How to raise a random guy's wife

Draw it, draw it.

"How about we have a contest?" Kobayashi Sora suggested by the pool. "If I win, I get to kiss you."

"What if I win?" Kato Megumi had a knowing look on her face. "Shall I kiss you?"

Kobayashi Sora nodded, "Then it's settled."

"You bastard... I knew it." Kato Megumi muttered softly, but did not object.

The competition began, and the two jumped into the water at the same time.

Kato Megumi clearly wasn't slacking off in her swimming lesson, and she moved toward the other side of the pool with perfect form.

With the finish line in sight, Kato Megumi reached out to touch the edge of the pool, but instead touched Kobayashi Sora's chest.

Taking advantage of her underwater swimming, Kobayashi Sora reached the finish line first, opened her arms to embrace Kato Megumi who had slowed down to finish, wrapped one arm around her waist and held onto the edge of the pool with the other, pulling the two of them to stay steady at the edge of the pool.

"I won." Kobayashi Sora captured Kato Megumi by the pool.

“You cheat…” The coldness of the poolside behind him contrasted sharply with the warmth of Kobayashi Sora’s body against his chest. Kato Megumi held his shoulder. “Swimming underwater is against the rules.”

“But there were no rules before the competition,” Kobayashi Sora blinked, “so it’s a foul next time.”

“You bastard…” Kato Megumi closed her eyes. “Then… you win this time.”

"Well then... I'll get started." Kobayashi Sora whispered as she approached, and the moment Kato Megumi's lips parted slightly, she tilted her head slightly and changed her target.

"Hey~"

The sound, which should have been muffled and then blurred, flowed out of the girl's mouth without any unexpected obstruction, forming a clear, delicate, and lovely voice.

Kato Megumi belatedly bit her lower lip, her hand on Kobayashi Sora's shoulder tightening slightly. "That's not how it is~"

"I said I'd give you a kiss, but I didn't say where."

"My neck is so stubborn," Kato Megumi complained softly. "Didn't you remind me?"

"Then I'm going to kiss your neck."

"Just for a moment..." Kato Megumi covered Kobayashi Sora's mouth with her small hand, "Shut up."

Chapter 247 What's the reason?

Eriri smacked her lips.

I won't buy lemon tea from here next time.

Sipping sour lemon tea, taking care of a woman he dislikes, watching couples showing affection in the pool, and then having to draw it himself...

What a human suffering this is!

Kato Megumi seemed to have covered Kobayashi Sora's mouth, perhaps to prevent him from making any strange noises?

Then her other hand must be...

not at all.

"Stop," Kasumigaoka Utaha reminded her, "You don't need to draw it so meticulously."

"It's okay." Eriri waved her pen. "Just blur it out."

Manually censored.

"It's an all-ages game," Kasumigaoka Utaha reiterated. "Censoring it won't help, just delete it."

"This is the culmination of my hard work!"

“Useless effort is just waste paper,” Kasumigaoka Utaha calmly replied.

"You..." Eriri was about to say "What do you know?" when she suddenly remembered the second draft of the script.

Kasumigaoka Utaha... should know a lot about this.

"Oh, right..." Eriri said, feigning indifference, referring to her conversation with Kobayashi Sora, "Sora said that after this game is finished, we'll make your second version."

"Oh?"

"I'm not really interested, but I don't have any new ideas right now anyway. Making another version would keep the hype going and make the work easier." Eriri lied with her eyes closed. "These are all things that Sora said."

"Oh......"

"Hey! What's with that reaction?"

"Eri, you haven't thought about what will happen next at all, have you?"

"What?"

"Are you going to university? Will you apply to an art college? Or are you planning to become a commercial painter as soon as possible?" Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice was calm. "Do you see painting as a hobby, or as a profession?"

Why bring this up all of a sudden?

“It’s precisely because you didn’t plan for the future that you didn’t realize how comprehensive Sora’s plan was.” Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Kobayashi Sora and Kato Megumi playing in the water. “Haven’t you realized it yet? Sora has his own plan. Although Megumi disrupted part of it, his direction has always been clear, and everything he does is to move in that direction.”

"plan?"

“If the club’s game succeeds, he will become the president of RER with real power. At that time, do you still think he will be busy with a club’s game every day like he is now?” Kasumigaoka Utaha took a sip of coffee. “If the game fails, he will lose his current position and his interest in making games. Instead, he will support and cultivate creators, using the influence of their works to improve his own position. I, who writes light novels, and you, who draws manga, are both within his cultivation scope. Of course, there will be many more people joining.”

