How to raise a random guy's wife

"Yeah, isn't it working pretty well now?" Kobayashi Sora said nonchalantly. "If we can't produce the images in a short time, we'll just take it one step at a time and replenish the stock in batches using the old packaging."

"..." Eriri was a little annoyed. "I... I'll try harder."

"I feel really good right now."

"Shut up!"

"Good morning." Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice came from ahead. "It's cold today too, except for the three of you within a one-meter radius."

Eriri stuck out her tongue.

"Hello, senior." Kobayashi Sora and Kato Megumi greeted each other together.

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded and looked at Eriri, "What, aren't you going to greet your senior?"

"Who cares about you, pfft!"

"Sigh, I'm about to leave." Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed.

“Wh...what?” Eriri’s eyes widened.

“I’m going to university this year, and I won’t be able to travel with you guys like this anymore.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And yet, some junior student is still hurling insults at me at this time.”

Eriri glared at her, "Then this senior should reflect on whether she has any shortcomings in terms of her character."

Kasumigaoka Utaha approached Eriri, "Speaking of which... how's the illustration for the new packaging coming along? It should be finished by now, right?"

"...I have no obligation to report to you!"

“We’re members of the same club, and the club’s name is a combination of the two of us. Shouldn’t we share the good times and the bad? Now you’re saying such heartless things. It really hurts me and I’m about to cry.”

"Go ahead and cry," Eriri urged. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Tsk."

As they approached the school, making a lot of noise, they attracted more and more attention from their classmates.

When Eriri let go of Kato Megumi's arm during their argument over Kasumigaoka Utaha, Kato Megumi silently moved a little closer to Kobayashi Sora.

As the new semester progressed, without the pressure of keeping up with the pace of the semester, the club members enjoyed a rare period of leisure.

"Body transformation?" At Kobayashi Sora's house, Kasumigaoka Utaha was discussing the plot of Volume 4 with Kobayashi Sora. "Generally, it involves swapping bodies, right?"

"It's precisely because that's how things usually are that there's a sense of contrast," Kobayashi Sora pointed out the key point. "Even such a clichéd plot can become something to talk about because of this little episode."

"The incident was resolved smoothly. Just when the male protagonist and the readers thought that the two sisters' consciousnesses had been swapped again and returned to each other's bodies, accompanied by a strange sound, their bodies returned to their original forms..." Kasumigaoka Utaha murmured, "Indeed, it's settled then."

"Have some juice and take a break," Kato Megumi said, handing over the juice.

"Thank you." Kasumigaoka Utaha took it casually. "Speaking of which, has Eriri said anything to you lately?"

"No, nothing." Kato Megumi sat down next to Kobayashi Sora, nestling against him with practiced ease. "What's wrong?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's eye twitched. "Haven't you guys noticed? She hasn't drawn a single picture since the beginning of this year."

"So that means..." Kobayashi Sora frowned slightly, "there's still no news about the new cover."

It's already February.

“I have publishing plans, so I’ve been following the schedule.” Kasumigaoka Utaha stared at Kobayashi Sora. “What are you thinking about?”

"Ok?"

"You should be quite skilled at supervising projects, that's part of your job," Kasumigaoka Utaha said bluntly. "Even if there aren't any new game projects for the time being, you should still be pushing for the drafts."

“There’s really no rush. As for the new project…” Kobayashi Sora tapped her temple. “We’re still waiting for feedback from the other side.”

"Eri doesn't seem to be in a good state right now," Kato Megumi guessed. "Is it because of what happened before...?"

Kobayashi Sora thought of a phrase, "creative bottleneck?"

“We can’t just let her hang there,” Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned. “If she can’t break through, she might never be able to draw again.”

As a fellow creator, Kasumigaoka Utaha is well aware of this situation.

Unfortunately, as a fellow creator, she didn't have any good ideas to help Eriri.

That's why she risked choking on dog food to contact Kobayashi Sora instead of communicating via email.

Kobayashi Sora raised an eyebrow. "You want me to put pressure on her?"

"I..." Kasumigaoka Utaha was about to admit it when images of Eriri talking in her sleep about the progress while she was seriously ill and unconscious flashed before her eyes, along with Eriri crying in the park. "I... I don't know either."

Is Eriri's current situation really just a matter of being pushed a little?

Or should we ask ourselves, will coercion help her or harm her?

Chapter 298 Simple Methods

"To be honest, I'm quite professional at coercing people," Kobayashi Sora explained truthfully. "But if Eriri isn't in the right state, whether my coercion will help her or harm her... no one can be sure."

Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyelids drooped slightly; this was the crux of the matter.

“Um…” Kato Megumi said, “It seems like we can be sure.”

"Hmm?" Kasumigaoka Utaha and Kobayashi Sora both looked at Kato Megumi.

"What's wrong?" Kato Megumi blinked blankly.

