Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [177]

"Today… I need to finalize the rest of the members."

Saturday afternoon marked the start of a day-and-a-half weekend break, but for Togawa Sakiko, there was no time to rest.

Now that she had quit her job, the first thing she needed to do was find a new one to cover this month’s expenses.

But beyond that, she also had to start seriously considering the details of a new business-oriented band project.

Originally, she had entertained the idea of bringing in the members of Red Ginger.

But that thought didn’t last long.

After all, things between her and Chihiro had completely fallen apart.

There was no way she could shamelessly approach Chihiro’s friends now.

"Shoko, I can recommend someone for you."

Inside a café, Sakiko sat at a table, engaged in a video call with Misumi Uika. In front of her was a stack of printed documents.

A closer look revealed that they were profiles of popular YouTube musicians from the past few months.

But this alone wasn’t enough.

So when Uika had called offering to help, Sakiko hadn’t turned her down.

"Do you know someone reliable?"

"My classmate—Yahata Umiru."

"Yahata Umiru…"

"I can ask her for you. She probably won’t say no—she’s a solid bassist who plays in multiple bands as a session member. As long as scheduling works out, she won’t be against it."

"How’s her skill level?"

"You can check out her recent performance videos. I’ll send them to you later."

"But if you ask me, she’s professional level—definitely more than capable."

"…Alright."

Hearing that, Sakiko let out a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Uika… If you hadn’t helped me, I’d probably still be stuck on all these details."

She never would have thought that a childhood encounter on an island would lead to such a lasting friendship.

Even after a year of lost contact, their bond hadn’t faded.

That was something worth being grateful for.

And yet…

She was also grateful for Chihiro’s presence these past few days.

Lie or not, at the very least, during the hardest moments, there had been someone by her side.

Even if, after learning the truth, she still couldn’t fully accept it.

"So Umiru’s our tentative bassist. I can handle both vocals and rhythm guitar, and you can be on keyboard… That just leaves lead guitar and drums."

"I already have someone in mind for guitar. As for the drummer… I’ll keep looking."

"Good luck, Shoko. I believe you’ll pull this off."

---

Saturday afternoon.

RiNG was far busier than usual.

Shiina Taki wiped down a spoon absentmindedly, her gaze shifting toward a table not far away.

Tomori and Anon had already arrived.

Anon was hunched over her phone, playing some mobile game, while Tomori had the table cluttered with sticky notes—probably working on lyrics.

Taki wanted to go check it out.

But more than that, she was waiting for the others to show up.

Before long, another familiar face arrived—Raana, who immediately ran up to her with that blank expression of hers, mumbling about wanting a parfait.

"You can have one, but you better not disappear again."

"Mm."

"Here."

Taki set down a matcha parfait in front of the little airhead.

And now, the only ones left were the most important ones: Chihiro and Soyo.

The risky decision she had made—the one that deceived both of them—was finally about to be put into motion.

It was a gamble.

But if she were given a chance to go back to yesterday and rethink her choice,

Taki was pretty sure…

She would still choose to do this.

Because everyone needed to know the truth.

The only way to make them believe it was to have both the real Soyo and the Soyo-impersonating Chihiro appear at the same time.

This might not have been part of Chihiro and Soyo’s original plan.

But to Taki, it was the fairest outcome for everyone.

"Taki."

"You’re here… Soyo."

Or rather—Chihiro.

Taki glanced at the time.

She was certain the girl standing before her was Tsuzuki Chihiro.

And now that they were face-to-face again, she started noticing little details that she hadn’t caught before.

At a casual glance, it was nearly impossible to tell the difference.

But if she really looked closely,

She could see faint traces of makeup adjustments on Chihiro’s face.

Like a stone that had been split and reassembled,

The bridge of her nose had subtle indications of manual reconstruction.

…How had she not noticed this before?

"Hmm, today’s the day we all sit down and talk about the band’s future, right?"

Chihiro nodded, playing along with Taki’s plan.

"That live performance really did hurt everyone."

"Nee-chan, you want some?"

"Not now, Raana."

"…"

"You’re so cold to your sister," Taki scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Then again, Raana didn’t seem to care one bit, so she let it slide.

"Whatever. I don’t get you two."

That being said, they were solid bandmates.

At least musically, Taki could trust them.

And that was exactly why she couldn’t let everyone stay in the dark.

If someone had to play the villain today,

Then she would gladly be that person.

Because today—

She wasn’t just going to reveal the truth and make everyone accept Chihiro’s real identity.

She was going to shatter Soyo’s delusions.

She was going to prove that CRYCHIC was never coming back,

That Sakiko and Mutsumi were no longer part of their world.

And when all was said and done,

She was going to bring these six people together—

And find a way to keep Soyo in Tokyo.

No more lies.

Only a single, united group walking a road of uncertainty—but walking it together.

"Ricky~ Everyone’s here. Can we start now?"

Anon leaned in beside Chihiro, eyes full of excitement as she looked at Taki.

"Just a little longer…"

Taki checked the time again.

It had to be soon.

Raana was happily eating her parfait.

Chihiro was deep in thought.

Anon continued tapping away at her phone.

Tomori was lost in a daze, fiddling with her sticky notes.

And when she bent down to pick up one that had fallen…

Her gaze landed on the stairs—

Where a figure she never expected to see had just appeared.

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Soyo… th-there’s… two of them?!"

"…"

"Crap! She’s gonna run—Anon, catch her!!"

---

T/N: grrr this better work

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!