How to raise a random guy's wife

"Hmph... Arrogant little kid." Akane Akasaka calmed down.

Of course she still remembered that brat who made money at the doujinshi convention.

And the way he enthusiastically promoted "The Cardinal of Gotanda".

"Never heard of selling doujinshi with the original work included? That's for sure. This is Akane Kousaka's debut work. Although its anime adaptation failed, resulting in poor reviews, the quality of these doujinshi speaks volumes about its excellence. While the anime's reception was lukewarm, when buying something, you can't just look at its current value; you have to consider its future value. After such a setback, most authors would lose their fighting spirit, but as far as I know, Akane Kousaka has been consistently creating. In the not-too-distant future, she will return to her peak with this work. At that time, you won't be able to buy such a rare first-edition copy even if you wanted to..."

Akane Kousaka was already quite surprised to see someone selling a doujinshi of "The Cardinal Gotanda".

To her even greater surprise, the person selling the notebooks was an elementary school student.

Moreover, this elementary school student was able to chat very happily with customers who were much older than him, thanks to his eloquence.

There are still people... who haven't given up on "The Cardinal Gotanda".

"Ultimately, it's because the production team didn't do a good job from the start, wasting such a great original work. I could have done it myself, even if it wasn't great. At the very least, that damned production team should have paid the price..."

“Like I said,” Kobayashi Sora chuckled, “I can do it myself, or at the very least, I’ll make Malz pay the price.”

What are you going to do?

"I need to know how things will develop." Kobayashi Sora took out a pen and paper. "Briefly describe your ideas, and then I'll review the current progress and, in conjunction with Senpai and Eriri's ideas, make systematic adjustments."

-

"This is Zhu Yin's follow-up idea." Kobayashi Sora returned home during dinner and communicated with the two creators in the family. "So the key right now is the story of Weapon Master Rex and Blacksmith Nora, whose content volume is comparable to the main storyline - I need you to complete their CG and storyline to the highest standard."

"That's impossible!" Eriri exclaimed. "So many..."

“I want three.” Kobayashi Sora held up her finger. “Three CGs, to accompany three stories, and then you can start creating the other parts.”

Kobayashi Megumi sensed Kobayashi Sora's thoughts, "You want to delete their storyline?"

"No way!" Kasumigaoka Utaha protested firmly. "This is an important plot point that runs throughout the entire story. How can you just cut it like that?"

"Precisely because it's a continuous element, we need to be prepared to cut things out," Kobayashi Sora pointed out. "This will minimize the time spent on creation and the pressure of post-production."

Rex has an extremely diverse fighting style, and his creation difficulty is several times that of other characters. Coupled with his love-hate relationship with Nora, his scale far exceeds that of other characters.

Removing content from these two characters would greatly reduce the production time for them.

"How could this happen..." Eriri bit her lower lip in frustration.

"Kongqing said 'prepared,' not 'definitely deleted,'" Kobayashi Megumi reminded her.

"Hmm?" Kasumigaoka Utaha stared at Kobayashi Sora, waiting for him to continue.

“That’s right. The situation is simple: Maltz believes that without Sister Zhu Yin’s guidance, you won’t be able to significantly improve the work in a short period of time. Therefore, he’s opted for a conservative approach and will complete the production using the existing materials,” Kobayashi Sora explained. “In other words, as long as you demonstrate your abilities and show them that you can still perform steadily and improve the work in a short time even without Sister Zhu Yin’s guidance.”

"That's why you need to focus your efforts on completing the production of these three segments, so that they feel that deleting these two characters is a huge loss in the game's production process. Only then will they reconsider the game's production plan." Kobayashi Megumi easily understood Kobayashi Sora's idea and helped Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri summarize, "In other words, now the only ones who can save Rex and Nora are you."

“…Alright!” Eriri gritted her little fangs. “Then let’s show those guys what’s what!”

“Now that we have a villain to fight against…” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s red eyes narrowed dangerously. “I feel more passionate about creating these things.”

Without delay, the two immediately began their operation.

As creators, they are all accustomed to creating in their familiar environments.

For example, Eriri's room.

And Kobayashi Sora's house.

On the other side, Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi were not idle either.

They can't help with creative work.

However, there are some things that Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri cannot help with.

In order not to disturb their creative work, the Kobayashi couple conducted their information gathering in another room.

The huge whiteboard was covered with characters, the printer worked non-stop, and Kobayashi Sora contacted all sorts of people, summarizing the information she collected into written form.

Various pieces of information are interconnected in each event. Kobayashi Megumi carefully examines the development and connections among them, and informs Kobayashi Sora about any anomalies she discovers. Kobayashi Sora then expands upon these anomalies, contacts more people, and gathers more information.

Kobayashi Sora is more sensitive to unusual interests, while Kobayashi Megumi is more perceptive about interpersonal relationships. The two work together, and more and more information is connected.

"That's all for today." Kobayashi Sora stretched. "Although I wanted to keep practicing all night, many people are already asleep."

That means many of the people I'm in contact with are otaku, which is why we can still communicate so late at night.

