Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [123]

"Sorry, sorry. She’s just like that—don’t take it personally."

Tsuzuki Chihiro smiled at the two girls across the table—Rupa, who seemed unfazed by Soyo’s comment, and Tomo, who was already looking a little annoyed.

Under the table, Chihiro retaliated with a firm pinch to Soyo’s thigh while keeping up her polite front.

"Let me introduce ourselves. I’m Tsuzuki Chihiro, and she’s Nagasaki Soyo."

"……"

Soyo remained silent, but Chihiro took that as a sign that she was done causing trouble.

"So, I have a question. When you say collaboration, what exactly do you mean?"

"Your band, of course!"

"Our band?" Chihiro turned her gaze to the cute-looking girl sitting directly across from her. "But… I was already planning to quit that band."

"What?!"

Ebizuka Tomo stared at Chihiro in disbelief, her big eyes filled with shock and confusion.

She hadn’t expected that answer at all.

"Ah… Maybe ‘quit’ isn’t the right word—it makes it sound like I’m being unreasonable. To put it more accurately… I never really intended to be in a band."

"I just helped out because Nina and the others are my friends. It was a temporary thing."

"Chihiro leaned back casually."

"So if you two want to be in a band, you should just go talk to them directly. They’re still missing a bassist and a keyboardist. Sounds like you two would be a perfect fit."

"The keyboard part from yesterday… so it was pre-recorded?"

"What else? Did you think there was a ghost playing it from the shadows?"

"……"

Tomo suddenly felt like her initial impression of Tsuzuki Chihiro had been completely off the mark.

This girl had such a sweet, gentle appearance, yet the way she spoke was oddly infuriating.

…Then again, maybe Tomo herself wasn’t all that different.

"I have a question… That person—was it Togawa Sakiko?"

"Eh?"

Not only was Chihiro surprised, but even Soyo nearly lost her balance in her seat.

"How do you know it was her?"

"I saw her in the audience that night."

Tomo recalled fragments of her past.

Back then, she had been a proper ojou-sama, a sheltered young lady from a well-off family. But once she discovered certain things about her household that she couldn’t accept, she had chosen to leave.

Before that, however, she had participated in numerous piano competitions. And every single time, her biggest rival had been Togawa Sakiko.

They were never close friends. Their conversations had never gone beyond surface-level discussions about competitions and piano.

But during those years, they had always kept an eye on each other’s performances.

After Tomo dropped out of school to pursue music in a different way, she hadn’t seen Sakiko since.

Had Sakiko continued down the classical path? Had she gone even further beyond? Had she left Tomo completely in the dust?

Tomo didn’t voice any of these thoughts aloud. Instead, she kept her explanation vague, calling it nothing more than a guess.

But even that was enough to leave a certain tea-haired girl feeling restless.

"That reminds me… why?"

"Why what?"

Tomo fixed her gaze on Chihiro’s eyes, unwilling to let the matter drop.

"Why didn’t you stay? Did they not invite you? Or was it that you…"

"Tomo."

Rupa cut her off. And Tomo, for once, obediently fell silent.

"Since that’s how it is, there’s no need to push the issue. We’re grateful you shared this with us."

There was no point in forcing anything. Besides, they had already gathered useful information.

Next time they met the remaining three band members, they could simply bring up the collaboration again.

"Um…"

At that moment, the previously confrontational Nagasaki Soyo suddenly spoke up.

Her expression was complicated—both conflicted and resolute.

"Benishouga… You’re a composition team, right? I just looked you up online—you were pretty popular for a while, though you never showed your faces."

Soyo hadn’t spoken up just to make a fuss.

Sure, her emotions had flared earlier, but deep down, her agitation came from a subtle unease.

And in those brief moments of silence, while part of her thoughts had been occupied by Sakiko, she had also been considering something else entirely.

What should she and Chihiro do from now on?

For Soyo, Anon’s band wasn’t something she could return to anytime soon.

Not because of anything in particular—just that she didn’t know how to face those people right now.

Or even what to think about that band, for that matter.

But those were her personal struggles.

What about Chihiro?

During dinner at Tsuzuki Grandma’s house, Soyo had picked up bits and pieces about Chihiro’s situation.

Adding that to what she already knew, she had reached a conclusion—

Deep down, Chihiro still wanted to play guitar.

Even if the contract was no longer in effect… even if Chihiro still planned to impersonate her and attempt to bring CRYCHIC back…

What about after that?

"That’s right," Rupa tilted her head slightly, studying Soyo with narrowed eyes.

"Can I discuss this with her first?"

"Ah… go ahead."

With permission granted, Soyo wasted no time.

She grabbed the still-confused Chihiro by the wrist and dragged her straight toward the restroom.

"Wait, why do you people always head to the bathroom when you have something serious to talk about?!"

"What do you mean, ‘you people’?"

"N-Never mind."

"Chihiro…"

Soyo’s voice turned cool and serious—completely different from how she had sounded in front of the other two.

"You do want to play guitar, don’t you?"

"Uh… Why would you think that?"

"Because no bassist who actually loves bass would constantly crack bass-related jokes just to get a rise out of another bassist."

"…That’s your reasoning?"

"And that tiny girl—she knows Sakiko. I think we could use her to—"

"How do you know they’re close? If they were, she wouldn’t have called her by her full name. And anyway, I’m busy, I don’t have time—"

"Bottom line!" Soyo cut her off.

"I want you to work with them on writing music. A bassist, a keyboardist… and a guitarist."

She watched as Chihiro hesitated, looking slightly tempted.

Soyo pressed further.

"And besides, Chihiro, you’ve moved out now. You’re not in school. You can’t just keep relying on your family for money forever."

"You need a part-time job.

"Even if you don’t consider them, you should at least think about what you need to do from now on."

"……Are you saying you’re afraid I won’t be able to support you as my maid?"

"If that’s how you want to interpret it, I won’t stop you."

Click.

At that moment, the stall door beside them swung open.

A woman, clearly an adult, stood there, looking extremely awkward.

She shot a strange glance at the "master and maid duo" before quickly hurrying away.

"……We’re doomed."

Seeing Soyo’s absolutely mortified expression, Chihiro burst into laughter.

"Alright, alright. No need to act like it’s the end of the world."

She ruffled Soyo’s hair teasingly.

"I’ll go talk to them. Happy now?"

---

T/N: hjeheheheh

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!