“It’s nothing…”
The moment the conversation shifted to herself, the prickly girl immediately grew hesitant and evasive.
“Did you already know Subaru when we met last time?”
Instead of pressing the issue, Tsuzuki Chihiro switched tactics and probed from another angle.
“Last time…” Nina recalled that day at Yoshinoya, when she had run into Soyo. She froze for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I didn’t know her then.”
“Ah… that makes sense. You probably aren’t that close yet. I noticed she kept steering the conversation toward us.”
“I’m obviously a complete stranger to all of you—everyone here knows that. But the way she kept trying to engage with you… it looks like she really wants to get along with you.”
“She’s trying…”
Nina lowered her head, her body practically radiating waves of negative energy. “Trying to force herself to talk, you mean?”
“Because I don’t fit in? Because I keep failing to respond?”
“You really are stubborn, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I am stubborn, so what—wait, huh?” Nina had been gearing up for a full-blown meltdown, ready to go full boss second phase mode, but something felt off.
She squinted at “Soyo” in front of her, a strange sense of déjà vu creeping over her.
“Soyo, you…”
“What?”
Chihiro quickly realized she might’ve slipped up—her way of speaking wasn’t quite right for a “casual friend” type relationship. She forced an awkward smile.
“You really remind me of Chihiro-san today.”
“Huh? What makes you think that?”
“It’s the way you talk. It’s kind of similar to hers. And what’s even stranger… is how differently you’re talking about Chihiro-san compared to last time.”
The difference was obvious.
When Nina had first met Soyo at Yoshinoya, her attitude toward Tsuzuki Chihiro had been downright hostile.
Okay, maybe hostile was a bit much, but still—the way she spoke about Chihiro back then had been completely different from now.
“Really?”
Chihiro had to admit, she was impressed. Nina might seem slow in some ways, but her instincts were oddly sharp.
“Is Chihiro-san doing okay these days?”
Luckily, Nina’s next question didn’t go in the direction of “Are you two the same person?”—which most normal people wouldn’t even think to ask.
“Mm, she’s got a job now. No more scamming for free meals.”
“I see…”
“She’s actually mentioned you a few times, you know. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have said what I did earlier.”
“Eh? She talked about me?”
“Yeah. She said you remind her of herself.”
“You both left your families on a whim, acting on impulse.”
“She doesn’t know why you ran away, but she does know what it feels like to be the only one who believes in your choices.”
“……”
At those words, Nina trembled slightly. Something about them hit deep.
“She said you’re stubborn, just like she was. A little hedgehog, doing whatever you want.”
“She originally planned to just scam some naive, unsuspecting girl to solve her food and lodging problem.”
“But when she saw how much you were like her, she realized what a piece of crap she was.”
“That’s why she never went to see you again.”
“She… couldn’t bring herself to face you.”
“But…”
“She told me that if I ever met you, I should pass along a message.”
“A message?”
“She said—”
“‘Keep walking your own path. But don’t push away the people who genuinely accept you. Because if you’re always alone… it’ll be unbearable. And one day, you’ll give up.’”
“…So, she’s saying… I’m being pathetic right now?”
“Mm, probably a little.”
Chihiro watched as Nina bristled slightly. Looks like my words got through, though not completely.
“It’s fine. When Chihiro first went to the UK alone, she was way more of a mess than you.”
“You’re doing fine. Just take your time.”
“And also… maybe don’t stay in someone else’s bathroom for this long?”
“They might think you clogged up their toilet.”
“Wh-what?! Who would even—!”
Seeing Nina’s face flush bright red, Chihiro couldn’t help but ruffle her hair before motioning for her to head back inside.
“Looks like everything’s settled now.”
Momoka, who had been calmly eating a piece of bacon, smirked as she watched Nina trailing behind “Soyo.”
She then turned her attention to the tea-haired girl before her, a hint of admiration in her eyes.
She wouldn’t have expected a Tsukinomori rich girl to handle a “problem child” like Nina so well.
Wait. Bassist.
Decent looks, great personality, probably higher emotional intelligence than Tomo and Subaru (who could be a little too much sometimes)…
If her bass skills were solid, she might just be a great addition to the band.
But she was still a student at Tsukinomori.
Would she even be interested in joining?
It was something worth asking.
As they all ate, with Nina finally settling down and eating quietly instead of sulking, Momoka suddenly spoke up.
“Hey, Soyo.”
“Mm?”
“Why do you keep checking your watch?”
“Oh, this?”
Chihiro lifted her wrist and replied with a completely deadpan expression:
“Because I’m Kira.”
“…Huh?”
“Pfft—!”
Tomo and Subaru immediately choked on their drinks, spraying liquid all over Nina’s forehead.
“Ack—sorry, sorry, let me wipe that off for you, Nina!”
“Cough—I was just joking.”
“You really caught me off guard there.”
Momoka, despite not reading many manga, still knew Death Note well enough to get the reference.
“Actually, what I wanted to ask was—would you be interested in joining our band as a bassist?”
“Eh?”
“Yeah. I’m forming a band right now.”
“Uh… that might be a bit…”
Chihiro had been about to decline, but after a moment of thought, she decided not to shut the door completely.
“Let me think about it. But for now, I really do have to go.”
On one hand, she needed to discuss this with the real Soyo.
On the other… it was getting late.
She’d been anxiously watching the time, searching for an opening to leave, and now she finally had one.
“Leaving? In such a hurry?”
“Sorry… it’s gotten late. I need to head back. Really, I’m sorry!”
She felt a little guilty about leaving Nina here, but—
It was past 7:30 already.
Which meant that while she’d been having her heart-to-heart with Nina in the bathroom, she had also completely stood up her “sponsor” back home.
I have sinned.
“Let’s exchange LINE IDs. We can talk again later. Oh, and… can I take some food to go?”
“Ah, we still have a lot of meat buns—”
“Perfect!”
Feeling a little bad for how abruptly she was leaving, Chihiro grinned, gave Nina a pat on the shoulder, and casually threw out a parting joke:
“You look cuter in tights, Nina. See you next time~”
“Ah…”
Iseri Nina watched as Tsuzuki Chihiro practically bolted out of the house, disappearing like a whirlwind.
She stood there frozen for a few seconds, then suddenly—her eyes went wide.
Wait… when I met Soyo at Yoshinoya, I wasn’t wearing tights.
The only time I was wearing them was…
The first day I arrived in Tokyo. When I met Chihiro-san.
“Did Chihiro-san tell her? Or…?”
—
T/N: AND THEN ILL TAKE A POTATO CHIP AND EAT IT!
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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