[... what a glum way to put it. But, when she thinks of it, isn't it similar to how she views the world? It's all a game for her, putting on the right masks to advance as far as she can, to please the right people.

When he admits something like that... and if he claims that all his compliments up until this point had just been objective analyses... then what does that make her in his boring world?

Ah. It's actually really flattering. To have her imperfect self be so highly valued.]

It's because you're a horrid pessimist. For a guy who doesn't think highly of the world, you sure know how to work it.