Two hours earlier.
After saying goodbye to the other members of the new band, Tsuzuki Chihiro cheerfully made her way home.
Sure, calling her employer’s house her home was a bit shameless, but hey—Soyo’s bed was really comfortable.
And it wasn’t the same as a fancy five-star hotel, either. Hotels were too pristine, too polished. They lacked that warmth that made a place feel lived-in.
“Oh, right… I should pick up some fresh ingredients for our dear Soyo-chan.”
If she remembered correctly, the fridge was mostly stocked with vegetables. A salad was doable, but a meal without meat? That just felt lacking.
Besides, she had been going on about helping Soyo fulfill her “commission,” but in reality, she had completely veered off from the destructive plans Soyo originally had in mind. That left Chihiro feeling at least a little guilty.
If nothing else, she figured the least she could do was buy her little sponsor some proper food.
“Well, in that case… looks like I’ll need to hit up the nearest supermarket. Not like the money I have right now is enough to pay off my debts anyway…”
“Might as well use it to improve my quality of life first.”
Giving Soyo good food was the same as giving herself good food. No difference at all.
Getting off the train a stop early, Tsuzuki Chihiro headed to a large supermarket near the station. This time, however, she didn’t shamelessly hover around the free samples section for dinner. Instead, she made her way to the fresh produce aisle to pick out some beef.
“Soyo-chan?”
“……”
“Excuse me, are you Soyo-chan?”
“Hm?”
It took Chihiro a moment to register that someone was calling her. She was still in “off-the-clock” mode and hadn’t fully settled into her role.
But when she turned around to see who it was, she nearly jumped in shock.
“You—”
Wasn’t this the first big sucker— no, angel she had encountered after arriving in Tokyo?
But wait—something didn’t add up. She was out here with Soyo’s face. Did this mean Iseri Nina actually knew Soyo?
“You don’t remember me? I’m Nina. Iseri Nina. We met at Yoshinoya before.”
“Oh… right, Nina.”
Chihiro had hesitated to say Nina’s name immediately—not because she forgot it, but because she wasn’t sure whether Soyo actually knew it.
But from the few sentences this little dummy had just blurted out, she now had confirmation: Soyo and Nina had exchanged names, and they had met not too long ago at Yoshinoya.
More importantly, they probably weren’t that close.
Otherwise, Nina would’ve found it odd that Soyo hadn’t called her by name right away.
“Nina, what are you doing here? Grocery shopping too?”
“Yeah… but the meat here is so expensive!”
“You didn’t bring enough money?”
Chihiro was a little surprised. From what she had gathered, Nina had moved to Tokyo on her own—she didn’t seem like she was strapped for cash.
Wait… could she have actually misjudged her target back then? Had taking that money really put this kid in a tough spot?
Feeling a bit guilty at the thought, Chihiro casually offered, “If there’s something you want, I can cover it. Just pay me back next time.”
“Huh? I can’t let you do that.”
“It’s fine. Friends help each other out, right?”
“Huh? We’re friends?”
“Uh… we’re not?”
Now this was awkward. Chihiro had assumed that for someone as socially inept as Soyo, it would be easy to win over a girl like Nina.
I mean, who knows someone is a con artist and still willingly talks to them?
But apparently, she had miscalculated.
“Oh, right…”
Nina didn’t seem too caught up on the “friends” thing and instead looked at Chihiro curiously.
“That thing from last time—did you ever get an answer?”
“Last time?”
Chihiro frowned. “You mean…”
“You know, Chihiro-san! You said you met Chihiro-san before. And that she used my name to scam you—”
“…Huh?”
“Sorry if this sounds bad,” Nina continued, not noticing Chihiro’s stunned expression, “but I feel like Chihiro-san must have her own reasons. If you see her again, could you not report her?”
“Actually… there’s something I want to ask her.”
Chihiro finally got it.
So that’s why Soyo had seen through her.
She’d spent days wondering if Soyo had some hidden detective-level perception. But no—Soyo had just accidentally run into the real Nina after hearing Chihiro use that name.
Well. That explained everything.
Still, the real problem at hand wasn’t Soyo—it was Nina and how to get out of this conversation.
“Nina, you—”
“Hey, isn’t that Nagasaki?”
Just as Chihiro was about to deflect, another person suddenly walked up.
No—not just one person.
“Momoka, is this someone you know?”
“Uh… how do I put it? She’s someone connected to one of Nina’s ‘friends.’ Oh, right—Nina, you probably had something to ask her, didn’t you?”
Standing in front of Chihiro was a girl with hair similar in color to Soyo’s, dressed in a cool and stylish outfit. Next to her was another girl—your classic long, straight black-haired type, with an adorable cowlick curling up at the top of her head.
Oh, great. I’m getting surrounded.
Fortunately, none of these people seemed particularly close to Soyo. She could probably handle this…
“Oh, perfect! The more, the merrier! Why don’t you come over for dinner at Momoka’s place too~?”
“Hey, Subaru, you can’t just invite people like that.”
“What’s the big deal~?”
The girl called Subaru glanced at Chihiro—who she assumed was Soyo—with a warm, friendly smile.
“Um…”
Nina looked a little flustered by the situation, but when she turned to Chihiro, there was a hint of a hopeful invitation in her expression.
“Soyo-chan, are you free tonight?”
“Ah… well…”
Could she say no? Could she tell them the real owner of this face was waiting at home, expecting to be fed?
This was turning into a hassle…
Chihiro didn’t know these people well—her only real connection was that one night she had spent crashing at Nina’s place. But even so, she could tell what was happening here.
That Subaru girl seemed too socially adept. Even if Nina herself hadn’t realized it, Chihiro could guess the reason for this invitation—it was probably to give Nina someone she could talk to.
On one hand, there was her promise to Soyo.
On the other, there was Nina, who she still felt kind of bad for.
She was starting to get a headache.
“Is it far? I can’t stay out too late.”
“Not far! Just two stops away, at Momoka’s place.”
“…Alright. Then I’ll take you up on that offer.”
If she managed her time well, she could play the role of the “friendly guest” for a bit, then rush home to feed Soyo.
It should… probably work out.
—
T/N: this is why you cant juggle multiple girls at once!
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!
Reader discussion
0 Comments
Be the first reader to share a thought about this chapter.