And she was good at spinning in circles!
It could barely be considered a purple-quality item.
She reached out and felt it over. This puppet not only looked incredibly real, but felt almost like a real person too. Impressive.
This would do. Having a puppet to keep her company wasn't bad!
She didn't waste any more of her Points.
Her remaining Points weren't enough for another ten-pull, so Firefly stopped pulling cards and obediently exchanged them all for the power of the Destruction Path.
But the improvement wasn't that great...
"It's already so late. I need to find somewhere to stay."
With the important matters handled, Firefly looked up at the sky and realized it was already dark.
Without thinking much about it, she prepared to take the Herta Puppet to find a hotel. There were still plenty of functions this Herta had that she hadn't figured out yet and needed to study carefully.
According to her introduction, she possessed a certain degree of artificial intelligence.
Firefly wondered just how advanced it was. Could she create a website on her own, or break through the firewalls of major corporations?
Come to think of it, this world, including those Future People, consisted of data-based lifeforms. If it were a powerful enough AI, wouldn't it be able to erase everything directly?
Looking at it that way, if she had transformed into Silver Wolf in this world, she would have been much more suited to the job!
Thinking about this, Firefly arrived at the hotel entrance, felt around herself, and suddenly realized she had no money.
In her original world, she was used to casually heading out with only her phone. Everything could be paid for by phone anyway. And with what she earned, as long as she didn't get married or raise children, she had enough to laze around for the rest of her life.
She wasn't planning to get married either, so she could be considered financially free.
That habitual mindset had really made her overlook money-related matters in daily life.
"What do I do now?"
The thousand Japanese Yen she had picked up earlier had only been enough for a bowl of soba. Now, she could truly be called penniless.
If she'd known, she should have picked up some money for emergencies while in Jyamato Field. It hadn't occurred to her at all.
Waiting-for-God Girl
A single penny could stump a hero.
Firefly experienced that firsthand now. She had made it all the way to the hotel entrance, only to find she couldn't afford a room.
Although Sam was powerful, Firefly couldn't bring herself to rob someone using such immoral methods.
After thinking for a while, Firefly turned her gaze to the adorable Herta Puppet beside her.
"Herta, go get some money."
Didn't she say she was an artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence should have an easy time making money, right? Stocks, currencies, and things like that—surely, with the Herta Puppet's capabilities, it would be effortless!
Firefly was therefore full of expectations for this Herta Puppet.
She had been wrong before. This puppet really was useful.
However...
"Get money?"
Hearing Firefly's words, the Herta Puppet adorably tilted her head and froze for a moment before seeming to understand something.
"Get money, get money..."
The Herta Puppet swept her gaze around the area, then locked onto a bank some distance away. At some point, a massive crystal hammer had appeared in her hand.
She walked toward the bank step by step.
Seeing the Herta Puppet acting like this, Firefly immediately panicked. She had told her to get money—was she planning to rob a bank just like that?
That was absurd. Without another thought, Firefly grabbed her.
"Wait a minute, what are you doing?"
"Getting money!"
Herta answered seriously.
At the same time, she looked confused. She didn't understand why Firefly was reacting this way. Hadn't Firefly told her to get money?
"When I told you to get money, did I mean go get it like that?"
"There is money in the bank."
The Herta Puppet answered with absolute certainty, as if afraid Firefly wouldn't believe her.
"..."
As if I don't know there's money in a bank.
But just because there was money in a bank didn't mean she should rob it.
"I meant earn money legally, not rob a bank."
"Earn money? Can't do it!"
Herta placed her hands on her hips and replied with complete confidence.
With nothing at all, how was she supposed to make money?
Was she meant to beg? Sell herself? Haul bricks? It was already too late for that now.
As for technical work, she had nothing right now. How was she supposed to do that?
Make something out of nothing?
"Forget it. This is fine."
Firefly didn't make things difficult for the Herta Puppet. It seemed she really would be sleeping on the streets tonight.
After looking around, Firefly found a fairly decent spot: a small garden with a pavilion that could shield them from the wind and rain.
There was even a streetlamp beside the pavilion, brightly illuminating the area.
They would spend the night here.
Firefly lay down on a bench inside the pavilion. It felt a little uncomfortable, so she had the Herta Puppet lie beside her.
That made it much more comfortable.
The night passed without incident.
Nothing happened during the night, perhaps because public safety here was relatively good.
Still, since Firefly dared to sleep outside in a place like this, she naturally wasn't afraid of any danger. Whether it was herself or the Herta Puppet beside her, either of them was enough to make anyone with ill intentions regret it deeply.
