Speedrunning Through the World Starting with Firefly

Kurama Neon, on the other hand, was a young lady born into a wealthy family who lived in a top-tier mansion, yet she truly did not mind a place like this.

She really was different from ordinary heiresses of wealthy conglomerates.

Then again, Kurama Neon's dream was to become an ordinary person.

Compared to facing her mother every day in that luxurious mansion—a woman with a deeply twisted desire to control her—this little house made her feel much more at ease.

Firefly lay down on the bed. It seemed she would not have to sleep on the streets tonight.

Still, she had not expected to find a place to stay this way.

"Firefly-chan, are you hungry?"

"It's pretty late. How about we go out to eat?"

Kurama Neon's voice came from outside the door. They had been busy until now and had not eaten yet.

"Sure."

The girl rubbed her stomach, looked at the untouched bread she had bought, and decisively tossed it aside.

Who would eat bread when there was delicious food to be had?!

Still, she needed to start earning some money too.

With that in mind, Firefly got up and left the room, heading to a nearby restaurant with Kurama Neon.

Obedient, Cute!

"Making money is so hard!"

Firefly sprawled across the table, staring at the computer screen. It displayed all sorts of job listings, but she found that there were not many suited to her...

More importantly, even if she found a job, she would not get paid right away. She would have to wait until next month.

The laptop in front of her and the cheap phone in her hand had both been bought with money borrowed from Kurama Neon.

Although Kurama Neon had said they were gifts, Firefly knew that Neon did not want to go home right now, and her money would run out sooner or later.

She was already grateful enough to be staying in the house Neon rented. Naturally, she could not keep taking her money.

She usually joked about wanting to live off a rich woman, but that was just talk. When it actually happened, she felt embarrassed instead.

Come to think of it, Firefly had never felt that making money was difficult before.

Even in her previous life, she could earn several hundred thousand a year by writing web novels, taking copywriting jobs, and grinding for others in games.

That was why she had been qualified to quit her job and laze around in her previous life.

Logically speaking, since this world lacked many things from her previous life, making money should have been easier.

But jobs that paid quickly were hard to find.

"Do I have to look for daily-pay work again?"

Looking at the little cash in her hand, she had already started working online, but the soonest she would have any income was next month.

So she chose to work as a daily-pay receptionist for two days.

Since it was a legitimate large-scale venue, nothing unexpected happened.

And the pay was pretty good—15,000 yen a day for six hours of work.

It was fairly easy, too!

Although the competition had been fierce, Firefly was selected without any trouble after she went there.

Speaking of which, the girl herself had never done this sort of work in her previous life. It was Firefly's memories that contained relevant experience.

Back in Penacony...

"Should I sell some used stockings to get through this emergency?"

She took out the stockings she had pulled before—Fu Xuan's stockings. There should be some perverts interested in these, right?

And compared to the stockings and clothes sold online as "used by beautiful girls," where people rubbed them on their armpits, stuffed them into shoes, or even had men pretend to be women...

These had genuinely been worn by the adorable Fu Xuan of the Divination Commission!

They were absolutely worth the price.

"Ahem, forget it!"

"If I'm going that far, I might as well throw away my principles and make money!"

If she really wanted to make money quickly, she had countless methods. There was no need to go this far. It was just that the values she had developed prevented her from making up her mind to do such things.

She was a law-abiding good citizen!

Even after coming to another world, she had not forgotten her original intentions.

Perhaps her moral bottom line would sink in the future, but not now.

Still, it was precisely because she could not let go of her principles that the girl had no money. Of course, the more important reason was that she had not been pushed to her limit yet. If she had not met Kurama Neon and gained a place to stay, perhaps she really would have taken that step that day.

"Firefly-chan, what are you doing?"

Just as Firefly was thinking about how to make money, Kurama Neon's voice came from outside the bedroom door.

"I wasn't doing anything."

Firefly closed the page on her computer, then went to the door and opened it.

She found Kurama Neon standing there, dressed very fashionably, as though she were about to head out.

"Neon, are you going out?"

"Yeah."

Kurama Neon nodded, then excitedly began talking about what she had discovered over the past few days.

"The mask you gave me is seriously amazing, Firefly! It's been so many days, and they still haven't found me."

"And even when I go out and walk through crowds, no one recognizes me."

This time, it seemed she had truly succeeded in running away from home. They had not found her again, though she occasionally still missed home.

But more than that, she was enjoying this time of freedom.

After all, only a few days had passed. It had not been long.

Once more time passed—one month, half a year... perhaps she would change her mind again.

"As long as you're happy."

"But have you considered that your parents might be desperately looking for you right now?"

Although Kurama Neon's family situation was complicated, there was one thing... they truly loved her. They did not see her entirely as a replacement for their deceased daughter.

"That's exactly why I want her to worry for a while. Besides..."

Kurama Neon fell silent at that point, her mood visibly sinking as she recalled her parents' behavior and reactions on every one of her birthdays.

Was their love for her "real" love?

Although she did not know that she was merely a replacement for Kurama Akari, the true daughter of the Kurama Conglomerate, or that she had been created by the Goddess of Creation because Kurama Kosei and his wife could not accept their daughter's death.

She had still keenly sensed something, which was why she always said that she wanted to obtain true "love."

That love was not limited to her parents, nor was it limited to a romantic partner. It was the love of someone who truly loved her that she desired.

"Let's not talk about that. I already sent them a message to let them know I'm safe! Nothing will happen."

"Of course, I left the message through a public phone in another area, so I didn't leave behind a single trace."

Kurama Neon smiled again and explained to Firefly that she had already reassured her family of her safety, as well as how careful she had been.

For now, she did not want to return so quickly to that home that made her feel so suffocated she could barely breathe.

"Rather than talking about this, Firefly, how about we go shopping? There seems to be some kind of festival nearby. It looks really lively."

No longer wanting to think about those upsetting matters, Kurama Neon enthusiastically invited Firefly to go out with her.

That was also why she had changed into her clothes so early.

"A festival? Sure."

Since Kurama Neon had her own plans, Firefly naturally would not interfere any further and agreed to her invitation instead.

Making money was not urgent for the time being.

"Wait for me. I'll go change."

After saying that to Kurama Neon, Firefly turned and walked over to the wardrobe.

After so many days, Firefly naturally could not have kept wearing the same outfit. Even if the clothes did not get dirty, wearing the same thing all the time would not leave a good impression on others.

Although Firefly in this world was indeed very poor, she still gritted her teeth and bought two affordable outfits.

Both suited her very well.

They were inexpensive, yet when worn by her, they looked as though they had been tailored specifically for her.

They brought out that pure, girl-next-door style to the fullest.

Sweet and adorable!

Like the outfit Firefly had changed into now: a pale yellowish-white shirt paired with a black outer jacket and a brown plaid JK skirt. It was simply too cute!

It made people want to pull her completely into their arms and never let go.

"All done."

"Neon, let's go!"

Only after making sure there was nothing wrong did Firefly walk over to Kurama Neon.

Compared to Neon, she looked more like the sweet, well-behaved little sister.