For Ash, who was leading Pretty Cure astray.
The fairy Rakel was surprisingly furious.
"It was just a joke."
"That joke went too far!"
Rikka once again confirmed the fact that this man was genuinely dangerous.
But... what he said did seem to make sense.
"Still, worrying about this kind of thing really is youth."
Ash shook his head, thinking back to when he was in middle school...
His memories got stuck there. He only had memories from before he was twelve. If asked about elementary school, he could still recall a couple of things, but he truly remembered nothing after middle school.
But that did not stop him from reaching a conclusion.
"My guess is that the girl actually sees you as her most important friend. Precisely because you're the most important, the closest, every interaction between you has become something she takes for granted."
"So don't let the fact that she sometimes seems to care more about others fool you. To her, that falls within the normal scope of friendship, while with you, there's an unspoken closeness and understanding at every moment. Because you're best friends, she doesn't need to show it."
For once, Ash actually spoke a long string of sensible words. Who knew whether he had stolen those lines from some tokusatsu protagonist.
"Really?"
Ash's explanation instantly turned Rikka's expression from cloudy to bright. Her spirits soaring, her shining eyes looked toward Ash.
"Of course, it's also possible that she has long taken your relationship and affection for granted, so she naturally doesn't care. There are people who are cold toward those they know and warm toward strangers."
"That's so awful! But Ai isn't that kind of person..."
Hmm... no, wait!
Rikka came to her senses again. Weren't she and him supposed to be enemies? How