Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [156]

"Chihiro, don’t go!"

At around 5:30 in the morning, Soyo jolted awake from her sleep, gasping for breath.

If she hadn’t glanced at the time, she might have thought she’d somehow rolled back a few weeks, back to when she first cried out those words.

Wait—why had she called out for Chihiro instead of Sakiko?

Soyo ran a hand through her slightly disheveled long hair and rubbed her temples, glancing at the sky outside that had yet to fully brighten.

She had… a very strange dream last night.

In the dream, Chihiro suddenly told her one day that the commission to revive CRYCHIC had been completed. Dream-Soyo had been surprised, but since she couldn’t consciously control her actions, her expression had lit up with pure joy. Just as she was about to ask how it had been done, she realized that everyone—including Anon and Raana—had appeared in the living room of her house.

As if… she was the only outsider.

What made the dream feel even more like a nightmare was that everyone in the living room had their eyes only on Chihiro—on the real, unmasked red-haired Chihiro.

If it had just been Anon and Raana, she might have let it go. But even the four members of CRYCHIC were gazing at the girl before them with fervent admiration.

"Sakiko, would you guys be willing to—"

"Soyo? Why are you still here?"

"We already have Chihiro. We don’t need you anymore."

"Chihiro is amazing. She gave me confidence—showed me that even someone as ordinary as me can accomplish things I never could before."

"Chihiro, let’s play together forever."

"This isn’t real… it’s just a nightmare."

Soyo shook her head, trying to convince herself—no, there was no need to convince. It was just a dream, after all.

In the dream, she had seen Mutsumi questioning her presence in a detached tone, Sakiko saying she was no longer needed, Taki looking at Chihiro as if even Tomori didn’t matter anymore, and… Tomori herself, smiling.

These things… they couldn’t possibly happen.

Besides, in the end, Chihiro hadn’t actually left her. She had simply hugged Soyo and whispered something in her ear.

"…Huh?"

Soyo froze for a moment. "Wait, what did Chihiro say?"

Damn it. The details of dream memories always faded upon waking, no matter how hard one tried to recall them. Now, the dream was nothing more than a nightmare.

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. The frustration of waiting all night with her mother for Chihiro, who never returned, was now growing even stronger.

Not to mention—when she woke up this morning, Chihiro really wasn’t there beside her!

How dare she?! Staying out all night without a word!

"…Maybe she’s just next door?"

Though Soyo doubted it, and remembering last night’s phone call, Chihiro had said something rather… intriguing before hanging up.

"That man’s daughter…"

Was Chihiro referring to someone she knew? Someone unexpected?

Could it be… Sakiko?

If she followed normal reasoning and the logical thread available, then yes—Sakiko being the daughter of that troublemaking drunkard made sense, even if the idea was absurd.

But didn’t Sherlock Holmes have a famous saying? "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

The problem was… that only applied to normal people.

Every move Chihiro made carried deeper meaning. She even accounted for Soyo in her calculations.

Did she deliberately drop that hint so Soyo would assume it was Sakiko? Make her believe that Sakiko’s father had become a wandering drunkard, leading her to confront Sakiko about it?

"That… actually sounds exactly like something she’d do."

Many times, Chihiro didn’t even need to act herself—just saying a few words from the shadows was enough to get everyone moving in the direction she wanted.

It was obvious that Sakiko had already been tricked into believing that Chihiro was leaving Tokyo. But since Sakiko hadn’t come looking for her yet, that liar must be trying to push her into making the first move.

And what better way to do that than with some overly dramatic twist?

"Hah. Maybe the old me would’ve fallen for it, but things are different now, Chihiro."

The Soyo of today wasn’t the fool who jumped to conclusions and acted impulsively. No—she had given up on all that.

CRYCHIC’s fate has nothing to do with me anymore.

Having made up her mind, Soyo decided to stick to her course. Let foolish Chihiro continue struggling, working tirelessly to keep her promise. A smirk began creeping onto Soyo’s lips.

Since she was already awake from that nightmare, and going back to sleep wasn’t an option, she figured she might as well get up early and make breakfast for her mom.

After all… she should cherish what she already had.

About twenty minutes later—

Imitating Chihiro’s usual menu, Soyo prepared an identical breakfast and set it on the table. Except this time, instead of making a portion for Chihiro, she made it for her dear mother.

Whether drawn by the smell or simply preparing to wash up for work, Nagasaki Rina practically appeared at the dining table in the blink of an eye. The suddenness of it nearly made Soyo drop the plate in her hands.

"This looks amazing! Ohh… finally, a meal with real vegetarian options! This is the daughter I raised!"

Since she hadn’t planned on having breakfast, Rina wasted no time digging in.

"Mom, today—"

"Hmm? I won’t be home as early as yesterday, but I’ll definitely be back before 7 PM. Oh, right—about that Chihiro you mentioned yesterday?"

"…She was probably caught up by someone."

Soyo didn’t even realize how much of a jilted lover she sounded like. But before she could reflect on that and try to cover it up, her phone buzzed with a message.

"Chihiro?"

"Should be… no, it’s not her."

Soyo frowned. But since her mother was still present, she forced herself to keep her expression neutral.

The problem was… why was it Taki?

[Soyo, can you come to RiNG this afternoon? No one else will be there—just you and me. I want to talk properly about your departure from the band.]

There was no running from this.

Taki had figured it all out. She just hadn’t said anything when "Second Personality" was present, probably giving Soyo a chance to confess on her own.

But clearly, Soyo hadn’t thought about that at all last night. Her mind had been preoccupied with Chihiro.

So… the final reckoning—the ultimate judgment upon her deception—was finally coming.

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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!