Starting with Firefly, Speedrun the World Chapter 10

Seven thousand yen simply wasn't enough to live on—not even enough for food alone.

She could only buy cheap bread to stretch a few days, let alone afford lodging. Sleeping outside on clear days was bearable, but rainy days were truly a problem.

Just as Firefly was crouching there, torn between swallowing her pride and finding some way—any way—to get money to survive, or continuing on like this...

A familiar female voice sounded beside her.

"Are you okay? Do you need help?"

"..."

Hearing the voice, Firefly looked up... and saw that young lady from the Arakawa Zaibatsu, Nene Arakawa, standing before her holding a livestream device in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

Was this young lady playing her runaway game again, not even stopping for the rain?

But it was clear she had already forgotten everything that happened in the DGP Grand Prix and returned to normal.

That wasn't strange—the DGP's affairs were never known to the public. Even those who experienced it would have their related memories easily erased by DGP personnel.

Unless they could touch the ID Core of a Kamen Rider Driver, only then would those memories come back.

Speaking of which, the Arakawa Zaibatsu was also a sponsor of the DGP. Nene Arakawa's parents knew many things about the DGP Grand Prix.

Even if becoming a DGP sponsor hadn't been their wish.

"Eh? Eh!! It's you!"

The moment Firefly lifted her head, Nene Arakawa immediately recognized her—the kind person who had helped her shake off the bodyguards that one time.

"I never properly thanked you for helping me get away from them back then."

"Even though they caught me in the end."

"But I'm still really grateful."

Meeting Firefly, someone she had crossed paths with once, Nene Arakawa immediately broke into a smile, looking genuinely happy.

"So you're... running away from home again?"

Firefly stood up, not putting on a cold face, nor mentioning how she had saved her before. She just spoke to her in a friendly tone.

As for her feelings toward Nene Arakawa... how to put it? Out of the entire Kamen Rider Geats series, she was probably the most decent, the most normal one.

Mainly because she wasn't too deeply tied to the main plot, so her character hadn't been ruined to an absurd degree.

The only thing that left a bit of a bad taste was what she said to that Panda who nearly killed her mother.

Though it was exasperating at the time, compared to Geats, Buffa, or even Tycoon—who went crazy double-standarding the Creation Goddess—she was still pretty good.

And now, Firefly's mindset was much more stable.

"That's right. Nene's Great Escape Operation won't stop."

Nene Arakawa replied matter-of-factly.

Then, as if sensing something, she turned to look behind her. Sure enough, those bodyguards were closing in again. Nene Arakawa immediately tensed up.

"Oh no, they're coming again!"

With that, Nene Arakawa was about to bolt.

Firefly hadn't been paying much attention, but the next moment, she found her wrist grabbed—Nene was pulling her along as she ran.

She even abandoned her umbrella, running straight through the rain without stopping, though the rain wasn't heavy.

Firefly was a bit caught off guard.

You're running—why drag me along...

But seeing Nene Arakawa's tense expression, she hesitated and said nothing more.

Having seen the story, Firefly naturally understood why Nene Arakawa was so determined to escape her family.

It was her mother's suffocating need for control that made her desperate to flee. Firefly could truly empathize with that feeling.

Sometimes, parents were unreasonable, yet convinced their actions were out of love—it was truly painful and tormenting.

Because she had experienced it herself.

"Do you want to get rid of them for good?"

As Firefly was being pulled along, Nene Arakawa was already panting heavily, while Firefly looked as if nothing was wrong.

"Of... of course."

Nene replied between heavy breaths. That family made her want nothing but to escape.

"Got it. Then follow me!"

Firefly turned and grabbed Nene Arakawa's wrist instead, leading her into a small alley. Then she directly blocked all the trackers on her.

After twisting and turning through countless paths, Nene Arakawa couldn't hold on any longer. She slumped weakly against the wall and sat down on the ground.

"I... I really can't run anymore."

Her legs felt like they weren't even hers anymore. She had run often before, but never like today.

"They probably won't find us here for now."

Firefly swept her gaze across the surroundings, confirming that those people wouldn't chase after them anymore.

As for what came next—Nene Arakawa alone naturally couldn't escape the Arakawa Zaibatsu's sight, as long as she remained in this world.

But with her help, it was different.

With the system's abilities, not even the DGP organizers or the Creation Goddess could lock onto her position, let alone the Arakawa Zaibatsu.

Unless she went out of her way to court death.

"Turn off your streaming device. If you're just trying to put on an entertainment show, or if you want them to find you, then pretend I didn't say anything."

