Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [171]

"Ah… no, no, Tomori and I didn’t have a fight."

This girl must have come to speak on Tomori's behalf, right? Anon wasn’t stupid—she had already read from Togawa Sakiko’s expression and gaze that the girl had some other purpose for coming.

She didn’t know exactly what that purpose was, but it was definitely more than just casual chit-chat.

After all, she and Sakiko weren’t particularly close. There was hardly any common ground between them.

"You just mentioned someone named 'Chihiro.' Is she also a member of your band?"

After asking this, Togawa Sakiko seemed to realize something was off and quickly added, "Was she the heterochromatic girl standing farthest to the right from the audience’s perspective that day?"

"Eh? That was Raana."

Raana…

Togawa Sakiko furrowed her brows. The name was unfamiliar to her, but she quickly brushed it off.

"Chihiro is Raana’s older sister, but she’s not part of our band… Ah, wait, do you know Chihiro too, Sakiko?"

"Know her… but also don’t."

She knew of her, but she didn’t truly know her.

That was probably the best way to describe her relationship with Chihiro.

Thinking back, it didn’t seem like a coincidence when Chihiro had suddenly mentioned that she’d started working at Soyo’s house.

No—it definitely wasn’t a coincidence. Because a single coincidence might just be happenstance, but when too many coincidences pile up… they become something else entirely. A disguised inevitability.

Based on what she knew so far, all the people around her—those connected to CRYCHIC in some way—each seemed to have ties to Chihiro.

First, there was Mutsumi. The childhood friend she had played with growing up had, at some point, become an incredibly quiet and reserved person. Yet even someone as withdrawn as Mutsumi had, at one point, unknowingly let it slip that she recognized the name Tsuzuki Chihiro.

They probably didn’t have a deep relationship. But for Mutsumi to even know her name and face? That was already astonishing.

What did that mean?

It meant that Chihiro, that liar, had been trying to get close to the people around her from the very beginning—using them to gather information about her.

And then… there was Soyo.

Back then, Sakiko hadn’t given it much thought. She had simply believed that her little Chi was lucky to have stumbled upon a job cleaning an old friend's house.

But in hindsight, was it really just luck?

Why was it that she—who had been actively searching for a decent job—had never even heard of Soyo needing a housekeeper?

Of course, even if she had heard about it, she definitely wouldn’t have taken the job.

But this much was clear: Soyo and Chihiro hadn’t met by chance. It was very likely that they had already known each other before.

But when? Before she met Chihiro at the customer service company? Or after? That, she couldn’t be sure of.

And then there were the remaining people… Raana was Chihiro’s younger sister, and Anon was Chihiro’s friend. Those were undeniable facts.

As for Taki and Tomori… those two were still uncertain.

But… was there even a need to confirm it?

Togawa Sakiko let out a self-deprecating laugh, which made Anon—who had been observing her—look at her with complete confusion.

"Uh, Sakiko…?"

"Sorry, I just remembered something." Togawa Sakiko quickly put on a polished, lady-like smile—one of the mannerisms ingrained into her by her family whenever dealing with unfamiliar people.

"May I ask you something?" Before leaving, she wanted to ask just one last question.

"Sure~"

"Anon, do you know Nagasaki Soyo?"

"Of course! She’s our band’s bassist."

Anon’s tone brightened noticeably when she mentioned her, clearly fond of the way Soyo always looked after her—like a mother figure.

"...I see. So that’s how it is."

Togawa Sakiko felt as if she had been struck by lightning. The moment she heard Anon’s answer, an overwhelming sense of despair washed over her—like the entire world was conspiring to deceive her.

But… why?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out. If all of this was just part of Chihiro’s plan to get close to her, then why involve Soyo in the deception too?

"Sakiko… are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." Sakiko shook her head, forcing a barely passable smile. "I have things to do, so I won’t stay any longer. Have a good day."

"Ah… okay."

Watching Togawa Sakiko—who had been acting strangely from the moment their conversation began—walk away, Anon couldn’t make sense of it at all.

She was exhausted.

Every single person in the band was some kind of cryptic enigma.

Taki went without saying—she had never been nice to her.

Soyo was kind to her, but her attitude was sometimes bizarre—sometimes she was like a warm, caring mother, and other times, she acted like they were complete strangers.

And Tomori? Don’t even get her started. Anon could never figure out what was going on inside her head.

She just wanted to be in a band… why was it so difficult?!

After thinking it over, she realized that her Chihiro-neesan was still the best. Beautiful, kind-hearted, always gentle with her—like a mix of the nurturing side of Soyo and her actual mother.

Always smiling, always patting her head, always helping her with her problems without hesitation.

And then there was that blue-haired twin-tailed Sakiko, who had just bombarded her with a bunch of questions before abruptly leaving. Chihiro would never treat her like that.

"Uuuu… Chihiro-neesan, I miss you."

She would never again say that she could live independently without Chihiro. Right now, she just wanted Chihiro to come over to her house, so she could complain about all the "injustices" she had suffered these past few days.

…Would that be too embarrassing?

No! Being Chihiro’s "little follower" was an honor—others would kill for the opportunity!

With her mind made up, Anon grabbed her phone, bit her lower lip, and called Chihiro. The moment the call connected, she sweetly called out in a voice as soft as candy:

"Chihiro~~~"

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T/N: NGL THIS STORY has like capped the quota for drama for me for years

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!