With the discussion about the rice finished, Kaori began setting down the side dishes and miso soup to complete the set meal.
"By the way, Shige-san, didn't you say you had an interesting story to share as well?"
"Ah, right. It’s something I heard from an old friend. Kaori, do you know about the accident that happened during the last Hero Summoning?"
"Oh, yeah. I found out about it recently... It was quite a shock, wasn't it?"
Upon hearing the mention of a summoning accident, Kaito’s face immediately sprang to Kaori's mind. Their encounter had been startling in every sense of the word. Since then, her life had been a whirlwind of unexpected developments, from Pope Olivia becoming a regular to sourcing legendary rice from Razlyria.
"Apparently, three others were brought over alongside the Hero because of that accident," Shigenobu continued. "A friend's daughter works at the mansion where they were staying, so he was able to give me some rather detailed accounts. It sounds like there’s one truly incredible guy among them."
"An incredible guy?"
Kaito's face became even more vivid in her mind. While she only knew about the other two from what Kaito had briefly mentioned, she couldn't imagine anyone else fitting the description. In fact, her brief time with him had already given her enough of a headache—and a stomachache—that she shuddered at the thought of anyone even more "incredible" existing.
"Well, my friend is a bit of a jokester, and he tends to exaggerate his daughter's stories, so it’s likely a bit padded... but supposedly, one of these otherworlders has managed to completely charm the Six Kings and the Supreme Gods. You know, the ones at the very top of the world."
"...Are you talking about Kaito Miyama?"
"Hmm? What’s this? You know him?"
"...I met him... just recently. Yeah, he’s an incredible kid. Truly."
"Kaori? You look like your mind is miles away," Hanna remarked.
Kaori gave a weary, wry smile at Hanna’s observation and decided to fill them in on her recent experiences with the young man.
"I think the story your friend told you, Shige-san... it wasn't an exaggeration. I believe every word of it is true."
"What? No, wait... a lot of it sounded completely impossible."
"For context, I met him just before noon one day. By that evening, he brought the Pope to my shop—they’d apparently become friends in the span of half a day."
"...You’re joking."
"I wish I were. As for Pope Olivia, she’s been coming here for lunch roughly every three days. My shop has become strangely famous because of it."
Shigenobu was well aware of who Pope Olivia was. Although they had never spoken, he knew the rumors that she never set foot outside the Cathedral except for the Hero Festival. Hearing that such a lofty figure was now a regular at Kaori’s humble diner left him speechless.
"Then the stories about him having the True Blessing of the Creator God-sama, or being in a relationship with Chrome-sama..."
"Yes. It all seems to be true. In fact, I only met Raz-sama because Kaito introduced us. She seems to think very highly of him; she gave me a massive discount on the rice stock just because he was the one asking."
"That’s... unreal. I can’t believe those guys were actually telling the truth."
"Honestly, Kaito himself is a wonderful person," Kaori added. "He’s polite, kind, and incredibly thoughtful—the quintessential nice young man. I like him a lot, and he’s dropped by to eat several times since our first meeting. It’s just... his social circle is too much to handle. Just hearing the names he drops is enough to make my stomach churn."
Watching Kaori look off into the distance with a haunted expression, Shigenobu gave a sympathetic smile, realizing the girl was clearly under a lot of stress. At the same time, his curiosity about the man named Kaito grew even stronger.
"Still, I see... My friends were singing his praises, and he certainly sounds like a good kid from your description."
"Oh, he is. There’s no doubt about that. He’s a lovely person. I think you’d really like him, Shige-san."
"In that case, I’d love to meet him myself."
"He lives in the Sinfonia Royal Capital now, from what I hear."
"The Royal Capital... That’s a bit of a trek. Portal fees aren't cheap, and it would be rude to just show up unannounced. Maybe I’ll ask my friend to arrange an introduction through his daughter."
"Wait," Hanna spoke up, "I just thought of something. If this Kaito stays in the Royal Capital but comes here to eat often... even using a teleportation shop, that would cost a fortune. He must be quite wealthy."
"Actually... Kaito owns a personal teleportation magic tool. And it’s not just a standard one; apparently, it’s a high-grade model capable of jumping between the Human and Demon Realms..."
"......"
The couple sat in stunned silence as Kaori finished her explanation with an exasperated sigh. For the rest of the meal, the three of them remained engrossed in conversation about the extraordinary otherworlder, Kaito Miyama.