How to raise a random guy's wife

Megumi Kato is chatting.

Kobayashi Sora is chatting.

"Actually, coffee is also a type of fruit. What we usually refer to as coffee is the seed inside the fruit, and the fruit itself is called coffee cherry."

"I drink it often, but this is the first time I've heard of it."

“I only found out about this recently,” Kobayashi Sora smiled. “Moreover, in order to extract the seeds, some specific processing is required. There are two processing methods: washing and sun-drying. The different processing methods will also affect the flavor of the coffee.”

Which one is better?

“Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Washed coffee is slightly less flavorful than sun-dried coffee, while sun-dried coffee has a rich flavor, but the uncertainty in the process often leads to a low yield rate,” Kobayashi Sora added. “However, the processing method of green beans is not the absolute factor affecting the flavor of coffee; roasting is the real key.”

"Huh? What's the difference?"

"Broadly speaking, they are divided into light roast, medium roast, and dark roast. In more detail, there are eight types: very light roast, light roast, medium roast, medium-dark roast, medium-dark roast, dark roast, very dark roast, and very dark roast," Kobayashi Sora explained while grinding the beans. "The differences in these roast levels mainly lie in the degree of sweetness, acidity, and caramelization. Light roasts are generally characterized by sweetness and acidity, which highlights the unique aroma of the green beans from the growing region, while dark roasts emphasize the taste and sweetness."

"It's so complicated. Instant is definitely more convenient."

"I totally agree with that, but it's quite fun to try making it myself sometimes. The coffee I make tastes different from the coffee I buy in stores."

"Does it have the fragrance of its own hard work?"

That's exactly what I mean.

“I said…” Eriri turned her head, “You guys are so annoying.”

Why is it that when I'm working hard, there are always two people around me chatting and flirting... talking about coffee and so on?

Kobayashi Sora shook the coffee grinder. "Want a cup?"

“…Yes.” Eriri paused. “With sugar and milk.”

Super easy blonde twin tails.

With the illustration finished, Eriri sipped her hot homemade coffee while instructing Kobayashi Sora on how to apply halftone dots.

“Blue won’t show up in black and white printing, so I marked the areas where I’d apply halftone paper with a blue pencil.” Eriri held her coffee cup far away, afraid of smudging the paper. “Let’s get to know halftone paper first. Generally speaking, we’ll use size 61 halftone paper as a base, and prepare 3-4 types of sizes 50-20. We’ll also prepare 2-3 types of matte halftone paper depending on the density, and 1-2 types of halftone paper with a wide range of variations and a sense of depth. We’ll also prepare a few types for the background and patterns. And then there’s halftone paper for the characters, clothes, hair, etc., to express the characters’ personalities. We’ll use it throughout the entire piece, so we need to prepare plenty.”

"for example?"

“The patterns on the clothes of manga characters often use patterned screen tones. Even with simple screen tones, different densities of screen tones can represent different feelings of colors such as red, blue, and yellow.” Eriri put down her coffee cup and demonstrated, “First, cut out a roughly sized piece of screen tones and place it where you want to attach the screen tones. Then cut along the edge, paying special attention to ensuring that the angles of the screen tones in the same shadow are consistent.”

Eriri used a paper presser to firmly attach the halftone paper to the original artwork. "Small pieces of halftone paper in the details are easy to fall off, especially in areas with sharp corners, so be careful. The surface of the halftone paper is easily smudged and easily damaged, so try to avoid direct contact with the surface of the halftone paper. If the halftone paper is not firmly attached, it will leave bulge marks during printing, so be careful to attach it firmly and avoid leaving air bubbles."

"Wow~" Eriri's actions immediately revealed the changes in light and shadow on the manuscript paper, making the entire picture clear and bright. Kato Megumi couldn't help but exclaim, "Amazing!"

“Well… this is just the basics.” Eriri put down her tools and picked up her coffee cup again. “There are techniques like scraping nets and overlapping pasting later on—I can handle those, they require drawing skills.”

"Okay, I roughly understand." The work on One-Punch Man is almost finished here, and the illustrations have been drafted. Kobayashi Sora searched her memory, "There's also the doujinshi for June. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be the original anime 'Snowflakes' that finished airing this season, right?"

"Hmm." Eriri nodded as she drank her coffee.

In Shizuoka Prefecture, a land where snow never falls, on a winter day when snowflakes miraculously drift down, the protagonist, Kohei, discovers a girl who has lost her memory.

Centered around Fairness and her cohabitation life and the mystery of her existence, the series vividly and dreamily portrays the friendship, bonds, jealousy, and betrayal among companions, making it a refreshing and complex legendary ensemble drama of youth...

None of this matters.

In this season's anime, this work ranked third in sales, but its popularity was overwhelmingly number one.

Eriri has no reason not to draw such a good subject and instead draw other doujinshi.

However, Eriri has been quite busy lately, so...

Which episode did you watch this time?

“Episode 3…” Eriri lowered her head, then raised it again, “It’s all because of your game development that I…”

"It's my fault, I'm sorry," Kobayashi Sora replied crisply. "I'll help."

"Hmph, that's more like it."

As mentioned before.

Super easy blonde twin tails.

Kobayashi Sora pulled out the art book, saying, "Although the character designs in 'Snowflakes' are on the cute side, the story is too heavy, making it difficult for viewers to simply appreciate the cuteness while watching the main plot. The art style of this work is very compatible with yours, so you can draw a simple cute story to give viewers who are suffering from the plot some comfort."

