How to raise a random guy's wife

A gentle call, like a mother's friend.

"Eriri?" Receiving no response, Kasumigaoka Utaha called out again.

"Huh?" Eriri blinked. "You really spoke?"

"...I have a fever, not that I've lost my speech."

"Okay..." Eriri realized what was wrong. "What's wrong?"

“I remember back then, you also used me as a model to draw a picture.”

“Yes.” Eriri pictured Kasumigaoka Utaha turning her head by the window.

Fluttering snowflakes, long black hair, lips that seemed to want to say something but couldn't, and eyes that shimmered with light.

Everything gradually became clear, and I felt as one with the person in front of me.

In a daze, Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed to show that bright, sunny smile again.

Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled, "Unbeknownst to me, a long time has passed."

Chapter 622 My Awkwardness

“I said…” Eriri said expressionlessly, “It’s just a cold, why are you acting like you’re about to die?”

“Who knows…” Kasumigaoka Utaha looked out the window. “Maybe I’ll just drift away like an autumn leaf and end my life.”

"The premise of drifting down slowly is being light," Eriri retorted irritably. "What you're doing is falling."

“Even light people can fall.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s red eyes narrowed slightly. “After all, streamlined shapes have less air resistance.”

“…” Eriri sighed, “Even being sick can’t stop your mouth.”

"I've already said I'm not mute."

"I'd rather you were mute." Eriri rolled her eyes and continued drawing.

As she was drawing, the sudden silence made her feel a little uneasy.

"Shiyu?"

"..."

"Shiha?" Eriri lowered her voice, looking at Kasumigaoka Shiha with her eyes closed. "Are you asleep?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha opened her eyes. "I'm speechless."

"...Are you a child?"

She even threw a tantrum.

"I've heard that some people turn into little children after they get sick."

“I wish you…” Eriri stopped mid-sentence when she saw the smile on Kasumigaoka Utaha’s face. “Never mind, it’s fine as it is.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha's amused smile immediately turned into a somewhat bored disappointment.

This guy really becomes quite knowledgeable after he gets sick...

"Yinglili."

"Ok?"

"I am bored."

"what?"

"Please perform a show."

"Dream on!" Eriri glared at Kasumigaoka Utaha. "If you're really bored, I'll find you an anime to watch."

"Didn't you tell me not to use my brain?"

"There are also anime that you can watch without having to think."

"What's the point of that?"

"That's what makes it interesting!" Eriri argued. "Mind-bending anime has its own fun, and mindless anime has its own fun. Trying to use your brain in a mindless anime is just as awkward as trying to find the plot in a doujinshi, isn't it?"

"What's so awkward about that?"

Why make things difficult for yourself when there's nothing necessary or meaningful to do?

“That’s what you see as unnecessary and meaningless. Your enjoyment lies in immersing yourself in it, while my enjoyment lies in detaching myself from it.” Kasumigaoka Utaha raised an eyebrow. “We each do our own thing, and there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?”

"I'm really sorry that I wanted you to enjoy the work as easily as I do!" Eriri grumbled angrily. "You'll know the benefits of immersion when you discover that you're too picky and can't find any anime to watch."

For seasoned otaku like Eriri, as the number of works they've watched increases, there are two very different development paths.

One is that they are becoming increasingly picky. Because they have seen many good works, they are always dissatisfied with new works. Coupled with the repetition of formulas and the one-sided character development, they can only rewatch past works again and again.

Another is becoming less picky. Because they have seen many bad works, they have a high tolerance for new works. They have seen all kinds of flaws. As long as there are some highlights in the new works, they can watch them with the mindset of just having fun.

Eriri is clearly the latter, but Kasumigaoka Utaha is not the former.

Because Kasumigaoka Utaha is not an otaku at all.

Eriri's argument with her wasn't about the mindset of watching anime, but rather a veiled reference to other things.

For example... Kasumigaoka Utaha is developing in the direction of becoming a producer, etc.

But as Kasumigaoka Utaha said, the two of them have different kinds of fun.

It's fine if everyone does their own thing.

“I didn’t read much anyway,” Kasumigaoka Utaha said with a slight smile. “Even if I don’t find any works I like in the future, I can make them myself.”

"What if you can't make it?" That's exactly what Eriri wanted to ask.

What if Kasumigaoka Utaha's efforts yield no results?

Kasumigaoka Utaha is a creator, unlike the exceptionally talented Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi.

Eriri doesn't oppose Kasumigaoka Utaha exploring new creative directions; she's just worried that if the current methods don't work, what will happen to Kasumigaoka Utaha, who has wasted so much time?

Kasumigaoka Utaha previously said that if she didn't succeed as a producer, she would come back and continue to work with her.

Eriri was actually quite happy at the time... but she wasn't really that happy, hmph!

