Starting with Firefly, Speedrun the World

Simply having a house, a ticket, or appearing in public could lead to being discovered.

As a sponsor of the DGP Grand Prix and the foremost financial magnate in this region, the girl had no doubt about its power. Later on, when Nene Arakawa's father was arrested and imprisoned, that was only because the DGP organizers had abandoned this world—but this wasn't that period.

"Then what do we do now?"

Nene Arakawa wasn't stupid either; she naturally understood the strength her family wielded, and her earlier excitement faded in an instant.

"..."

Firefly thought for a few seconds, then something came to mind. She took out an item and handed it to Nene Arakawa.

"This is for you!"

"What's this?"

Looking at the object in Firefly's hand, it was a fox mask. Nene Arakawa hesitated a little—could this really hide her identity?

But since it was a gift from Firefly, she accepted it happily.

Whether it worked or not, it was still a rare gesture of kindness.

However, Firefly's next words made her freeze.

"Put it on. As long as you don't take it off yourself, under normal circumstances, it'll be very hard for others to recognize you."

This fox mask was no ordinary mask—it was a reward she had drawn before: Sparkle's Mask.

Although blue-quality rewards were almost entirely useless, that wasn't entirely true!

At the very least, this fox mask, originally belonging to Sparkle, carried a trace of the Path of Elation's power, enough to blur others' perception of the wearer.

"Really?"

Firefly's words made her a bit skeptical—was this fox mask really as powerful as she claimed?

But it just looked like an ordinary fox mask.

"..."

Faced with Nene Arakawa's doubt, Firefly didn't explain. She simply took the mask and put it on her own face. The next moment, Nene Arakawa was stunned!

The impression of Firefly's face before her truly blurred.

Chapter 17: My Hometown Was Destroyed a Long Time Ago

"Believe me now?"

After demonstrating the fox mask's effect, Firefly took it off and handed it back to Nene Arakawa.

"I believe you."

Nene Arakawa nodded quickly, still shaken inside!

It was incredible—this fox mask was really that powerful.

Thinking about it carefully, not only did it blur her facial features, but if she didn't actively focus on it, she could easily overlook the person's appearance without finding it strange.

It had a mysterious ability to distort perception.

She never imagined there could be such amazing things in this world, but that only made Nene Arakawa hesitant to accept it.

"Firefly, this mask is too precious! I can't take it."

If it were just an ordinary mask, she would have accepted it without a second thought. But since it was such a powerful item, she didn't have the nerve to take it.

"It's fine. It's not as precious as you think."

"Besides, don't you want freedom? With this, you can have the freedom you've been longing for."

Judging from her previous gacha pulls, something like this would definitely come up again.

Sparkle surely had more than one mask, and this fox mask wasn't even the one Sparkle usually wore on her head—the style was different.

So she probably had a stockpile, or it was just a mask she bought on a whim.

But because she was a Masked Fool, the mask carried a sliver of Elation's power.

Thus, a blue-quality item like this really didn't bother her.

With Firefly's persuasion, and since Nene Arakawa truly wanted freedom, she finally accepted it. But her gratitude toward Firefly only deepened.

Firefly was just too kind—she had helped her the first time they met, and now on their second meeting, she had helped her escape pursuit and even given her such a powerful mask.

She didn't know how to repay her.

If Firefly weren't a girl—and even cuter than herself—she might have thought she had met her destined one.

What a shame...

"By the way, Firefly."

Having shaken off the bodyguards and obtained the miraculous fox mask, Nene Arakawa was now completely at ease. She felt like a wild horse freed from its reins—light and carefree.

Even her expression and demeanor looked much better.

Gazing at the adorable Miss Firefly before her, Nene Arakawa recalled what she had seen earlier and felt a little curious.

"Speaking of which, why were you squatting by the roadside all alone back then?"

She hadn't thought much of it before, but now that she recalled it, Firefly back on the roadside had looked just like a homeless girl—kind of pitiful!

