How to raise a random guy's wife

"What did you say?" Eriri suddenly looked up.

"Iori Hashima's plan," Kobayashi Sora replied. "So, what are your thoughts?"

"..."

"Should we just admit it, or... slap him in the face with our strength?"

Eriri silently bit her lower lip.

"Eriri..." Kato Megumi spoke up, "I'm a little curious, why do you work so hard at drawing?"

"Hmm?" Eriri asked in confusion.

“Look, it’s so hard, and you have to avoid everyone’s attention and not let your identity as an artist be exposed, but the money you earn doesn’t mean much to you.” Kato Megumi gazed into Eriri’s eyes. “So… what is your purpose, what is the goal that has kept you going until now?”

Eriri pursed her lips, "..."

"Watch me closely, I've become an amazing illustrator." Kobayashi Sora imitated Eriri's tone coyly. "You'd better regret parting ways with me back then! You missed the chance to witness the growth of a super illustrator!" He paused, "That's roughly what you're thinking?"

Eriri glared at Kobayashi Sora, but couldn't bring herself to say anything in rebuttal.

Because... what Kobayashi Sora said is true.

Eriri practiced and practiced relentlessly, striving harder and harder, determined to prove herself and teach that idiot a lesson.

"Then..." Kato Megumi blinked, "Is that all?"

"Hmm." Eriri's breath hitched.

"Actually, it's not impossible." Kobayashi Sora smiled. "If you lose in terms of physique, personality, and relationships, losing in terms of ability isn't such a big deal."

“Karako,” Kato Megumi looked at Kobayashi Sorako, “Eriko didn’t work so hard just to give up.”

Eriri's eyelids drooped slightly.

"Hard work is a thing of the past, and it doesn't have much to do with her current decisions." Kobayashi Sora raised her chin. "Do you see any signs that she's going to work hard now?"

Yingli's pink cheeks are slightly bulging.

“She’s been able to work so hard all by herself for so long,” Kato Megumi said, staring at Kobayashi Sora. “With everyone’s help, she will definitely be able to keep going.”

Eriri's eyes sparkled.

“Persistence alone is not meaningful,” Kobayashi Sora shook her head. “Iori is right. Kashiwagi Eri is already close to her complete form. It will be extremely difficult for her to grow further.”

Eriri clenched her little hands.

“Being close means not being quite there yet. I’ve heard that the more skilled someone is, the more they are lacking.” Kato Megumi recalled something from before. “Besides… Hashima Iori has never seen Eriri’s drawing of Takagi-san.”

“That was just a flash of inspiration,” Kobayashi Sora said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “It’s better to admit defeat cleanly now than to try and lose again.”

"Who would lose again?!" Eriri snapped. "What are you two doing, singing in unison? Weren't you here to comfort me?"

"Isn't this..." Kobayashi Sora chuckled, "...a success."

Eriri Sawamura Spencer, the "egoisticliliy" Kashiwagi Eri, has been resurrected!

A flame seemed to flicker in her azure eyes. Eriri took a deep breath. "Kōshō, you can contact Hōjima to sail out to sea, right?"

Chapter 190 I Don't Want to Lose

"Huh?" The day after the summer doujinshi convention, in the park where they met for the first time, Hashima Izumi looked at the blonde twin-tailed girl bowing deeply in front of her, somewhat at a loss, so surprised that she forgot to close her wide-open mouth.

At Eriri's request, Kobayashi Sora contacted Hashima Izumi and told her that Kashiwagi Eiichi wanted to meet her.

But what I saw was Eriri.

"I'm sorry, going to sea... I did something that hurt you." Eriri was unusually candid in facing her mistake.

As a fellow fanfiction author, Eriri knew how much psychological damage her act of returning the doujinshi to Hashima Uekai had caused her.

"How could this be... How is this possible... That Sawamura-senpai everyone knows... the beauty from Shimamura Middle School, is Kashiwagi Eri?"

“A jade maiden, eh?” Kobayashi Sora raised an eyebrow.

Eriri glared at her.

“Returning a book to its author is the most rude and despicable thing a creator can do... I may not be able to get your forgiveness, but I have really reflected on my actions.” Eriri closed her eyes slightly, as if she had made up her mind. “To be honest... I am afraid of your book in every way.”

Hashima panicked, "What...what did you say, Sawamura Manabu...Kashiwagi-sensei!"

"Don't call me teacher... I don't have the ability to be called that at all... Reading your doujinshi made me realize that." Eriri truthfully expressed her thoughts, "Your doujinshi made me feel something that doesn't exist in my work, which made me feel jealous and afraid... to the point that I'm afraid to accept your doujinshi."

"Huh...?" Bo Island was tense and somewhat at a loss when he went out to sea.

After all, egoisticliliy is a popular circle. Although it's not a top-tier super-popular circle like RER, in the eyes of Bodao Chuhai, who has only been making doujinshi for a year, it still falls into the category of big names.