In short... knowing that Kasumigaoka Utaha hadn't given up on creating and still had the idea of ​​collaborating with her, Eriri felt a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny bit of happiness.

But now that I've calmed down and thought about it, given Kasumigaoka Utaha's personality, would she really come back to cooperate with me after the failure?

They might just disappear without a trace.

When that time comes, what will I... no, what will Kasumigaoka Utaha do?

"If you can't do it, then you've failed," Kasumigaoka Utaha said casually. "But you're still here, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Eriri was taken aback. Could it be that Kasumigaoka Utaha really decided to continue cooperating with her even after the failure?

When did she fail...? No.

Eriri feels that this doesn't fit Kasumigaoka Utaha's personality.

“Aren’t you trying to create storylines now?” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s red eyes smiled. “It’ll be fun to criticize your work and see you blush and look helpless.”

Even if you can't appreciate the artwork, you can still appreciate the person.

"...Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

Eriri got angry. Even though she's sick, her personality is still just as awful.

“If I can’t create excellent works, that’s my failure as a producer.” Kasumigaoka Utaha took a sip of warm water. “My initial goal was not to become a great producer. Failures on the path of a producer do not mean failures in my creative work.”

“...Oh right.” Eriri suddenly realized that she had been thinking wrong all along.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's path to becoming a producer isn't about becoming an excellent producer, but rather about experiencing more in the process to stimulate her creative desires.

Whether the path to becoming a producer is a success or a failure, as long as it motivates Kasumigaoka Utaha, it can be considered a success.

Eriri realized that her previous thinking had been too superficial, failing to see through the phenomenon to its essence and to separate the behavior from its purpose, resulting in unnecessary worry.

Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed to read her mind, "Now you know how important it is to use your brain?"

"Mind your own business!" Eriri retorted, her gaze fixed on the painting she had finished.

In the painting, Kasumigaoka Utaha displays a rare fragility, with a gentle smile on her face.

A bright light shone in his red eyes.

Chapter 623 My Lovely Self

"Here, here, and here," Kobayashi Sora pointed, "all of these require further processing."

"Huh?" Eriri exclaimed incredulously, "I painstakingly drew all of this!"

“It has nothing to do with hard work, the key is the effect.” Kobayashi Sora pointed to one of the aerial views. “For the sake of the visual effect, the places that need to be covered must be covered. It is only natural that the ground is obscured by clouds when viewed from the sky.”

"How about this?"

“This one is to highlight the main character, so the background needs to be blurred.” Kobayashi Sora sighed. “Although you drew it very meticulously, too much detail will distract the viewer. I remember I talked to you about this issue a long time ago.”

Eriri muttered, "Nothing happened during '5 Centimeters Per Second'."

"That's because in the first experiment, the characters and the scene were very different, so we didn't have to worry about it. This time, the character design was highly consistent with the scenery from the beginning, so we had to highlight the characters."

"Okay..." Although it hurt, Eriri still had the awareness that a professional illustrator should have.

Meanwhile, Kobayashi Megumi was also discussing fundraising with Kasumigaoka Utaha. "In industries with highly volatile market conditions, debt financing is not suitable. Production committees are commercially high-risk, high-return entities, while animation companies have a fixed income per episode, which is a low-return, low-risk operating model," Kobayashi Megumi patiently explained. "Therefore, the act of a company applying for a loan from a bank to form a production committee contradicts the bank's policy of prioritizing prudent decision-making in debt financing."

"I see..." Kasumigaoka Utaha said somewhat unwillingly, "Then how about we change our approach, instead of investing in the production committee, we can borrow production funds?"

"Most animation production companies do not have real estate that can be used as collateral. If they cannot repay their loans, the banks have little collateral that they can take from the animation production companies to liquidate."

"What if we use the production committee's contract as collateral and proof of repayment ability?"

Kobayashi Megumi thought for a moment, "Theoretically it's feasible, but the amount of money that can be borrowed is not much. If the loan officer at the financial institution is not familiar with the entertainment industry, they might even refuse to lend money on the grounds that they 'don't understand' it."

"In the end, it still comes down to people..." Kasumigaoka Utaha subconsciously thought of the past, "What if it's Sora... No, we can't rely on him—how about we raise funds directly by issuing corporate bonds?"

“Similar to the bank’s decision-making criteria mentioned earlier, industries with large market fluctuations are not suitable for debt financing.” Kobayashi Megumi changed her perspective, “From an investor’s point of view, if a small or medium-sized enterprise like an animation production company issues bonds to produce animation, the company itself is likely to go bankrupt and has no investment value. Even if you want to invest, you have to charge high interest rates to hedge against risk.”

“It’s not that easy after all…” Kasumigaoka Utaha rubbed her chin. “The production committee model is too mature from every angle. It’s extremely difficult to find a breakthrough in it.”