When the film was being promoted, it gave the impression of being a sentimental harem romantic comedy, but after it was released, it turned out to be a cruel drama full of depressing plots, jealousy, and love triangles.

I imagine there must have been quite a few viewers who were deeply disappointed by this.

“Okay,” Eriri nodded, “then let Hagoromo be a supporting character…”

"Wait a minute," Kobayashi Sora said, rubbing her forehead. "Do you really hate the female lead that much?"

"It's because that girl named Yuyi is too shrewd and charming, like a doll—she seems to be at the mercy of the plot."

So that's it?

"Wouldn't it be better if Mariko had a more human touch?"

Chapter 134 Won't Take Action

Mariko Nagisa is the childhood friend of the protagonist, Kohei Shinozuka.

In contrast to the innocent and romantic Heavenly Maiden Feather Robe, she is a taciturn, gloomy, and simple character.

The depressing aspect of this work is that it carries the weight of the story alone... the negative side, the important but overlooked female protagonist.

Of course, her underlying sentiment of harboring a faint affection for fairness remains unshaken.

That's why the happier Hagoromo and Shinotsuka Kohei are together, the more miserable Nagisa Mariko becomes, and the more miserable Nagisa Mariko becomes, the sweeter Hagoromo and Shinotsuka Kohei's relationship becomes.

They complemented each other and achieved success.

“Mariko…” Kato Megumi guessed, “Is she the male protagonist’s childhood friend?”

"Oh yeah," Eriri said, somewhat surprised, "You watched it too?"

"Well... just a guess." Kato Megumi looked away.

It's quite easy to guess.

"Just use the same trick as last time..."

"It's best not to repeat yourself; come up with a new approach," Kobayashi Sora suggested.

"Wh...what?!"

Eriri blushed. She had originally planned to follow the same routine as before so that she wouldn't have to... you know... with Kobayashi Sora.

Even if it requires writing lines or having sex with someone, she wouldn't be too moved by it because of her past experience.

Who would have thought that Kobayashi Sora would propose a new position... no, a new routine.

Kobayashi Sora noticed Eriri's unusual behavior, "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened'? I didn't do anything wrong!" Eriri raised her voice. "You can't just talk your way out of it, come up with some new tricks!"

"Hmm..." Kobayashi Sora thought for a moment, "How about trying a pure love forced story?"

"Huh?" Eriri stared at Kobayashi Sora. "What exactly do you take pure love for?"

“Let’s design a simple plot.” Kobayashi Sora sketched a flowchart on the whiteboard. “The reason childhood sweethearts rarely become lovers is because they’re too familiar with each other and don’t cherish each other. So let’s create an opportunity for Kohei to bump into Mariko and her new boyfriend…”

"Isn't this turning into a NTR (Netorare) scheme?"

"Let me continue." Kobayashi Sora continued outlining, "Kouhei, realizing that Mariko would leave, found Mariko at night. Driven by the fear of losing her, he took some violent actions. Afterwards, Mariko told Koouhei that the man from the daytime was her brother."

“I see…” Eriri understood Kobayashi Sora’s thoughts. “The key is Mariko’s inner struggle, her outward resistance and her inner joy. This torment and depravity is simply… cough cough, it’s alright, let’s do it your way.”

“Same as always,” Kobayashi Sora said, taking out paper and pen. “I’ll draw the storyboard.”

The first page features a simple world-famous painting, and the second page shows Kohei arriving at Mariko's house at night.

Then we'll start writing the script.

Kobayashi Sora cleared her throat. "Mariko..."

“Fairness…” Eriri habitually interjected, “How did you get here… no!”

Unpleasant memories flooded her mind, and Eriri stopped herself in time. If this continued, she would end up having sex with Kobayashi Sora again.

Under the watchful gaze of Kato Megumi.

Eh?

Eriri glanced at Kato Megumi and said, "Megumi, you know that minors shouldn't watch these things, right?"

Kato Megumi blinked. "I never thought the person who drew these would say that to me."

“That’s exactly what I mean!” Eriri nodded. “Watching is not allowed, but creating is fine.”

"so?"

"So you and Kobayashi wrote the lines together."

"Huh?" Kato Megumi held up her coffee cup. "It's good that you're here."

“What’s so good about it…” Eriri said earnestly, “Watching is illegal, but creating isn’t, so I’m giving you a chance to turn over a new leaf and abandon darkness for light.”

"Huh...?" Kato Megumi was a little confused. "Okay then."

You actually agreed?

Kobayashi Sora sighed, "No need to force yourself."

"It's nothing," Kato Megumi shook her head. "Where were we?"

"Kohei went to see Mariko, and Mariko opened the door," Kobayashi Sora recounted simply. "She was a little surprised to see Kohei."

"Fairness, you... how did you get here?" Kato Megumi tried hard to get into character, but her ability was limited, and she basically read the lines in a flat, emotionless voice, even turning her questions into statements.

"Mariko!" In contrast, the experienced Kobayashi Sora acted quite convincingly, "I...I need to talk to you!"

"Then come in and tell me what you'd like to drink."

"Hurry up," Eriri reminded them. "There aren't many pages to begin with."

Kobayashi Sora made an OK sign. "Who was that man you were with today?"

“Oh, that’s my brother,” Kato Megumi replied.

"Stop!" Eriri cried out, "That was way too fast! It ended right away!"