Such an impressive puppet could never belong to this era. Thinking of Firefly's identity, Nene guessed that she, too, was a creation from beyond this world.
"More or less."
This Herta Puppet belonged to Firefly, and Firefly was one of the Stellaron Hunters, so the puppet could be considered part of the Stellaron Hunters as well.
"That's so nice."
Nene Arakawa carefully looked Herta over, liking her more and more the longer she looked.
Though she was no longer a child, she was still interested in dolls and puppets. What girl had not dressed up and changed the outfits of dolls as a child?
But she had never seen a life-sized puppet this cute, especially one equipped with artificial intelligence.
"Stop staring at me. Have you never seen a woman as beautiful as me before?"
After being watched by Nene Arakawa for so long, Herta put her hands on her hips and spoke to her with an unhappy expression.
This human really was making a fuss over nothing. What was there to see about a puppet? There were plenty of them at Herta Space Station, and those researchers did not act like this!
"So cute. Can I hug you?"
Rather than getting angry, Nene Arakawa found Herta even cuter like this. This was a puppet with artificial intelligence—she was simply too lovable.
"No. Don't even think about it!"
Herta mercilessly rejected Nene Arakawa's request.
"Okay."
Hearing that, Nene Arakawa did not insist.
She turned and returned to Firefly's side, curiously asking, "Firefly-chan, what can she do?"
"A lot. She has some self-defense capabilities and basic research abilities. She is also good at basic chores, like cleaning and making coffee."
"That's amazing. She can even do research..."
As expected of a puppet with artificial intelligence, Nene Arakawa no longer dared to underestimate her.
But was someone as capable as Herta really being made to clean?
Night arrived.
Firefly and Nene Arakawa chose to go out for dinner.
Firefly could actually cook, but there were only some simple ingredients and noodles at home. When she was alone, she could eat anything casually and did not care much.
Now that Nene Arakawa had returned, eating like that would be too plain, so they decided to eat out.
Fortunately, there were plenty of restaurants nearby. As for the taste...
Anything was fine for Firefly. Even if it tasted bad, she could still eat it.
However, on the way back after dinner, Firefly bought a small cake.
Now that she was no longer short on money, having a small cake every day made her very happy. Naturally, she could not skip it whenever she had the time.
"Do you want some, Nene?"
After taking a bite of the cake, Firefly came to her senses... then hesitantly offered it to Nene Arakawa.
"No, thanks."
"We just finished eating. I can't fit anything else in!"
Nene Arakawa hurriedly shook her head. She did not share Firefly's little hobby and was not that obsessed with cake.
"Oh."
Since she did not want any, Firefly did not force the issue.
Firefly rubbed her little belly. Her body had been modified, so she probably would not gain weight easily, right? There was no need to restrain herself too much around sweets.
"But does Herta really not need to eat?"
Nene Arakawa was a little concerned.
Although Herta said she was a puppet, she looked too much like a real person. Was it really okay that they had gone out to eat without bringing her?
"She's a puppet, so of course she doesn't need to."
"That's so nice."
Hearing Firefly's answer, Nene Arakawa could not help sighing. If she did not need to eat, she would not need to worry about her figure either.
"Hm?"
Firefly froze.
"Ah, it's nothing. We're home!"
Realizing what she had said, Nene Arakawa hurriedly changed the subject.
As she spoke, she pushed open the door and took off her shoes... then stepped onto the mat at the entrance in her short white socks. The mat had an antibacterial fragrance function.
Not only could it effectively eliminate odors, it also gave off a pleasant scent!
People generally did not wear shoes indoors here, only socks. After walking for a while, even without athlete's foot, there could still be some odor, so having this mat was much more convenient.
Watching Nene Arakawa go inside, Firefly also braced one hand against the wall, bent over, and reached down to remove her shoes.
Like Nene Arakawa, Firefly only wore a pair of mid-calf white socks that just covered her calves.
The snowy white stockings were clean and silky, their delicate fabric gently clinging to her ankles and calves like a thin mist draped over them, making them look like delicious ice cream.
But Firefly herself was already used to them and did not pay any attention. After taking off her shoes, she walked inside.
Herta was not in the living room. She was probably in the bedroom, though the lights were off.
Meanwhile, Nene Arakawa had already collapsed limply onto the sofa after returning home, holding her phone and playing with something.
