Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [145]

…Maybe things weren’t as bad as she had thought?

Nagasaki Soyo found herself staring at the girl in front of her—dressed in a maid outfit, holding a tray of freshly sliced cantaloupe, and standing in the doorway after unlocking it with a spare key.

Her face felt strangely warm.

People naturally liked beautiful, adorable things. And Tsuzuki Chihiro had always been good-looking—her personality was just rotten.

But now, in this getup, even Soyo had to admit she looked… kind of captivating.

As long as she doesn’t open her mouth and ruin it.

"Soyo, want to tell me what’s wrong?"

"I…"

"Here, do you want Onee-chan to feed you~?"

"Eh?"

There was a service like this?

Did this mean… if she threw a tantrum every now and then, this shameless con artist wouldn’t be so focused on making her mad all the time?

For some reason, an odd thought popped into Soyo’s mind.

Kids who cry get candy.

What was strange wasn’t the phrase itself—it was the fact that she, of all people, was the one thinking it.

And the moment she did, another person flashed through her mind: Chihaya Anon.

Anon, who had known Chihiro before she did.

Anon, who was supposed to be her predecessor in this strange relationship.

Anon, whose band had just fallen apart, yet was somehow acting like nothing was wrong.

If Anon called Chihiro right now to complain…

Wouldn’t this "kind and caring Onee-chan" immediately ditch her to run off to pinkie’s house?

"…Mmph?!"

Before she could finish processing that thought, Chihiro suddenly shoved a piece of cantaloupe into her mouth.

Rather forcefully.

"Are you feeding me, or force-feeding a pig?!"

"Oh?"

"…Never mind."

Soyo rolled her eyes.

But somehow, just like that, the fear and anxiety she had felt earlier had mostly faded.

She still didn’t know how to face her old friends, but at least…

She wasn’t completely alone.

"Chihiro… what if one day, our lies get exposed? If everyone finds out I’m a fraud… what then?"

She obviously couldn’t mention being reborn, but she could ask in a roundabout way.

"Why would we get exposed? My tricks aren’t that easy to see through."

"But I saw through you at Tsukinomori, didn’t I?"

Granted, she had been cheating with future knowledge.

"That was different."

Chihiro set down the tray and sat on the bed, letting Wagahai jump into her lap.

"Back then, I was ready to retire. I didn’t even try to argue my way out.

"But now? Now, I have a detailed plan and your insight into everyone’s personalities and habits."

"So in this game… we can’t lose."

"A game, huh…"

So to Chihiro, all of this was nothing more than an entertaining, high-stakes game.

And when it was over, she’d either move on to her next challenge—striking deals with new people…

Or actually retire and go inherit the family business?

…Damn.

Soyo had been thinking more and more about Chihiro leaving lately.

Especially now that CRYCHIC's revival seemed completely hopeless.

Was that… a good thing?

Since getting the band back together was impossible now, would that keep Chihiro bound by their deal?

But why did she even want that?

Did she see Chihiro as a replacement for CRYCHIC?

For Sakiko?

"Don’t worry, Soyo."

Chihiro suddenly smiled, patting her head gently—like a real Onee-chan.

"I won’t let anyone bully my cute little maid."

"…Look at your outfit and tell me again, which one of us is the maid?"

"Ugh. Damn it… I’ll just take it off, then."

"Wait—hold on!"

Soyo suddenly remembered she hadn’t taken any pictures yet.

"A-Actually, Chihiro, could you stand up and close the door for me first?"

"Hmm?"

Chihiro didn’t question it.

In her mind, Soyo was the easiest person in the world to mess with.

So after patting Wagahai on the head, she set the cat down and stood up.

And the moment she turned around to walk toward the door—

Soyo’s lips curled into a smirk.

She whipped out her phone and started taking as many pictures as she could.

Some people were just born to be models.

Even though photos never looked exactly like what the human eye saw, it didn’t matter.

No matter the angle, no matter the lighting—Chihiro was effortlessly stunning.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah…"

Busted.

Soyo scrambled to put her phone away—

But before she could, the thieving little gremlin snatched it right out of her hands.

"Hoh? You were sneakily taking pictures of me?"

"…"

"Here, keep it. Make sure you set it as your wallpaper. Otherwise, all those shots would’ve been for nothing."

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll leak them?" Soyo narrowed her eyes.

She had a bad feeling about this.

"Go ahead. Doesn’t bother me."

"Oh, and by the way—"

Chihiro smirked.

"You could send them to Sakiko, too. Maybe even blackmail her a little. Ask if she wants to buy my exclusive photos at a high price."

"???"

Was there something wrong with this woman’s brain?!

Would any sane person say something this absurd?!

But before Soyo could respond—

Things got even worse.

Because Chihiro suddenly started stripping.

Right then and there.

Though, to be fair…

She still had some underlayers on.

"From now on, this is your work uniform."

"…What?"

"You’re the real maid, right?"

Whatever soft, gentle expression she had before—

Was completely gone.

Now, her face held nothing but amusement and mockery.

"Starting today, you’ll wear this while doing housework.

I’m generous though—I’ll let you wear normal clothes when you go outside."

"…You…"

"What, did you really think I bought this just to apologize?"

"Tsuzuki Chihiro, you evil woman—!"

"Alright, alright."

Chihiro chuckled, completely unbothered by how pissed Soyo looked.

"Anyway, you should focus on practicing Cutting Line tonight."

"This is our new, real job now."

She paused, then added, almost casually:

"And honestly…

"I think this song really suits you."

"If you work hard, and make your Master happy—

I might even have a surprise for you~"

"…A surprise?"

At this point, she’d be lucky if her old bandmates didn’t kill her.

What "surprise" could possibly make her happy now?

But still…

She would sing this song.

Because right now, it was the only thing she and Chihiro were working toward together.

---

T/N: too much yuri im dying im ascending to heaven i see thel ight

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!