Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [190]

Thursday, May 21st.

For Togawa Sakiko, this was an important day.

It was the day she had decided to completely abandon her hesitations—the day she would risk everything for her dream.

Starting today, she was the official leader of the commercial band project, ave mujica. Even though she was only sixteen, just a first-year high school student.

Sakiko wasn’t sure if she was truly capable of handling all of this.

She had confidence in her composition skills—enough that even if Hiyori was unavailable, she could step in for lyrics as well—but things might not be as simple as she imagined.

There were still two members of the band she didn’t know well enough.

"Yahata Umiri… and Yuutenji Nyamu."

As she left her house, her mind was entirely preoccupied with ave mujica.

It was as if she had forgotten that she was still a top student, someone who maintained her tuition through scholarships.

Right now, all she cared about were the members she had gathered.

Uika and Mutsumi were childhood friends—people she trusted not to cause trouble.

Yahata Umiri was a mystery to her. Today would be their first real meeting to discuss the band’s next steps.

As for Yuutenji Nyamu…

Just thinking about her made Sakiko frown.

Her first impression of that girl wasn’t exactly great.

From their very first meeting, Yuutenji had come off as aggressive—though, to be fair, her words had remained tactful.

Sakiko had already mentally put her on a watch list.

If Yuutenji turned out to be too much trouble, she would consider replacing her.

But realistically, that probably wouldn’t happen.

Out of everyone, Yuutenji’s motives were the simplest—she was purely chasing fame.

People like that were the easiest to deal with.

Which meant Umiri was the real wild card.

By the time she arrived at school, it was already a little past 8 AM.

Every morning at 8:25, there was a brief five-minute homeroom session, followed by a ten-minute break before the first class.

Sakiko’s plan was to use those fifteen minutes to finalize the mujica world-building notes in her notebook.

She had already sketched out some rough costume designs—mostly assembled by piecing together reference images she had found online and modifying them.

They were crude, but the vision in her head was far more intricate and detailed.

They fit perfectly with the gothic aesthetic she was aiming for in this project.

Just as she picked up her pen to choose the final set of codenames, the chatter in the classroom made her pause in irritation.

"Why isn’t the teacher here yet? Homeroom’s about to start, isn’t it?"

"Huh? You didn’t hear? There’s a transfer student today."

"Another one? What, are they pink-haired too?"

"What’s that supposed to mean…?"

A transfer student?

At first, Sakiko didn’t care.

It had nothing to do with her. Even if someone new transferred in, she had no intention of getting to know them.

She barely had anyone in class she could even call a friend.

But then, a realization struck her.

Her pupils shrank as a ridiculous possibility crossed her mind.

No, no way…

She had seen Tsuzuki Chihiro yesterday.

But hadn’t Chihiro told her she had no intention of going back to school?

…Wait.

How many of that girl’s words can actually be trusted?!

But if it was her—

"Quiet down, everyone."

"…"

Shit.

Sakiko felt like she had just been locked onto by a missile.

After those words left the teacher’s mouth, she barely registered anything else.

She couldn’t hear what the teacher was saying.

She couldn’t hear the excited whispers of her classmates, gushing over the beauty and elegance of the transfer student.

Because she had already locked eyes with her.

A girl with flowing, wine-red hair.

Their gazes clashed like an iron chain connecting them, and the flames in Chihiro’s eyes crept along it, threatening to burn Sakiko alive.

Tsuzuki Chihiro.

Why is she in my class?!

Hadn’t she made herself perfectly clear?

Hadn’t she completely shut the door?

And yet this shameless girl still dared to appear before her?!

"Hello, everyone. My name is Tsuzuki Chihiro."

Chihiro watched with amusement as the little blue-haired hedgehog trembled like she had been electrocuted.

The frustration she had been holding onto all this time?

It suddenly didn’t seem so bad anymore.

Yeah.

Watching Sakiko panic like this was delicious.

"Tsuzuki-san, your seat is—"

"Um, sensei."

Chihiro’s voice was the perfect mix of polite and sweet as she turned to the gentle homeroom teacher.

"Can I sit behind my little sister?"

"…Sister?"

The entire room froze.

Even the teacher looked stunned.

The students immediately started murmuring—who was this "sister" supposed to be?

Togawa Sakiko’s fists clenched tightly.

She already knew where this was going.

Don’t. Please, at least not here.

Togawa Sakiko begs you, Tsuzuki Chihiro—

DO NOT CROSS THIS LINE!

"It’s like this," Chihiro continued with a perfectly innocent smile.

"My little sister is Togawa Sakiko."

"I get nervous around new people, so if I sit behind my dear sister, we can help each other out."

You shameless liar!

Who the hell is your sister?!

She actually said it.

She really just declared it, right in front of everyone.

Sakiko could feel the stares turning toward her.

Not too many—since only a handful of classmates probably knew her full name.

But still—seriously?!

Tsuzuki Chihiro, nervous around people?

The only thing that girl was afraid of was eating raw meat instead of live prey!

"Oh, I see. That makes sense," the teacher said, nodding in understanding.

"Kikuchi-san, would you mind switching seats?"

"Not at all, sensei!"

The girl who had been sitting behind Sakiko—Kikuchi Rena—turned to see the adorable blue-haired girl looking at her with a pleading expression.

How could she not take the hint?

Without hesitation, she agreed.

Besides…

She really liked Chihiro’s face.

Even as a girl herself, she couldn’t help but appreciate someone who had the ultimate mix—cute enough to be a younger sister, but with a fiery, mature body worthy of an older sister.

It was simply irresistible.

"Alright then, Tsuzuki-san, you’ll take Kikuchi’s seat."

"And during lunch break, I’ll leave it to your sister to show you around campus."

---

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!