I Was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but That World Is at Peace

According to Alice, this was supposed to be the highest-difficulty challenge, reading Shiro-san’s expressions, but honestly, I’m pretty good at picking up on subtle changes in her expressions. In fact, just a glance was enough for me to figure out exactly what kind of expression each of the four choices represented.

“Alright. Time’s up for answering…… The atmosphere among the Gods sure is intense. It’s like a verdict is about to be passed……”

“Well, in truth, the verdict is about to be passed. Judging from their almost desperate expression, they probably didn’t know the answer and ended up relying on luck in the end…… Just imagining myself in their position gives me chills.”

“I see. So it really was a brutal question…… but someone still managed to answer correctly…… and at an overwhelming speed, at that. Actually, Kaito-san was the fastest to answer and got it right, so let’s have him reveal the answer.”

“Eh? Kai-chan, you can tell?”

Just as I was thinking the conversation was going off in a strange direction, Ein-san quietly handed me a Loudspeaker Magic Tool. I accepted it and began to speak.

“Errr, well, since we’re at it, I’ll go through them one by one…… or rather, all four expressions this time were actually variations of a smile.”

“They were!?”

“Yes. First, number 1. The corners of the mouth are raised the most out of the four, but there’s a slight tilt to the head, so this is a doya…… errr, a triumphant smile.”

There were probably a fair number of people who got tripped up by expression #1. In terms of how high the mouth corners are raised, it’s the most prominent. But the slight change in the angle of the face gives it away, this is a doya.

Just to add a side note, this smug look isn’t the one she makes when she’s all hyped up with the 3D doyas. It’s more the face she makes when she’s teasing Kuro or someone. When she’s in the mood for flashy effects like 3D letters, her face tilts even more.

“Now, expression #2. The mouth corners are just slightly upturned, but the outer corners of the eyes droop a bit, especially more on the right side than the left. This is the face she makes when she’s giving a wry smile, like when she’s slightly exasperated.”

This is the kind of face she shows when talking about things like Kuro’s baby castella obsession or some topic she clearly doesn’t care about. Technically, her mouth is shaped almost the same as when she’s genuinely smiling. But the way her eyes move, especially the eye corners, gives it away. So it’s actually quite identifiable.

“Expression #3 is the one most easily mistaken for a genuine smile. It’s nearly identical, but when the right side of the mouth is raised just slightly more than the left, that’s the face she makes when she finds something amusing.”

She sometimes wears this expression when we’re watching plays or something like that. All things considered, it’s actually kind of rare. If her mood goes up just a bit more, she shifts into what you’d call a proper smile. So this one falls into a narrow zone between a smile and laughter, making it uncommon.

To describe it, I’d say this is the face she makes when she’s feeling mildly entertained by something not directly related to me. If it is something related to me, she tends to go straight into a full-on smile pretty easily.

“And so, the correct answer, the true gentle smile, is expression #4. The mouth corners are evenly raised on both sides, and the eyes are just slightly narrowed. That’s the giveaway.”

“I- I see…… That was actually really informative. Thanks for the detailed explanation and tips for telling them apart! I mean, honestly, I still can’t really see the micro-angle differences even after all that, but I’ll do my best to learn. You really are amazing, Kai-chan.”

“That was a great answer. I mean, seriously, the changes are only a matter of millimeters, and yet you caught them al…l… Anyhow, the correct answer is #4. So…… Shallow Vernal-sama? You look like you have a comment?”

[I quite like that confident air you carry, as if declaring that no one knows me better than you. You may go ahead and proclaim “Shiro-san is mine.”, you know? I shall permit it.]

“If you two want to flirt, do it later. Moving on.”

Shiro-san’s declaration, with a nod that radiated deep satisfaction, was immediately and thoroughly dismissed by Alice, who quickly moved on to the next question.

As the conversation moved on to the next question, Olivia remained in the audience, gazing at Kaito with sparkling, deeply moved eyes.

(What a magnificent and noble soul…… For me to be unable to read even the expressions of Shallow Vernal-sama, I’m overwhelmed by my own inadequacy. I feel like burying my face in my hands. But how merciful and wonderful Miyama Kaito-sama is…… Not only does he possess the insight to perfectly understand Shallow Vernal-sama’s heart, but the way he guides the ignorant masses, myself included, with his words…… I can’t hold back my tears. Shouldn’t his words just now be recorded in the holy scriptures?)

Olivia, unfortunately, hadn’t been able to distinguish Shallow Vernal’s expression and had made a random guess, which turned out to be wrong, plunging her into self-loathing. But the fact that Kaito not only gave a near-perfect answer, but also shared tips on how to read Shallow Vernal’s expressions, moved her as though she had received divine revelation.

Just as she was about to shift into a posture of prayer, tears in her eyes as if gazing upon a great being, her movement came to a sudden halt at the sound of a nearby voice.

“Milady, that was amazing. You got it right.”

“It was just luck.”

Turning her gaze, she saw Lilia, Lunamaria, and Sieglinde. Lunamaria was praising Lilia, who had answered the question correctly, and Lilia responded with a wry smile.

(What? Lilia Albert got that impossible question right……? Was it just a lucky one-in-four guess? No, Lilia Albert is someone who has received the True Blessing of God of Time and Space Chronois and even Shallow Vernal-sama has acknowledged her. In that case, perhaps she was able to discern the expression just like Miyama Kaito-sama…… It seems my evaluation of her must be revised upward.)

Of course, Lilia had not read Shallow Vernal’s expression at all. She had merely guessed at random and happened to get it right. Olivia’s belief that Lilia had perceived the expression was a complete misunderstanding.

(……Should Godism Church strengthen its relationship with Lilia Albert? Favoring a specific nation may be problematic, but if it’s only toward Lilia Albert as an individual…… Even at this party, she was treated separately from the three rulers of the Human Realm, given the status of a representative of Humans…… Yes. Going forward, Godism Church should work to deepen its ties with Lilia Albert.)

Once again, this was a total misunderstanding. But tragically, since Olivia was only thinking all of this to herself, there was no way for Lilia to notice it, quietly sealing her fate to yet another future case of stomachache.

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<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [To be able to distinguish expressions that perfectly, guess I have to say, as expected of him…… And meanwhile, completely unrelated to that, the strongest Stomachache Warrior has just sealed her fate for future stomachache……]

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