Starting with Firefly, Speedrun the World

But it should be enough for a bowl of noodles, right?

Firefly wasn't picky about food. The Oak Cake Roll, which ordinary people couldn't stomach, she actually liked and ate almost every day.

You see, this thing could absolutely never be called delicious. On some fringe planets, the poor would add sawdust to bread just to fill their stomachs.

That practice later evolved into a quirk among the wealthy class, a way to "remember past bitterness and savor present sweetness."

The Oak Cake Roll, as a product, was loaded with plant-based additives, resembling a piece of oak wood in both appearance and composition.

Only those with the greatest ambition and perseverance could manage to swallow it down.

Hesitantly, Firefly stepped into the noodle shop. When she glanced at the ramen prices on the wall, she relaxed—a thousand yen was enough for a bowl.

So she found a seat and ordered a bowl of the shop's specialty Tanuki Soba.

As Firefly waited for the soba to arrive, she noticed a familiar pair of a man and a woman...

Keiwa Sakurai?

And that girl who looked a bit like him—probably his sister.

Could it be this coincidental?

Seeing the two of them, along with the noodle shop, Firefly immediately thought of something and felt a little surprised. If her guess was right, this was the very shop where Keiwa Sakurai often came for Tanuki Soba.

As Firefly looked their way, Keiwa Sakurai also noticed her not far off. His face had been twisted in frustration as he told his sister about his recent job-hunting failures, but his words suddenly cut off.

So cute...

He came here often to eat, but this was the first time he'd seen such an adorable girl. At first glance... the girl's looks and aura perfectly hit his taste.

No, it was more like Firefly was exactly the type most men in this country would like.

Unlike other girls who showed off their unique traits and charm at a glance, Firefly's appearance could perhaps be called "ordinary."

To be precise, she was the kind of girl-next-door, the childhood friend type. The "white moonlight" in one's heart.

Not like those endlessly charming girls who felt too far out of reach.

Cute, fresh.

The perfect girlfriend template...

And a Firefly like that happened to be the favorite type of most ordinary people.

"Nene-chan is so cute!"

Sara Sakurai held her phone with both hands, watching the Kurama family's eldest daughter's escape livestream, constantly letting out sounds of delight.

When she had free time, Sara Sakurai loved to watch this young lady's streams.

Even setting aside her identity as a conglomerate heiress, Nene Arakawa was genuinely pretty and adorable.

But Sara Sakurai quickly noticed something off about her brother—he'd stopped mid-sentence. They'd come here to eat today to treat her brother, who'd been failing at job hunting one after another.

Sara Sakurai put down her phone, looked up in confusion, and asked her brother.

"Keiwa, what's wrong?"

It was then that Sara Sakurai noticed where her brother's gaze was fixed. Following his line of sight, she spotted the silver-haired beautiful girl.

"So... so cute!"

Seeing Firefly at first glance, Sara Sakurai let out an involuntary compliment.

Because she really, really was cute.

Earlier, calling Firefly's looks "ordinary" was only in comparison to the top-tier goddesses of Star Rail. In reality, no matter where she was placed, Firefly's appearance could still hold its own.

"She's so cute. Does she like Tanuki Soba too?"

Just as the owner set a bowl of soba in front of Firefly, Keiwa Sakurai grew even more interested. Anyone who liked Tanuki Soba was a good person.

"What, got a crush?"

Hearing her brother's words, Sara Sakurai couldn't help teasing him.

"N-no, I don't."

At his sister's words, Keiwa Sakurai panicked and quickly denied it.

"Don't talk nonsense, Sis..."

He didn't even know her, had no understanding of her—how could he talk about a crush? Besides, he didn't have time to think about that now. Finding a job was way more important.

Though it wasn't like there was zero flutter in his heart.

He was just being rational.

"Don't be shy. If your heart's moved, you've got to seize the chance, or you'll miss it. And my little brother is so outstanding, you definitely have a shot."

"She's really cute. I hate to admit it, but she's even cuter than Nene-chan."

"If such a cute girl could become my sister-in-law, that'd be amazing."

She really liked Nene Arakawa, but she understood that kind of conglomerate heiress had no overlap with their world! But the girl in front of them might be different.

Firefly didn't look like some rich young lady. A high-society heiress wouldn't come to a common noodle shop like this to eat.

So it wasn't impossible.

This girl was really cute, really beautiful—even she felt her heart stir. If only she weren't a girl herself...

But having her as a sister-in-law wouldn't be bad either. Then she could see her often.

"Sis..."

Keiwa Sakurai called out helplessly. He hadn't even found a job yet—how could he talk about chasing girls?

