She's one of, if not the, best in her field.

[There's just a tiny hint of his fondness for his friend as he says it, although it's gone from his tone for his next response.]

But as I said, the particular phrase has connotations, whether it makes any sense or not.

[He didn't make this rule, although he's now convinced Maketh didn't actually mean anything creepy by it. Still creepy, but intent does count for something.]