Kaito’s perspective was born from a misunderstanding that was, in a sense, unavoidable. Setting Lilia aside since she was the current Head of her House, the first person who came to Kaito’s mind when he thought of a "noble daughter" was Eris. It was only natural that she had become his benchmark for all high-society ladies.
However, the difference between Eris and Cornelia’s social standing was vast. Eris was the heir apparent to a Marquis House; she had been recognized as a prodigy since childhood and had demonstrated her talent in a variety of fields. Despite her youth, she had established several shops of her own and was deeply involved in her family’s enterprises, possessing a high degree of authority and autonomy.
Cornelia, on the other hand, was simply the eldest daughter of a Count House. The heir to the Sharon family was her older brother, and Cornelia was in a position where her future was expected to be defined by a political marriage. She was rarely involved in her family’s business and held very little formal power.
Of course, she had a general understanding of her family's various businesses and would occasionally offer suggestions or ideas, but she was almost entirely removed from the management of the Sharon Trading Company. She had only guided Kaito to the Victor Trading Company because of their personal friendship. Even though Victor was technically a subsidiary of her family’s house, she held no actual authority over it.
"I see, I see. Indeed, this need is not limited to dragons. There are many creatures whose hide does not take well to standard brushes. Creating a specialized brush is a sound idea, I must say."
"Would you like a specialized brush of your own, Magnawell-san?"
"Nay, it would be impossible to craft a brush suited to a physique as massive as mine. I use magic to keep myself clean, but as it requires a great deal of precision to cleanse every individual scale, there are many who cannot achieve it. Those are the ones who rely on brushes."
To the current Cornelia, the conversation between Kaito and Magnawell was nothing short of terrifying. She was especially horrified by the way Magnawell—the Dragon King himself—was taking a palpable interest in these specialized brushes.
The Dragon King... Lord Magnawell doesn't seem to want one for himself, but this conversation is heading in a terrible direction, she thought. A truly, truly bad direction... Um, Kaito-sama... you remember, don't you? The Victor Trading Company is tiny. If a massive order were to come from the Dragon King Faction, it would be a disaster...
Tens of millions of monsters lived under the Dragon King's command. Cornelia had no way of knowing exactly how many of them used tools, but it was easy to guess that if their King expressed interest in a product, a huge portion of his subordinates would suddenly want it as well.
The Victor Trading Company lacked the capacity to handle an order of that magnitude. If such a thing were to happen, the Sharon Count House would have to allocate a massive budget to force an expansion of the company just to keep up with the demand.
While that would undoubtedly bring staggering profits to the Sharon family, Cornelia knew exactly who would be placed at the center of the project if it was established through this particular chain of events. It would, without a doubt, be her.
"I only just placed my order today, so I haven't actually seen the finished product yet," Kaito said. "But Cornelia-san told me they’re quite high-quality, so I’m looking forward to it."
"Hmph. Then once you have received it, I should very much like to hear your thoughts on its utility. If it proves as good as you say, I shall recommend it to my subordinates who have been seeking better grooming tools."
"Oh, that’s great. It sounds like sales for the Victor Trading Company are about to take off."
The conversation proceeded exactly as Cornelia had feared it would.
Kaito-sama? Kaito-sama! The Dragon King Faction is said to have the highest numbers in the world after the Phantasm King Faction! I mean, sure, not every single one of them is going to place an order, but even if it’s just one percent of them, that’s still an astronomical number!
Of course, all of this was contingent on Kaito actually liking the brushes he had ordered; no such orders had been placed yet.
What if... what if Kaito-sama gives them a glowing review? Won’t that lead to something truly monstrous? Ju-Just thinking about the scale of it is making my stomach ache...
Her stomach felt as if it were screaming at the mere thought of it. Then, Magnawell turned toward Cornelia and delivered what felt like a final sentence from a judge.
"In that case, if any of my subordinates desire a brush, I shall send word to Cornelia Sharon. Will you allow it?"
"Y-Y-Yes! H-Hahi! I-I am honored!"
If she could have, she would have begged him to contact the Sharon Count House directly... but Cornelia was the only one currently present who had any connection to Magnawell, Kaito, Nizbel, and Eingana. At this stage, she couldn't possibly push the responsibility off onto the house at large.
Furthermore, this was a direct request from Magnawell, one of the Six Kings. Even if he only chose her because he had no other option, his status made it a command that was impossible to refuse.
Cornelia Sharon, the eldest daughter of the Sharon Count House... This was the moment her future as the Chief Executive of the Sharon Count House's Monster-related Fields was irrevocably sealed.
Serious-senpai: "There’s profit. The profit will definitely be incredible. For Cornelia, whose future was vague and likely limited to being a political pawn, a high-ranking position is now guaranteed... but the cost is an astronomical amount of stomach pain."
???: "Kaito-san knows absolutely nothing about business or trade management, so he’s probably just thinking something simple, like, 'They said their sales were down, so they'll be happy if I help them sell more.'"
Serious-senpai: "Wait, is Kaito’s Luck Correction working again? Is the conversation steering this way simply because Kaito thinks Cornelia will be happy if sales go up?"
???: "No, not quite yet. This is still just within the scope of a conversation with Magnawell-san. If the Correction is going to kick in, it’ll be after the Dragon King’s subordinates actually start ordering. A massive boom is probably about to hit the Dragon King Faction..."