How to raise a random guy's wife

The more you lift someone up, the harder they'll fall.

and......

"..." Sagara Mayu's body stiffened, her neck seemed to be rusted, and she turned her head pausingly, her gaze growing increasingly fierce in the process, "You deny my level, and you dare to question my taste?"

For otaku, questioning someone's taste is worse than denying the person themselves.

“You’ve misunderstood,” Kato Megumi further explained. “I’m criticizing your taste, not questioning it.”

"Isn't that even more outrageous?!" Mayu Sagara was about to explode. What was wrong with this woman? Did she want to fight? "Who needs your approval of my taste? There are as many Harry Potters as there are readers!"

Good heavens, a thousand Harry Potters! Voldemort must have carried them by train overnight.

"What you think of a work is a personal matter. Looking only at the illustrations without reading the text is also a personal choice. Everyone can have the thought that the plot is boring but the illustrations are cute, but not you."

"Why should I?!"

"I prefer seeing the cute expressions of the female protagonists; they give me a lot of inspiration." — This is what you just said yourself. Kato Megumi calmly narrated, "Because you draw as a hobby, you want to create paintings that can inspire people more than commercial artists — but you can't do it."

"Your word doesn't count!" Mayu Sagara's face flushed red.

“I see a sense of emptiness in your paintings. They are beautiful paintings, but they are just beautiful paintings.” Kato Megumi is very familiar with this sense of emptiness, and Eriri… is very similar to Eriri in the past. “Because you don’t like stories, there are no stories in your paintings. The characters are without depth and it is difficult for them to have a powerful impact.”

Kobayashi Sora followed Kato Megumi's train of thought.

Simply put, it's not just about having good drawing skills; with the depth of the story, even simple visuals can be stunning.

for example......

This is Gian ↓

(Ю:)

"What nonsense are you spouting...?"

“Your approach is wrong,” Kato Megumi explained in detail. “The adorable illustrations you see in *The Cherry Blossom Promise* were created by the artist after thoroughly studying and immersing themselves in the story. The story and the CG complement each other; only by combining the two can you have the most complete experience. But you only look at the CG, disregarding the story, yet you expect to create CG of the same quality…”

It's like seeing someone else's child being cute and wanting one too, then going home and wondering to yourself: How can I have a cute child?

You need to have a partner first!

The difference between Mayu Sagara's works and Eriri's works today is like the difference between a doll and a lively child.

Sagara Mayu is very talented; the dolls she sews are very cute.

But no matter how cute they are, they are still dolls, and are fundamentally different from real children.

Megumi Kato witnessed Eriri's growth firsthand, which is why she was able to discover Mayu Sagara's problems.

"She's clearly not an artist..." That was all Mayu Sagara could say.

"Whether I'm right or not, we'll just have to try it." Kato Megumi's expression didn't change. "You just said that you're working on a doujinshi of 'The Cherry Tree Promise.' So take this opportunity to have some fun with it again, feel the characters' emotional journey, immerse yourself in the story, and enjoy the moment when memories come rushing in through the CG window like a tsunami. Then draw a new picture and see what's different."

Kato Megumi stood up. "See you later."

"Hey!" Mayu Sagara glared at Megumi Kato, "You're just leaving like that?"

“If you don’t try, there’s no point in us continuing this conversation,” Kato Megumi replied. “If you do try, then we have plenty of opportunities to continue talking.”

Chapter 334 Make Good Use of It

“She shouldn’t be able to see us from here.” Kato Megumi and Kobayashi Sora walked around a corner.

The next moment, the girl leaned against Kobayashi Sora.

"I'm so nervous..." Kato Megumi whispered weakly in Kobayashi Sora's ear, "Is this okay?"

“Of course.” Kobayashi Sora hugged Kato Megumi. “Just like you said, if Sagara Mayu is unwilling to do as you say, then we don’t need to cooperate with her. If she does as you say, she will definitely come to us for cooperation.”

"Hmm..." Kato Megumi made a soft sound, raising her head to look at him with her big, watery eyes, "Then... what about my reward?"

The once capable and assertive secretary now nestled softly in his arms, pleading in a weak voice for a reward.

"Mmm~" Kato Megumi wrapped her arms around Kobayashi Sora's neck, stood on tiptoe, and her eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Kobayashi Sora embraced Kato Megumi's slender waist, feeling the girl's warm breath up close.

"Phew~" Kato Megumi exhaled contentedly, then reluctantly nuzzled Kobayashi Sora's lips with the tip of her nose. "Shall we go home?"

"it is good."

