Jane-san was a woman of truly peculiar contradictions. Her face remained frozen, not so much as a single eyebrow twitching, yet her voice was bubbly and bright, possessing a cheerfulness that defied her stony expression.
"Hey, hey! Kaito-sama, would you mind if I gave you my pitch?"
"My... pitch?"
"Oh, don’t worry, I don’t mean anything inappropriate! I mean, sure, thoughts like ‘I’m going to suck up to him and lock in the Marriage into Wealth Route’ or ‘I should upsell myself by twenty percent while I’m all dolled up for the party to rack up evaluation points’ are... well, they’re definitely there! But putting that aside, this is my chance to let Kaito-sama get to know me, so please, give me some Presentation Time!"
"You’re... remarkably honest, aren't you?"
"Taha! My, my, it seems you’ve already discovered one of my charms before the presentation even started! Kaito-sama, you must be a genius at finding people’s strengths."
She was certainly high-energy. Her lighthearted way of speaking actually made for a rather fun conversation. Her face was still as rigid as a Noh mask, and her eyes remained vacant, reflecting no light, but her voice was brimming with life.
"Anyway, back to the pitch. Don’t you think I’m a pretty good catch? I’m not so conceited as to call myself a peerless beauty, but I’ve got decent looks, and—going by my own generous self-evaluation—my overall abilities are also quite good. My chest is about average, neither too big nor too small... Oh, wait, this is a problem. I intended to be easy on the scoring, but I’m realizing that every single one of my selling points is just ‘decent’... I’m almost on the verge of tears over my lack of standout traits."
She had really committed to this self-appeal, but the fact that her conclusion was essentially "I’m mostly average" made her oddly endearing. She had a certain charm about her.
"Ah, but I’m quite confident in the way my skin feels! It’s soft and squishy. I’m sure even my chest feels great to the touch, don’t you think? How about it, care to give it a try? Ah, taha! Did my overflowing sexiness just slip out? I’m sorry for being too sexy."
"I... I see. You’re certainly a woman of many charms, Jane-san."
"You have a keen eye! I’m a real bargain right now, you know? My only real flaw is that I must have lost my labor negotiations, because my facial muscles have been in a Facial Muscle Everyday Death State and refuse to do a lick of work. So, with that in mind, I’d appreciate a high rating as a Boyish Energetic Girl... Hmm, am I boyish? Is boyish the right word? It feels like a blurry line, but since the Silent Cool Type or Gentle Older Sister Type routes are clearly out of the question, that’s the angle I’m pushing! Please just turn a blind eye to the details!"
"Ah, right... I mean, what exactly are you appealing for?"
"That’s a great question. About that... since I started this on a whim, I’ve sort of lost sight of the landing point myself. To be honest, er, I’m at a loss for how to transition the conversation from here, so if you could throw me a lifeline, it would make my heart skip a beat."
She scratched her head as if to say, "I’ve gone and done it now," but because her expression didn't change in the slightest, it felt like my brain was experiencing a glitch. Still, I got the feeling she was well aware of her own lack of expression.
Besides, she seemed like a good person at heart, and the conversation was genuinely enjoyable.
In another corner of the party venue where the Kings of the Human Realm were gathered, Ryze, Chris, and Laguna were deep in conversation. Their topic: the companions they had brought from their respective nations.
"Must be nice, Ryze-bo. Setting aside Lady Lilia, who is a noble, your royalty, your Knight Commander, and even your Head Maid are all acquaintances of Kaito and received their own invitations. You’ve practically brought a small army with you."
"Hahaha, well, I’ll admit I feel like I’m cheating a bit, but it’s not as if I pestered him for those invitations. To balance it out, the people I brought as my companions this time aren't of particularly high rank."
Following discussions between the nations, it had been decided that each country would bring two companions. This was largely to serve as a public demonstration of the close ties between Kaito and each kingdom.
Since these companions were not Kaito’s personal acquaintances, the plan was to avoid formal introductions to spare him the burden. However, everyone still clamored for a chance to be in a place where they might interact with him, and for the Kings, it was an easy way to earn favors from their nobility.
"I brought two nobles from the Reformist Faction, but what about His Majesty Laguna?" Chris asked.
"I was torn," Laguna replied. "I considered nobles, but you see, the nobility doesn't hold much power in the Hydra Kingdom. In the end, I chose two people from the assembly. Look, they’re those two over there."
Laguna pointed to a spot a short distance away as she answered Chris’s question. There stood two individuals dressed in fine formal suits, moving through the crowd together.
"They’re both merchants, but they have promising futures. I’ll introduce them to Ryze-bo and Lady Chris later. I figured it would be a nuisance to introduce them to Kaito when he has so many others to greet, so I didn’t bring them over earlier... but I think it will be good for the future of Hydra if they can expand their connections elsewhere."
Serious-senpai: "Wait a second. Does this mean Laguna's companion was just a misdirection or some excuse she made up on the spot? Jane’s identity has become a total mystery."