Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [189]

"I'm home."

"Ah, it's little Chihiro~"

Nagasaki Rina’s bright and cheerful voice rang through the house, the kind of voice that made it impossible not to smile.

But on the couch, arms crossed and wearing an unmistakable pout, sat Nagasaki Soyo—who, for some reason, looked like she was in a terrible mood.

"Rina-chan, it smells amazing~"

"I was waiting for your good news! I made lots of delicious food for our little Chihiro—aren't you happy?"

"Hehe, of course I am."

"Mom!" Nagasaki Soyo, sensing the increasingly blatant favoritism, rolled her eyes at Chihiro before grumbling in protest. "I'm your daughter!"

"You lazy little thing. You don't even help your poor mother with housework. The moment you come home, you disappear—who knows where you run off to?"

Run off?

She had spent hours doing housework—so much that her back was sore!

The only issue was… she hadn't done it here, in this apartment.

She had been cleaning the one next door.

"Rina-chan, how’s work going?"

"Same as always…" Nagasaki Rina, who never really treated Chihiro like a kid, sighed like one as she started venting. "I heard that young lady already found all the members she needed. That really surprised me—I didn’t think a high schooler could be that efficient."

"Does that mean Rina-chan is going to get busy soon?"

"Not at all." Nagasaki Rina untied her apron, calling Soyo over to help serve the food while grumbling in frustration. "The clients made it clear—we’re just here to assist. No decision-making, no risk assessments."

"Even if they lose money in the end, they won’t hold our company accountable."

"Oh?"

Tsuzuki Chihiro narrowed her eyes.

Something about this… felt off.

No—this was past suspicious. It wasn’t even being disguised.

Earlier in the car, she had gotten a general idea of this project.

From what Rina had described, this was not a small-scale band project. The financiers clearly had strong backing, and since they had reached out to Rina’s company, it was likely to take advantage of their media connections.

But for a project of this scale, this level of carelessness made no sense.

It was as if some rich big-shot was just throwing money into a pond—not because they expected returns, but because they wanted their kid to see the difference between ripples in Tokyo Bay and ripples in an artificial lake.

So much money to burn…

If they’re just wasting it, why not donate it to me instead?

"Chihiro, did you get your exam results yet?"

"Hm? Yeah, I did. See—there’s my uniform for tomorrow." Tsuzuki Chihiro pointed at the package on the couch that she had casually tossed aside.

"You actually passed?"

"Eh?"

Chihiro’s eyes narrowed slightly, making Soyo flinch instinctively. "Soyo, you really wanted me to fail, huh?"

"Th-that’s not true."

Of course she had wanted that.

That way, if Chihiro couldn’t go to Haneoka, she would have no choice but to come to Tsukinomori instead.

But now that her little scheme had fallen apart, there was nothing left to say.

As for the whole band business that her mom and Chihiro were talking about—what did that have to do with her?

A commercial band was far removed from their world as high schoolers.

She figured Chihiro was just acting like a know-it-all in front of her mom. If she had to actually choose, she would obviously pick the band they had just named MyGO a few days ago.

And, of course, there was Benishoga, who was scheduled to announce their next song today.

"Oh, right, Chihiro."

As if she had just remembered something, Nagasaki Rina turned to Chihiro.

"You and Soyo were running that online band, weren’t you? How did the song Soyo sang do?"

"It did pretty well."

"…Now it's just me and Chihiro left."

"I see."

Nagasaki Rina’s eyes flickered slightly, but she didn’t say anything else.

She had been keeping an eye on Benishoga’s video.

In fact, when the video of her daughter singing was posted, she even had a few of her employees leave anonymous comments praising her voice.

But that wasn’t the interesting part.

What was interesting was that the person who had written the lyrics for Soyo’s song…

Had the same alias as the young lady who had assembled an entire team of skilled musicians in just one week.

oblivionis.

It could have been a coincidence…

But it was too much of a coincidence.

Still, out of professionalism, Rina had only revealed harmless details to the two kids.

She wouldn’t disclose anything that was actually confidential.

Besides, she could have been overthinking things.

It was entirely possible that even Chihiro and Soyo themselves had no idea who "oblivionis" really was.

---

"I'm home, Dad…"

"…"

Silence.

Having just taken off her shoes, Togawa Sakiko let out a sigh.

She had been planning to just throw something together for dinner.

But just as she was about to go about her usual routine, a quiet voice came from behind her.

"Sakiko, you’re not working there anymore?"

"…What?!"

Sakiko’s chopsticks slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor.

She turned around in shock to find her father standing in the doorway.

But what truly stunned her… was the fact that she had hidden it so well.

Her father shouldn’t have had any way of knowing.

Unless…

"Your grandfather told me everything."

"…I knew it."

"So now… you’re doing a band?"

"…Yeah."

Sakiko nodded, admitting it.

But she didn’t continue.

She was waiting.

Waiting for her father’s approval.

Even though it had been so long since she had last heard it from him.

"Why don’t you just give up?"

"Go back to your grandfather."

"…What?"

Sakiko took a step back, looking at her father in disbelief.

She still remembered—when she was little, playing the piano at home, her father and mother watching her from behind.

And after she finished playing, her father had hugged her and whispered encouragingly,

"Sakiko, one day, you’ll be an amazing pianist."

"If you go back… that will be the best outcome for you."

"You can become your grandfather’s daughter."

"Inherit the Togawa family business…"

"Enough! You’re not my father!"

Yes.

The weak version of her had already died.

And that gentle father from the past…

Did he still exist?

If I’m dead, then you’re dead too.

A family should always stick together.

Even in death.

---

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!