Morning arrived, and the temperature had grown somewhat chilly.
Especially the cold morning wind. It was like an invisible blade, silently slicing through the stillness of the night.
The wind gently swayed the treetops, carrying away the lingering warmth of night and the dreams people had while asleep.
Though the cold wind carried a trace of chill, it also refreshed the mind. As it brushed across her cheeks, it brought a crisp sensation, as though it could wash away the exhaustion and dust of the night.
Feeling the cold wind, Firefly instinctively hugged Herta beside her tighter. But after a short while, she still had no choice but to open her eyes and sit up from the bench.
She slowly stretched.
She hadn't slept comfortably. It was nothing like her soft bed.
It was only bearable because she had a Herta Puppet with her. Otherwise, it would have been even more miserable. They didn't even have anything to cover themselves with.
When Firefly got up, the Herta Puppet beside her also sat up. Her expression hadn't changed at all.
In fact, the Herta Puppet hadn't slept all night. She had remained awake the entire time. As a puppet, she wasn't a living creature and was more like a robot, so naturally she didn't need sleep.
That was also why Firefly had been able to sleep here peacefully. With the Herta Puppet watching over her the whole time, she had nothing to worry about.
Daytime arrived, and pedestrians gradually began appearing.
When people passing by noticed Firefly and the Herta Puppet, most of them froze slightly. It was obvious that these two beautiful girls seemed to have spent the night here.
That was rather strange.
Such adorable girls weren't going home and were spending the night outside. Weren't they afraid? Or had they run away from home and lacked the money for a hotel?
That possibility was quite likely, because such things weren't uncommon in this country.
Many girls chose to run away due to family issues or rebellion. Yet they either couldn't or didn't want to earn money to support themselves, so they could only wander about.
Sleeping on the streets.
Some would give in to their families at this point and call home. But others stubbornly refused to return, gradually turning into so-called Waiting-for-God Girls.
Waiting-for-God Girl sounded rather nice, but it actually wasn't a good phenomenon at all.
Waiting-for-God Girls, also known as "girls waiting for God," were usually homeless and lacked stable housing or income. They posted their locations on forums or dating apps, seeking men willing to provide them with free lodging and food. Such men were called "gods" by the girls.
The term Waiting-for-God Girl originated after the collapse of the bubble economy.
At the time, many families fell apart, and poverty became severe, causing some minors to run away from home and become Waiting-for-God Girls.
As the internet developed, these girls began posting information on various social media platforms in search of their so-called "gods."
However, this lifestyle was neither safe nor healthy. Many people might take advantage of their plight to commit unlawful acts.
Thus, the lives of Waiting-for-God Girls were filled with danger and misery!
Someone like Firefly, sleeping outside like this, could easily be mistaken for one of them.
The only difference was probably that, compared to ordinary girls, Firefly and the Herta Puppet were simply far too adorable.
But that only made passersby pay even more attention to them.
Aside from those who didn't want to meddle and office workers hurrying to work, who merely glanced at them without stopping, everyone else had other thoughts.
Before long, a middle-aged man approached Firefly and asked whether she needed help.
The Runaway Young Lady
Although his tone sounded kind, everything he said implied that his home was spacious and that, if she had nowhere to stay, she could go live with him.
He could also take care of their daily needs.
His meaning was obvious!
Hearing this, Firefly rejected him with a dark expression.
But Firefly had underestimated the appeal of herself and the Herta Puppet. She had only just rejected and driven off the middle-aged man when other men began approaching them.
They all had roughly the same intentions.
When politely rejected, the more sensible ones left on their own.
But not everyone was like that. Some delinquents saw that soft methods wouldn't work and decided to use force. Ordinary targets were one thing, but missing out on beauties like these would be doing themselves a disservice!
But Firefly didn't even need to act. The Herta Puppet knocked him unconscious with a single punch.
She also searched him and took his money, only finding seven thousand Japanese Yen in his wallet.
"Poor bastard."
If he had no money, he shouldn't imitate delinquents. And he wanted to use force? He was an embarrassment to delinquents!
In this area, people generally used cash. It wasn't like Firefly's previous life, where everyone was used to mobile payments and didn't carry money.
Having only seven thousand Japanese Yen on him was far too little.
Afternoon arrived.
The weather wasn't very good. A light rain was falling.
Firefly crouched alone by the roadside to shelter from the rain, holding a piece of bread in her hand. She looked rather pitiful.