How to raise a random guy's wife

As Eriri was speaking, she suddenly realized that everyone's eyes were on her.

"Why are you looking at me!" Eriri snapped. "I'm not like her at all!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded repeatedly, "Ah, yes, yes, yes."

"Kasumigaoka Utaha!"

"Let's talk about the plot." Kobayashi Sora steered the conversation back on track. "After Christmas, if the two of them want to get back together, they'll need more help. Before, it was just Koharu on her own, but now we'll need three female supporting characters."

“It’s a bit abrupt for Setsuna to accept this directly,” Kobayashi Megumi noticed the problem. “According to what was said earlier, Setsuna should have shown resistance or run away when Haruki was trying to get closer to her.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha casually picked up a pen and paper, "We need to add another character here to push Setsuna forward."

“Adding another character would make this storyline too long,” Izumi Hashima pointed out a new problem. “Especially since Touma hasn’t appeared yet, such a long storyline might make players forget about Touma as a character.”

Eriri clicked her tongue. "But if Touma appears, this part of the story will be completely messed up."

There are three supporting female characters, plus the character who drives Setsuna's development, and two main characters. If we add another female lead's role...

The mess isn't a big problem; Kobayashi Sora can fix it.

However, with more characters, emotions become more complex, making it difficult to reach the peak of emotions during gameplay, which is the most fatal flaw.

Mayu Sagara waved her little hand and gestured, "How about that kind of 'brushing past' scene you often see in TV dramas?"

“One or two times won’t make much difference,” Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head. “If it happens too often, it will seem too deliberate.”

The meeting room fell silent for a moment, as no one had any particularly good solutions.

Kobayashi Megumi gently poked Kobayashi Sora with her fair fingers, "Dad, how about using your usual method?"

“My technique…” Kobayashi Sora raised an eyebrow, “A choice between two options?”

"Please turn on voice chat, thank you," Kasumigaoka Utaha said. "Please don't send private messages."

“It’s that one,” Kobayashi Sora reminded with a smile, “the kind that you and Eriri both went through, the two choices I proposed.”

"..." Eriri's gaze turned unfriendly. "One of them is the one that the person involved would absolutely never choose."

Kasumigaoka Utaha chimed in, "One is the one you want the other person to choose."

"If you don't understand how to go to sea from Po Island, why not just suggest the second option?"

“Only when the first option is bad enough will people overlook the badness of the second option.” Kobayashi Sora paused. “And only by giving two options can you see the other person’s conflicted, frustrated, and somewhat unwilling expression when they don’t want to choose but have to.”

"Ah, this..." Sagara Mayu was dumbfounded.

Eriri rolled her eyes. "Now you know how awful this guy's personality is, right?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha sneered, "Before meeting Megumi, his greatest pleasure was to stimulate the other person's emotions as much as possible without affecting the execution of his own plans."

The gazes of Izumi Hashima and Mayu Sagara towards Sora Kobayashi carried an indescribable complexity, and the next moment, the two of them tacitly looked at Megumi Kobayashi at the same time.

In every sense, Megumi Kobayashi is amazing.

"So, regarding the issue of Touma's insufficient screen time," Kobayashi Megumi suggested, "how about adding an unselectable option for meeting Touma?"

Chapter 817 A Long Wait

They really are a perfect couple...

Similar feelings arose in everyone's hearts at the same time.

Seeing Kobayashi Megumi propose such a cruel idea with a gentle expression, Sagara Mayu even felt a chill run down her spine.

Because this idea is just too terrifying.

How can you keep a character who doesn't appear on screen consistently prominent without affecting the overall plot development?

Let her exist among the options that are visible but intangible.

When communication with Setsuna encounters problems, the player will always be presented with the option to "go see Touma".

Whether the player wants to go or not, the option is there, constantly reminding the player that the Yukina in front of them is not the only one in their heart.

Regardless of whether the player wants to go or not, the option cannot be selected, constantly reminding the player that Yukina in front of them is the only one they should focus on.

With just a small design element, players were able to experience the inner turmoil of the game's protagonist.

It's like tying the player up and then repeatedly whipping them with a memory called Touma.

The so-called art originates from life but transcends it...

Sagara Mayu silently turned her head, trying to find the whip marks on Kobayashi Sora's body that were not covered by her clothes.

Kobayashi Sora looked thoughtful. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"It's still not a good idea," Mayu Sagara thought. "Although it's a game depicting the pain of a love triangle, this kind of mental torture is too harsh."

However, Mayu Sagara did not expect that it would be Sora Kobayashi who would be the first to raise an objection.

Kobayashi Megumi tilted her head. "Too straightforward?"

“Yes, that would be too obvious an attempt at mental torture,” Kobayashi Sora explained. “Ideally, it should be something that doesn’t seem like much at first glance, but then reminds you of Touma when you look at it again.”

Wouldn't that be even more torturous?!

