Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [126]

"Nada."

After a brief moment of silence, Nagasaki Soyo flatly rejected the idea.

Was this some kind of joke? There was no way she was singing. She had never practiced before, and her voice… it wasn’t exactly suited for a lead vocalist, was it?

"It’s fine, Soyo. When you’re not forcing your voice into that fake tone, I actually think you sound really nice."

"That’s not the point. I can’t sing."

"Really now?"

Tsuzuki Chihiro set her guitar down and assumed her signature pose—crossing one leg over the other.

Wearing a smug, almost arrogant expression, she looked straight at Soyo and said,

"Soyo-san, don’t forget our agreement. And besides, your current identity is my per—mmpf?!"

Before Rupa and Tomo could even register what had happened, a blur flashed before their eyes.

In the blink of an eye, Soyo—who had been seated a good two to three meters away—had somehow appeared behind Chihiro, her hands clamped tightly over her mouth.

She was fast.

With reflexes like that, she could probably deliver takeout orders without ever getting a customer complaint.

"You little—honestly, I can’t believe you."

Wiping her hand on her clothes—Chihiro’s saliva was on it now, gross—Soyo sighed in exasperation as she looked down at the self-satisfied gremlin beneath her.

"Agreement."

At first, hearing that word made Soyo instinctively think of the contract from before.

But no—Chihiro was talking about that agreement.

The one where Soyo had promised to do anything for her.

Damn it.

If she had known this was going to happen, she would have added some conditions back then!

When she had tried saying the same thing to Sakiko, Sakiko hadn’t agreed, so she hadn’t thought much of it.

But Chihiro had actually accepted it—so now she was stuck with this absolute nightmare of a deal!

Just imagine—

If, back then, instead of saying the words she had, she had gone with something a bit more specific:

"What will it take for you to come back? As long as it’s something I can do—within the legal framework of Japan, involving a single payment no higher than 100,000 yen, within Tokyo city limits, and lasting no more than a month—I’d do anything!"

If she had phrased it like that, even if Sakiko had agreed, she wouldn’t have ended up in a mess like this.

…Then again, if she had actually said all that, anyone listening would have just given her a look that screamed, Are you stupid?

"Soyo, trust me. This is part of the plan."

"…The plan?"

Soyo furrowed her brows.

She knew what "plan" Chihiro was referring to, but she couldn’t immediately see how this connected to it.

"Fine, whatever. I’ll do it."

"Great! In that case, Tomo and I would be happy to have you both join us. Let’s start by making a group chat."

"Then tomorrow night, after Tomo and I get off work, Chihiro and Soyo, you two can come over to my place so we can go over the details."

Rupa’s smile was warm and welcoming, and she truly had no objections to Soyo joining them.

After all, Tomo had been the one handling the vocals before.

And to be honest, Tomo’s voice wasn’t exactly standout.

Having Soyo take over as the vocalist would not only lessen Tomo’s burden but also allow her to focus more on keyboard arrangements.

It was already getting late.

Although today hadn’t gone quite as planned, Rupa considered the outcome far from disappointing.

In fact, it had been a rather pleasant surprise.

After their guests left, Soyo set down the large head of cabbage she had been holding, then turned to Chihiro with a frown.

"Why me? You know I’m not interested in this."

"Not interested?"

Chihiro raised an eyebrow.

But before she could say anything, Soyo quickly added,

"I never said I couldn’t develop an interest. And besides, I already agreed."

Thinking about it, maybe she was just resistant to new things.

Maybe she just didn’t like things she couldn’t control.

Ever since coming back, Soyo had felt an overwhelming sense of certainty.

After all, she knew what was going to happen—she held the future in her hands.

But the moment she brought Chihiro onto her side, everything changed.

Haruhikage wasn’t played.

Sakiko didn’t run off crying.

Hell, she had missed the entire live show because she had faked being sick and slept through it.

Now, Taki’s band was in an awkward limbo—hiding under the pretense of celebrating the live’s completion while actually freezing all activity.

But everyone knew.

There was nothing worth celebrating.

Soyo was at a loss.

She had no idea what anyone was thinking anymore.

Coming back had changed everything.

And it was all because—

Instead of being alone, she now had Chihiro in her corner.

But…

That was also the one thing she didn’t regret.

She understood now—

The reason she had once begged Chihiro to stay, the reason she had humbled herself and pleaded—

It wasn’t just because of CRYCHIC.

It was because Chihiro was the only one standing beside her.

So what if everything had changed?

At least now, she had a reason to grow closer to Chihiro.

Looking at her—completely unaware of these thoughts—Soyo felt her lips curl into a faint smile.

At this point, she didn’t even care if Chihiro kept treating her like a maid.

In fact, if there ever came a day when Chihiro didn’t need her anymore…

That was what truly terrified her.

No.

She had to find a way to make sure Chihiro always had a reason to keep her around.

Knowing Chihiro, she loved messing with Soyo—loved watching her struggle.

And sometimes, she got carried away—like when she had been kicked out of Soyo’s house.

That definitely hadn’t been part of her plan.

So Soyo needed to give her something to hold over her.

Something she didn’t care about—

But something Chihiro would think was a big deal.

With that in mind, Soyo put on her coldest, most indifferent expression.

"Fine. This is the last time. I’ll agree to sing."

"But I won’t wear a maid outfit."

"And I won’t keep being your maid."

"Unless—"

Her gaze sharpened.

"You give me a reason I can’t refuse."

Come on, Chihiro. Show me how evil you really are.

"Oh?"

Chihiro’s smile was sickeningly sweet.

With the warmth of an angel, she cooed,

"You know, Soyo, the other day when you were losing your mind outside my apartment—scratching at your head, jumping around like a lunatic—"

"I recorded everything."

"…What?"

"Not only that, but RiNG? It’s actually owned by my family."

"So if I happened to put that footage on the big screen at RiNG as an advertisement—maybe even edit in some normal clips of you for contrast—"

"And then strike a deal with a local mental health clinic for sponsorship…"

"What do you think?"

"Sounds like a fantastic marketing campaign, don’t you agree?"

"Ah, but I do wonder—how would your friends react?"

"……YOU WHAT?!"

Wait, wait, hold on!

Where was the harmless leverage she had been expecting?!

How did it turn into something actually life-destroying?!

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T/N: Soyo... this isn't an... eroge...

This is a fan translation of 素世同学，恭喜你被我优化了 by 杰克喵. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!