The action movie proved to be every bit as engrossing as its awards suggested, allowing Kaori to push aside her chaotic thoughts and lose herself in the story.
Feeling a bit thirsty, she reached out for the glass on the table while keeping her eyes fixed on the screen... and her hand collided with Kaito's in a perfectly timed accidental touch.
"Ah, so—sorry! This... this was yours, wasn't it, Kaito-kun!?"
"Ah, no, I was being careless too. If I leave it on the side between us, it's easy to make a mistake."
The one who had made the error this time was Kaori. Currently, the two were sitting on the sofa with Kaito on the left and Kaori on the right. From her perspective, her glass should have been in front of her to the right.
However, because she was so focused on the film, she had mistaken Kaito’s glass—which sat in the corner of her vision—for her own. Reaching out with her left hand had led to the inevitable contact.
(It’s... it’s a total cliché! I’ve seen this exact development in romance movies! I—it’s... but this is so much more embarrassing than I thought when you’re the one it's happening to. Well, it’s partly because I’m the one who messed up, but I can’t help being self-conscious... yet Kaito-kun seems so composed. Or rather, just calm. Guh, is this the difference in our experience...?)
While Kaori was left reeling by the unexpected event, Kaito didn’t seem particularly bothered. After their brief exchange, he simply returned his focus to the movie.
In reality, from Kaito's perspective, he had held hands with Kaori for almost an entire day during their previous date, so a simple brush of the hands wasn't enough to shake his composure.
Kaori, however, was now far more conscious of Kaito than she had been during that earlier date—which had felt more like being swept along by Olivia—and she found herself trapped in a state of strange bashfulness.
Once the movie ended, Kaito and Kaori discussed their impressions of the film while stretching their stiff limbs.
"The plot felt like a standard one, for better or worse, but the action was amazing," Kaito remarked.
"Yeah. It was full of impact and extremely fun. But thinking about it... I felt like those kinds of movements might actually be possible if one used Physical Enhancement magic. Magic really is incredible."
"I feel like those movements would be a bit tough for me, though."
"Are you not very good at Physical Enhancement?"
"...At my peak, it’s only about 1.5x."
In truth, Kaito's 1.5x maximum referred to his ability without the boost from things like Nebula's Fruit of the World Tree; with a full boost, he could reach about 3x. Even then, it was remarkably low.
"1.5x is certainly on the low side. Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses with magic."
"By the way, how high can you go, Kaori-san?"
"Hmm, I think I could probably reach 30x... but I've never had a situation where I needed to go that far, so I've never actually tried it. For the level of monsters in the Human Realm, you can handle almost anything with about 5x unless they're exceptionally strong. Besides, I was always the type that fires high-output magic from mid-to-long range."
Kaori had been an active adventurer in the past, but since the monsters of the Human Realm weren't particularly powerful, she had never felt the need to push her Physical Enhancement to such extreme multipliers.
Of course, the situation was different when dealing with the highest class of monsters in the Human Realm, such as Wyverns or Black Bears. However, the Order of Knights usually handled monster subjugation for that class, so adventurers rarely received such requests.
"I see. I envy being able to use such powerful Physical Enhancement... but now that you mention it, I suppose there really wouldn't be many chances to use it."
"It's rare to use it at full power even as an adventurer, and you definitely wouldn't use it that much in your private life. At the very least, there aren't many situations where it helps with cooking."
"Ah, speaking of cooking... Kaori-san, if you'd like, why don't you stay for dinner? You treated me to lunch, so I'd like to do this as a way to thank you..."
"Eh? Really? Wouldn't that be a sudden bother...? No, if you're asking if I'm interested... I'm very interested. I’m curious about what kind of food would be served, but..."
"I think it'll be fine if I let them know now. If I ask, they'll bring it to the room, so we can just eat here... Let me check for a moment."
Hearing Kaito's proposal, Kaori found her interest piqued regarding the cuisine of a ducal household—especially since cooking was her hobby. Her reaction was clear: she would love to stay as long as it wasn't a burden.
Kaito used a Hummingbird to confirm the logistics, but after reading the reply that came back, a thoughtful expression crossed his face.
"Ah, if it looks difficult, please don't feel forced, okay?"
"Ah, no, dinner itself isn't a problem at all. It's something else..."
"Something else?"
"Yes, um... If you're okay with it, Kaori-san... would you like to stay over tonight?"
"............"
At Kaito's abrupt question, Kaori's face went blank, looking as though he had suddenly started lecturing her on the mysteries of deep space.
(...Stay over? I—I did say I wanted to experience my youth, and I admit I'm interested in romance. But a sudden development like skipping three steps is... eeeeeeh!?)
Serious-senpai: "Stop right there! Don't you dare try to turn this into a Sugar Development! This is just that, isn't it?! You probably just checked with Illness or the staff and they asked you something like, 'If Kaori-san is staying over, we need to prepare a room, so what should we do?!' Kaito, stop using such misleading phrasing!!"