Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [124]

"Ohh, so this is where you live~"

Rupa smiled as she took in the high-end apartment complex before her. Both the exterior and interior looked refined and luxurious—completely different from the small walk-up apartment she and Tomo rented together.

The contrast was… quite stark.

But since they hadn’t known Chihiro and Soyo for very long, and today was the first time they had actually talked properly, neither Rupa nor Tomo asked any questions about their living situation.

Just as they wouldn’t bring up their own pasts.

"Rupa, what are you doing?"

Trailing behind, Ebizuka Tomo grabbed Rupa’s hand, frowning as she lowered her voice.

Since Chihiro and Soyo were walking ahead of them, they had some time to talk privately before getting on the elevator.

"Weren’t we looking to form a band? Why did you suddenly agree to talk about Benishouga’s work?"

"Isn’t this fine, too?" Rupa replied with a smile. "We can use this to learn more about Nina."

"……"

Something about that phrasing sounded off to Tomo, like their intentions weren’t entirely pure.

But the truth was, she was hesitant.

Taking the step to meet Chihiro and Soyo today had been a breakthrough for her—a small step toward confronting her own unresolved feelings. Even if the outcome hadn’t been perfect.

But what if their next meeting with those three ended even worse?

Rupa understood exactly what was on Tomo’s mind.

That was part of why she had agreed to Chihiro’s suggestion and followed them upstairs—she didn’t want to miss any opportunity to find the right bandmates.

Opportunities were fleeting. If you didn’t seize them, they would slip away.

She couldn’t guarantee that everything would go their way.

After all, the last band she had been in… had failed to reach their dream of performing at the Budokan.

Inside the elevator, Tomo fell silent.

Meanwhile, Rupa and Chihiro started discussing songwriting.

"So right now, you only focus on composing? You don’t have a lyricist?"

At that, Chihiro glanced at Soyo—who, as someone guilty of plagiarizing Taki and Tomori’s work, suddenly looked very guilty herself.

"It’s not exactly a vacancy," Tomo interjected. "It’s just that we haven’t been satisfied with the lyrics we’ve written so far."

To Ebizuka Tomo, Benishouga was deeply important.

If they did form a band, she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to abandon it.

But in truth, the only reason they had even kept Benishouga going this long was pure stubbornness.

The elevator stopped on the 45th floor.

Since Chihiro’s apartment still wasn’t fully stocked for guests, the four of them headed into Soyo’s place instead.

After setting down the groceries they had bought earlier, Soyo—who had now fully accepted her "maid" role—went straight to the kitchen and brewed red tea for everyone.

"Thanks."

"So, Rupa, Tomo—what do you think?"

Since Chihiro wasn’t particularly invested in this discussion, Soyo had no choice but to ask on her behalf.

"Actually, Chihiro isn’t primarily a bassist. Her main instrument is the guitar."

She sipped her tea before adding, "And as for composing… she’s written quite a few songs herself."

"Is that so?" Rupa raised her eyebrows, a little surprised.

She hadn’t expected the bassist from last night’s performance—who hadn’t particularly stood out—to have other skills.

Honestly, she hadn’t found Chihiro’s playing remarkable in any way.

She was pretty, sure, but when it came to bass, there was definitely a lot of room for improvement.

Of course, judging a potential bandmate purely by skill level was a narrow-minded approach.

Rupa had already experienced one band breakup.

She knew full well that, aside from the pressure Tomo had put on them, their former bandmates had quit because they lacked the right mindset from the start.

A band depended on personality.

Even if every member was different, as long as they could find common ground through shared experiences, they could work.

Too many people claimed they wanted to reach the Budokan, but in the end, for most, it was just empty talk.

It was fine if band members had different dreams.

But if someone had no dream related to music, then why were they even playing?

"She’s only been playing bass for a few days. If you add up her total practice time, it’s probably less than three or four days in total."

After all, Chihiro had spent most of her time helping Soyo stir up trouble.

She hadn’t really practiced much at all until they confirmed that she’d be performing on stage.

Even then, it had been stop-and-go, constantly interrupted by various distractions.

Even before getting kicked out of Soyo’s place, she had a habit of disappearing every few days.

"Three or four days?!"

Rupa’s entire body stiffened.

She had been called a genius before, but this kind of learning speed? She had never seen anything this ridiculous.

"Pretty amazing, right? …Cough, I mean, it’s not that big of a deal."

Soyo had instinctively puffed up with pride after hearing Rupa’s praise—

—only to realize that Chihiro herself was just sitting there, acting completely indifferent.

Wait.

Why was she the one getting all smug here?!

That damn brat—couldn’t she say something herself?!

Why was Soyo the one boasting about her skills for her?!

Was she Chihiro’s mother or something?!

"Can I take a look at the songs you’ve written?"

"…I guess so."

Chihiro hesitated but ultimately relented under Soyo’s pointedly expectant gaze.

She grabbed Soyo’s laptop, logged into her cloud storage, and pulled up a list of her compositions.

There were quite a few.

Most of them leaned toward technical displays of skill.

And naturally, there were no lyrics.

From that moment, the four of them fell into a silent but intense exchange.

Soyo and Chihiro put on a shared pair of headphones, listening through Benishouga’s songs.

Meanwhile, Rupa—blessed with absolute pitch—stared at the screen in shock as she mentally played through the guitar compositions in front of her.

It was a mutual assessment.

Perhaps a bit transactional, but for a group with no deep personal ties, this was the most direct form of communication between musicians.

Even Chihiro—who had originally planned to humor her little maid for a bit before brushing this off—started feeling a little intrigued.

"Here. Your guitar."

"Eh?"

At some point, Soyo had slipped away and returned—carrying an old, well-worn guitar.

She smiled, setting it in Chihiro’s lap.

"Chihiro, play for us."

"…Play what?"

"Your songs."

Soyo knew that CRYCHIC, to her, was a symbol of the past.

A part of her still couldn’t fully let go.

But right now—right in this moment—she had something more important.

And that was—

Chihiro shouldn’t keep standing still because of the past.

As the one person who truly understood and supported her, Soyo wanted their friendship to be built on something real—not just some old contract or promise.

That way, no matter what happened with Crychic in the end…

She and Chihiro wouldn’t lose each other again.

This—

This was the true resolution behind Soyo’s words when she had once said:

"I’d do anything."

---

T/N: IS THIS MARRIAGE PROPOSAL???

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!