Starting with Firefly, Speedrunning the World — Part 15

Chapter 19: Let Me Treat You to Dessert? Consider It a Thank-You

"What's wrong, Neon?"

Firefly looked at Kurama Neon, who was staring at her without blinking, and tilted her cute little head as she asked curiously.

"You're so cute, Firefly!"

Only then did Kurama Neon snap back to her senses, unable to resist hugging Firefly directly.

The Firefly before her was really, truly adorable—like the kind of cute little sister who only existed in fantasies, the kind neither men nor women could resist.

"If only I really had a little sister like you."

After cuddling up to Firefly for a few seconds, Kurama Neon reluctantly let her go. She really wanted a little sister like this.

"Uh, I might be older than you..."

Firefly was not very used to Kurama Neon's behavior, but she did not resist either, only answering hesitantly.

"How could that be?"

Looking at the adorable Firefly before her, Neon could not believe it. How could she possibly be older than her?

"Don't be so sure."

"Sometimes, your eyes can deceive you too."

Not to mention anything else.

Just those people from the future—their appearances, even their lifespans, were all things they had set for themselves. They were definitely not as simple as they looked.

"Let's not talk about that. Didn't we say we were going shopping?"

There was no point to this topic. Her age in her previous life had been about the same as Kurama Neon's, but Firefly really was far older than her.

There was no need to say much more. Firefly changed the subject.

"Right, let's go shopping first."

Seeing Firefly change the subject, Kurama Neon did not think much of it and started talking about going out again.

Being able to shop freely, without bodyguards following her around and her every move being watched by her family, had always been something she dreamed of.

Now, thanks to Firefly's fox mask, she could finally experience this hard-won freedom.

As she spoke, Kurama Neon grabbed Firefly's wrist and pulled her out of the house.

Although Firefly said she might be older than her, with Firefly's current appearance, Neon still instinctively saw her as a little sister.

So she unconsciously acted like an older sister.

The streets were packed with people coming and going.

There normally would not have been this many people, but today was a festival at the local shrine, drawing a huge crowd.

They were enjoying this rare moment of celebration.

At that moment, the two girls walked through the crowd, chatting and laughing as they took in the sights around them... but to everyone else, were they not a sight themselves?

"So many people. It's so lively."

Kurama Neon led Firefly down the street, looking at the festival stalls lining both sides and the crowds passing by. The happy smile on her face never faded.

Walking beside her, Firefly also looked around curiously.

She had never actually experienced a Japanese festival like this. She had only seen them in anime and games, so everything felt quite novel.

From time to time, shrine staff passed by carrying various items, seemingly preparing for some sort of ritual.

Unfortunately, she did not see any cute shrine maidens. They were all male priests.

"Firefly, look at this... it's so interesting!"

Kurama Neon had completely immersed herself in the atmosphere by now. She pulled Firefly from stall to stall, eagerly sharing anything interesting she saw with her.

And Firefly actively went along with her...

Who knew how much time had passed? Kurama Neon was still not satisfied. It had been so long since she had been this happy.

Especially...

Kurama Neon turned to look at the beautiful silver-haired girl beside her. Being with Firefly felt so comfortable. How should she put it...

Although she looked like a little sister, she always seemed to be thinking of Neon.

Whenever they saw something or a stall had something on offer, whenever it came time to decide or choose, Firefly would always look to her. In short, being with Firefly made her feel incredibly at ease.

It was like having a little girlfriend who would listen to everything you said and always think of you.

Of course, that was not the right comparison. They were not a couple or anything, but it really did feel so nice.

At that moment, Kurama Neon even found herself thinking, why wasn't she a boy? If she were a boy and had such a cute girlfriend as Firefly, her life would be absolutely perfect!

"Firefly, I'm so jealous of whoever gets to marry you someday."

Firefly was so wonderful that Kurama Neon could not help sighing enviously.

"There won't be anyone."

At those words, Firefly's formerly sweet and obedient expression stiffened. She let out a breath and spoke softly.

She had no interest in that!

In the future, she was going to become an Aeon, and according to the system's grand promises, after seven worlds... the characters she transformed into and their abilities would permanently belong to her.

So Future Firefly was her own wife. How could she possibly let her own wife marry someone else?

"Eh? Why?"

Hearing Firefly's words, Kurama Neon did not quite understand.

What girl did not dream of her prince or guardian knight? For example, she herself had always looked forward to meeting her destined one.

But with Firefly's help now, she did not seem as fixated on her destined one as before.

Though deep down, she still longed to receive true "love."

"There's no particular reason."

Firefly did not explain. Then, when she noticed a stall not far ahead, she rubbed her little belly.

"By the way, we've been walking around for so long... Neon, do you want something to eat? There's a dessert stall up ahead, and it looks pretty good!"

"I'll treat you to dessert, okay? As thanks for letting me stay over and showing me around all this time!"

After walking around for so long without eating, she was indeed getting a little hungry.

Come to think of it, ever since arriving in this world, she had been so miserable. She could not even fulfill her basic wish of having one oak cake roll a day. Although this world did not have oak cake rolls, it did have other similar rolled cakes.

But she simply could not afford the luxury of having one every day.

She had to be frugal.

Even now, although she had worked for two days and earned a little money, after her previous expenses, she only had a few thousand yen left.

Still, it was enough to buy some dessert.

"Sure! Now that you mention it, Firefly-chan, I'm getting a little hungry too."

"Then let's go buy some desserts!"

Hearing Firefly's words, Kurama Neon found herself craving something as well. She immediately went with the girl beside her to the stall ahead.

Looking at the desserts on display, she found every one of them exquisitely made.

"They all look so pretty!"

As Kurama Neon admired the desserts at the stall, she was captivated by their appearance. Though each portion was tiny, every one was incredibly delicate.

For a moment, she found it hard to choose.

But since the portions were all so small, she could simply pick several.

So Kurama Neon quickly made up her mind.

"Boss, I'll have this one, this one, this one, and that one..."

"Boss, this one is so cute too, and this one!"

Kurama Neon picked out the little desserts she liked. The smallest ones could be eaten in half a bite, and since they were all so adorable, she could not help ordering more.

After she finished choosing, she turned to Firefly beside her.

"Firefly-chan, take a look and see what you want. The portions are really small, so you can order several."

Kurama Neon did not ask about the price. As a wealthy young lady, she generally did not care about such things.

She completely failed to notice that Firefly's expression had already frozen. Firefly reached for the little money she had on her, at a complete loss.

"Um... I suddenly don't feel hungry anymore. I don't want to eat."

Firefly looked a little unnatural. After glancing over the desserts on the stall, she tried not to look at them any longer and turned her gaze toward the owner.

"Boss, how much is her total?"

"I've calculated it. The total is 7,280 yen."

The owner did the math and gave her the number.

"..."

Hearing that number, Firefly fell even more silent.

Wasn't that a coincidence? The money she had on her, neither more nor less, was exactly 7,280 yen.

It was as if Neon had picked those desserts based on the amount of money she had. Luckily, Firefly had not ordered anything herself. Otherwise, she would not even have had enough money to pay.