"What nonsense are you thinking?" Sogo Doma knew Rita had probably misunderstood. It couldn't be helped—he had proudly declared earlier that he was Mashiro's fiancé. "What I meant was that the only thing you ever did right by Mashiro was standing by her choice as her friend..."
"Huh?"
"Without weighing gains and losses, without considering whether it was right or wrong—you supported Mashiro wholeheartedly, simply as her friend!"
"..." Rita fell silent at his words. After a long while, she said, "I only..."
"You want to say that you were only jealous, unwilling to accept it..." Before she could finish, Sogo Doma picked up where she left off. "That you encouraged her to learn manga because you wanted Mashiro to experience what failure felt like, right?"
"You..." Rita seemed somewhat dazed. "You clearly know everything, so why..."
"So what?" Sogo Doma interrupted her again. "Mashiro doesn't know. All she knows is that her best friend supported her in pursuing her dream..."
"I..." Rita froze again. "Best friend? How could I possibly be her best..."
"Are you looking down on yourself?" Sogo Doma said. "To Mashiro, you are her best friend!"
"..."
"Except..." Without waiting for Rita to speak, Sogo Doma continued, "What are you doing now? You, who supported Mashiro, now want her to give up manga and abandon her goal..."
"I didn't. I only..."
"Only what?"
"I just don't want Mashiro to waste her talent..."
"Whether Mashiro wastes her talent or not..." Sogo Doma smiled pleasantly. "What does that have to do with you?"
"I..."
"What are you to Mashiro?"
Rita: "???"
Hey, hey, who was it that had just said she was Mashiro's best friend?
"Or..." Sogo Doma continued, "Do you just think that Mashiro only started drawing manga because you encouraged her to?"
Rita: "..."
Wasn't that