Firefly took a cantaloupe from the refrigerator, cut it up, and placed it in front of Nene Arakawa.
Fruit in Japan was expensive, but now that Firefly was no longer short on money, she would not treat herself poorly over such a small matter. Still, she felt a little pained. She had no idea how many small cakes this cantaloupe could have bought her.
"Thanks."
Nene Arakawa did not care about that. She thanked Firefly for bringing the fruit, ate a small piece, then continued playing with her phone.
Checking the time, Firefly did not rush off to bed. She lay down on the sofa as well, curled into a ball, took out her phone, and started playing with it.
This phone seemed like it should be replaced too. She simply had not noticed before.
Because she had barely used it.
"Firefly-chan..."
After a while, Nene Arakawa put down her phone and looked at the girl before her. She seemed to want to say something, yet she hesitated.
Chapter 55: Streaming Together
"Wh... what is it?"
Seeing Nene Arakawa hesitate, Firefly asked in confusion.
"Well, um... um..."
Nene Arakawa was conflicted. She might be troubling Firefly and asking too much of her.
But after looking at the many comments on her phone, she still asked.
"Since I haven't streamed in so long, my fans have been leaving comments saying they want to watch a stream. So I was wondering, is there any way I can start streaming again?"
After saying that, Nene Arakawa looked at Firefly eagerly.
During this time, she had only recorded a video every so often and had not streamed in a long time. After all, streaming would expose her location.
Because of that, she had lost quite a few followers, though she still had plenty.
After all, she was a huge influencer with tens of millions of followers.
Nene Arakawa did not care much about making money. As the young lady of the Arakawa Zaibatsu, who could possibly be richer than her?
Streaming was to satisfy her emotional and spiritual needs.
Moreover, she cared greatly about what her fans thought. In the original story, she had continued participating in the Desire Grand Prix so her fans would not be disappointed, and she had only become a Desire God so they could forget about her.
Noticing that so many fans on Nene TV wanted to see her stream again, Nene Arakawa found it difficult to pretend she had not seen it.
"Streaming?"
That might be a little troublesome.
Hearing Nene Arakawa's question, Firefly hesitated.
Other things were easy enough, but streaming would definitely expose their location. She did not believe that the Kurama Family's people had not been watching their young lady's livestream.
"Is there a way? If not, then forget it."
Though she said that, Nene Arakawa still wanted to respond to her fans.
But if there truly was no way, she could not force Firefly.
"It's not completely impossible."
After thinking for a moment, Firefly gave an answer that immediately caught Nene Arakawa's attention.
"What way?"
"It's a little risky, and I don't know how long it can last. We can start the stream, then once the Kurama Family's bodyguards come after us, end it and shake them off!"
Basically, she would take this young lady on another escape. If Firefly went with her, they could definitely lose those bodyguards.
"Is that the only way?"
Thinking it over carefully, there truly did not seem to be any other option.
"Okay, then let's do that!"
"At worst, they'll take me back, and then I'll find another way to get out."
Once she was taken back, getting out would definitely be even harder, but to fulfill her fans' wishes, she decided to give it a try.
"I'll go with you. Then they won't be able to catch you."
Seeing Nene Arakawa's determined expression, Firefly reassured her.
Though Firefly saw this as nothing more than a young lady playing house, Nene Arakawa was still her first and currently only friend in this world.
"Thank you, Firefly-chan."
Hearing Firefly's words, Nene immediately hugged her, deeply grateful.
"It... it's nothing."
Held by Nene Arakawa, Firefly was a little at a loss. Fortunately, Nene Arakawa only hugged her briefly before letting go.
"When are you planning to start streaming, and what are you going to stream?"
The Runaway Adventure series had already ended. If she was going to stream, she would naturally need to choose something else.
Nene Arakawa had obviously thought about it already and answered without hesitation.
"Tomorrow? There's a fashion show in Shibuya tomorrow."
"A fashion show?"
"Yeah. There also seems to be a large auto show nearby. If we have time, we can check both out."
"Don't places like that require tickets?"
Could people just go and watch places like that?
Firefly was indeed a little interested. She had never gone to see one in person before. Besides that, she also had some thoughts about the auto show—she wanted to buy a car.
Having a car would be more convenient, not to mention she had a small wish.
She had not fulfilled it in her previous life, but now she probably could.
She already had the money.
That was, getting an Itasha decorated with Elysia...
Before you continue