"..."
"Did you find any concrete information on her?"
Though he claimed not to care about this daughter, and even believed Nene Arakawa was merely Akari's replacement,
a bargaining chip to further the Arakawa Zaibatsu and marry into another zaibatsu, the government, or even the Future People,
he still found himself unable to stop paying attention to everything about Nene Arakawa, worrying about her safety.
Part of the love he had for his biological daughter, Akari Arakawa, had unknowingly transferred to Nene Arakawa.
So he had actually been keeping a close eye on Nene Arakawa's recent changes.
"My deepest apologies. We couldn't find any information on her. It was as if she didn't exist and had simply appeared out of nowhere."
The bespectacled man hurriedly lowered his head in terror as he apologized to Kōsei Arakawa, but there truly wasn't any information to be found about the girl called Firefly.
Even the Arakawa Zaibatsu, which directly or indirectly influenced all of Japan, couldn't uncover the slightest trace of her.
It was too strange!
"..."
They couldn't find anything?
Unlike his subordinate, Kōsei Arakawa's expression did not change.
He knew very well that there were many people in this world whom even the Arakawa Zaibatsu found difficult to investigate or oppose, especially after coming into contact with the DGP's operators.
Even the Tokyo government could only quietly accept it and dared not voice any objections.
So was this girl called Firefly one of those Future People as well?
Kōsei Arakawa stared at Firefly in the screenshot, lost in thought.
"Leave it at that for now."
Since she was connected to those Future People, this was no longer something they could handle.
Still, judging by his daughter's interactions with Firefly, they seemed to have a good relationship. It might not be a bad thing.
If Firefly truly meant to threaten Nene Arakawa, things would not be like this right now.
"Yes."
Hearing Kōsei Arakawa's order, the bespectacled man prepared to leave.
But Arakawa called him back and continued, "What is Madam doing?"
"Reporting to the president, Madam has already sent people to bring the young lady back."
"..."
Kōsei Arakawa was not surprised by that answer. After that kidnapping incident, his wife had become especially strict about watching over their daughter.
And there was nothing he could do about it!
It was even harder for him to try and persuade her...
Because he, too, had always felt guilty and suffered immensely over his daughter's death.
Watching the livestream, Kōsei Arakawa thought for a moment before saying, "Interfere a little first. Let them stay out a while longer."
With Firefly there to help, the people his wife had sent definitely would not be able to bring Nene back. It might even cause his daughter to end the livestream early.
Compared to that, he could use the livestream to learn more about Nene Arakawa and Firefly.
As for making his wife give up on bringing Nene Arakawa home?
There were certain reasons he simply could not voice.
"Yes."
"Now this is what you call a runway show!"
Sitting beside Nene Arakawa, Firefly watched the models walking the runway.
As expected, she still preferred Tokyo's fashion shows.
What even were the runway shows in Europe, America, and that academy? What kind of taste was that?
Still, this was her first time watching one from so close up, and she felt a little uncomfortable. Herta sat beside her with an expressionless face, completely unmoved. She had no interest in any of this.
Meanwhile, Nene Arakawa chatted with her livestream viewers from time to time.
The models were good, and their outfits were fashionable and beautiful, but for some reason, it still felt like something was missing.
Was it because they had seen an even more beautiful girl?
Compared to the lovely Miss Firefly, the comparison made the gap all too obvious.
Thus, the livestream viewers egged Nene Arakawa on to turn the camera toward Firefly, or hoped to see Firefly try walking onstage herself.
Seeing those suggestions, Nene Arakawa became interested and turned to Firefly.
"Firefly-chan, do you want to go up and give it a try?"
The organizers naturally would not agree to just anyone joining midway through.
But if Nene Arakawa was the one to ask, that might be different.
"No, I can't do that."
Firefly hurriedly shook her head. She had no idea how.
Go up there and embarrass herself?
"That's such a shame. I'm sure Firefly-chan would be amazing! I've already spotted several outfits that would suit Firefly-chan perfectly."
