At the top floor of a luxury apartment complex in Roppongi, a certain wealthy young lady sat with a grim expression, her face darkening as she read the messages on her phone.
Truth be told, Soyo had been pleasantly surprised at first.
After all, the moment she got home, she received a text. The sender was Taki, but the message itself brought unexpected good news.
[Taki: Sorry, I got too carried away today. I shouldn't have called out Chihaya Anon like that in front of the other customers.]
While she did feel a little guilty about Anon, there was no denying the result—Taki's so-called "impulsive" behavior had essentially forced Anon, the one pushing for the band, to back out.
Gotta hand it to the professionals…
Soyo had to admit, Tsuzuki Chihiro was incredibly efficient. This was only the first day, and she had already guided Taki into completely breaking Anon's resolve.
If it had been her, she wouldn't have gone this far.
This girl was terrifying. Soyo definitely needed to be more cautious in the future, or she might end up getting outplayed without even realizing it.
But then, any satisfaction she felt quickly evaporated when another message from Taki popped up moments later.
[Taki: I'll do what you asked today. Next time Anon comes by, I'll apologize to her.]
[Taki: And… I'll seriously discuss the band with her.]
What the hell is this?!
From what Soyo knew of Taki, she wasn't the type to lower her head and apologize so easily.
And yet…
Oh. Right. Based on how she worded that message, it did sound like "Soyo" had asked her to do exactly that.
What is Tsuzuki trying to pull here…? Soyo frowned.
While having Taki apologize did ease some of her lingering guilt, didn't this completely ruin everything?
Anon was the type to push her luck the moment she was given an opening. If Taki apologized and gave her a reason to stay, wouldn't that mean everything that happened today was for nothing?!
Just then, the sound of the electronic lock clicking open echoed from the entrance.
Instinctively, Soyo thought her mother had returned. But when she got up to check, she saw that the person walking in—wearing her face—was none other than Tsuzuki Chihiro.
"Why did you make Taki apologize to Anon? And why are you encouraging her to reconsider the band?"
The moment Chihiro stepped inside, she was met with the intense gaze of her "employer."
She responded by rolling her eyes, shrugging off her jacket, and—without hesitation—tossing it over Soyo's head, completely smothering that self-righteous glare.
"Mmpph—! Y-You—!"
By the time Soyo yanked the uniform off her head, Chihiro was already sprawled out on the couch, looking perfectly at ease.
"Aren't you going to explain yourself?"
"Explain what?"
Chihiro cracked one eye open, gazing up at Soyo.
Truth be told, she couldn't bring herself to ignore Anon's feelings entirely—not when the girl had been so genuinely hurt.
But at the same time, she had already agreed to Soyo's request, and there was no way she would go back on her word.
She always kept her promises.
That was a vow she made to herself after failing to fulfill the biggest promise of her life—when she swore to her parents she'd invite them to see her perform in the UK, only to lose them before she ever had the chance.
Still… keeping her word didn't mean she had to do it exactly as expected.
A promise is a promise, but there's no rule saying I have to do it the way you want me to.
A smirk played on Chihiro's lips as an idea formed in her mind.
"Soyo, do you really think making Anon run away means she'll just give up?"
"…Huh?"
Soyo blinked, her mind flashing back to last time.
Back then, their band had come together. Even though Raana rarely showed up, the first person to crack under pressure had indeed been Anon.
She made up excuses to avoid practice. Eventually, Taki, ever the blunt one, called her out, and Anon ran off—
Only to come back the very next day, convinced by Tomori.
And not only that… she actually put in a lot more effort after that.
Tomori had a way of drawing people in, of making them open up. But she wasn't exactly persuasive.
So if Anon had come back so quickly, it meant…
She convinced herself.
"I've known Anon for years. Nobody understands that pink-haired dumbass better than me."
"…"
Soyo clicked her tongue. Damn it. She really is good at this.
Even with her knowledge of the previous timeline, she had only considered the surface-level details. She hadn't truly analyzed the situation.
"So what are you saying?"
"If you really want to stop Anon, the key is gaining her trust first. And she's so easy to fool. Even with this different face, you're just passable enough to get the job done."
"Excuse me, what?" Soyo planted a foot on Chihiro's stomach, glaring down at her. "Are you reluctant to be walking around with my face?"
"Not at all~"
"I'm your boss. Show some respect for your employer—hey, don't touch my foot!"
"Who's touching? It stinks. Get it off me."
Soyo hastily pulled her foot away, a little embarrassed.
But, well… using her height advantage to step on this scammer did feel oddly satisfying.
No, no, no, I'm not a sadist. I refuse to become a sadist.
"Anyway, today I played along with the mess you made yesterday. I let Taki corner Anon, then turned around and accused her of being too harsh. That way…"
"Taki ends up looking like the unreasonable one. She starts taking your opinions into account more often, and because she already shared her thoughts with you before, she naturally starts seeing you as someone on her side?"
"Exactly! You do have a brain, after all."
Chihiro nodded approvingly before continuing, "And by making Taki apologize and reopen the conversation about the band, I'm not forcing her to change her stance."
"But for Anon, that apology is enough to massively boost her trust in me."
"In other words, without lifting a finger or getting my hands dirty, you've made yourself the sole person in control of Anon and Taki's next meeting?"
"Mhmm. Brilliant, right?"
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"
"It's nothing, really. Just a little trick. Not even worth mentioning."
Hah! Nothing worth mentioning, my ass.
Watching how easily Soyo was eating this up, Chihiro was grinning internally.
But then, looking at the girl in front of her, practically beaming with excitement, she couldn't help but smile too.
"Truly impressive, my top-tier con artist. With your help, things are going perfectly."
"All thanks to your strategic leadership, my dear lord. I merely did my duty as a humble retainer. Speaking of which, about my payment—"
"Denied."