“Alright, alright, don’t be mad. Here, head pats~”
“Get your hand off me!”
Soyo had no interest in entertaining Tsuzuki Chihiro, who was now acting all sweet and trying to comfort her like she was some sulky little kid.
There was no way she was going to acknowledge Chihiro’s argument just now. Even though, if she really thought about it, Chihiro did kind of have a point.
After all, from the very beginning, Sakiko had been drawn to Tomori’s voice.
“Honestly, Sakiko’s compositions back then were really gentle.”
“…”
Resting her chin in her hand, Tsuzuki Chihiro smiled as she watched Soyo continue to pout. “With Haruhikage, Sakiko wrote both the composition and arrangement to highlight Tomori’s voice. Whether it was the layered harmonies in the chorus or the way she minimized other instrumentals in the refrain, it was all designed to let Tomori’s voice come through as softly as possible.”
“Back then… that must’ve been how she viewed the people around her.”
Even though Tsuzuki Chihiro thought Haruhikage leaned more toward pop than rock, she couldn’t deny Sakiko’s skill in arrangement. Using just the synthesizer in the keyboard, she had created a song with incredible depth.
The way the shimmering synth bells supported Tomori’s vocals in the chorus—it left such a vivid, beautiful impression. One that made it feel like the past had truly been as bright and dazzling as it seemed.
“But it’s all over now.”
Nagasaki Soyo listened to Chihiro’s praises for Sakiko with a complicated expression. Then, lowering her gaze to the table, she murmured softly,
“Yeah. It’s over. But to you, this song holds a different meaning. That’s why you got so worked up that day—you didn’t want it being used as a practice song, did you?”
“…A Haruhikage without piano… If Sakiko ever heard it, she’d be devastated.”
“Soyo.” Tsuzuki Chihiro looked at her strangely, which made Soyo feel a little uneasy. “Why do I get the feeling you love imagining scenarios that’ll never happen?”
“H-huh? Do I?”
“Forget whether Haruhikage would even be performed on stage as a practice song. Just now, you mentioned Sakiko possibly hearing it…”
“Like, seriously? What’s she gonna do, randomly show up at one of your live performances? She doesn’t even know the band got back together. Or do you think I’d be dumb enough to go brag about my new band’s harmony in front of a former bandmate who left heartbroken?”
“Soyo, you can insult my morals all you want, but don’t you dare insult my intelligence. Do you have any idea how hurt I am right now?”
“It’s already almost summer, and yet I still felt a chill run through my whole body—so cold it cut straight to my soul! The sheer lack of trust and respect you have for a professional like me is just staggering.”
“To think you actually see me as some gigantic idiot—boohoo, how could you do this to me…”
“…”
Nagasaki Soyo wanted to punch something.
Why did she have the distinct feeling that this girl had just spent the last minute roasting and mocking her on purpose?
And what’s worse—she had no solid proof to call her out on it.
She couldn’t even admit she was offended. Otherwise, wouldn’t that mean she really was the “gigantic idiot” Chihiro had just accused her of being?
But… as annoying as she was, Chihiro’s words did make something click in Soyo’s mind.
She had already gone through this once before. She didn’t need to keep clinging to the tragedies of the past, to all those scenes that might never happen again.
This time—
No one would be left sobbing as they walked away from a live show.
This time—
No one would be kneeling, clutching someone’s hands, begging them not to leave.
Everything—everything—would change.
“Cough cough—look, I’m clearly devastated right now. Couldn’t you at least give me a little raise to make it up to me?”
“…”
—
The next day, Wednesday, May 6th.
At Tsukinomori Girls’ Academy, the wind ensemble club was taking things easy in preparation for an upcoming school performance on Friday.
After all, pushing too hard before a concert could sometimes backfire.
As a member of the ensemble—and specifically, as the girl who held down the bass section with a double bass that was practically bigger than she was—Nagasaki Soyo felt like luck wasn’t exactly on her side today.
Because… aside from club activities, and the fact that Mutsumi was absent due to ballet class, she had nowhere to go.
If she went home, she’d be alone. Sure, things were lively whenever she and Chihiro got into arguments, but since Chihiro was busy working on their band plans today, she wouldn’t be home either.
“Soyo, wanna go to karaoke with us?”
“Huh?”
Soyo blinked, considering whether to accept. But before she could answer, the group continued their conversation.
“We’re planning to sing our hearts out today. Oh, and I swear, the owner of that place already knows me by name…”
“Wait, you’re not talking about the one next to RiNG, are you?”
“You’ve been there too? Come on, let’s go~”
“So, Soyo, what about you? You coming?”
“…”
Soyo hesitated for a moment before forcing a smile. “Sorry, I’ve got something going on at home, so I probably can’t make it.”
Like hell she was going.
Sure, that karaoke place might as well have been an ancient battleground for CRYCHIC, but that wasn’t what was stopping her.
No, the real issue was that she couldn’t risk interfering with Chihiro’s mission.
Wandering around near RiNG? That would be way too reckless. Someone could easily spot her and blow their whole plan to pieces.
Of course, it definitely wasn’t because she was scared of Chihiro scolding her.
What a joke. Chihiro was just some random stand-in she had paid for. She was the one holding the purse strings in this house. There was no way she’d let a few petty warnings from that girl get to her.
No, this was for the bigger picture.
This was the choice of a brave warrior named Nagasaki Soyo, a two-time loop survivor, enduring hardship for the sake of a grander vision.
Only fools wasted their energy on petty verbal battles.
She had just one goal—to bring back what was lost.
“Hey, there’s this really scary-looking person standing at the school gate. She totally looks like some delinquent.”
“Whoa, you’re right. Think she’s here to ambush someone?”
“…Huh?!”
Following their gazes, Soyo stiffened.
No way.
Shiina Taki is tailing me now?!
When did she pick up this terrible habit?! Who taught her this?!
And now, there was an even bigger problem.
Just as Soyo was about to turn around and retreat, Taki had already spotted her.
“Soyo!”
Arms crossed, Taki called out in a loud, commanding voice, sending a jolt of fear through Soyo’s classmates.
“Whoa. Soyo, what the hell did you get yourself into?”
“Soyo, run! We’ll cover for you! We won’t last long, but the three of us can probably stall her for, like, three seconds?”
“Three versus one, but she has the advantage!”
“…I beg you all to shut up.”
—
T/N: OOF IS SHE GONNA MESS THINGS UP AGAIN
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!
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