Without the slightest hesitation, Nene Arakawa nodded in agreement and cooperated with her for the photo.
"Thank you, I'm so happy."
"To think I'd run into Nene-chan here and even get a picture together."
Holding her phone to her chest, the woman looked utterly satisfied.
Then she noticed Firefly and Herta beside Nene Arakawa and greeted them with equally bright smiles.
"Hello, Firefly-chan!"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sara Sakurai. Firefly-chan is even cuter in person than you looked on stream."
The woman—Sara Sakurai—had not recognized that she had met Firefly before today. Or rather, she had forgotten Firefly's existence, though they had only met once.
"Hello."
Firefly responded politely.
Clearly, this was due to the DGP's management resetting the world.
Although no Desire God had been born that time, the destruction of the final boss, Jyamato Fortress, had still prompted the management to rewind the world.
"Sara Sakurai... Sakurai..."
Hearing Sara Sakurai's name, Nene Arakawa felt strangely concerned, especially since Sara Sakurai's face looked so familiar.
Before Nene Arakawa could ask anything, Keiwa Sakurai came running over from nearby.
"Sis, don't walk so fast."
Keiwa Sakurai carried the household supplies he had bought, looking a little drained. But the moment he approached and saw Nene Arakawa, he froze.
"Nene-chan?!"
"Keiwa? Oh, she really is your sister!"
Nene Arakawa was equally surprised. No wonder Sara Sakurai had seemed so familiar.
She was Keiwa Sakurai's sister.
"Huh? Huh?! Keiwa, you know Nene-chan?" Seeing her younger brother's reaction and Nene Arakawa's, Sara Sakurai was stunned.
She could not understand how her younger brother knew a wealthy heiress and famous internet celebrity like Nene-chan. It was too incredible!
"Um..."
Keiwa Sakurai scratched his head, unsure how to explain the DGP Grand Prix. It was too dangerous, and he did not want his sister to know.
"For various reasons, Keiwa and I have known each other for a while. We're quite close, too."
Nene Arakawa glanced at Keiwa Sakurai, understanding that he had not told his sister about the DGP and did not want her to know, so she did not mention the Grand Prix.
"Yeah, that's right."
Keiwa Sakurai hurriedly agreed.
"Ahhh, Keiwa, you never told me something this important! You already knew each other?"
Sara Sakurai smacked her younger brother on the back with both hands, a hint of complaint in her tone.
"Hehe..."
Keiwa Sakurai could only laugh awkwardly and say nothing more. His gaze shifted to Firefly beside them, and he immediately recognized her as the girl from the time they had eaten Tanuki Soba.
He had not expected her to be friends with Nene Arakawa.
Still, anyone who liked Tanuki Soba could not be a bad person. He smiled shyly and nodded at Firefly in greeting.
Firefly politely returned the greeting.
She did not dislike Keiwa Sakurai much. Compared to Geats, Buffa, Panda, and Sparrow... Keiwa Sakurai was practically an odd one out who had wandered into a group of idiots.
Though his later double standards toward the Creation Goddess and his kidnapping of Tsumuri, who had helped fulfill his wish, were somewhat unpleasant.
But he had been forced into it.
For someone who hoped for world peace and wanted to save everyone, the people he cared about most were still his family—his sister.
If nothing had happened to his sister, he would not have fallen that far.
Thinking of this, Firefly had an idea.
Nothing else mattered. At the very least, she would help him protect his sister. She would not let anything happen to Sara Sakurai!
Just as Firefly was considering this, Nene Arakawa, who had been talking with Sara Sakurai, suddenly froze. The DGP communicator on her suddenly vibrated.
Puzzled, she took out the DGP communicator and looked at the message on it.
It was a summons from DGP management for the participating Riders!
It was not only Nene Arakawa. Keiwa Sakurai received the message at the same time. He exchanged a look with Nene Arakawa, and both looked somewhat flustered.
"Um, Sis, something suddenly came up, so I'll be leaving first. Sorry for the trouble, but please take these things home."
After saying that, Keiwa Sakurai put down the bags and hurried toward an alley around the corner.
"Huh? Keiwa, what happened? Why are you in such a rush?"
Sara Sakurai could not understand his reaction. He had suddenly become so eager to leave.
They had only just run into Nene-chan.
"I'll explain when I get home. Please."
Keiwa Sakurai spoke without looking back.
"Honestly..."
Sara Sakurai was helpless, but she did not get angry at her younger brother. The siblings had a good relationship. Especially after their parents were gone, they could only rely on and support each other.
"Sorry, Sara, and Firefly-chan. Something urgent suddenly came up for me too, so I have to leave first."
Nene Arakawa blinked at Firefly, indicating that it was DGP-related and could not be exposed, then apologized to Sara Sakurai.
Same old tradition: a huge update when the story goes premium!
