"After my repeated efforts..." Far from sharing Yukinoshita and the others' inward complaints, Sogo Doma looked rather pleased with himself. "Ryunosuke went from being a socially anxious shut-in who didn't dare be around girls to one who hardly dared interact with boys, either..."
"Isn't that even worse?" Before he could finish basking in his pride, Yukinoshita and the others could not help saying—so Ryunosuke's social anxiety really was all this bastard Doma's fault!
"Tut, tut..." Sogo Doma shook a finger. "What do you mean, worse? Do you even understand...?"
"Hah?" This time, Masuzu Natsukawa spoke up. "We don't understand? By your account, Ryunosuke Akasaka initially just didn't dare interact with girls. But after all your efforts, he didn't even dare interact with boys..."
"Stop..." Sogo Doma said. "I said he hardly dared interact with them. Do you know what 'hardly dared' means? Hardly daring doesn't mean he outright didn't dare interact with boys..."
"Huh?" That was a thing? Masuzu Natsukawa, who had spoken up to refute him, froze after being shot down. Yukino Yukinoshita and Utaha Kasumigaoka were no different.
"Likewise..." While they were still stunned, Sogo Doma continued, "he went from not daring to interact with girls at all to hardly daring to interact with girls. Wouldn't you call that progress?"
Yukino Yukinoshita, Masuzu Natsukawa: "..."
Progress was progress, but why did it sound so awkward?
All they could say was that the situation was too complicated. For a moment, they could not tell whether this change in him was good or bad.
"Wait..." Just as they hesitated, Utaha Kasumigaoka suddenly said, "Is Ryunosuke Akasaka that black-haired, straight-haired trap?"
As soon as she said it, Sogo Doma replied, "Looks like you remembered, Utaha..."
"Uh..." Utaha Kasumigaoka felt somewhat embarrassed. "I just didn't expect him to be that amazing..." Could