It was only natural, but seeing how everyone’s personality shone through their gifts made the experience truly enjoyable. Utilizing parallel worlds to receive them was proving to be remarkably efficient; by the time thirty hours had elapsed in the localized time, I estimated I had already accepted presents from more than half the guests.
Since I had plenty of time, I occasionally found myself chatting leisurely with the givers, which slowed the pace a bit, but overall, we were moving along nicely.
Above all, I was immensely grateful that my physical fatigue reset every time I moved between parallel worlds. Even if the strain from a single encounter was minuscule, the cumulative effect of hundreds of greetings would have undoubtedly left my arms and shoulders aching. Not having to deal with that was a huge relief.
Next up was Akane Mikumo. While Kaori-san had seemed paralyzed by the sheer weight of the party's atmosphere, Akane-san appeared quite relaxed—much as she had been during the Hidden Talent Show.
"Yo, Kaito. Congrats on the big day."
"Thank you, Akane-san. Your performance at the talent show was impressive."
"Well, I was mostly just standin' there. With this many big shots gathered in one place, it doesn't hurt to get my face out there, right? It's not like my company specializes in luxury goods for the wealthy, so I don't gain much just by cozyin' up to high-ranking folks, but ya never know what kind of opportunity might come knockin'. If ya can market yourself for free, you might as well do it."
As ever, Akane-san was a shrewd operator. She had a way of seizing any opportunity that came her way, whether by chance or design. Her merchant spirit was so ingrained that being a guild chairman truly felt like her calling.
"By the way, Kaito, you're jumpin' through parallel worlds to pick up these gifts, right? It's all very sci-fi... Or rather, you're as far outside the realm of common sense as ever. So, how many have ya gotten so far?"
"Hmm, I haven't been keeping an exact count, but I think I’ve received them from more than half the participants."
"Huh. So you're already past the halfway mark... But still, that's a lot of people. It must've taken quite a while, yeah?"
"Since the clocks reset whenever I move to a new parallel world, it's hard to be precise, but it's probably been about thirty hours?"
"...What? Wait, you're jokin', right? You've been acceptin' presents for thirty hours straight? Surely you've been takin' breaks in between?"
"No, I don't really feel tired yet, so I haven't needed to stop..."
"..."
Upon hearing my answer, Akane-san rubbed her temple with her index finger as if trying to stave off a headache. She wore a look of utter disbelief.
"You've been goin' non-stop for thirty hours?"
"Yes. But like I said, any physical fatigue is reset when I hop to a new world. I don't get sleepy or hungry either. I'm just chatting with people I know and receiving gifts, so there isn't really anything to cause mental fatigue. It’s not a problem at all."
"...Ya know, when I first met ya, I thought to myself: Kaito’s just some lucky ordinary guy who got pampered by fate and managed to build this outrageous social circle just by chance... but I was wrong."
"No, that’s actually exactly what happened—"
"No, it ain't. After knowin' ya for a while, I’ve realized... you're a real beast of a monster yourself."
"Eeehhh..."
I found myself suddenly branded a monster by her exasperated expression, but surely that was a massive misunderstanding.
"I thought the same thing back at that shipboard party! You went around doin' greeting rounds for every single guest, yet you didn't look tired in the slightest!"
"Well, I was just saying hello to people I knew, and there were breaks in between. I really didn't have much physical fatigue to speak of."
"I'm talkin' about the mental toll! How can ya just stand there and act like mental fatigue doesn't exist? That ain't normal! Greetin' that many people is supposed to be exhaustin'! I'm a guild chairman, so I attend my fair share of parties, but just goin' around to pay my respects wears me out... You really are... Well, I guess ya couldn't maintain those kinds of connections without a crazy mentality like that. You're just a walkin' bundle of contradictions, same as always."
Her tone wasn't quite mocking or belittling, but it certainly wasn't praise either. I could only offer a wry smile in response.
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered Lilia-san saying that parties were incredibly draining as well. Then again, I’m sure I’d be exhausted if I had to greet a crowd of strangers, but at the shipboard party—and here, as well—the guests were almost all people I knew. To me, it felt more like having a fun chat with friends and acquaintances than a formal aristocratic gala.
"Well, whatever. There's no end to it if I start nitpickin' you. As for your present, I figured somethin' consumable would be best, so I brought a variety of sauces. You can never have too many."
"Thank you... That's quite a few bottles. Are they all different?"
"Of course they are. Different dishes need different sauces. Oh, and I wrote on the labels which dishes they pair with so even an amateur can figure it out."
I bit back the comment that I’d never actually used that many different sauces before. For Akane-san, sauce was clearly a serious matter, and owning a wide variety for different pairings was likely just common sense to her.
I had learned the hard way from Kuro’s baby castella obsession and Ein-san’s maid fixation that calling out the absurdity of someone's hobby only leads to trouble. Thus, I simply offered my thanks once more with a polite smile.
Serious-senpai: Since Kaito can be a bit of an airhead himself, I think having people like Akane or Elise around to provide a reality check is quite valuable.