How to raise a random guy's wife

"No way!" Eriri snapped. "I'm not your employee!"

“So it’s a collaboration,” Kobayashi Sora added, “Fantastic Bunko will pay for it.”

"Not interested."

"Let's see what happens?" Kobayashi Sora waved the manuscript paper.

“Hmm…” Eriri stared at the manuscript in Kobayashi Sora’s hand, her face showing struggle.

Kobayashi Sora dared to come directly, so he must have been very confident.

Once I've seen that manuscript, I might have to draw the cover and illustrations for it.

However... Eriri also has a competitive spirit and feels that she will not be controlled by Kobayashi Sora this time, so she wants to give it a try.

Like a housewife who has suffered a terrible attack, when faced with a blond-haired man who comes knocking on her door, she knows what is going to happen, but still holds onto a sliver of hope.

Especially when they see the smug look on the other person's face, they feel a strange confidence that says, "I will definitely not be easily fooled this time."

This thought prompted Eriri to open the manuscript.

Then, like a housewife, she became addicted to it.

"Teasing Master Takagi-san? What's so good about it..." Eriri's voice trailed off.

It seems she won't react to anything from the outside world until she finishes watching it.

Kobayashi Sora began admiring her paintings on her own, and casually asked what had just happened.

Kato Megumi briefly recounted what happened, then raised her question, "So, why do those who bully Eriri think it's more shameful for someone who doesn't look like an otaku to talk about anime and video games happily than someone who looks like an otaku to talk about those things?"

"This... is rather complicated." Kobayashi Sora organized her thoughts.

"I'm listening."

"First of all, as long as it doesn't affect others, there's usually nothing wrong with what a person likes."

“Yes,” Kato Megumi thought the same way. Although she didn’t have anything she particularly liked, seeing Shibuya Kanon singing, Kasumigaoka Utaha’s focus when composing, and Eriri’s hard work, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for Shibuya Kanon, fearful of Kasumigaoka Utaha, and ashamed of Eriri’s work. But she felt she couldn’t bring herself to hate or even bully her. “If you like something and work hard for it, even if you don’t encourage it, you shouldn’t hate it.”

"I don't hate it because of this, but I can use it as an excuse to hate it."

"Huh?" Kato Megumi thought for a moment, "Is there a reason you can't say it out loud?"

“The kind that can’t be seen in the light of day.” Kobayashi Sora glanced in Eriri’s direction. “There’s a classmate in my class who comes from a wealthy family. She’s the only daughter of a diplomat and is as beautiful as a porcelain doll. As a girl in the same class, I was jealous and wanted to bully and isolate her, but she has money, looks, and no major personality problems. I couldn’t even find a reason to bully her. That’s when I discovered that she’s a homebody.”

"How could this happen..."

"It's the same female classmate again. This time, I'm a boy in the class, and I want to get closer to her and develop a more intimate relationship. But she talks to another boy every day about topics I'm not interested in, and I can't get a word in edgewise. I want them to separate, so—"

"Hmm." Kato Megumi puffed out her cheeks slightly. "Then why did the bullying stop after I left the otaku world?"

“The boy achieved his goal—separating her from her friends, but she was bullied by the boys, so naturally she wouldn’t get close to them either—the girl also achieved her goal.” Kobayashi Sora twitched the corner of her mouth. “Children’s thoughts are easy to guess.”

"It feels so awful." Kato Megumi's eyes darted around. "Was Sora Ao also bullied?"

"Ah, it happened once."

Just once?

"There was only one serious incident."

"and then?"

"Then the scene of the leader licking the female classmate's flute was filmed." Kobayashi Sora smiled. "I used the money I originally wanted to buy games to buy a camera and squatted in the classroom for him all night."

"Mmm... Great!"

"Isn't it naughty?"

"Not this time."

Kobayashi Sora just smiled.

Eriri cried loudly.

"Huh?" Kato Megumi approached. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing...it's nothing." Eriri hugged the manuscript paper. "It's nothing..."

Kobayashi Sora sighed, "There shouldn't be any heart-wrenching scenes..."

"Mind your own business!" Eriri retorted stubbornly, but her voice was soft and tearful.

What a wonderful childhood friendship! If only I hadn't been bullied, I and Tomoya would have been...

"You absolutely must keep writing seriously!" Eriri stared at Kobayashi Sora with red eyes. "If you come up with some kind of dream ending or some mysterious, ridiculous plot twist, I'll never forgive you!"