Just as I got home, the rice cake that came out to greet me was only halfway done when Kobayashi Sora was pushed onto the sofa by Kato Megumi.

She seemed to want to use Kobayashi Sora to vent the pressure she had been accumulating.

As a high school student, she became the president's secretary at RER. Faced with the questioning gazes of the production team, Megumi Kato had no room to explain herself.

She could roughly guess what those people were thinking.

Even though they performed well at the briefing, the skeptical gaze never disappeared.

Driven by a desire to help Kobayashi Sora, she participates in business activities that most high school students have never experienced, taking on important tasks and responsibilities...

For a high school student who had been unremarkable for quite some time, this pressure was suffocating.

She wanted to tell Kobayashi Sora, but she didn't want him to worry.

I want to prove my abilities, but I'm not confident.

By imitating Kasumigaoka Utaha, Kato Megumi finally communicated with Sagara Mayu, proved herself, and was able to escape from the suffocating pressure.

The joy of success and the relief of escaping pressure made her want to... indulge herself a little.

Nian Gao grumbled as she went to eat her cat food.

After a long while, Kato Megumi, her hair disheveled, nestled in Kobayashi Sora's arms, her delicate fingertips tracing the marks on his skin. "Does it hurt?"

"It was a little bit at first," Kobayashi Sora gently kissed Kato Megumi's forehead, "but then..."

Kato Megumi felt a little guilty. "I'll be gentler next time..."

"I'm fine, as long as you're happy." Kobayashi Sora paused, then suddenly realized, "By the way, aren't our lines reversed?"

"Hmm... So, do you like it?"

I love it!

“You bastard…” Kato Megumi whispered in his ear.

"Does this count as me being bad?"

“It was all your doing that seduced me,” Kato Megumi replied. “I wasn’t like this before.”

Kobayashi Sora realized for the first time that she was quite alluring.

Kato Megumi nuzzled Kobayashi Sora's cheek. "Did I do a good job?"

“Okay,” Kobayashi Sora said with a wistful look, “I liked what just now the most…”

“I meant work,” Kato Megumi corrected softly.

"Work..." Kobayashi Sora thought for a moment, "How should I put it..."

"Ok?"

"Because it was done too well, it became a little bad."

"Huh? Why?"

“My initial idea was this: you talk to the other party, and then when you encounter difficulties and don’t know what to do, I’ll take out my materials and tell you that I am also part of your personal capabilities, and you can use them as needed.” Kobayashi Sora twitched the corner of her mouth. “But you managed to handle it all by yourself.”

"What information did you collect?" Kato Megumi asked, a little curious.

“First, there’s information about other artists. That way, Mayu Sagara won’t be the only option, and we’ll have more leverage during negotiations. Second, there’s the stuff she likes, all sorts of works. It’s easy to entice an otaku with that. Finally, there’s some decisive evidence. After all, her brother has done so much, it would be quite easy to get him killed…” Kobayashi Sora paused, “But it seems like none of that will be needed now.”

"If I had this information, I probably could have performed even better."

“It was already very good.” Kobayashi Sora recalled the scene at the time, when Sagara Mayu was basically being led around by Kato Megumi and had no power to fight back.

“However…” Kato Megumi drew circles on Kobayashi Sora’s chest with her fingertip, “your plan is also complete.”

"Eh?"

"I didn't just..." Kato Megumi said gently, "Did I properly use you?"

"That's a bit of a foul," Kato Megumi said as soon as Kobayashi Sora calmed down.

"Is that a foul?" Kato Megumi tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Speaking of which, I want to buy a new pair of pantyhose."

"Uh-huh?"

"What should we do with the old ones...?"

That's just too unfair.

Since that's the case, Kobayashi Sora doesn't need to pretend to be a gentleman anymore.

"Mmm! Hmm~"

-

"Waaaaah..."

"Mayu?" After ending his friendly chat with his girlfriends, Fumio Sagara returned home to find his younger sister crying. "What happened to you...?"

Was someone bullying you?

Who bullied you?

"You...no...didn't you see him today?" Mayu Sagara answered, sobbing.

“I saw him…” Fumio Sagara immediately thought of the boy standing behind the RER president’s secretary.

The moment Fumio Sagara saw him, he felt as if he could see right through him.

It was a very unsettling feeling.

Did he bully you?

“Him? It’s her!” Mayu Sagara corrected. “The secretary of the RER president looks like a high school student, but... I should have known better. Someone so young can become the president’s secretary... I should have been more cautious.”

How did she bully you?

"She gave me a really harsh scolding!"

"Just approve it and send it back."