"What did you say?"

"I mean, no matter what the outcome, this leisurely time will end after the game is released, and there will probably be a celebration party or something." Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled. "From the beginning, Sora has clearly expressed his thoughts and attitude. He wants to use the club's game to stabilize his position. Whether he succeeds or not, the club will end after the results are announced."

Eriri stared blankly at Kasumigaoka Utaha; this was something she had never imagined.

“To put it simply,” Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her glass, “Kasumigaoka Eri has no future. This is the last time, Kashiwagi Eri-sensei.”

"Then why did he say that...?"

"Would you still draw if he didn't say anything?"

“…” Eriri clutched her sketchbook. “Liar!”

"He's not lying to you. In fact, after the game is finished, he will start working on the second version."

"what?"

“But I was in college at that time, and he was busy with RER work, so Hui would naturally go with him. The secretary would handle everything.” Kasumigaoka Utaha slowly and methodically explained, “A group of people can probably only get together on weekends. Most of the time you are the one doing the work—how long can you keep that up by yourself?”

"Hmm..." Eriri wanted to be stubborn.

"Furthermore, by then, Sora won't be responsible for any work—programming, scheduling, progress control, recruitment, website promotion..." Kasumigaoka Utaha added, "Without these, the difficulty of producing the second version will increase significantly. If you can't persevere and choose to give up, you can't blame him."

"..." Eriri lowered her head and remained silent.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's lips curled up slightly. After talking so much and considering Eriri's current reaction, Kasumigaoka Utaha was basically certain that the creation of the second version stemmed from Eriri's regret over the second version.

Ok.

Kasumigaoka Utaha felt even better.

But seeing Eriri's disappointed look...

“There’s another, most important reason, Eriri.” Kasumigaoka Utaha hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"what reason?"

“Now that things have come to this, there’s no need for me to hide it anymore. I used to like Aki-kun.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s eyelids drooped slightly. “And now, that liking is over.”

Eriri bit her lower lip. Of course she knew that.

because......

“There’s nothing wrong with liking someone, but because of this liking, I’ve made a lot of wrong choices.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s slender fingers twirled her hair, her red eyes filled with complex emotions. “This liking is like a wound on my body. It will heal, and I don’t need to tear it open again after it has healed.”

Eriri pouted her cherry lips with her small, white canine teeth, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out a sentence, "Is it really over like this?"

"Isn't there you?" Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled. "I haven't given it my all, so I can only rely on you. Eriri, let me see just how far your talent can go."

If possible, Kasumigaoka Utaha also wants to do her best to bring everything to a magnificent close.

But since things have come to this point, she can only utilize a portion of her abilities.

Now, all our hopes can be pinned on Eriri.

Kasumigaoka Utaha believes that if it were Eriri, she would definitely be able to give it her all and create the best rest.

The fingertips holding the sketchbook turned white.

In the beginning, Eriri wanted to compete with Kasumigaoka Utaha in the creation of this game.

Which one, the original artwork or the script, can truly showcase the greatest charm?

That was the original plan.

Now, Kasumigaoka Utaha has abandoned the version that best represents her style.

It's like agreeing to a race, but halfway through, Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly stops and watches her sprint off with a smile.

That's so shameless...

Even now, they still talk about being magnanimous.

Eriri took a deep breath, her reddened eyes glaring at Kasumigaoka Utaha.

"Why are you looking at me?" Kasumigaoka Utaha avoided her gaze. "It's started again at the pool."

Chapter 248 Important Information

After playing and having fun, it's time to rest.

"The check-in procedures are all done." Kobayashi Sora handed the room key to Kato Megumi. "This is your room."

Although some things were already known to everyone, Kobayashi Sora didn't have the idea of ​​breaking up her best friend's life. The three girls shared one room, while she stayed in another.

“I have a work friend I need to meet,” Kobayashi Sora waved her phone. “Call me if anything comes up.”

"Okay." Kato Megumi nodded and accepted the room key.

"I'm going out for a walk to clear my head." After Kobayashi Sora left, Kasumigaoka Utaha also changed her clothes and left the room.

"One or two is really easy..." Eriri muttered to herself. She needed to refine the sketch she had drawn earlier while the image was still fresh in her mind.

“Senior just finished writing the script, so she needs to rest now.” Kato Megumi sat down next to Eriri. “Sora has work-related matters to attend to.”

“You’re really magnanimous…” Eriri turned her head. “Speaking of which, shouldn’t we usually suspect that the two of them are secretly going out on a date at a time like this?”