Speaking of which...

"Firefly, you're not running away from home too, are you?"

At the thought of this possibility, Nene Arakawa couldn't help but voice the question.

"Of course not!"

Hearing this, Firefly quickly shook her head.

How could she possibly be running away from home? Who would do something so foolish?

Oh, the girl right in front of her would.

"In this world, I... no longer have a home."

Head lowered, Firefly answered in a calm tone.

She wasn't lying. To this world, she was an outsider, and the original Firefly... had long since lost her home. In fact, before joining the Stellaron Hunters, she had been an interstellar refugee.

"Huh? How..."

Hearing those words, Nene Arakawa felt a pang of pain.

She instinctively covered her mouth, momentarily at a loss for what to say.

"You should have noticed by now—I'm not from here. I'm an outsider."

"In truth, my homeland was... destroyed a long time ago."

Even as she spoke of her tragic past, Firefly still wore a beautiful smile, but that only made Nene Arakawa's heart ache for her even more.

Her homeland destroyed, no home...

Why did something like this have to happen? She couldn't accept it. And that such a thing had happened to the kind and lovely Firefly before her...

"Wahhh..."

Firefly hadn't even reacted yet, but Nene Arakawa had already thrown her arms around her, on the verge of tears from the pain.

"I'm sorry, Firefly-chan. I didn't know..."

"Clearly..."

Compared to what Firefly-chan had been through, her own troubles were nothing.

And yet she was the one being saved by Firefly.

Really...

"..."

There was no need for such a big reaction, was there?

Firefly gently patted Nene Arakawa's back, instead comforting her in return.

After Nene Arakawa's emotions had settled, she rubbed her eyes and then looked at the girl before her with a serious expression.

Her tone was earnest as she extended an invitation.

"Firefly-chan, since you have nowhere to go, why not come with me?"

"Let's find a suitable place to live together."

She wasn't some naive, empty-headed rich girl with no plans. Since she had prepared to run away from home, she naturally had things arranged.

Otherwise, would she just go out and eat the wind?

Even if she had to find a job to support herself, she needed to have arrangements in place before landing one. So she had prepared plenty of pocket money—enough to support herself for many years even without working.

As the only child of the top financial conglomerate, her allowance was an amount ordinary people could hardly imagine.

Though most of it was in her bank account, she also had a fair amount of cash and some valuable luxury goods, jewelry, and the like.

"Huh?"

Hearing Nene Arakawa's invitation, Firefly was a bit slow to react.

But before she could say anything more, Nene Arakawa had already put on the Masked Fool's Fox Mask and was pulling Firefly along to find a place nearby.

It was getting late—they couldn't sleep outside, could they?

After an hour of running around.

In the end, Nene Arakawa rented a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment nearby.

Though the space could be called small, it was enough for two young women to live in.

And Nene Arakawa, this young lady born into luxury who spent her days in top-tier mansions, truly didn't look down on such a place.

She really was different from the typical heiress of a financial conglomerate.

Then again, Nene Arakawa's dream was to become an ordinary person.

Compared to that top-tier mansion where she faced her mother's twisted desire for control every day, this little apartment actually made her feel more at ease.

Firefly lay down on the bed. It looked like she wouldn't be sleeping on the streets tonight.

Still, she never expected to get lodging this way.

"Firefly-chan, are you hungry?"

"It's pretty late. Want to go out and eat?"

Just then, Nene Arakawa's voice came from outside the door. She'd been busy until now and still hadn't eaten.

"Sure."

The girl patted her stomach, glanced at the bread she'd bought but hadn't touched, and decisively tossed it aside.

Who'd eat bread when there was good food around!

But she really needed to start earning some money.

Thinking this, Firefly got up, left the room, and headed with Nene Arakawa to a nearby restaurant.

Chapter 18: Well-Behaved, Adorable!

"Making money is so hard!"

Firefly slumped over the desk, staring at the computer screen filled with various job listings. But she found that not many suited her.