Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [147]

On the morning of Wednesday, May 13th, the gentle sunlight filtering through the window failed to wake Nagasaki Soyo from her sleep at Chihiro’s place.

What did wake her, however, was a sharp smack on her backside.

The nightmare she had been trapped in—where she was put on trial by everyone—shattered instantly.

"You must have a death wish, maid. Making your master wake you up like this."

"…Do I have school today?"

Tsuzuki Chihiro rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"What do you think? Or did Tsukinomori suddenly decide to follow Hanagasaki’s example and start mass-producing delinquent dropouts?"

"That’s not what I meant…"

Soyo honestly wasn’t sure how to face Mutsumi at school today.

After all, yesterday, without knowing the truth, she had told a massive lie.

Maybe… she should go and clear things up?

Tell her that everything from yesterday was just a prank?

A joke?

…She didn’t have the guts.

"I’ll let it slide since you were up late practicing last night," Chihiro muttered. "Breakfast is ready, so eat before you leave."

"What about you?"

"I’m locking myself up to write songs. What else? Someone’s gotta be the breadwinner in this house."

"…"

Chihiro’s tone was as blunt as ever, but Soyo decided to forgive her rudeness this time.

After Chihiro left, Soyo changed into her Tsukinomori uniform and stepped out of her room.

But when she reached the dining area, Chihiro was already gone.

The breakfast on the table was still warm.

She must have finished cooking just before waking her up—then locked herself in her room to work.

It’s only been two days… but it feels like so much has happened.

She numbly finished eating, muttered a half-hearted "I’m heading out," and made her way to school.

At some point, while walking, she realized—

Someone had started walking beside her.

Silently.

She didn’t acknowledge them.

She didn’t know what to say.

Even everything that had happened yesterday at Hazawa Coffee—she could only pretend it never happened.

The only thing that relieved her…

Was that Wakaba Mutsumi didn’t ask.

…But why does it have to be Taki?

The entire school day passed in a haze.

Soyo took notes as usual, her handwriting neat and precise, but her mind was completely elsewhere.

She kept circling back to one thought—

Why did everything seem normal with everyone else, yet Taki was the one showing these supernatural signs?

Of course, she wasn’t really in a position to talk.

After all, she was the most inexplicable existence of all—

With crystal-clear memories of a past life.

She had known the future since half a month ago.

There had to be a pattern.

Some kind of rule to this.

Could it be…?

Soyo tried to compare this Taki to the one from her past life.

The biggest difference?

Taki had been tormented even worse this time.

If the old Soyo had only subtly manipulated her…

Then this version of Taki had been completely broken by Chihiro.

Anon and Raana weren’t exceptions either—Chihiro had made sure they felt the pressure, too.

And now, Taki even saw her as a madwoman.

A delusional, split-personality lunatic.

So if Taki needed to vent…

She had no one left except Anon.

And the problem was—

Anon was Chihiro’s old friend from the UK.

If she was ever in trouble, Chihiro would step in immediately.

Soyo understood now.

She understood everything.

It all made sense.

If she had been sent back in time because she had hit rock bottom, when her mind was at its lowest point—

Then Taki being able to see the future in her dreams…

Had to mean her mental state was nearing its limit, too.

So now…

She had to worship all of CRYCHIC like gods just to keep things from falling apart?!

Thud.

Feeling her own doom approaching, Soyo slammed her head onto her desk, clutching her head in frustration.

"Soyo…?"

Naturally, the one who noticed was Wakaba Mutsumi, who had been secretly watching her all day.

Seeing Soyo curl up in such an exhausted posture…

It reminded Mutsumi of someone else.

Back before she ever met Soyo—

She had seen Sakiko sitting by the window of Class 3-C, staring blankly outside.

Back then, Sakiko had just lost her mother.

She had looked so lost.

Just like Soyo did today.

Come to think of it…

Mutsumi had never heard Soyo mention her father before.

They had known each other for over a year, but their conversations had always revolved around CRYCHIC.

And yesterday, when she had seen Soyo with her mother at the café—

She hadn’t caught everything they said, but when the topic of "father" had come up…

Soyo’s expression had been exactly like Sakiko’s back then.

Lost.

Empty.

So…

Just like how she hadn’t been able to comfort Sakiko, she wouldn’t be able to comfort Soyo either?

She always waited for someone else to step in.

Always expected someone else to fix what she couldn’t.

Even this morning—

Why hadn’t she said anything when she had the chance?

Why…?

"Mutsumi."

"…Soyo?"

Mutsumi looked up, startled.

Soyo, who had been slumped over moments ago, was suddenly standing in front of her.

She looked… surprised.

And flustered.

She had no idea what to say.

But what shocked her even more was—

Soyo smiled.

A flawless, practiced smile.

And in the softest, most reassuring voice, she said—

"Mutsumi, it’s time to go."

"Eh?"

"We need to go water the cucumbers, right?"

Soyo’s tone was sweet and gentle as she played along, pretending as if yesterday had just been some harmless joke.

"Don’t worry, Mutsumi."

"Yesterday was just a prank."

"I’m not leaving Tokyo."

"And the whole band thing…"

"You don’t need to worry about that either."

"…"

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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!