Mayu Sagara is increasingly understanding why Sora Kobayashi and Megumi Kobayashi are a couple.

Kasumigaoka Utaha raised an eyebrow. "Going to a concert?"

"This is it!" Hashima Izumi's eyes sparkled. "The feeling of 'Going to see Touma' is that of the development team's malice, but when players associate 'Going to the concert' with Touma, it becomes an uncontrollable longing for the player, just like Haruki!"

Sagara Mayu: "..." Isn't this still the production team's malice? And it feels even worse than before.

Eriri had already given up on herself. After the game's theme was determined, she no longer cared about such heart-wrenching content. "But speaking of options... I've discovered another problem."

Kasumigaoka Utaha valued Eriri's thoughts highly. "What do you mean?"

Putting aside their relationship, from a creator's perspective alone, the suggestions made by Eriri, an otaku who has played many games, are things that Kasumigaoka Utaha needs to pay attention to.

“No, it’s not just one problem.” Eriri shook her head. “Let me start with the first one. As a game, the final chapter has too few options. There aren’t many things players can choose from. Now there’s an option that can’t be chosen, which amplifies the problem.”

As Bo Island was about to leave the sea, he leaned forward, only to find himself pressed against the table and hurt a little. He had to sit up straight again, rubbing his face in pain. "But if we add more options, we'll have to add more plot points, and if they intersect, it'll be too complicated... What's wrong?"

Noticing that everyone was looking at him, Bo Island shrank back.

It's practically a murder weapon... Kasumigaoka Utaha herself is already quite large, but compared to a fully grown Hashima Izumi, she's still slightly inferior.

Needless to say...

"..." Eriri felt that the trip to the sea from Hashima had unknowingly hurt her.

However, Eriri, who is hurt, receives no comfort from others because this kind of injury is both tangible and intangible.

You're still rubbing...

The only person present who could truly empathize with Eriri was probably Mayu Sagara.

Looking at Mayu Sagara with this in mind, Eriri saw the excitement in her eyes.

Ok?

Still eager to try?!

What are you trying to do!

Kasumigaoka Utaha waved her hand, "Don't worry about that, we have Aoandon."

Eriri shook her head, shaking off the strange guesses in her mind. "Another problem is the character of Setsuna. Even if you can't fully understand Setsuna's personality after going to sea, then most players will probably have a hard time understanding her too—the game's entry barrier is a bit too high."

This is an old problem in Kasumigaoka Utaha's works, or perhaps "problem" is not quite the right word, but rather a stylistic one.

Xia Shizi's characters are complex and her emotions are delicate.

The advantage is that, compared to most flat characters, Kasumi Shiko's character is more three-dimensional.

The downside is that compared to most flat and stereotypical characters, Kasumi Shiko's character is relatively more difficult to understand.

If something is hard to understand, it's hard to empathize with it; if you can't empathize with it, it's hard to like it.

Ultimately, this leads to fans of Kasumi Utako repeatedly watching her works, gradually delving into the characters' inner world, and growing to like them more and more with each viewing.

People who don't like it can't stand watching it the first time, and even if they force themselves to finish watching it, they don't want to watch it a second time.

Eriri hesitated about the second question for this very reason.

She wasn't sure if Kasumigaoka Utaha hadn't noticed this, or if she was deliberately trying to maintain her previous style.

“It definitely needs to be revised.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s plump legs trembled, and the heels of her little leather shoes tapped rapidly on the floor.

As Bo Island Sailing says, the first problem can be solved by reasonably increasing the number of options.

The second question requires Kasumigaoka Utaha to overcome her past creative habits.

The difficulty level increased dramatically.

The discussion, which had just started smoothly, has once again reached a stalemate.

The sound of Kasumigaoka Utaha shaking her leg was like a drumbeat, or a heartbeat, making people feel inexplicable pressure.

Snapped.

Kobayashi Megumi clapped her hands lightly, the crisp sound interrupting Kasumigaoka Utaha's leg-shaking. "We've come up with a lot of useful solutions today. Let's take a break and continue the discussion later."

Mayu Sagara and Izumi Hashima breathed a sigh of relief; they hadn't expected a simple script discussion to turn into such a heated one.

Especially when others are constantly offering constructive suggestions, this atmosphere encourages participants to think critically and not just be passive bystanders.

After quickly organizing the notes, everyone left.

"Yinglili."

"Hmm?" Eriri looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had called her.

Kasumigaoka Utaha quickened her pace to catch up with Eriri, "I thought you would insist on the topic a little longer."

“It’s been a year since the first chapter was released, and many players are waiting for the final chapter,” Eriri muttered. “We can’t let them wait for a completely different game, since they like it so much.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha's lips curled up. "Them?"

Chapter 818 Because of You

“Yes,” Eriri said as she walked toward the studio. “You’ve been busy making anime all year and haven’t had any new works. Kasumi Shiko’s fans have been waiting for a new work.”