Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [139]

"I swear, Chihiro…"

On the 45th floor of a high-end apartment building in Roppongi—Tsuzuki Chihiro’s home—Nagasaki Soyo watched as the girl shed her disguise, instantly transforming from her "mother" back into her usual self.

Her eye twitched slightly as she muttered,

"You went through all that trouble just to make me seem ridiculously pitiful… Isn’t that… kind of evil?"

Now that she thought about it, this entire stunt really had turned her into the ultimate damsel in distress in everyone’s eyes.

But the problem was—if the truth ever got out… it would be an absolute bloodbath.

Mutsumi and Tomori would probably just be disappointed, but Sakiko and Taki…

Hiss… She only had one life. Could she really survive a two-pronged assault from them?

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Are you seriously asking me that? You don’t have to deal with the consequences," Soyo rolled her eyes. At this point, she wasn’t sure if she should regret ever letting Chihiro "help" her in the first place. "You dumped all the responsibility on me and made yourself invisible. What kind of person screws over their own employer like this?"

"Eh? Employer? You sure about that?"

"Ah…"

"Times have changed, Soyo. You’ve already been dethroned~" Chihiro smirked as she reached out to pat Soyo’s soft cheek, looking unbearably smug. "The tables have turned. You belong to me now. I’m the one paying you now, sweetheart~"

"Cut it out with the gross nicknames."

"Alright, alright. I still owe you a maid outfit punishment, but for now, we need to head to Tomo and Rupa’s place. Let’s not waste any more time here."

"Who’s wasting time?! You’re the one who pulled all this nonsense today!"

"And that’s my fault?"

"……"

Soyo had a strong feeling that ever since their roles reversed—or more accurately, ever since Chihiro got some dirt on her—this woman had been getting way too comfortable with being disrespectful.

Back when she was still the sugar mama, at least Chihiro would show some degree of professional courtesy for the sake of her paycheck.

But now? That respect had completely evaporated, replaced by endless teasing and shameless antics.

…Though, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

Trailing behind Chihiro as they headed downstairs, Soyo absentmindedly mulled over her thoughts. Oddly enough, the frustration she’d been feeling earlier had mostly faded.

The address Rupa and Tomo had sent them was also an apartment, though it was nowhere near as fancy as theirs.

For one, the two of them were tenants, whereas Chihiro and Soyo—both being rich girls—were owners.

And on top of that, Rupa and Tomo were sharing a space just to save on rent.

"Sorry, it’s a little cramped in here."

"It is a bit sma—hiss, Soyo! What the hell?"

Soyo had not been able to resist giving Chihiro’s waist a firm pinch.

Smiling brightly at their hosts, she whispered through gritted teeth, her voice laced with faux sweetness and barely contained irritation,

"If you can’t say anything nice, then shut. Up."

"I was joking~ See? Rupa isn’t mad."

"That’s because she’s polite."

"So why can’t you be more like her? Living with you is gonna send me to an early grave."

"Who exactly is— Ahem." Soyo barely managed to stop herself from snapping back. But seeing Rupa’s usual gentle smile and Tomo’s exasperated expression, she forced herself to hold it in.

As they stepped inside, Soyo took a moment to glance around.

The space was indeed small, but it was neat and well-organized. It didn’t feel too cramped, nor was it empty and lifeless.

It reminded her of the home she’d lived in when she was younger—back when things still felt like home.

"…Is that a gecko?"

"Yeah."

Chi, who seemed a little uneasy about having unfamiliar people in her space, visibly relaxed as she explained,

"His name is Chiyomaru."

"Didn’t expect you to keep something like that as a pet."

"Heh, that’s not all~ Tomo also has a pet snake."

"……"

Soyo’s expression froze.

A gecko was fine.

A snake, on the other hand… she was not okay with that.

After some small talk, the four of them gathered around the dining table for their Benishouga relaunch meeting.

Or at least, that was the plan.

They had barely discussed anything productive.

Instead, they’d gone completely off-track, diving deeper and deeper into random music-related topics.

It wasn’t until Chihiro, lazily wandering around the apartment, noticed something in the small workspace—a photo pinned to the wall, with the words “Goal: Budokan” written across it.

"So… if you guys ever get into Nina’s band, Benishouga will probably just break up, huh?"

"Eh?"

Chihiro shrugged as she said it, as if it didn’t really matter.

"Just putting it out there. Your goal is Budokan, right? That means you want to form a proper band."

"Soyo and I can’t help you with that."

"……"

Rupa remained silent. Tomo also seemed deep in thought.

An awkward silence settled over the room.

Before Soyo could attempt to ease the tension, Tomo broke the silence herself.

"It won’t break up."

"Hm?"

"Benishouga… won’t break up." Tomo repeated firmly. "If that’s what’s making you hesitate, then don’t worry about it."

She sounded certain, but in truth, even she wasn’t so sure.

From the very beginning, Benishouga had been a compromise.

It was a way for her to keep pursuing music after leaving her old band, a temporary outlet to continue creating and releasing songs.

At the same time, it was meant to help her find the right people to form a new band.

Was Chihiro the right bandmate? She didn’t know.

Were Nina and her group the right ones? She wasn’t sure of that either.

All she did know… was that she had already wasted too much time.

Back then, she had dropped out of high school, believing that if she wanted to make it, she had to start early.

That gamble had failed.

But she still hadn’t given up on her dream. Even if, over time, she had nearly forgotten that she still had one.

Benishouga had been born from her own indecision—a contradiction between wanting to move on yet being unable to let go.

For both her and Rupa, it was something important.

Something irreplaceable.

And now that it had expanded… she had a responsibility to the new members as well.

"In that case, I feel relieved. Our five-member Benishouga is going to go far."

"Mm… wait, what?"

Everyone froze.

Tomo was the first to voice the obvious question,

"Aren’t we a four-person band? Where’s the fifth coming from?"

"Ah, well… I actually recruited someone."

"She’s gonna help us with lyrics."

"…And you just decided that without telling us?" Tomo shot Chihiro an irritated look.

"Well, I’m telling you now~ Still counts, right?"

"Who is it?"

"A friend of mine."

Seeing Soyo also staring at her suspiciously, Chihiro casually continued,

"Don’t look at me like that. I did spend time in the UK, you know. Took down quite a few bands myself."

"Of course, I have songwriter friends. And no, we aren’t enemies."

"Who?"

"Her English name is… hold on, let me check. It’s too long, I don’t remember."

Chihiro pulled out her phone, scrolling through her notes.

"Ob… something. Eh, whatever. Let’s just call her Ms. Ob-Something."

"???"

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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!