But this time, I'll be releasing thirty chapters directly tomorrow.
Yep, thirty chapters.
This time is a little better than my previous book. I still hope to keep writing it, and unless absolutely necessary, I do not want to rush into ending it.
Last time, there were too few readers keeping up. My first book had never flopped that badly before, but I still finished the final Sirin arc properly.
Honestly, books in this genre lean more toward episodic storytelling. I could easily add what I'm writing now directly after the previous books.
There are not even any free chapters yet.
Enough about that. The outlines for this book's first three arcs are complete, so it definitely will not fall apart.
I have not decided on the later worlds yet. As long as the number of readers keeping up is not too terrible, I hope to keep going alongside Star Rail.
If there are any worlds or characters you want to see, feel free to recommend them here. If I've seen them, I'll consider them.
Characters are limited to female Star Rail characters. I have barely pulled any male characters, so I really do not know them well.
"Future Diary," "Digimon," "The Legend of Qin," "the Marvel series," "Black Myth: Wukong," "Cyberpunk," "Honkai Pre-Civilization," "Rosario + Vampire," "Chainsaw Man," "Omamori Himari," "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha," "Cardcaptor Sakura," "The Boys," "The Creator," "Tokyo Ravens," "Tokyo Ghoul," "Hell Girl," "Wandering Witch"... these are all things I really want to write.
Lastly, since there'll be a huge update, please send some votes and blades, and most importantly, first-day subscriptions!
First-day subscriptions—that is, the number of people who buy the chapters within twenty-four hours after it goes premium tomorrow—are really important. They affect later recommendations and traffic boosts, so please, please, please, please!!!
The Preservation Light Cone—Stasis (1/30). Please subscribe.
Noticing Nene Arakawa's situation, Firefly showed that she understood.
"Don't worry about me. Go take care of your own business first!"
She had no idea why DGP management had suddenly summoned them. The Administrator's Driver was already in her hands, so there was no way for them to continue holding the Grand Prix.
Unless that original founder of the DGP chose to appear now!
"I'm truly sorry."
Nene Arakawa pressed her hands together and spoke to Firefly and Sara Sakurai.
"Huh? Nene-chan has something to do too?"
"But that's okay. If Nene-chan has something to do, go take care of it first! Don't worry about me."
"I'll always support Nene-chan."
Sara Sakurai did not understand what was going on. Both her brother and Nene-chan had suddenly had something to do, but she did not dwell on it. She simply smiled and encouraged Nene Arakawa.
"Thank you!"
After thanking her again, Nene Arakawa hurriedly left. Only after finding somewhere without people did she head to the DGP venue.
Watching Nene Arakawa disappear as well, Sara Sakurai finally turned to Firefly with a smile.
"If Firefly-chan doesn't have anything urgent to do next, would you like to come sit at my place? It's not far, and I happened to buy a lot of groceries. But Keiwa suddenly had something to do and left."
Sara Sakurai had a rather outgoing personality and showed no awkwardness at all as she generously invited Firefly to her home.
And she really had bought a lot of things, so much that she could barely carry them all.
"Um... dinner is fine, but you have so much stuff that it won't be easy to carry alone. I'll help you take it home."
As she spoke, Firefly took the initiative to carry several of the bags.
"Thank you so much, Firefly-chan."
Sara Sakurai hurriedly thanked her.
As expected of little Nene's friend. She was beautiful and kind-hearted.
Picking up the remaining things, Sara Sakurai led Firefly toward her home. Just as she had said, the Sakurai residence was not far from here.
Earlier, while Firefly and Nene Arakawa had been avoiding those bodyguards, they had unknowingly run all the way here.
Before long, Firefly and Sara Sakurai arrived at her home.
For Tokyo, a house like this was not small.
"Come in, Firefly-chan."
Sara Sakurai opened the door and invited Firefly inside.
"Excuse me."
Firefly took off her shoes and entered the house. She found that it was much the same as in the story, with no major changes. Though the space was not large, it had everything it needed.
It looked very cozy!
After they put down the things, Sara Sakurai hurriedly had Firefly sit down on the sofa to rest.
"Would Firefly-chan like coffee or tea?"
After washing her hands, Sara Sakurai found a cup and asked Firefly.
"Coffee."
Sara Sakurai immediately went to get some coffee, prepared it, and placed it before Firefly. Most homes kept some on hand for guests, though she usually did not have many friends over, so there was not much prepared.
After bringing over the coffee, Sara Sakurai went into the kitchen and cut up a plate of the pineapple and cantaloupe she had just bought.
"Miss Sara, you really don't need to be so polite."
Faced with Sara Sakurai's enthusiasm, Firefly felt a little embarrassed. She had not done much, only helped carry a few things.
Aside from inexpensive oranges, other fruits were very expensive in Japan.
Before you continue