How to raise a random guy's wife

Kato Megumi quickly replied, "That's great, I knew it!"

Kobayashi Sora: [So you were just guessing too.]

Megumi Kato: [I'm not absolutely sure, but even if I guess wrong, it will show my sincerity to my partner. If I guess right, I'll win back my friend. No matter the outcome, it's a good thing.]

Kobayashi Sora: [This line of thinking seems familiar.]

Megumi Kato: [I learned a bit from you]

Kobayashi Sora: [Me too]

Kato Megumi: [By the way, are there any club activities during Golden Week?]

Kobayashi Sora: [Not at the moment, why?]

Kato Megumi: [My older sister is getting married, so my brother-in-law is paying for one last family trip without any outsiders.]

Kobayashi Sora: [Perfect timing, the club has no activities during Golden Week, and I also have work to do out of town.]

Kato Megumi: [Then I'm relieved.]

Kobayashi Sora: [There was no need to take it to heart anyway. Compared to club activities, family trips are definitely more important.]

Kato Megumi: [That's true... Are you at your upperclassman's house right now?]

Kobayashi Sora: [Yes]

Kato Megumi: [Let's talk again later.]

Kobayashi Sora: [Good]

“So,” Kobayashi Sora looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, “how did you know I was going to contact Megumi?”

"Nonsense, think back, could you really say something like that?" Kasumigaoka Utaha rolled her eyes. "Obviously, someone with a great personality who knows a lot of things told you something, and the implication was so clear, there was no need for..."

Before she could finish speaking, her stomach started rumbling.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's earlier imposing aura instantly dissipated by half.

"Hungry?" Kobayashi Sora pointed to the shopping bag. "There are pineapple buns and milk."

“I was supposed to have food to eat,” Kasumigaoka Utaha said, glaring at Kobayashi Sora. “Mom bought all the groceries.”

"So, the aunt left so we could talk without being disturbed," Kobayashi Sora continued. "Sorry, I'll be right there... eh? I've bought the groceries?"

“I said…” Kasumigaoka Utaha narrowed her eyes slightly, “You wouldn’t…”

“I came to visit a friend’s house, but I didn’t bring a gift for the aunt. I also made her leave at mealtime. Now I’m just leaving and expecting her to come back and cook. It doesn’t feel right.” Kobayashi Sora rolled up her sleeves. “I’ll tell the aunt that I’ll show off my cooking skills today.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at her with suspicion, "Don't ruin the ingredients."

Kobayashi Sora walked into the kitchen, pinched the knife handle between her fingers, pulled it out, tossed it casually, and caught it with her hand. "Don't underestimate my twenty years of cooking skills."

"She's only seventeen." Kasumigaoka Utaha subconsciously complained, but seeing Kobayashi Sora skillfully handling the ingredients, she felt much more at ease. "I'll help you out."

"Then please help me prepare some batter."

"Face covering?"

"...Never mind, you can rest now."

"Hmm." Kasumigaoka Utaha puffed out her cheeks slightly; she just wasn't good at cooking.

Otherwise, I wouldn't eat pineapple buns so often.

"I met Eriri about six months ago." Unable to offer any help, Kasumigaoka Utaha was unwilling to just stand by and watch, so she continued the conversation that Kobayashi Sora had just started, "Tomoya used some methods to get my 'Love Metronome' into the school library."

"That feels like his style." Kobayashi Sora washed the chicken leg, deboned it, dried it, and used a knife to cut away the tendons and fat. "It must have taken a lot of effort, right?"

"In short, he used his enthusiasm to flatter and force the school to accept it," Kasumigaoka Utaha continued. "I usually don't talk to him at school, but that day was an exception."

"And then Sawamura saw it?"

“That’s right.” Kasumigaoka Utaha recalled something amusing. “You’ve read some novels too, haven’t you?”

"Of course, this is also part of the job." Kobayashi Sora made a few shallow cuts in the thickest part of the chicken thigh, patted it into a chicken cutlet shape, poked a few small holes in the chicken skin with a toothpick, and added teriyaki soy sauce, black pepper, ginger paste and ginger juice to marinate.

“Aren’t there often characters like that? They come out with undisguised malice, and you can tell at a glance that they’re the kind of minor characters who will be defeated by the protagonist. Their characters are flat and flat, like tools.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s smile widened. “It’s quite interesting to think that such a person actually appears in front of you in real life.”

"To be honest, that's true."

"Even though it's my own book, I still want to read it again if it's in the library. As it turns out, I found that there seem to be three people in this Toyonosaki Academy who borrowed 'Love Metronome' as soon as it became part of the library's collection."

Kobayashi Sora guessed, "One is you, the author, another is Tomoya, and the remaining one should be Sawamura."

"I'm quite curious, why would Sawamura, the art club's rising star who won an award at the art exhibition as soon as she entered school, one of the two most beautiful girls in Toyonosaki Academy, the only daughter of a British diplomat, and from an extremely wealthy family, read my light novel?" Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled, "Just as I was pondering this as I walked out of the library..."

"Sawamura-kun makes a dazzling appearance?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha mimicked Eriri's tone and voice, "'You're Kasumigaoka Utaha?'"

"To be honest," Kobayashi Sora said as she added egg yolks to cold water and whisked them, then added cake flour and stirred, "I didn't quite get it right."

“I get the gist of it.” Kasumigaoka Utaha rolled her eyes at him. “The last faint rays of the setting sun, reflected by her long golden hair, pierced my eyes with a sharp intensity.”

Kobayashi Sora washed the shrimp, removed the heads and intestinal tract, and peeled off the shells. "There's no need to use light novel descriptive techniques at this time."