"Thank you for your hard work." Kobayashi Sora looked at the complex information network on the whiteboard. "It's a time when I should be relaxing."

"So I want a reward." Kobayashi Megumi nestled in Kobayashi Sora's arms and yawned. "But I won't go to bed so early then."

"I won't let you sleep."

"Bad guy."

This busy period lasted for two days, and news also came from Iori Hashima.

Negotiations failed.

This was not an unexpected outcome.

Everyone had expected this.

Machida Sonoko told Akane Kousaka the news, and was prepared to comfort her, but to her surprise, Akane Kousaka remained calm.

“It’s been four days already.” Akane Akasaka looked out the window. “He should be ready by now.”

Chapter 409 Direct Contact

Instead of attending class, Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi, who should have been students, were sitting on the Tokaido Shinkansen bound for Shin-Osaka.

The target is Maltz's Osaka headquarters.

After two days of preparation, the time finally came to make direct contact with Malz's people.

After Akane Akasaka fell ill, communication between Malz's game development team and Akane Akasaka's story development team became extremely limited.

Iori Hashima performed her task well, chatting happily with the lovers of several executives, and at the same time, she became close with the R&D staff thanks to her excellent interpersonal skills.

But that couldn't change Malz's decision.

This was a unanimous decision by the R&D and management personnel, not something that Iori Hashima could influence through personal connections.

Although they tried to influence executives' decisions by using their mistresses, everyone is smart enough to know what to say and what not to say.

However, for Kobayashi Sora, this was enough.

Kobayashi Sora looked at his wife beside him, "Are you nervous?"

"A little bit." Kobayashi Megumi gently touched her cheek. "After all, we're facing adults, and we can't lose this time."

"Don't overestimate older people," Kobayashi Sora comforted her.

This is the truth.

If you add up all the years, Kobayashi Sora's age might be quite a bit older than Malz and the others.

She was still completely under Kobayashi Megumi's thumb.

Aren't you nervous?

“Not at all.” Kobayashi Sora chuckled. “Malts dares to bully Akane-nee because…”

"Stop." Kobayashi Megumi covered Kobayashi Sora's mouth. "Although I helped you organize a lot of information before, I don't know the specifics of how to do it—no spoilers allowed."

"Eh?"

"If you say a few more words, I might figure it out myself, and that wouldn't be fun."

"So, you think I can succeed without even figuring out what I'm supposed to do?"

"My trust in you is part of it," Kobayashi Megumi said, holding Kobayashi Sora's hand. "The other part is that even if we fail, I will stay by your side."

"With you by my side, I am not a failure."

"Then go and win," Kobayashi Megumi whispered in Kobayashi Sora's ear. "Show me more charm, and make me even more infatuated with you."

-

"Thank you for your guidance," Kobayashi Sora said, handing over his business card with both hands upon meeting the person in charge of Maltz. "I am Kobayashi Sora from Akane Planning."

"Hello." The person in charge accepted the business card with both hands. "I am the person in charge of this seminar, and also the director of 'Chronicles of the Universe XIII'."

"Director Maekawa." Kobayashi Sora smiled as she accepted the business card, the image of Akane Akasaka's evaluation flashing through her mind.

"We should have dealt with him six months ago. He was utterly worthless, and now we're just doing unnecessary things."

"Thank you for your previous notification." It was this director who called Kobayashi Sora after Akane Akasaka fainted.

Director Maekawa smiled. "It's mainly because she kept mentioning your name at that time that I called you. In the end, I was just doing my job." He raised an eyebrow. "Please wait a moment. There is a very important meeting in progress right now."

"Okay, thank you." Kobayashi Sora thanked him politely and waited with Kobayashi Megumi in the meeting room while drinking coffee.

"He seems really happy," Kobayashi Megumi said in a low voice. "Given the circumstances, his happiness... Did Akane-nee bully him before?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be." Kobayashi Sora nodded. "This polite attitude is probably an attempt to lull us into a false sense of security."

"It's just you; he doesn't seem to notice me at all."

"So you really have leadership skills. A leader who appears and disappears like a ghost is super powerful."

"It's useless to you."

As the two were chatting, a figure flashed in.

Kobayashi Sora stood up. "Hello, Chief Tane."

The visitor was none other than the head of Maltz's R&D department and a member of the development team for Chronicles of the Universe XIII.

"You know me?"

“We met once before, at the very beginning of the workshop.”

“Okay…” Chief Zhong scratched his head. “To be honest, I’m here to remind you.”

"Please speak."

"We're not actually having a meeting right now; we just want to put you guys out of the way," Headquarters Chief Tane said in a low voice. "The higher-ups have already made a decision: this seminar is completely meaningless. At most, it'll just make that Maekawa guy happy."

"I see." Kobayashi Sora chuckled. "Thank you for reminding us, but we still want to try a little harder."

“Okay…” Zhongben sighed, “To be honest, I also want to see a masterpiece born, but game production is not simply about the creator’s ideas. It also requires balancing funding and risks. I hope this time it won’t dampen the enthusiasm of you young people.”