Speedrunning the World, Starting with Firefly

Even her joining the Desire Grand Prix had been influenced by her father.

"Mm."

Firefly naturally knew what Kurama Neon had said, so she wasn't surprised.

What Firefly hadn't expected, however, was that Kurama Kosei had told Kurama Neon these things so early on.

Then again, she had already completely disrupted the development of the plot. It wasn't strange for Neon to learn about it ahead of time.

And judging by Kurama Neon's reaction, she still didn't know that she wasn't Kurama Kosei's biological daughter, but a life created by the Goddess of Creation.

Otherwise, she would have been in immense pain.

Under normal circumstances, Kurama Kosei would never have revealed that secret. He had intended to take it to his grave. He hadn't even told his own wife, Kurama Neon's mother.

In the original story, it was only exposed through the malicious actions of Beroba, a Jamato supporter and sponsor.

"I'm a little curious. Why would the Desire Grand Prix's management, beings capable of reshaping the world at will, choose to cooperate with the Kurama Conglomerate?"

The Desire Grand Prix's management came from the future. With technology far beyond anything else and the statue of the Goddess of Creation, they toyed with this world in the palm of their hands. Everything in this world was nothing more than a toy to entertain them.

Why would beings like that care about the power of a conglomerate native from what they saw as an "ancient era"?

It was something Firefly had never understood even when watching the show.

"Huh? I don't know either. Maybe they needed the conglomerate's help to minimize the Desire Grand Prix's impact?"

Kurama Neon had never really thought deeply about that question.

But that was probably it. The Desire Grand Prix's management had taken notice of the Kurama Conglomerate's influence, which extended into every aspect of Japan.

If the game environment became too troublesome, perhaps they would find it bothersome?

After all, before a Desire Deity was born, the deaths and destruction caused by the competition were real. So the Kurama Conglomerate was merely a front that could reasonably conceal news of the Desire Grand Prix without needing to reshape the world?

It felt a little absurd, though. Why would the Desire Grand Prix's management care about such things?

From their perspective, the world would be reshaped in the end anyway. It was completely unnecessary.

Besides, that was exactly what happened later in the story. There was no concealment at all—they simply began destroying the world over and over, launching apocalypse games.

"Firefly!"

As Firefly was still thinking, Kurama Neon placed both hands on Firefly's shoulders, her expression incredibly serious.

"Now that I understand the truth about the Desire Grand Prix, I absolutely won't allow our world to be used to entertain those people from the future."

"So I'll help Firefly fight the Desire Grand Prix's management."

After learning that the truth about the Desire Grand Prix was exactly as Firefly had said, Kurama Neon instead felt relieved. That meant Firefly hadn't lied to her!

Naturally, this made her even more determined to stand by Firefly's side.

A Chivalrous Hero Walking the Universe

"..."

Firefly was somewhat surprised by Kurama Neon's words.

Come to think of it, even after learning the truth about the Desire Grand Prix in the original story, Kurama Neon had still chosen to continue playing.

She had wanted to become a Desire Deity!

Yet now, she was saying that she wanted to join Firefly in fighting the Desire Grand Prix's management. That was rather...

But after thinking for a few seconds, Firefly understood.

In the original story, she had still desired to become a Desire Deity after learning about the Desire Grand Prix because she had discovered her true identity. She wanted to become a Desire Deity and make all her fans forget her.

In her eyes, she was a fake Kurama Akari, a liar. But things were different now. She still didn't know her own identity.

"Don't you want to become a Desire Deity and fulfill your wish?"

Though she understood Kurama Neon's thoughts, Firefly still couldn't help asking.

"It wouldn't be true to say that I have no wishes at all, but things are already good like this."

Kurama Neon shook her head.

She wanted to find true love and meet the person destined for her, but deep down, what she truly longed for was someone who could pull her out.

Now, she had more or less obtained what she needed, even if it wasn't perfect.

