Elis had summoned Cornelia ahead of the designated hour for a specific purpose. As allies within the same political faction and close personal friends, she intended to impart crucial warnings regarding Kaito and enlist her support for the trial ahead. Cornelia, a veteran of noble society's subtle games of intrigue, had already detected an unsettling tension beneath Elis's composure.
"I can tell something is amiss simply by observing your reaction, Elis-sama," Cornelia began, "but I must admit, my own impression of Miyama Kaito-sama was quite different. I understood his social connections were staggering, but I assumed the man himself was a typical otherworlder, much like the former Hero-roles—exceptionally charismatic and a gifted communicator, perhaps, but ultimately human. Should I be revising that assessment?"
"Yes. I once shared that very view," Elis replied. "However, after several interactions with Kaito-sama, I have come to realize that his truly formidable traits are his power to attract opportunities and his overwhelming mental toughness. He is so favored by fate that he draws fortune to himself with uncanny precision. He might stroll through a vast city and happen upon the one individual whose acquaintance yields the greatest benefit. Without even trying, he weaves threads of mutual prosperity. He believes he is acting normally, yet the impact he exerts on his surroundings is nothing short of monumental."
"Being blessed with opportunities is something that anyone in business would find enviable," Cornelia noted, "but for you to speak of it with such terror suggests it is on a different level entirely."
It was a simple statement of fact. Kaito was beloved by both fate and the world itself. Furthermore, thanks to his connection with Nebula, he had received an almost excessive amount of divine protection from numerous transcendent beings. In matters of chance, connection, or fortune, Kaito was effectively invincible. When paired with his sympathy magic and his inherent eye for character, even the Supreme Gods and the Six Kings had come to place immense weight on Kaito's instincts.
"To use an analogy... think of it as the beating of a giant dragon's wings," Elis said softly. "Kaito-sama is the dragon; we are the small birds—or perhaps mere winged insects. Kaito-sama believes he is merely fluttering his wings, yet we are all swept away by the resulting gale. The influence he exerts is simply staggering."
"I see. Because his actions are unconscious, they are impossible to predict," Cornelia murmured. "And what of this mental toughness you mentioned?"
"Kaito-sama’s mind is resilient to a truly bizarre degree. He experiences social interaction with zero burden or fatigue. Consider this scenario, Cornelia-sama: you attend a party where you are on speaking terms with nearly a hundred guests. If you were required to greet every single one of them, how exhausted would you be?"
"To greet a hundred people? Even with scheduled breaks, I couldn't hide my mental fatigue past the halfway mark. By the end, I doubt I would be able to maintain a proper facade."
Even if one limited themselves to brief, three-minute exchanges with no small talk, the process would take five hours. For a noble like Cornelia, seasoned in the rigors of social etiquette, it was a scenario she genuinely dreaded.
"At Kaito-sama’s recent birthday celebration, he accepted gifts from over four hundred and fifty people consecutively without a single break. He engaged in meaningful conversation with every one of them... and when it was over, he remained perfectly composed, showing no signs of weariness. In fact, I have never seen a moment where he appeared mentally drained."
"...One moment. I need to recalibrate my expectations," Cornelia said, her voice dropping. "I came here assuming I was meeting an otherworlder based on the precedent of the Hero-roles. I shall proceed instead as if I am facing the Gods themselves."
"Yes, that is the correct state of mind. I have spent my days devising countermeasures and preparing for every contingency, yet I still feel no sense of security. Approach this with the utmost resolve."
"You’re making me nervous," Cornelia whispered. "Extremely so."
Cornelia nodded, overwhelmed by an escalating sense of dread as she listened to Elis's grim testimony. Elis was indeed brilliant and well-prepared, but she lacked one vital resource: experience points regarding K-Cases. Had Lilia, the woman who had survived more K-Cases than anyone in existence, been there, she likely would have offered a far more enlightened—and resigned—perspective.
"Regrettably, planning and countermeasures are meaningless where Kaito-san is concerned," she might have said with the vacant eyes of a martyr. "The more you prepare, the more he manages to slip through your fingers and deliver a blow to your stomach from an impossible angle. The only effective defense is to embrace a heart of resignation, accept the chaos as it comes, and prepare a method to soothe the inevitable stomach pain."
Elis had suffered her fair share of stomach-aching incidents, but she had yet to reach the domain of resignation and enlightenment that Lilia inhabited. For now, she could only tremble alongside her friend.
Elis-chan: "I have to consider Kaito-sama's thoughts, analyze the situation, and prepare for every possible disaster... but can I really handle it all?"
Lilia-chan: "Countermeasures are useless against Kaito-san. He has no self-restraint. Stomach pain is an absolute certainty. The best you can do is accept it and try to minimize the long-term damage to your health."
Serious-senpai: "The difference in their experience is clear. That right there is the presence of the strongest stomach pain warrior..."