And he didn't know anything about her anyway.

"Alright, I get it! Just joking."

"But she really is adorable..."

Without pushing Keiwa further, Sara Sakurai picked up her phone and stood, ready to head over to Firefly.

No matter what, meeting someone here was fate. She couldn't just let it slip by.

"What are you doing, sis?"

Watching Sara's move, Keiwa felt a little nervous. Was his sister really about to do something?

"Going to ask for a photo with her, of course. Who knows if I'll ever run into such a cute girl again."

Answering matter-of-factly, Sara walked over to Firefly.

"Hi!"

Sara bent down with a smile and greeted her.

"Hi. Can I help you?"

"Um, you're so cute! Can I take a photo with you?"

"Huh? A photo?"

This wasn't a convention.

But Firefly didn't refuse. After a brief hesitation, she nodded in agreement—it wasn't a big deal.

Then Firefly watched as Sara leaned in beside her and snapped a picture with her phone.

Chapter 5: Mecha Sam, Combine!

"Thanks! I'm Sara Sakurai. And you are?"

Checking the photo on her phone and confirming it was fine, Sara beamed happily before introducing herself.

"I..."

Firefly was about to answer when the ground suddenly shook violently—but this clearly wasn't an earthquake.

After the intense tremor, a strange barrier abruptly appeared, separating Keiwa Sakurai and Sara Sakurai from Firefly.

This barrier was the Jyamato Field, unique to this world.

Inside the Jyamato Field, the final battle of the DGP Grand Prix would unfold. And within it, all Jyamato would indiscriminately attack humans.

Normally, ordinary people killed by Jyamato would be resurrected when the Creation God—or rather, the Desire God's—wish world was born.

But there were exceptions.

"Wh-What's going on?!"

"Keiwa!"

Staring at the scene before her, Sara couldn't comprehend it. This was far beyond her common sense. Especially that barrier, which had separated her from her brother.

She tried pounding on the field's barrier, but it was useless.

On the other side, Keiwa was just as panicked.

Just then, a horde of humanoid monsters appeared outside the shop door. They had human bodies and beast-like heads, looking terrifying, dressed like priests and wielding weapons.

They were Jyamato.

Before anyone could react, these Priest Jyamato charged into the Lizi Ramen Shop and slashed at the shop owner's chest with a single stroke.

The owner stopped breathing in an instant—killed with one blow.

This brutal scene was too much for ordinary people like Keiwa and the others. But he was even more worried about his sister.

Even with a barrier between them, Keiwa still feared the Priest Jyamato might threaten her and the others.

After a few frantic exchanges, Keiwa gritted his teeth and dashed out of the ramen shop first, trying to lure the Priest Jyamato away.

"We should go too."

Watching her brother lead the monsters away, Sara, despite her worry, steeled herself and grabbed Firefly's wrist to flee.

Even though those monsters didn't seem able to attack them through the barrier, who could say for sure?

But Firefly had no intention of leaving just like that. These Jyamato were her targets.

After being pulled along by Sara for a short distance, Firefly stopped and then sent Sara off.

Sara didn't think much of it. At that moment, she was frantic about her brother's safety, dialing the police while rushing toward the station—it was all she could do.

The two parted ways.

Back at the domain barrier, Firefly reached out and touched it. Just as she was wondering how to get inside, she found her hand passing through with ease.

That works too!

No need to figure out how to enter the Jyamato Domain anymore.

Otherwise, she would have had to force her way in using the Power of Destiny, or else do nothing but wait for Geats to clear the challenge and rebuild a new world.

To clear this world quickly, Points were essential.

The stronger she grew, the easier the difficulty would be.

Not long after entering the DGP Grand Prix arena, Firefly caught the attention of a squad of Jyamato.

Staring at the Jyamato before her, Firefly, like those Kamen Riders, didn't rush to transform.

Instead, she prepared to fight in her base form first, to see how strong she was without using Sam's power.

It shouldn't be too hard. Back when Ace Ukiyo was in high school, he once encountered Jyamato causing chaos. Not only did he feel no fear, but he also took down all the Jyamato with his bare hands.

Afterward, Tsumuri found him, gave him the Desire Driver and Geats ID Core, and he officially became Kamen Rider Geats.

Empowered by the Destruction Path, she naturally wouldn't lose to Ace Ukiyo.

As she watched, a Jyamato swung its blade at her. In Firefly's eyes, its movements were unbearably slow. As if she had gained a cat's vision, she dodged the attack with ease.

Then, clenching her small fist, she punched the Jyamato. A burst of overwhelming force erupted... and with one blow, she killed the Jyamato before her.