Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [140]

"Ob-something? What kind of ridiculous name is that…?"

For a brief moment, Ebizuka Tomo regretted speaking so definitively earlier.

Because now, she was starting to realize…

Tsuzuki Chihiro might be absurdly talented, but she was also absurdly infuriating.

Meanwhile, Rupa was smiling the entire time—she actually seemed happy about getting a new member.

Five people… Wasn’t that a full band?

Though realistically, at this point, they were just making original music together. Forming an actual band would be much more difficult.

"Whatever. I don’t care who she is… But I have something to say upfront."

Tomo crossed her arms, her small, doll-like face set with an unshakable determination.

"We’re still going to work toward forming a band. That’s not changing just because you two joined."

"Of course… even if we do, I’m not going to just abandon this group."

"Works for me. Better to clear these things up from the start, right?"

Chihiro couldn’t care less about their band aspirations.

If they wanted to chase a dream, good for them. But she wasn’t interested.

All she wanted was a job.

And if there was an opportunity where she could avoid being on stage, play guitar, record tracks, and still make some money—why wouldn’t she take it?

That being said… judging by the current state of Benishouga’s finances, this wasn’t exactly a lucrative business.

This fact became glaringly obvious when all four of them gathered in the workspace and looked at the backend analytics for Benishouga’s channel.

"Quit looking at me like that…" Tomo grumbled, feeling a little embarrassed under Chihiro’s stare. "This is actually pretty decent, okay?"

"They did get popular for a while," Soyo chimed in, seemingly worried Chihiro might back out.

"Benishouga’s appeal has always been its unique approach to arranging music. They attracted a solid base of original fans."

"The only issue is that most of their songs aren’t fully realized. So eventually, things lost momentum. It’s a shame, really."

"In that case, how about this—"

Chihiro leaned against the desk, arms crossed.

"I’ll handle composing the next song. Ms. Ob-Something can do the lyrics. Tomo, you play piano, right?"

"Yeah."

The moment piano was mentioned, Tomo’s gaze sharpened.

After all, that was her strongest asset.

"Then you’ll be in charge of arrangement. I’m not great at that—you're probably better than me."

"Fine."

Rupa watched as their little project was suddenly starting to feel… a lot more structured.

A faint smile tugged at her lips.

Technically speaking, though, their lineup was kind of weird.

She herself was a bassist. She also knew a bit about arrangement, though she usually just assisted Tomo.

Now, with a bassist, a keyboardist, and a guitarist in the group… they were still missing a drummer.

Not to mention—

Their lead vocalist was also a bassist.

Since when did bassists get this much respect?

Everyone always said, "In a band, the lead singer reigns supreme."

And yet, somehow, the most underappreciated role had taken center stage…

Though to be fair, even their lead vocalist seemed a little baffled by her own position.

And then there was this mysterious lyricist they hadn’t met yet…

Eh, whatever. It was still progress.

"Anyway, Soyo, you’re okay with singing, right?"

"…Huh?"

Soyo jolted slightly, her body stiffening.

"Wait—Chihiro, you’re serious about that?"

"Obviously."

"But—"

"How can you not give it a shot? Don’t you remember what Mutsumi said? Maybe she only said playing in a band wasn’t fun because she never got to be the vocalist herself."

"Mutsumi wouldn’t think like that," Soyo rolled her eyes.

"Also, what stage? We’re just uploading songs online. It’s not like we’re doing live performances."

"And? The internet is the biggest stage there is."

"Besides…" Chihiro grinned. "No one would ever expect someone with a voice like yours to be a lead singer."

"…Oh? Trying to bait me?"

Soyo did feel a little tempted.

Not because of Chihiro’s reverse psychology—she wasn’t that easy to manipulate.

But because… she liked the idea of working on something together with Chihiro.

She hadn’t had many chances to be this close to someone, working toward the same goal.

Whether it was scheming against CRYCHIC or now helping Chihiro make a living, she wanted to be part of it.

Honestly… she even wanted to drag Chihiro into moving into a place like Rupa and Tomo’s—a cozy little apartment that actually felt like home.

Sigh… Curse her mom for being so rich.

"Rupa… Are you sure about these two?"

Standing at the doorway, Tomo quietly whispered to her bandmate.

"Because I swear… it feels like they’re not here to play music."

"It feels like they’re here to flirt."

"What are you saying, Tomo~?"

Rupa chuckled, though she also felt a bit off about the dynamic.

"Still… whether it’s playing in a band or making music together…"

"Isn’t it kind of like being in a relationship?"

Tomo blinked.

"What?"

"You have to cherish the time you spend together. Even if you fight, you should never break up over it."

"After all, how many couples actually get back together after a breakup?"

"And even if they do… do they ever go back to being as ‘in love’ as before?"

"…I was just making a comparison."

"And so was I~"

"……"

Tomo fell silent.

She didn’t fully agree with that sentiment.

Because she did believe couples could reunite and make things work.

But a band was different.

Once a band broke up, that was it.

Especially if the split was due to creative differences.

What was the point of forcing people back together when they had fundamentally different ideas?

Compromise was necessary in relationships, sure.

But in a band?

If you had to sacrifice your vision for someone else’s… were you even yourself anymore?

That said, Tomo had a strange feeling about Soyo and Chihiro.

They were the type to be unrelenting when they set their sights on something.

But… it didn’t seem like what they were holding onto had anything to do with her dreams.

This feeling reminded her of someone she hadn’t seen in a long time—her former piano rival, Togawa Sakiko.

Back then, she had left Miyagi’s Sendai City to pursue music in Tokyo.

And part of that decision had been because of Sakiko.

But no matter how many music festivals or LIVE HOUSE lineups she checked…

She never found Sakiko’s name.

Ding!

Tomo’s phone suddenly vibrated.

She picked it up and saw a notification—

A new member had joined the group chat.

[Oblivionis has joined the chat.]

"…Huh. So she really is an Ob-something."

---

T/N: huehuehuehueh flirt girl love heuaheu

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!