Nene Arakawa was a little disappointed after being refused.
She really wanted to see it.
This fashion show mostly focused not on revealing clothes, but on bearing and temperament. Those who could take the stage were famous models and celebrities. Ordinary people were not qualified at all.
No matter what Nene Arakawa said, Firefly refused to go up.
After the runway show ended, the three of them left.
Before leaving, however, Nene Arakawa actually dragged Herta off to have several outfits custom-made.
"How lucky. The fashion show's already over, and nobody came to bother us."
Looking around and seeing no bodyguards, Nene Arakawa looked delighted.
She had thought the bodyguards would spot her halfway through.
"Yeah, it went surprisingly smoothly."
Firefly also found it a little strange. By all rights, the Kurama Family should not have failed to discover her location after all this.
"That works out nicely. We still have a little time left, so let's go check out the auto show. It's nearby."
After searching on her phone, Nene Arakawa made the suggestion.
Firefly naturally had no objections.
However, before the two of them could reach the auto show, they had just said they had not run into any bodyguards when a large group of them appeared the next moment.
"Attention, everyone... We've found the young lady."
"The young lady is up ahead."
Having spotted Nene Arakawa, the bodyguard immediately used his walkie-talkie to notify those around him and began closing in on her.
"Sigh, they still showed up."
Seeing the bodyguards appear, Nene Arakawa sighed.
It looked like they would not be seeing the auto show after all.
"Operation Escape begins! That's it for today's livestream, everyone."
"Firefly-chan, let's run!"
After speaking to her viewers, Nene Arakawa ended the stream at lightning speed. Then she grabbed Herta and told Firefly to hurry and escape.
"Young lady, stop running!"
"Madam ordered us to bring you back no matter what."
Seeing Nene Arakawa flee, the bodyguards hurried after her.
"Follow me!"
Firefly swept her gaze over the surroundings, quickly made a decision, and led Nene Arakawa running in one direction.
They had numbers, but she had plenty of ways to shake them off.
And Nene Arakawa trusted Firefly completely, following her and speeding up.
"Information on the DGP Operators"
"We lost them."
After checking their surroundings, Firefly confirmed that the bodyguards were no longer following them.
"Whew, we finally shook them."
Nene Arakawa plopped down on a stone by the roadside. She could finally catch her breath. Sneaking out to livestream was really not easy.
Fortunately, Firefly was here. If she had been on her own, she really might not have been able to get away from them.
It was just a shame they had missed the auto show. From the way Firefly-chan looked, she seemed more interested in the auto show than the fashion show.
Thinking of that, Nene Arakawa apologized to Firefly. "Sorry, we didn't get to see the auto show."
"Huh? It's fine. There'll be another chance."
Though it was a little disappointing, Firefly did not dwell on it too much. There would be opportunities next time; it was not as though this was the only one.
"I..."
Just as Nene Arakawa was about to say something else, someone suddenly ran over from nearby, her tone overflowing with excitement.
"Nene-chan? You're Nene-chan, right?!"
"Huh?"
Nene Arakawa looked up and found a somewhat familiar-looking woman. She was quite pretty and seemed to be one of her fans, her face filled with excitement.
"Hello! I'm Nene Arakawa."
Nene Arakawa was also very happy to meet one of her fans.
She hurriedly stood up and answered.
"Ahhh, it really is Nene-chan! I was just watching your livestream. When those bodyguards appeared, I was so worried for you, Nene-chan."
"Looks like you escaped successfully?!"
After receiving Nene Arakawa's confirmation, the woman became even more excited.
"That's right. I escaped successfully again this time."
Nene Arakawa blinked cutely, brimming with confidence.
"That's amazing! Nene-chan, I really love your livestreams and videos. I haven't missed a single episode."
"Um, Nene-chan, could I take a photo with you?"
The woman took out her phone and looked at Nene Arakawa expectantly.
"Thank you for your support. Of course you can."
Before you continue