“You’re back? Weren’t you supposed to be off carrying out your evil plan?”
It was lunchtime. Nagasaki Soyo, currently under “house arrest,” was busying herself in the kitchen, still in her pajamas. Hearing the front door open, her first thought was that her mother had come home.
But when she turned to see her stand-in walking in instead, a flicker of disappointment crossed her face.
Then, her expression twisted into an irritated scowl as she watched Chihiro nonchalantly change her shoes and immediately start stealing her food like she owned the place.
“Hey, that’s my lunch!”
“Oh, come on. You always say you’re too lazy to cook when you’re home alone.”
“…I…”
Right. Normally, even if she stayed home on weekends, she wouldn’t bother making herself a meal. But lately… she had been spending more and more time in the kitchen.
“…You’ve got some nerve saying that. You’re the ‘housekeeper’ here—you should be the one doing this, shouldn’t you?”
“Next time, I’ll do it. No need to act so distant, Soyo. We’re practically wearing the same pair of pants at this point.”
Soyo rolled her eyes and pulled out a chair, sitting next to Chihiro.
“So, why’d you come back in the middle of the day? Didn’t finish your meeting?”
“Nope. Went well.”
“…You mean… the band is officially formed? All five of you?”
“Not yet.” Chihiro shook her head. “Raana’s still watching from the sidelines, but she seems interested. By the way… how did you know she’d be into our band? Have you met my sister before?”
“No, I haven’t… Ugh, never mind, don’t worry about it!”
“Alright, alright, no need to be so jumpy.”
“So, the four of you already reached an agreement? That fast? What about Taki? Didn’t she kick up a fuss? Talk shit about Sakiko or something?”
“…She didn’t say a single bad word about her.”
Because the one who did was Tsuzuki Chihiro herself—on purpose, to make Taki believe she was fully on Tomori’s side.
“…Really?” Soyo was surprised. She hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.
If she had known everyone would suddenly get along so well, she would’ve gone herself.
“But I still have to head back this afternoon. We booked a studio session at three to practice Haruhikage.”
“Haruhikage?!”
“Whoa, did you just step on a live wire or something?! Why are you yelling?”
Chihiro nearly jumped out of her chair, her chopsticks flying from her hands. As she bent down to pick them up, she shot an annoyed look at Soyo, who had suddenly lost her cool.
“You cannot play Haruhikage.”
Soyo’s tone was deadly serious—almost chilling. It made Chihiro feel like there was actually something gravely wrong with it.
“Why?”
“That song… was written by Sakiko. Just trust me—you can’t use it.”
Soyo’s expression twisted in pain. Memories she wanted to forget came flooding back—memories of that moment burned into her mind, of that blue-haired, twin-tailed girl running away, of the tears she left behind, scattering in the air.
Those tears had built up, drop by drop, until they formed a raging river, surging toward her—
…Or at least, that’s what it felt like. In reality, she had woken up that morning with a soaked face, only to realize it was just Tsuzuki Chihiro wringing out a wet towel over her head while she refused to get out of bed.
But still—Haruhikage was a forbidden spell. No matter how capable Chihiro was, Soyo refused to let that song be used in their new band’s practice.
But… wasn’t the reason they chose it because they had no other songs?
Wait. A new song?!
Soyo cleared her throat.
“…What now?” Chihiro raised an eyebrow. “You look guilty as hell. Did you steal something?”
“Who are you accusing?!” Soyo slammed the table, asserting her dominance over her own household. “What I mean is… if you need a song, I can write one.”
“…You can compose?”
The skeptical look Chihiro gave her made Soyo’s stomach twist with guilt.
Because, in reality… she was planning to steal the song Taki and Tomori would eventually write.
It wasn’t exactly different from stealing something, was it? Even if that song technically didn’t exist yet.
And if she wanted to copy it, this was her only chance. In a little while, Tomori’s lyrics and Taki’s demo would be in their first draft.
If she got a song ready now, Haruhikage could be thrown out for good. And if she nudged Taki into writing another song, even if they eventually performed live, there would never be a day where that sinful cat became a war criminal!
Genius. She was an absolute genius when it came to doing terrible things. The fact that she could even think of something as shameless as plagiarizing Taki’s future work was proof of that.
“…I can’t compose. But I can sing it—both the melody and lyrics are in my head.”
“Is it an original?”
“Yeah…”
“Why do you sound so guilty?” Chihiro gave her a doubtful look. “You’re not just ripping off someone else’s work, are you?”
“I warn you—don’t question your employer!”
Soyo was flustered, her voice nearly cracking. But after taking a deep breath, she quickly restored the poise of a mastermind behind the scenes.
“Let’s put it this way—I’ve never actually composed or arranged anything, but I’ve always had this feeling… that I’m a natural talent in this field.”
“…Oh?”
“But I’ll need someone who can turn the music in my head into a proper score within a few hours. You… No, definitely not you.”
“…And why are you so sure I can’t?”
Chihiro looked at her, amused at how quickly she had backed herself into a corner.
“For your information, I do write original music.” She sighed dramatically. “The only problem is… no one wants my songs.”
“…So after all that, you’re just—”
“Because they claim my compositions are too difficult for humans to play. Though, honestly? I don’t see what’s so hard about them.”
“…You’re so full of it. I can’t even—”
Just as Soyo was about to roast her, Chihiro suddenly stood up and disappeared into the bedroom.
When she returned, she was holding a guitar.
Then, she took a deep breath—
—and unleashed hell.
The sound that erupted from her fingers was a technical onslaught, a flurry of notes cascading like a torrential flood. It was pure, relentless technique.
“Tsuzuki Etudes—First Chapter.”
“…?!”
Soyo sat there, utterly frozen, staring like a stunned rich divorcée.
Chihiro waved a hand in front of her face, then playfully poked her forehead.
“Y-You… you… With this level of skill, why are you a con artist?!”
“Shouldn’t you have been fought over by every band out there until there was nothing left of you?!”
“…Do you have to put it like that?”
“But seriously, why?!”
“Because when I play, I don’t care about anyone.”
“That still doesn’t—”
“I mean anyone.” Chihiro cut her off, sighing. “Not my bandmates, not the crew backstage, not even the audience.”
“I’ve literally derailed my own band’s performance—just gone off on a solo, completely ignoring the setlist—until the crowd started leaving with disgusted expressions.”
“And I only realized it was a problem when someone pulled the plug on my amp.”
“…You’re a menace. An absolute guitar menace.”
“So? Didn’t you say you had an original song? Time to sing it for me.”
“…You know what? Maybe you should just stay behind the scenes. Or better yet, switch to bass. Take up my legacy.”
“…???”
—
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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