Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [136]

"……"

If Wakaba Mutsumi's silence was something rather common, then the fact that Togawa Sakiko had been sitting there, maintaining that solemn expression, unmoving like a statue for nearly an hour—only showing any reaction once Nagasaki Soyo and her mother left—was certainly surprising.

But what truly caught Togawa Sakiko off guard was how quickly the doubts she had about Soyo were confirmed.

And in a way that Soyo herself clearly didn’t want.

That look in her eyes, that expression… Sakiko had seen it before. In the mirror. In the moments when she felt most helpless and lost.

"Sakiko?"

"I’ll go pay. Let’s call it a day." Sakiko shook her head, neither confirming nor denying anything.

But before she picked up the bill and left, she glanced back at Mutsumi, who didn’t seem to be in a good state either.

The girl’s body was slightly hunched, her shoulders visibly trembling. The mango juice in her hands had long been finished, and the bite marks on the straw made it clear how torn up she was inside.

At the end of the day… this situation was both related to her and not.

It was related in the sense that Soyo’s unrealistic wish before leaving Tokyo had been caused by her.

It was unrelated because… the fact that Soyo was leaving was something she—a fallen girl who had already left the Togawa family—had no power to change.

She couldn’t even change her own circumstances. How could she possibly change someone else’s?

Now that she thought about it, if crychic had never disbanded, then maybe, one year later, at the end of their first semester of high school, the one standing in the rain, saying she was quitting the band… might have been Soyo instead of her.

No… what was she even thinking?

Thinking like that was just shifting her own responsibility onto someone else.

"Anyway…" Sakiko said, looking at Mutsumi, who had lifted her head at her words. "I’ll try to figure something out about Soyo. Though I don’t even know what I can do."

"Sakiko…"

"Mutsumi, just do what you want to do. Also, about Taki and the band… please, whatever you do, don’t mention it to Soyo. She absolutely cannot find out."

"I understand."

Mutsumi looked downcast but still nodded in agreement.

She couldn’t refuse Sakiko’s request. She had known Sakiko since kindergarten, and for as long as she could remember, her decisions had always revolved around Sakiko.

Soyo was also someone very important to her. She didn’t want either of them to be hurt by her words. But… it seemed like every time she spoke, she made things worse.

Maybe staying silent was the safest choice.

She had already hurt Soyo this time. Maybe Soyo would ignore her for the next few days. But she couldn’t keep hurting her. At the very least… staying silent was the only thing she could do now.

"I’m leaving, Mutsumi."

"Mm."

Since she still had work, Sakiko didn’t have time to walk Mutsumi home. Besides, she had already wasted an hour here.

She had told the manager she’d be gone for thirty minutes, but now she had exceeded that by twice the time. Just thinking about calling back made Sakiko nervous.

But as an employee, she had to face her own negligence.

"Kujo-nee… I’m sorry, I’m half an hour late again. I’ll get on the train right now."

As she picked up her phone and made the call, Sakiko’s voice trembled slightly. She was genuinely afraid of losing this job.

No—rather, every job she could get her hands on. Because there were so few places that would hire her.

And Kujo-nee had been nothing but kind to her.

"Sakiko-chan, did something happen? Nothing serious, right? Ah, you scared me to death! You should’ve at least called ahead!"

"Eh?"

"What do you mean ‘eh’? Just for making me worry like this, I’m cutting your pay in half tonight. No discussion."

"Half…?"

"Too much? How about a one-third deduction instead?" Kujo Azuki asked cautiously, thinking Sakiko was protesting.

"Ah, no, half is fine. I just didn’t expect you not to fire me."

After all, she had lost her previous newspaper delivery job just because she delivered to the wrong house. The boss had yelled at her mercilessly, and not only did she lose the job, but she also didn’t get paid for the whole day.

She had thought that after being late just a few days into the job—on top of the customer incident she had caused yesterday—Kujo-nee would definitely find her too much trouble and tell her not to come back.

But in the end, she only had her pay docked?

And even with half deducted… it was still a lot.

Her monthly salary was 300,000 yen, with one free rest day per week. That meant she worked 24 days a month, earning 12,500 yen per shift.

Even after halving, it was still more than she made working in customer service…

Unbelievable. Was this what it felt like to have luck turn around and finally find a good employer?

"Fire you? Why would I fire you, Sakiko-chan? You’re so cute and talented…"

Well, mostly because she didn’t dare to.

This was a close friend of the young lady. More than that, she was someone the owner, Tozuka Shisen, had personally instructed her to take care of. As much as she held the "manager" title, she was just a regular employee. No way would she fire someone over a single hour of tardiness.

"Thank you, Kujo-nee."

Sakiko replied gratefully as she hurried toward the subway station, expressing her appreciation over the phone one last time before hanging up.

But once the call ended, her thoughts immediately returned to Soyo.

She couldn’t just pretend none of this concerned her.

Even if she couldn’t do anything.

Even if she couldn’t change the fact that Soyo was leaving Tokyo to study in the UK.

Even if she couldn’t bring back the people she had already "abandoned" to reform crychic.

Especially considering Taki had already declared war on her.

If she suddenly approached her now and said, "Taki, let’s start a band again," wouldn’t that just be a slap in the face?

Not only would Sakiko never do such a thing, but even if she somehow lost her mind and did, there was no way Taki—who already had a band—would agree.

From the very beginning, this had always been a tragedy.

But what really piqued Sakiko’s curiosity—what she still hadn’t figured out—was what Soyo’s mother had whispered to her in the café. The words that had left Soyo so terrified.

That was the key. The one thing neither she nor Mutsumi knew.

"Chihiro…"

Suddenly, Sakiko thought of Chihiro.

Since Chihiro was living with Soyo now, maybe she knew something?

"Looks like after work tonight, aside from asking Chihiro about 'Benishouga,' I also need to find out why Soyo is so determined to leave the country."

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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!