"Really? I don't believe you..." Utaha Kasumigaoka replied teasingly when Sogo Doma claimed he was popular. But that was a lie!
After all, it wasn't as if Utaha had never witnessed Sogo Doma's social skills. Putting everything else aside, Toyogasaki alone had a whole bunch of little fanboys he'd sweet-talked into selling themselves and then counting the money for him. With that level of persuasion, combined with his immeasurably thick skin, his ability to read people, and so on...
Put it this way: anyone who possessed even one of those traits would never end up isolated. At worst, people might find them unpleasant, but only unpleasant. In this emotionally indifferent country, no one would willingly provoke someone like that!
Come to think of it, that wasn't strange at all. People with such traits generally had friends, and having friends meant having the strength to resist. Having strength meant they weren't weak, and those who got bullied were mostly the weak. After all, people were naturally inclined to bully the weak and fear the strong!
So when most people faced someone with those traits, no matter how much they disliked them inside, they would maintain a relatively friendly atmosphere on the surface...
Not to mention that Sogo Doma was a social master who possessed several such traits at once. Put simply:
When ordinary people encountered an unfamiliar social circle, they usually didn't dare approach it on their own. But someone as thick-skinned as him did. He would boldly strike up a conversation with them;
And if he was ignored, he could swiftly use his ability to read the room to analyze what everyone in that circle liked, then cater to their preferences and quickly blend in.
See? Going from strangers to familiar acquaintances only took two steps—or rather, two traits. Sogo