Mary is always complimenting me.

“Ryoma, it’s great that you can eat so much pizza! I’d be full after just one slice!”

Mary is always looking out for me.

“Ryoma loves soda. He always, always drinks it!”

Mary always puts me first.

“The truth is, my dad had a party or a dinner planned for this evening, but I skipped it because I wanted to be with Ryoma.”

Mary loves me more than anyone else.

“I feel so happy when I’m next to Ryoma! I wish we could spend more time like this all the time!”

Mary was always affirming me.

“Yes, I agree. Really, I think so…”

Over pizza for dinner, Mary and I exchanged a few laughs.

I don’t know how many times her cheerful smile has saved my life.

After Shiho dumped me, I didn’t know how to smile.

Since my defeat at the hands of Nakayama, I had lost sight of the value of my existence.

But Mary was the one who healed me.

Unlike Shiho, she likes me.

She smiles in front of me. She fulfills all of my needs.

Mary is an amazing girl objectively speaking, but she likes me… I really appreciated that feeling.

Mary is as pretty as Shiho, has bigger b*****s than Shiho, can study better than Shiho, is more sociable than Shiho, is brighter than Shiho, has a better family background than Shiho, and is a more perfect girl than Shiho.

How could I not be cheered up by the affirmation of such a girl?

The sense of inferiority I had felt toward Nakayama gradually faded away.

I don’t know what means Kotaro Nakayama used, but even that guy who got … Shiho surely can’t make Mary fall in love with him.

I made Mary fall in love with me because I’m me.

I’m the one who got Mary.

In other words, I was not a worthless “mob character”.

“I’ve heard that neither Yuzuki nor Kirari have been around lately, huh? Are they busy~?”

“… Maybe they are?”

I’m a very special person. The proof of this is that Mary, such a perfect girl, loves me.

But if I keep resting on my laurels, I might end up in the same situation as before… I can’t shake this feeling of insecurity.

So I decided to be more serious this time.

I asked Yuzuki and Kirari not to come to my house.

I had been playing with many other girls, but I stopped doing that too.

Even if I have to cut off the other girls, I want to be with Mary. If I don’t get results here, I feel like … Nakayama will look down on me for the rest of my life.

I will not let my guard down anymore.

I will use this advantage of standing closer to Mary than anyone else to have a special relationship with her.

Mary is in love with me and I’m sure she will continue to love me. Maybe we’ll even get married … and if that happens, I’m already a winner.

Mary’s family is rich, and I will be able to enjoy the benefits of that.

I’ll be able to lead a more victorious life than Nakayama…, and that thought finally made me feel better.

If things continue to go well, I’m sure they will.

After Shiho dumped me, I wondered what was going to happen for a while, but … somehow managed to get myself back up to this point.

It is not smooth sailing, but it is generally going well.

However, I do have some concerns…

(Why did Mary recommend Nakayama for the lead role in the play?)

That’s what I can’t help but wonder.

Since then, Mary has been acting as if Nakayama didn’t exist, so it’s highly possible that I’m overly concerned about it, but … I still can’t forget about it.

Because of this insecurity, I couldn’t confess right away.

I decided to wait until after the festival was over because I wanted to be reassured.

In the play, Nakayama and Mary become lovers, but not in real life. I, the hunter, will take the Beauty. I decided to wait for that kind of ending.

In a way, I may have felt like I was getting back at Nakayama. That’s how much I dislike him.

“Mary… will always be with me, won’t you?”

I don’t want to lose her to someone like Nakayama, perhaps that feeling was so strong that I unintentionally said something out of context.

But Mary smiled at me innocently.

“Yes! Of course!”

Every time I saw that smile, my heart calmed down.

How could such a beautiful smile be a lie?

So watch me … this time, okay, Nakayama?

I’ll prove to you that I’m better than you…