Eriri pursed her lips slightly. "It might be too late to say this now. Perhaps you weren't holding back either... but if you don't mind, could you give me that notebook again?"

"Ah...ah...okay!" Hashima Izumi's eyes lit up, and she jumped up excitedly, then pulled her notebook out of her bag with a "plop plop" sound. "Please, senior, accept this!"

"Thank you." Eriri smiled. "Then, I'll exchange my notebook with you."

"I...I'm honored!" Po Island greeted the sea with an expectant smile.

"Wait a minute!" Kobayashi Sora stopped Eriri. "Don't give the third-year middle schooler any 18+ doujinshi!"

"Huh?" Bo Island looked visibly disappointed as he left the island.

"..." Kobayashi Sora sighed, took the notebook from Eriri's hand, "Your notebook was stolen." Then she stuffed it into the bag she had brought for the trip to Hashima Island, "You found a notebook."

Bo Island Outing: "......" Is this even possible?

After that, it was time for a pleasant chat between like-minded people. Eriri talked about "Little Love Rhapsody", which finally made the tense trip to the island of Hashima relax.

Seeing their pleasant conversation, Kato Megumi and Kobayashi Sora felt that things had finally come to an end.

"It's rare to see Eriri interacting with people so happily," Kato Megumi remarked.

"Hmm?" Kobayashi Sora tilted her head. "Weren't we having a great chat?"

“But I know very little, and sometimes I don’t even understand what Eriri is saying.” Kato Megumi’s gaze was distant. “Eriri must also be looking forward to this kind of enjoyable exchange.”

As they talked, his tendency to get too excited while discussing the trip to Bo Island began to surface, and he launched into a long, enthusiastic speech.

Just like... Aki Tomoya.

Kobayashi Sora saw Eriri's lips twitch, eventually settling into a slightly bitter smile.

"Oh, right, and this too." Eriri opened her backpack. "I hope you'll accept this."

"This is..." Poshima Izumi took the card with a puzzled look. "What?"

“I was inspired by your painting… and I painted it last night.”

"You've gone to so much trouble, senior... It's such a waste to give it to me."

"Take it, I drew it especially for you."

"Sawamura-senpai?"

"Goodbye then, Po Island... Off to sea."

"Goodbye, Senpai." Hashima Izumi held the card in confusion, watching Eriri walk towards Kato Megumi and Kobayashi Sora, then reached out and took Kato Megumi's arm, slowly walking away.

"Haha... This picture really took a lot of effort." A familiar voice rang out, "And it's in full color."

“Brother…” Hashima turned around as he sailed out to sea and saw Hashima Iori. “Why are you here?”

“Let’s just consider it a coincidence…” Iori Hashima watched Kobayashi Sora’s retreating figure before turning her gaze away. “Speaking of which, this is quite extravagant. A full-color card drawn by Eri Kashiwagi could fetch hundreds of thousands of yen at an online auction.”

"Senior... what do you mean?"

"In good faith, this is probably a gift prepared for you, a fan of 'Little Rhapsody'?"

"What if it isn't?"

"That's to show you the difference in the creators' abilities."

On the full-color card, the princess sits in a carriage, watching Serbis and the girl chatting happily.

"Did you have a specific purpose in drawing this, senior?"

"Who knows?"

Looking at the delicate brushstrokes while sailing out to sea from Po Island, I naturally found myself in the girl's shoes.

Does the senior mean that... the interaction between the girl from Po Island and Serbis was only temporary, and that Princess Sawamura is the ultimate winner?

"Was being picked on by Eri Kashiwagi really that upsetting to you?" Iori Hashima chuckled. "For a small doujin circle like ours, I feel rather honored."

“Sawamura-senpai… no, that girl is really immature,” Hashima Izumi corrected herself.

Iori Hashima wasn't surprised. "When it comes to creators, there are plenty of childish types."

"I feel like I've been provoked by her... like I've been teased by a primary school student," Bo Island muttered as she went out to sea.

"so?"

Bo Island stared at the card, "I don't want to... lose to that person."

"With your current strength, I feel like a rabbit challenging a lion."

"I know about that kind of thing myself..."

"They're also trying to outmaneuver you, so I don't think you have a chance of winning."

"I know that too!"

Chapter 191 Gentle Hui

"Even so..." Bo Shima took a deep breath as he went out to sea, "Even if there's no chance of winning, I don't want to be eaten quietly—it feels so unfair!"

"Oh?" Iori Hashima raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so persistent? Why are you going against her?"

"I don't know... although I don't know why myself..." Bo Island paused, "but I know I don't want to admit defeat!"

"Pfft, hahahahahaha!" Iori Hashima laughed so hard she bent over.

"What's so funny?" Bo Island asked, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

“No…” Iori Hashima finally managed to stop laughing. “Going out to sea.”

"What's wrong?" Hashima Izumi looked at his brother, who had suddenly become serious, with a puzzled expression.