Noticing the streaming device in Nene Arakawa's hand, she was still holding onto it even after all this exhaustion—she really was persistent!

But using a live stream to expose her own location was far too foolish.

Chapter 16: Sparkle's Mask

"Oh oh, right, right!"

"I was running too fast earlier, I totally forgot! I'll turn it off now."

Hearing Firefly's words, Nene Arakawa snapped back to reality. Although her runaway show seemed like a childish game, she genuinely wanted to escape her family—it wasn't what Firefly had suggested.

"Alright, everyone on Nene TV, that's it for today. Wish me luck in shaking them off this time and successfully running away from home!"

"Bye-bye, see you all next time!"

Nene Arakawa pointed the camera at herself, greeting cutely as she explained the situation, before finally shutting down the streaming device in her hand.

For her, the encouragement and support from her fans in the live chat were key to keeping her confidence up.

Making money was secondary—she didn't need it anyway. She just loved the motivation that came from her fans supporting and cheering her on. At home, she felt useless, and only through her streaming fans could she regain her sense of worth.

After putting down the device, Nene Arakawa slumped against the wall like a lump of soft mud, sitting on the ground, no longer caring about her image as a young lady.

She was way too tired!

"Hey... aren't you tired? After running that long?"

Panting, Nene Arakawa noticed Firefly beside her. She herself was already exhausted, but the other girl seemed completely unfazed.

"It's fine."

The silver-haired girl shook her head.

Even without transforming into Sam, her physical fitness was above that of an ordinary person, especially after being strengthened by the power of the Destruction Path.

"Sorry about earlier! I instinctively dragged you along—you didn't have to run with me..."

At this point, Nene Arakawa realized it might not have been right to pull her into the escape. The one being chased by the bodyguards was only her.

It had nothing to do with this silver-haired girl.

Realizing this made Nene Arakawa a bit awkward.

She had made her run so far.

Even though later on, Firefly was the one pulling her around, and she had no idea where they even were now.

"It's fine."

Firefly shook her head. She hadn't minded at all.

After all, she didn't have a fixed place to live yet—anywhere was fine, it didn't matter.

As for Nene Arakawa, since she had agreed to help her gain freedom and escape her family's troubles, even if only temporarily, she would follow through.

"If you've rested enough, let's keep going. This place isn't necessarily completely safe."

After a short while, seeing that Nene Arakawa had recovered, Firefly spoke again.

She had been streaming while running the whole way, and although Firefly had helped block the signal, it wasn't foolproof—they still needed to keep moving.

"Ah, we have to run again?"

Nene Arakawa slowly stood up, feeling a bit numb.

"No need to rush like before. Just walk slowly."

"Same as before—if you really want to escape, keep going. Otherwise, forget it, and pretend I never said anything."

At this moment, Nene Arakawa still had the mindset of a zaibatsu heiress. Though she was much better than many spoiled, willful young ladies, she still had some pampered habits.

But it was manageable.

Hearing Firefly's words, and wanting to leave her family to gain precious freedom, she suppressed her physical discomfort and continued the escape.

"By the way, I don't even know your name yet?"

"I'm Nene Arakawa—you probably already know that."

Nene Arakawa followed Firefly to some unknown destination, but inexplicably trusted that she wouldn't harm her.

And along the way, it really seemed like those bodyguards hadn't shown up again.

Looking at this girl, who was even cuter than herself, curiosity about her grew in her heart.

"Firefly."

"That's my name."

Firefly's voice was so sweet it felt like eating a piece of honey candy—even Nene Arakawa couldn't help but be a little dazed hearing it.

"Firefly? What a pretty name..."

"We should be about far enough now. Those people probably won't find us anymore."

Once they reached the outskirts, Firefly stopped walking.

As long as she was with Nene, the Kurama Family would have a hard time finding her. Without her, given the Arakawa Zaibatsu's resources, no matter how far Nene ran, she'd be dragged back.

So running any farther was pointless. This spot was good enough.

"They really didn't find us..."

"Could this runaway plan actually have worked?"

By now, Nene had come back to her senses, looking around at everything. So much time had passed, and still no bodyguards had chased after them!

Had her long-running, countless-times-failed runaway plan finally succeeded?

It even felt a little unreal to her.

"It's worked for now."

"But you know the Arakawa Zaibatsu's strength yourself. As long as you're still within their sphere of influence, completely slipping out of their sight is almost impossible."

This was a modern world. As long as you left traces, you'd be easily detected.

After all, you couldn't just stop living.