The action movie that had started was, as expected of an award-winning film, thoroughly engrossing. Kaori found herself able to forget her tangled thoughts for the mont and simply enjoy the movie.
Feeling a little thirsty, she kept her eyes on the screen as she reached out toward the cup on the table…… only for her hand to bump into Kaito’s hand, which had been reaching out at the exact sa ti.
[Ah, s- sorry!? That was yours, wasn’t it, Kaito-kun!]
[No, it’s fine. I wasn’t paying attention either. If it’s placed between us, it’s easy to mix them up.]
The one who had mistaken it this ti was Kaori. The two of them were sitting on the sofa facing the screen, with Kaito on the left and Kaori on the right. From Kaori’s perspective, her own cup was placed slightly forward to her right.
But because she had been so focused on the movie, she mistook the cup that entered the edge of her vision, Kaito’s, for her own and reached out with her left hand, resulting in their hands colliding.
(H- How cliche is this!? I’ve seen this exact developnt in romance movies! N- No, but when it actually happens to you, it’s way more embarrassing than you’d expect. I an, it was my mistake, but still…… it makes weirdly self-conscious…… anwhile, Kaito-kun looks totally unfazed, calm, even. Guh, is this the difference in experience……?)
Though the unexpected mishap left Kaori a little flustered, Kaito didn’t seem particularly bothered. After their brief exchange, he simply turned his attention back to the movie.
From Kaito’s point of view, after all, the two of them had previously spent nearly an entire day holding hands on a date, so a brief brush of hands was nothing to get worked up over.
But for Kaori, perhaps because she was more consciously aware of Kaito than she had been during that date, when she’d mostly gone along with Olivia’s lead, she felt an inexplicable, awkward embarrassnt lingering in her chest.
After the movie ended, Kaito and Kaori lightly stretched and moved their stiff bodies from sitting so long, chatting about their impressions of the film.
[The plot felt pretty by-the-book, for better or worse, but the action was incredible.]
[Unn. It was super intense and really fun. Though when you think about it…… I kind of felt like that level of movent might actually be possible with Body Strengthening Magic. Magic really is amazing.]
[For , those kinds of moves would be a bit tough.]
[Not very good with Body Strengthening?]
[……At max, I can only do about one-and-a-half tis.]
Incidentally, Kaito’s "max 1.5 tis" was after being boosted by things like the Fruit of Nebula's World Tree; using it in his normal state, the multiplier would be even lower.
[Yeah, 1.5 tis is definitely on the low side. Well, magic has its strengths and weaknesses.]
[By the way, Kaori-san, how far can you go?]
[Hmmm, I think I could manage around 30 tis but…… I’ve never really had a reason to push it that far, so I haven’t actually tried. Against monsters at the level you’d find in the Human Realm, even fairly strong ones can usually be handled with about 5 tis. And honestly, I was more of the type to fire off high-output magic from mid to long range.]
Kaori had once worked as an adventurer in the past, but since monsters in the Human Realm weren’t particularly powerful, there was rarely any need to crank Body Strengthening Magic up to extre levels.
Of course, when it ca to top-tier Human Realm monsters like Wyverns or Black Bears, that was a different story, but subjugating monsters of that class was mainly the knights’ job, so adventurers were seldom called upon.
[I see. Being able to use such powerful Body Strengthening Magic is enviable, but…… now that you ntion it, there really aren’t many chances to use it, are there?]
[Even when you’re active as an adventurer, it’s rare to go all-out. In everyday life, you basically never use it to that extent. At the very least, there aren’t many situations where it helps with cooking.]
[Ah, speaking of cooking…… Kaori-san, if you’d like, would you stay for dinner? You treated to lunch, so this would be my way of returning the favor……]
[Eh? Really? Are you sure? Wouldn’t that be a bother on such short notice……? I an, if you ask whether I’m interested or not…… I definitely am. I’m really curious about what kind of food would co out. I’m interested, but……]
[If we let them know now, it shouldn’t be a problem. If I ask, they can bring it to the room, so we can just eat here…… I’ll check real quick.]
Hearing Kaito’s proposal, Kaori, who enjoyed cooking as a hobby, seed genuinely intrigued by the idea of noble-house cuisine, responding that she’d be happy to if it wouldn’t cause any trouble.
Seeing that, Kaito used hummingbird to check, then looked slightly thoughtful as he read the reply he received.
[Ah, if it’s difficult, don’t force it, okay?]
[No, dinner itself seems to be no problem at all. It’s just sothing else……]
[Sothing else?]
[Yes, errr…… if you’re okay with it, Kaori-san, would you like to stay over tonight?]
[………………]
At Kaito’s sudden question, Kaori's expression turned blank, as though he’d abruptly started talking about outer space.
(……Stay over? I-I an, I did say I wanted to enjoy my youth, and I admit I’m really interested in romance. But isn’t the developnt kinda skipping several steps at once……? Eeeeeh!?)
Serious-senpai : [Cut it out! Don’t try to turn this into so sugary developnt! This is that, right!? He probably just checked with soone like Illness and got asked sothing like "If Kaori is staying over, should we prepare a room?", that’s all!!! Kaito, don’t phrase it in a way that causes weird misunderstandings!!!]
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