Kasumigaoka Utaha pressed on impatiently, "Do you have a way?"

"It's not exactly a solution..." Kato Megumi held up one finger. "Simply put, everyone wants to help Eriri, but they don't know how, right?"

"That's how it is." Kobayashi Sora nodded. "So?"

“Tell her.” Kato Megumi looked at the two of them strangely, not understanding why they hadn’t thought of this. “Tell her that we’re worried about her because she hasn’t submitted her manuscript yet, whether something has happened, and if there’s anything we can do to help. Before, when we encountered problems, we always discussed them together, and we can do it again now.”

"..." Kasumigaoka Utaha remained silent for a long time.

Kobayashi Sora hugged Kato Megumi and kissed her on the cheek, saying, "My wife is so smart."

"Stop fooling around~" Kato Megumi gently pushed Kobayashi Sora away, "Senpai is still here."

Kasumigaoka Utaha: "......" So I'm still here.

To be fair, the method proposed by Megumi Kato is indeed a very good one.

As for why Kasumigaoka Utaha and Kobayashi Sora didn't expect this...

the reason is simple.

As a light novel author who excels at depicting emotions, I am relatively unfamiliar with directly expressing emotions.

After all, in light novels, if emotions were expressed directly, the story would not be able to continue.

Ideally, you should notice when the other person is in a bad mood, try to help them quietly, and then surprise them at a crucial moment. When the other person is feeling down and needs comfort, they may find that you are busy with something else, and they may feel disheartened and fall into despair.

The final answer was revealed, bringing the emotions to a fever pitch – a truly joyous occasion.

If they had just asked from the beginning... then there wouldn't have been any problems.

In the industry, this is commonly referred to as "cutting in half".

Kobayashi Sora belongs to the type who tries to understand all the circumstances before taking action.

He usually makes preparations before making contact with his target.

So he never even considered directly contacting his target.

The next day, after a long time, the four members of Kasumi Eri's group finally reunited.

"So..." Kobayashi Sora asked directly, "What's your situation right now?"

"Huh?" Eriri looked bewildered. "What's going on?"

"What...what's going on?" Kasumigaoka Utaha crossed her arms. "Haven't you noticed yet?"

"What...wait a minute..." Eriri was a little confused. "I was about to ask you guys something, and then you suddenly called me over."

“Although I said there’s no need to rush the new drawings,” Kobayashi Sora pointed out the crux of the problem, “you’re too unhurried. It’s been more than a month now.”

"Well... this..." Eriri's eyes darted around, "Now that I think about it... is the new edition really that important?"

Kobayashi Sora asked helplessly, "What are you trying to say?"

Eriri said righteously, "Some people just change the packaging and release a new version of something just to sell it, or add a few kilobytes of new story content and release a new version at the same price. They even hide from consumers that the work itself has a sequel or trilogy so they can sell a sequel. After making huge profits by luring the same group of people to buy the same thing multiple times, they still put on a sophisticated face and say: 'You can't survive in this industry if you don't do this.' -- We don't need to learn from those kinds of people at all."

"Why not learn it?" Kobayashi Sora clearly had a different idea. "It's very profitable."

Eriri was filled with righteous indignation, "I never expected you to be like this, Kobayashi Sora!"

"That's just how Kobayashi Sora is," Kobayashi Sora replied.

"You!" Eriri was speechless for a moment. "Putting aside the issue of the new packaging, I'm actually thinking about how to get more people to play our game. That's the greatest joy in making games. Anyway, we've already broken even."

Ah... let's change the subject.

“How about this,” Eriri’s eyes lit up, “we’ll offer it for free download?”

"Free?" Kobayashi Sora raised an eyebrow. This girl's idea was clearly a last-minute change of topic, and she hadn't given it any serious thought. "No way."

Why?!

Have you considered the feelings of paying players?

"That makes sense... How about releasing a demo version that only allows you to play a single complete route? We should also change the main game to be sold only as a download, so that consumers can play it at a cheaper price. That way, those who bought the physical version can still enjoy the benefits."

As expected of a seasoned otaku, he quickly came up with a great solution.

but......

That's not the point.

“Eri,” Kato Megumi said gently, “everyone is very worried about you.”

"Huh? Worried about me? What's there to worry about... I'm fine... really..."

"It would be even better if you didn't seem so guilty." Kasumigaoka Utaha sneered. "Eriri, are you unable to draw a new cover, or are you simply unable to draw anything at all?"

“I…” Eriri pursed her lips.

“Whatever the problem is, tell us so we can help you, right?” Kato Megumi patted Eriri’s head. “We’re in this together. Your difficulties are our difficulties too.”

"Megumi..." Eriri took a deep breath and took out her sketchbook from her bag, "I can't really say..."

She took out her pen and carefully sketched the lines, completing a beautiful girl drawing that maintained Eri Kashiwagi's usual standard in less than ten minutes.