She was no longer as obsessed as she had been before.

"Then that's wonderful. Welcome aboard, Neon."

Firefly welcomed her.

She didn't expect Kurama Neon to do anything. But as a friend she acknowledged, Firefly only hoped that Neon would not become her enemy.

And that was enough.

As for anything else, Firefly had never considered it.

"So, does that mean I'm part of your organization now?"

"Uh... of course."

"Then... when can I meet Mr. Sam?"

Having received Firefly's affirmative answer, Kurama Neon felt a little awkward and embarrassed, but she still forced herself to take Firefly's hand and asked expectantly.

"Huh? Mr. Sam?"

Hearing Kurama Neon's request, Firefly froze, suddenly at a loss.

"Yeah! That Stellaron Hunter, Sam. He's in the same organization as you, Firefly."

Kurama Neon spoke quickly. Worried that Firefly might misunderstand—or perhaps worried about exposing her own intentions—she hurriedly added, "Um, I don't mean anything else by it. It's just... he saved me before, and I want to thank him in person."

"Uh..."

For a moment, Firefly did not know how to answer.

"Didn't you hate him?"

Thinking of how fiercely Kurama Neon had reacted toward Stellaron Hunter Sam after being wiped out by him before, Firefly could not understand why it now felt like she had some ulterior motive toward Sam.

"How could I? It was just because I didn't know what he was trying to do!"

Kurama Neon immediately retorted. The next second, she looked at Firefly with pleading eyes, acting cute like a kitten, her face full of entreaty.

"So, can I? Firefly?"

"I just want to thank him in person. I absolutely don't have any other motives."

"Um... we'll see! If there's a chance."

Not knowing how to answer, Firefly could only say that for now. The rest could wait until later. When the time came, she could transform into Sam—Kurama Neon probably would not be able to tell.

"Then you have to tell me if there's ever a chance."

"I wonder what Mr. Sam looks like under that knight armor?"

Kurama Neon was intensely curious about Sam's true appearance. Was he a sunny young man, a mature older man, or perhaps some kind of tough guy?

The mystery of knowing absolutely nothing about what the other person looked like made Kurama Neon look forward to it even more, like an online romance.

"..."

Firefly really wanted to tell her that Sam was not some Prince Charming from her fantasies, but a beautiful girl.

And she was standing right in front of her.

"Oh, right."

"Firefly, can you tell me what organization we actually belong to now? And Sam is a Stellaron Hunter, but what exactly are Stellaron Hunters?"

Once she stopped fantasizing about Sam's true appearance, Kurama Neon finally got around to asking about the important matter. Even now, she still did not know what kind of organization Firefly and the others belonged to.

But to oppose people from the future, possess power like Mr. Sam's, and have all those miraculous gadgets Firefly had taken out—they could not be ordinary, right?

Could they also be people from the future? Or aliens?

Or perhaps superheroes hidden in the shadows of this world, protecting it?

"...I can."

"You actually said it yourself just now. The organization is the Stellaron Hunters."

After a moment of silence, Firefly did not hide it from her.

"Stellaron Hunters?"

So the organization itself was called the Stellaron Hunters, rather than that being a title for Mr. Sam alone. Kurama Neon suddenly understood, but she became even more interested in the organization.

"Actually, the Stellaron Hunters have very few members."

"We travel between different worlds, with hunting Stellarons as our main objective."

"Travel between different worlds? That's amazing!"

It was just like some faction from an anime. She could not even imagine what it felt like to travel between different worlds.

She had never expected Firefly and the others to have such an extraordinary background.

But...

"What exactly is a Stellaron? A planetary core?"

Obviously, the Stellaron was the key.

Otherwise, why would they travel between worlds to hunt Stellarons?

"Not a planetary core, but something extremely dangerous. Stellarons are regarded as symbols of destruction, because wherever they go, they bring ruin and devastation."

"No one knew how many worlds had once been destroyed because of Stellarons."