Chains of a Rusty Past

According to Mary's explanation, her parents' company seems to be in a stable financial position.

"I've intervened, so you can rest assured, okay? Don't worry, I haven't done anything bad."

"...Really?"

I honestly couldn't believe it.

This hedonist was helping me on a whim?

"Oh, of course. Because Ryoma asked me to do it. You see, I have fallen in love with him, haven't I? If he asks me to do something, I can't say no."

“Ryuzaki!?"

He helped me?

Impossible. This is more surprising than Mary helping me.

"Why did he help me? ..."

“It's a little too early to tell, don't you think? But I can tell you one thing: ... Ryoma is no longer a lame protagonist. He's finally awakened."

--Awakened?

What kind of event could have awakened someone who had been so rotten?

He is a man who until recently thought of himself as a 'mob character' ... There is no way he could have awakened unless something very serious happened to him...

So, in other words, there must have been a very significant event.

"As for Ryoma's romantic comedy, it's frustrating, but I can't say anything about it. I can't say anything to Kotaro right now, but there's no way I can do anything about it."

"What do you mean...?"

"It means exactly what I say. Bound by the fate of your mother, unable to reject the subheroine's affection, and finally allowing contact and suffering from guilt,... what can such a pathetic Kotaro do?"

(TLN: Mary is now my self-insert.)

...As usual, well-informed.

What kind of connections did she use to learn so much about me?

“I'm a cheat character. I know everything... That's how I'm 'set up'."

"That's not an explanation."

"That's fine. I'm not trying to explain anything."

Anyway, what she wants to argue is that I'm 'pathetic' now.

"After being swept away by the story, Kotaro tried to be elevated to the role of hero ..., but in the end was disqualified as a "hero" ... Kotaro is just a 'mob character' and he cannot possibly have multiple heroines love him."

"... Maybe so, huh."

"It's not a 'maybe'. Kotaro is a mob character. Even if the god of romantic comedies loves you, even if opportunism pushes you back, you can't hold a candle to the real protagonist,... Ryoma Ryuzaki."

"I know that."

Even without being told now, I knew ...

"If you knew that, you shouldn't have been so half-heartedly kind. If you could only love Shiho, you shouldn't have accepted Kururi, right? If she tells you she loves you, you should have told her you hate her. Even if it's a terrible thing to do, if you ultimately can't accept it, then you have to reject it from the get-go."

But did I really 'get it'?

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was thinking that thanks to Shiho, I had matured and was no longer a "mob character" ..., but was I really that confident?

Such a doubt crossed my mind.

"--You shouldn't think that a mere mob character mistakenly thinks of himself as the main character. The Kotaro of today is just like me of the past,... when I was just a sub heroine, but I mistakenly thought I was the main heroine."

"......"

When she said that, I couldn't deny it.

I was convinced that she was right.

“Kotaro has no power to move the story. Kotaro is always just an onlooker, a pawn on the board to be manipulated as desired. If you understand that once again, you will be able to spell out a much more wonderful romantic comedy in the future."

As usual, Mary is very talkative when it comes to stories.

She has finished everything she wanted to say, and her face looks somewhat satisfied.

"So, in order to help Kotaro, the mob character..., I will let you use my power to the fullest this time."

She then held out a smartphone to me.

That phone belonged to me.

"You can call her. Kotaro's aunt gave it back to me properly. ... That means a lot of things have been discussed. So the rest is up to Kotaro. You should call her and show your intentions."

"Call? Who?"

"Kotaro's mother, of course."

"......Eh?"

The proposal came at me from an unexpected angle, and my thoughts went blank.

“If you don't speak up, they will take advantage of you again. The incident with Kururi was partly due to the conflict between Kotaro and his mother, you know. Let's resolve it properly while we still can."

"B-but..."

"Why should I hesitate? If I don't get this matter out of the way now, I won't be able to hope for the climactic ... scene with Kururi without worrying about it, you know? So we should get it over with."

Apparently, Mary-san is trying to tell me to break the karma with my mother here...

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