“The key is her lines.” Kasumigaoka Utaha coughed lightly, mimicking Eriri’s clear voice again, “'Oh, you know my name… That’s a real honor, Kasumigaoka Utaha… no, Kasumigaoka-senpai.'”

"Goodness." Kobayashi Sora scrambled the eggs. "Even in light novels, this kind of scene is rare. Is the next line going to be, 'Toyonosaki's two beauties don't need two'?"

Chapter 90 Long ago

“What a coincidence,” Kasumigaoka Utaha laughed, “That’s what I was thinking too.”

"And then?" Kobayashi Sora asked curiously.

Kasumigaoka Utaha continued her imitation, "'I know you too... the school's top talent and a cold-blooded girl who keeps everyone at arm's length. No matter how much a boy tries to get close to you, you never accept it and will teach them a lesson so they dare not approach you again. You're known as the Dark Beauty.'"

"This is so relatable, it's practically the kind of thing a rich young lady would say," Kobayashi Sora pressed. "And your answer?"

"So what?"

"Huh?" Kobayashi Sora turned her head. "This isn't like you at all."

Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her chin. "Then tell me, what is my style?"

Kobayashi Sora recited the details with ease, "Instantly entering attack mode, she recreated the dark beauty image Eriri had described, using her excellent analytical skills to see through her disguise, stimulating her fragile heart with sharp words, discovering more weaknesses when she lost her composure, pressing her advantage to strike her down completely, and then leaving triumphantly after finishing her off."

“Although your description of my style is terrible, I’ll let it go since it’s fairly accurate,” Kasumigaoka Utaha explained. “You’re right, but all of this takes time and effort. At the time, I had to draft the outline for the third episode and proofread the new manuscript I wrote for Undead magazine after I got home—I didn’t have time to play with the young lady.”

He probably doesn't have the time to play with the young lady.

"So what exactly is she here for... oh." Kobayashi Sora recalled what Kasumigaoka Utaha had just said, "She saw you chatting with Tomoya, so she came to remind you to stay away from him. But given Sawamura's personality, she definitely won't be honest about her intentions. To cover it up, she'll probably say something like, 'Don't get too close to your otaku junior, it'll affect your reputation,' or something like that?"

"You seem to know Sawamura-kun quite well."

“No matter what, I was her classmate in junior high school.” Kobayashi Sora prepared the steamer. “I did a lot of preparations before transferring schools.”

"Well, it was something like that, in a condescending tone, he advised me to stay away from that idiot. He just wants to find a friend who can be an otaku with him. He only cares about the characters in the story and the author. Even if the fans become very close, it won't lead to anything."

Kobayashi Sora stated Kasumigaoka Utaha's feelings for Aki Tomoya directly during their first meeting.

Therefore, Kasumigaoka Utaha had no need to hide anything.

On the other hand, as a dark beauty, she had no one to confide in.

Even if we don't consider Kobayashi Sora as a friend, but rather as a business partner, she's not the type to leak secrets.

So Kasumigaoka Utaha treated him like a confidant and confided in him for once.

"Ah," Kobayashi Sora looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, "you're not going to introduce yourself at this time, are you?"

Have you ever seen a haughty, domineering blonde heiress with twin ponytails become a pathetic, helpless figure in just five seconds?

"No."

Kasumigaoka Utaha raised the corners of her mouth. "I've seen it before."

Kobayashi Sora sighed, feeling embarrassed for Eriri even after hearing Kasumigaoka Utaha relay the story.

And as for the parties involved...

Tragic Eriri

I became even more curious.

"Then?"

"When someone comes to my door, of course I have to find out what's going on."

"Go ask Renya?"

“That’s right.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s smile gradually turned dangerous. “After hearing about Sawamura, I’m certain that Sawamura’s cause of trouble is because of my conversation with Tomoya…”

"Going to settle scores?"

"Otherwise what? Just swallow your anger?"

"That's not like you at all." Kobayashi Sora boiled water, added tofu, kelp, and radish, and seasoned it with umami. "They're not going to fight, are they?"

You seem to be really looking forward to it.

"Women fighting is so much fun."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, she just happened to be away."

"Ran?"

"No, the evidence is the scattered scene in the preparation room. It's a scene where work is temporarily stopped at a certain stage, ready to resume at any time." Kasumigaoka Utaha subconsciously used the descriptive techniques of a light novel again, "Pile-up sketches are scattered in the narrow preparation room. Each one is filled with dense marks and information. The quality and quantity are not to be underestimated... What leaps across each sketch are numerous beautiful girls. It's as if a light novel or a set of bishoujo games has been stuffed into the entire room, creating a worldview of a scroll."

I can feel the shock you felt at that moment.

"Although I didn't see them in person, the club's name was on the drawing paper."

"egoistic-lily?"

"It can be interpreted as willful Lily or e-lily. With such a simple naming logic, as long as you have an idea, it's incredibly easy to find her."

“I completely agree with that,” Kobayashi Sora nodded. “And then you bought her notebook.”

"If it were you, would you not buy it?"

"That's true... After reading the script of your own novel's character, you'll either be furious or you'll admire it. Either way, you'll go to find her."

"It's the latter." Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled easily. Being isolated at school, she kept almost all her worries to herself. Occasionally confiding in someone like this made her feel quite relaxed. "I just wanted to express my gratitude to her for reading my work and even for liking it so much that she published a derivative work. If there's a chance, I can ask for her autograph, let bygones be bygones, shake hands and make peace, and then we can talk about future collaborations."