Starting with Fireflies, Speedrun the World

With direct official endorsement, what's there to be afraid of?

They were almost doing these things openly and honestly, although... well, they were pretty much there.

The people who were tracking Clara were working for a nobleman who had some connections with the minister. They were mainly responsible for usury, the sale of drugs like marijuana, and human trafficking.

This process also inevitably involves selecting suitable beauties with no background, either selling them directly to brothels or underground auctions, or offering them to the powerful figures above.

Whether these women who were targeted submitted or not, their fates were all tragic. Selling them to brothels was at least a better outcome, as it would at least allow them to live a little longer.

Even so, it was only a matter of prolonging its existence.

The number of clients they have to see each day is overwhelming. Those who don't cooperate are given addictive drugs to squeeze out every last bit of value from them.

This is the seemingly most prosperous capital of this thousand-year-old empire, but inside it is almost entirely filled with demons who wear human skin, eat human flesh, and drink human blood.

They knew very little about the ministers and Esdeath, only that Esdeath was currently fighting against alien races on the border.

"We've told you everything we know, please spare our lives, sir."

After telling Clara everything they knew, they begged for mercy once again.

Even if they die, that person won't do anything to a Teigu user because of it. Trying to threaten her with that person is completely useless.

“Mr. Schwarz…”

Clara didn't answer, but looked at Schwarzlo beside her.

Clara, close your eyes.

"it is good."

Clara obediently closed her eyes and covered them with her hands.

Then Schwarzkopf struck, his merciless iron hand crushing the two to death without hesitation. Even as a machine, Schwarzkopf understood the fundamental principle of eliminating the root of the problem.

It's a pity we couldn't find out the location of that nobleman.

Each time, it was the nobles who unilaterally notified them...

"Alright, you can open your eyes now, Clara."

After killing the two men, Swallow threw their bodies aside before speaking to Clara.

Clara opened her beautiful eyes, and all she could see in front of her was a pool of blood that hadn't dried yet.

"Go away, you don't belong here."

After saying that, Schwarz disappeared from sight once again.

Clara is definitely not suited to be here. It's not just these people who will be eyeing her. In the eyes of those forces, she is a top-tier prey. Whether they want to enjoy her or sell her for money, it's a good choice.

"I understand, Mr. Schwarz."

Clara didn't want to be constantly watched, so she turned and walked towards another area.

Clara was lucky after that and no one followed her anymore, although she always felt that there were quite a few eyes watching her in the dark.

Is it because she's alone and doesn't seem to be a local from Beijing?

Then, at that moment, Clara met Tatsumi again by the roadside.

"Tatsumi?"

Clara walked over.

Looking at Tatsumi in front of him, compared to the beginning, he had completely lost his previous confidence and instead looked like a wilted eggplant, having lost his vitality.

"Hey, Clara? What are you doing here?"

When he heard someone call his name, Tatsumi looked up and was surprised to see Clara.

"I'm going to find a place to spend the night."

It was getting late, so Clara needed to find a suitable place to spend the night.

I wonder if the capital city has a curfew.

Clara then asked Tatsumi about his situation out of curiosity, even though she already had a general idea in mind.

"Hey, Tatsumi, weren't you supposed to be joining the army? What are you doing here, just sitting there daydreaming?"

"Well..."

Upon hearing this, Tatsumi immediately felt embarrassed.

He had been so confident before, saying that when they met again, he would be a famous imperial general, but things turned out like this.

Although embarrassed, he still recounted his experience.

He had enlisted in the army thinking that with his abilities, he should at least become a general, or at the very least a squad leader.

Starting from the bottom rank is too much of a waste of time.

As expected, because he didn't understand the rules and didn't know how to bribe, he was directly dismissed.

But that wasn't the only bad thing. Then he met a kind-hearted man with a large chest who claimed to have connections in the military and could get him in as a general as long as he had the money.

So, the naive Tatsumi actually believed it and gave the other party all his money. The other party then said they would help him sort it out, but there's still no news.

It was only then that Tatsumi realized he had been tricked.

This infuriated and deeply affected Tatsumi. He had failed to enlist, lost his money, and didn't even know where to stay for the night.

“So… that’s how it is.”

Clara listened quietly to him finish speaking. It was normal that he hadn't succeeded in going to the Ministry of War; the girl had expected it long ago.

She just didn't expect that Tatsumi's money would still be swindled away in the end.

"So what are you going to do next?"

"I do not know."

"But it's definitely not right to slink back like this; the village still needs me."

Tatsumi shook his head. He didn't know what to do either. This was completely different from what he had expected. He had only just arrived in the capital and had already been taught a lesson.

You really can't just trust the people here.

Even though he was penniless, he didn't want to just turn back.

Then he thought of his two closest friends.

"I wonder where Sayo and Ieyasu are now. I hope we can find them."

Given the circumstances at the time, they should have arrived in the capital a few days earlier than me, and perhaps they have already found jobs.

If we can find them, at least we'll have a place to stay, instead of being completely destitute like we are now.

“Sayo, Iyeas…”

When Tatsumi mentioned his two close friends, Clara opened her mouth, then hesitated.

If nothing had changed, those two people would probably be... dead by now, right?

And he was tortured to death...

It's a pity that Clara didn't know where the nobleman's mansion was, otherwise she wouldn't have needed to wait for Night Raid to make her move.

Even if she's not good at fighting, she can ask Mr. Schwarz for help.

Chapter 12 The Development of Change

"Um... if you don't have a place to stay tonight, would you like to go find a hotel with Clara?"

After some thought, Clara extended an invitation to Tatsumi.

If I hadn't met him, it wouldn't have mattered. But now that I've met him and learned about his situation, it feels a little wrong to just ignore him.

As for whether her actions would lead to plot changes, and whether Tatsumi would no longer encounter that noble lady who enjoyed tormenting country folk, that was not Clara's concern.

She won't make any changes just because of the so-called plot.

If the plot changes due to some unexpected events, there's nothing that can be done about it.

"Is this... okay? But I don't have any money."

Not having to sleep on the streets would be the best thing for Tatsumi, but he awkwardly scratched his head. He didn't have a single penny left; that woman had swindled him out of it all.

"It's okay, I have it here."

Clara took out a lot of this world's currency, which she had just acquired, obtained by Swallow from the dead who were following her.

Although it's not a lot, it's enough to live on for a few days.

Tatsumi seemed a little embarrassed about using a girl's money, but in the end he didn't say anything to refuse, thinking that he could repay Clara double when he made money.

So the two of them continued their journey together, and found a hotel not far away where they booked two rooms to stay.

The cost of living in the capital city varies by area. Prices in the working-class areas are not outrageous, but the central areas are the prosperous areas where the rich, nobles and officials live.

Here, most of the people are ordinary citizens and outsiders like Tatsumi who have come to the capital to make their way in the world.

the next morning.

Clara and Tatsumi had breakfast together at a nearby stall, and Tatsumi seemed to have made up his mind about something.

"Clara, I want to go to the military recruitment point again."

He couldn't sleep at all last night, thinking about his situation and wanting to find Shayou and Iyeas, but the capital was so big that it would be difficult to find them.

Now that he's out of money, he feels ashamed to rely on Clara for financial assistance, given his pride.

It's better to settle down first, even if it means starting from the bottom.