, expecting him to struggle with the responsibilities.
• Ash rapidly organized Kirara’s work, made calls, and got her training and professional arrangements back on track.
• Kirara thanked Ash for helping reconnect her with the people supporting her important fashion show.
• Ash explained that Kirara’s dream depended on others and encouraged her to rely on her agency, her friends, and him.

Ash pushed Amanogawa Kirara through an intense training schedule to help her pursue her dream, and she chose to rely on him despite his relentless methods. After several days of their exhausting battle, Kirara was left drained but still asked Ash who he was.

• Kirara realized Ash had used his offer of support to get closer to her, but she agreed to rely on him.
• Ash gave Kirara a packed schedule and drove her through demanding fitness, modeling, and dance training.
• Ash took Kirara's donuts and made her drink his strange vegetable juice, which caused her to faint.
• Kirara and Ash spent the next few days struggling through their intense training together.
• After another exhausting day, Ash placed milk on Kirara's head and reassured her that she would not die.
• Kirara, sprawled across the cafeteria table, asked Ash who he was, and he replied that he was her manager.

Ash supported Kirara through the final stages of her modeling preparation, and she confidently dazzled the audience at the fashion show. As Ash celebrated their shared effort and his affection for the Pretty Cure, Kirara wondered how things might have been if they had never been enemies.

• Kirara questioned why Ash worked so hard, and he said that as her manager he would take responsibility for her and share her dream.
• When Kirara felt too weak to eat, Ash fed her until she regained enough strength to take the chopsticks and eat by herself.
• Backstage at the fashion show, Ash reassured Kirara that he would always support her, and she declared herself one hundred percent confident.
• Kirara walked the runway with a confident smile and captivated the audience with her beauty and charm.
• After Kirara came offstage, Ash congratulated her and said his affection for the Pretty Cure was genuine and that he loved seeing their brilliance.
• Kirara felt that Ash was wrong to think only the Pretty Cure could shine and imagined how things might have been if he had been on their side.

Kirara celebrated her fashion-show victory with her friends and credited Ash for helping her succeed, while Dyspear ordered Locke to attack the Pretty Cure and Dark Kiva. On the day of the Bo Annu Show, Kirara found Ash preparing elaborate defenses for her and brought him an umbrella.

• Kirara told Haruka, Minami, Yui, and the others that Ash had managed her training, and she opened up about her dreams and her wish to share them with her friends.
• Dyspear worried about Ash's unknown power and ordered Locke to defeat the Pretty Cure and Dark Kiva.
• Kirara struggled through Ash's bitter vegetable juice before heading to his agency on the day of the Bo Annu Show.
• Ash showed Kirara detailed plans for defending the fashion-show stage and her agency from imagined attacks, while Kirara questioned his assumptions about Dysdark.
• Kirara gave Ash a folding umbrella, claiming she had brought it because rain seemed likely.

Locke ambushed Ash and Kirara at the Bo Annu Show, separating Kirara from her transformation perfume and forcing her to face a deadly fall. Ash watched as Kirara reached for the perfume on her own, then revealed that he trusted her as she fell toward the ground.

• Kirara prepared to leave for her stage show while Ash assured her he would clear away any obstacles, just before the building began to crack.
• Locke turned an old security guard into a Fortress of Despair and attacked Ash and Kirara, causing Kirara to fall through the damaged floor.
• Kirara climbed back onto solid ground but found her Princess Perfume hanging just beyond her reach over a deadly drop.
• Ash considered helping Kirara but chose to trust her, while Kirara rejected the idea of relying on him and stretched out for the perfume herself.
• Locke ordered the Fortress of Despair to smash away Kirara's footing, and Kirara began falling as Ash revealed he had survived the ambush.
• Ash told Locke that Kirara had held back from asking for help and pointed toward her falling figure, saying his trust in her was the reason he believed in her.