Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [148]

Today was supposed to be the day Wakaba Mutsumi went home after school to practice piano under her instructor’s guidance.

In other words, on a normal day, she would’ve just said a quick goodbye to Soyo and headed straight home.

She wouldn’t even stop by the garden to water the cucumbers—that task would have automatically fallen to Soyo.

Especially recently, since her mother had been stricter than ever.

And that was probably all thanks to Tsuzuki Chihiro’s wonderful little speech at the dinner table the other night.

But today, Mutsumi didn’t mention any of that.

Instead, she simply nodded silently and followed this oddly cheerful version of Nagasaki Soyo to their usual garden.

Time spent with Soyo was time that belonged to herself.

It was only half of her time, but still—

Compared to the hours spent practicing piano or ballet under her family’s watchful eyes, that half was precious.

But today, Mutsumi wasn’t happy.

Because Soyo… seemed like she was forcing herself.

"Soyo, are you really okay?"

"…Mutsumi, you’re not about to say, ‘I don’t believe you,’ are you?"

Soyo sighed.

She had expected this reaction.

But seeing Mutsumi’s face in person—

Seeing how thoroughly Chihiro’s Oscar-worthy acting had warped their perception of her—

It really made her realize just how bad things had gotten.

She had changed, damn it.

She had reformed.

She had repented and turned over a new leaf.

So why was it that now, when she was finally telling the truth—

No one believed her?

Was it because she was just too talented at lying?

Or had she already sinned too much for redemption?

"I…"

"Mutsumi, did you forget? Last time you came over, there was a fake pretending to be my mom, remember?"

"Tsuzuki?"

"Ah… yeah. Her."

Looked like Sakiko had told Mutsumi something about it.

Though, to be fair, Chihiro had interacted with Mutsumi once without bothering to put on an act.

So technically, Soyo wasn’t revealing anything Mutsumi didn’t already know.

"So yesterday… that was her too?"

"You get it now?"

"…"

Watching Mutsumi tilt her head in confusion, blinking like a lost kitten, Soyo pressed her fingers against her temples.

This is a mess.

This whole role-playing game she had been playing with Chihiro was spiraling completely out of control.

And worst of all?

Chihiro didn’t even know about the supernatural loophole Soyo had just figured out.

Not that Soyo was all that confident about it, either.

"Mutsumi, I really did think about getting CRYCHIC back together."

She set down the watering can and sat on a bench with Mutsumi.

By now, everything was starting to click into place.

She had already suffered just as much as she had in her past life—if not more.

So from the perspective of someone who had lived through this twice, someone who had already broken down once before…

Soyo was no longer so desperately fixated on the past.

She had thought she would fear this inescapable reality.

But what scared her more—

Was the fact that last night, she had stopped feeling despair over it.

Honestly?

Soyo wasn’t sure if that change was good or bad.

And there was no one standing in front of her to tell her.

No one to say if she should hold on or let go.

In her past life, everyone had told her the same thing—

CRYCHIC had changed.

Or to put it bluntly, CRYCHIC no longer existed.

But in this life, she had found people who understood her.

People who supported her.

And slowly, she realized—

Maybe what she wanted wasn’t CRYCHIC itself.

Maybe she just wanted someone who would stand by her.

Not an old home that could no longer welcome her back.

But if she admitted that to herself—

What would Chihiro think of her?

Chihiro had sworn off bands after her own had fallen apart.

But she had started believing again because of her.

She had even started playing guitar again.

Soyo didn’t want to let Chihiro down.

So the only option left…

Was to keep lying.

And this time, the person she needed to deceive—

Was Chihiro herself.

"Mutsumi… what do you think I should do?"

"If I ignored everything else—if I just went ahead and tried to bring everyone back together—"

"Do you think it could work?"

"…"

"Don’t just sit there silently!"

Mutsumi flinched, eyes widening in shock.

She hadn’t expected Soyo—who was always so calm, so composed—to snap at her like that.

Soyo realized it too, immediately regretting it.

"…Sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you."

"It would work."

"…"

Soyo stared at her.

And then—

She smiled.

A deep, knowing smile.

"Mutsumi… you never lie."

"I…"

"But this time, you did."

You think I don’t know the script?

I’m in my second loop, Mutsumi.

Before, Mutsumi had never supported her.

Even when she had begged her to take her to Sakiko.

Even when she had knelt before Sakiko, pleading with her not to leave.

Mutsumi had never been on her side.

But now—

Now that she had already given up, now that she had accepted things—

Mutsumi was saying what she wished she had heard back then.

"I wasn’t lying…"

"Then what about the others?"

"Taki will come back? Sakiko will forgive her?"

"…"

"…I should go."

Soyo bit her lip, forcing herself to stop.

She knew Mutsumi hadn’t done anything wrong.

So why did she keep trying to force her to say what she wanted to hear?

"I can promise you one thing, though."

"Yesterday was just a joke."

"Mutsumi, whatever you really think—go with that."

"You don’t have to keep putting others first."

"You should have your own thoughts."

With that, Soyo turned and started walking toward the school gates.

She knew Mutsumi was quietly following her.

But she didn’t stop.

Didn’t look back.

Not until—

"Surprise!"

Soyo jumped as a figure suddenly leapt in front of her.

Nagasaki Rina burst into laughter at her daughter’s reaction.

She had just been about to hug her and share some big news—that she would finally be home every day for a while.

But before she could—

Her own daughter attacked her.

With her hands outstretched, ready to tear at her face, Soyo snarled:

"You’re still pretending?! You think I won’t rip that mask off?!"

Rina froze.

Blinking in absolute confusion.

Then, she slowly turned her gaze toward the small, green-haired girl standing behind Soyo.

Who’s gonna tell me why my sweet little girl just turned into a rabid animal?!

---

T/N: OPE

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!