"Don't worry," Kobayashi Sora chuckled, "The storyline about married life is already in the preparation process. After the first volume is released, a short excerpt will be published in the magazine."

“That’s more like it.” Eriri muttered, skillfully setting up the easel, adjusting the chair height, putting on her glasses, and selecting pencils. “Keep quiet.”

A pencil flew up and down, and inspiration surged in Eriri's heart, leaping to her fingertips.

Kato Megumi has witnessed Kasumigaoka Utaha's frenzied creation, Shibuya Kanon's selfless singing, and now she is witnessing Eriri's focused painting.

The simple color of the pencil gradually brings the scene to a clearer view: a flustered boy and a smiling girl on a simple street under a transparent umbrella.

Although the images are static, they possess the magic to evoke images of dynamic events.

The girl, who had forgotten her umbrella, suddenly approached and grabbed the boy's arm. The flustered boy blushed and lost his grip on the umbrella, even dropping his schoolbag.

Seeing the boy's flustered expression, the girl smiled with a mixture of pride and indulgence, admiring his shyness up close, her eyes conveying a sense of "I won."

Before she knew it, Eriri had already started coloring.

Kato Megumi didn't have time to discern the specific painting process; she could only see the colors gradually emerging.

Chapter 82 The Boss's Willfulness

The boys and girls, who were originally in monochrome, gradually began to display their own unique colors.

The girl with long brown hair had bright, lively eyes; the boy with short black hair had a flustered, cute blush on his face; the ground was puddled with water; raindrops were falling; the sky was hazy; the streets were simple; and the leaves were even greener under the rain...

In an instant, Kato Megumi seemed to hear the sound of raindrops falling, a girl's soft laughter, a boy's exclamation, the wetness of splashing water, and the gentle rustling of leaves.

Even praise seems inadequate at this moment.

Megumi Kato witnessed the entire process of the miracle's birth.

How can an ordinary piece of drawing paper be transformed into a captivating painting?

She tilted her head slightly and saw the light in Kobayashi Sora's eyes.

That's why I went to Eriri-kun...

"And then there's the scene of drinking beverages at the train station," Kobayashi Sora said with a smile, "like a scene of blue skies, white clouds, distant mountains, a cottage, and a meadow..."

"Are you even human?" Eriri glared at Kobayashi Sora. "I just finished drawing one!"

"Shall we take a break?"

"..." Eriri ground her little tiger teeth, her eyes burning with anger.

"Even though it's a still painting, it looks as vivid as an animation," Kato Megumi said honestly, "It's like you can hear the sounds."

"Hmph~" Eriri blushed slightly, "It's not that good."

That's more like it.

Praise me!

Kobayashi Sora realized belatedly, "It's really well drawn."

"Shut up." Eriri's face darkened. "That's so insincere."

Xiao Lin Kong Qing: "???"

You actually found out?

Kobayashi Sora got a satisfactory cover, but the illustrations will have to wait.

After saying goodbye to the two, Eriri was left alone in the house, except for the servants.

Looking at the manuscript paper left by Kobayashi Sora, it was meant to inspire her.

But... I don't want to watch it now.

Eriri pursed her lips and picked up the phone.

I don't know why, but I just wanted to call him.

But... if I call suddenly...

Let's just say we're borrowing the animation.

Eriri bit her lower lip lightly, made up her mind, and dialed a familiar number.

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

"Eiri Riri?"

"Um, I... that..."

"I was just about to call you!" Aki Tomoya's voice was very excited on the other end of the phone.

"Huh?" Eriri instinctively covered her face. "I...I didn't miss you, it's just..."

"I found it!"

"Ok?"

"My destined leading lady!"

"Hmm?" Eriri felt a sudden chill in her heart.

“I met her once on Detective Hill before, and it was because of that meeting that I wanted to make a game! The project hadn’t progressed before because I couldn’t find her—this time I have a feeling that I can definitely write a great project!”

I said…

"You'd never guess! Guess who it is? It's someone from our class! My classmate! I never even noticed before, but you must have noticed, right? It's Kato, who's always with Sora!"

"Hey......"

"She's so unassuming, yet she possesses a captivating power. I want to make her the female lead. All you need to do is use her as a model to draw a character design, along with designs for a few supporting female leads, original artwork for all the characters... and as a bonus, a coloring illustration with backgrounds..."

“Listen to me! You idiot!” Eriri practically shouted.