Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [178]

For a moment, Chihaya Anon didn’t react.

But the instant she realized what was happening, her body moved on instinct—

—like a streak of pink lightning.

"Soyo! Stop running!"

"You’ve got the wrong person!!!" Nagasaki Soyo blurted out in panic, already spouting nonsense.

"Then why are you running?!"

"Because you’re chasing me, obviously!!!"

"…"

To be fair, Anon was practically undefeated when it came to chase games.

And today was no exception.

She grabbed Soyo’s arm from behind, halting her escape.

But the moment she did, Soyo’s entire body tensed.

She refused to turn around.

Then it hit Anon—

Hadn’t there been another Soyo standing by the counter just now?

And hadn’t Tomori just said something about there being "two Soyos"…?

Which meant—

Who exactly had she caught?

Did Soyo have a twin sister she never mentioned?!

"Why… Why did Taki lie to me…"

"Soyo?"

"I get it now. It’s because I’m the liar. This is my punishment. I deserve this for what I did."

Anon hesitated, staring at the girl she had just caught.

Her grip loosened.

She took two steps back.

"Who… Who even are you?"

"…It’s all over."

Anon’s head was spinning.

What is with this cryptic, edgy dialogue?!

The only silver lining was that Soyo finally stopped running.

With her head lowered, she allowed Anon to lead her back inside the café.

Of course, the mood inside the café was now painfully awkward.

And honestly?

It was a little creepy.

Because seeing two identical faces in the same room would make anyone’s skin crawl.

"So… who the hell is that?"

Tomori was visibly shaken—probably the most emotionally invested out of everyone present.

Anon was still processing.

Taki and Raana clearly already knew.

And as for the two people in question…

Anon and Tomori couldn’t even tell them apart.

"Let me explain."

The one who spoke was Tsuzuki Chihiro.

But this time, her voice was completely different from Soyo’s.

Shiina Taki was nervous.

She could feel the sharp glint in Nagasaki Soyo’s smile—like a blade hidden behind politeness.

But what reassured her…

Was how unfazed Chihiro seemed.

Or rather—

This was exactly the "Soyo" Taki had always imagined her to be.

Everything clicked.

The perfect Soyo had never existed.

The one standing before her was always just Tsuzuki Chihiro.

Before this, Taki wasn’t sure how much of Chihiro’s act was real and how much was pretend.

But now she finally understood.

Because while voices and appearances could be faked,

A person’s instinctive reactions in unexpected situations could not.

Taki handed Chihiro a damp towel.

Chihiro didn’t say a word.

She simply removed her wig, took a bottle of special makeup remover from her bag, and carefully wiped her face clean.

"Chihiro-neesan?!"

"…How can this be?"

The two people who had no idea what was going on—

Anon and Tomori—

Reacted completely differently.

Anon sounded surprised—almost excited.

Tomori, on the other hand, was just… shocked.

And maybe even angry.

"Tomori, it’s not what you think."

Taki tried to calm her down.

Then she explained—

She told them everything.

The "tragic story" of Soyo that, when said out loud, made Chihiro want to laugh—while Soyo just looked completely lost.

And in the middle of it,

Everyone in the band received a message.

From Chihiro.

It was a request.

A request for them to play along in one last performance.

This is probably my last act, huh?

Watching as everything slipped out of her control,

Watching as the tea-haired girl across from her—someone she had grown to care about—looked more and more shaken,

Chihiro felt her heart waver.

But she steeled herself.

Because if she was going to push Soyo into finally admitting the truth,

She had to make it hurt.

She could tell—

Soyo still cared deeply about everyone here.

What she needed wasn’t some idealized version of CRYCHIC.

She needed a place to belong.

And honestly?

That was true for a lot of people here.

People with different personalities, coming together in a space that could accept them for who they were.

That was what a home was.

And even Chihiro herself—

After meeting Soyo, she had started to change, too.

She had grown used to being around this girl.

So for Soyo’s sake,

Chihiro didn’t mind pushing her one last time.

As the rest of the band exchanged glances,

All silently agreeing to go along with the plan,

---

Soyo finally began to sense that something was wrong.

Because everyone was looking at Chihiro.

And not at her.

As if—

As if she was already on her way out.

Wait.

When did the mood change?!

Why were they flipping on her faster than a page in a book?!

Was she really that irrelevant now?

She could understand Raana’s reaction—

The girl probably realized something was off but was too simple to care.

For her, it was probably just, "Oh, now I can play music with my sister anytime. Cool."

A wildcat like her would never think too deeply about things.

But the others?

They kept sneaking glances at her.

Kept making comments that subtly implied she was already on her way out.

The conversation had even taken on a mournful tone.

Like she wasn’t about to leave Tokyo.

Like she was about to die.

But the worst part—

The part that truly sent a chill down her spine—

Was the calm, unreadable look in Chihiro’s eyes.

Are you going to deny it?

Are you going to tell them the truth?

If she admitted everything now,

Then it would mean that the "noble" version of herself had never existed in the first place.

That she had always been a selfish, manipulative liar.

And Chihiro?

Chihiro had only ever been helping her fulfill her own wishes.

The real villain…

Had always been her.

"Chihiro, you…"

"So Chihiro used to be…"

"Nee-chan’s amazing."

"…"

The words echoed in Soyo’s mind.

They were all talking about Chihiro.

Not her.

Even though she had met them all first.

Had met them more than once.

Right.

She wasn’t needed anymore.

They had already found someone better.

Someone beautiful, reliable, talented.

A perfect bandmate.

And her?

On the surface, just a foreign exchange student about to leave Tokyo.

But inside—

A manipulative fraud who had deceived them all.

How could she ever compare to Tsuzuki Chihiro?

Taki must have figured it out.

Which meant Tomori probably remembered, too.

So from the start…

No one had ever wanted her to stay.

If anything, they were probably glad to see her gone.

"…I’m leaving."

"…"

No one stopped her.

Not a single person.

Nagasaki Soyo stood up and walked out of RiNG, her steps unsteady.

Tears spilled down her cheeks, no longer restrained.

Right now…

She just wanted to go home.

She just wanted to cry her heart out.

And she just wanted to forget all of them.

---

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!