there's something about the phrasing here that just strikes me as a little.... something. not ODD per se but just a little. desperate? so, this is before makoto accuses him of having everything handed to him, but we KNOW how he reacts to that. it's something he's genuinely really sensitive about
so like. the usage of "now you understand, right?" and that he's not "merely" the child of modern day nobility. its like. hes kind of setting makoto up to agree with him. because all this bragging in his ftes.... for one, his accomplishments are kind of all he knows how to talk about, because no one previously in his life cared AT ALL about anything else about him. and for two, while he is confident in himself, that confidence is selective and fragile. he has to CONSTANTLY reinforce its existence because it's barely there, like a mirage; true confidence wouldnt need someone to rely on others agreeing that he is confident/smart/accomplished etc. and true confidence wouldnt hinge on largely, things byakuya DOES rather than who he IS as a person
which is i think why its a lot more obvious here than normal. this is about him as a person, not his accomplishments which can be measured by a metric of Good versus Bad. he's also saying "look at my accomplishments. now agree with me that i'm good, ok? i'm not merely the child of modern day nobility. i'm more than that."
it's just a little bit desperate. like he's aching for an answer. like the only way he can concieve of being friends with someone is to show himself off as a Good Product and a Hard Worker and a Smart Ultimate and a Confident Heir. like he needs makoto to agree with him that he's good and worthy and more than just a nepo baby. because if makoto doesn't agree with byakuya then byakuya won't believe it either. he has no sense of internal self worth because all his life his worth was in fact measured by those accomplishments he keeps boasting about
like i do think he is legitimatley trying to get makoto to like him here, especially as the ftes go on and byakuya stops talling about himself and starts tentatively asking about "the 99%." he just doesn't know how to connect with people because he was never taught to, and maybe even actively discouraged from doing so. he wants people to like him he needs people to like him, or at the VERY least agree that he's confident and secure in himself. but if someone (makoto) is repeatedly nice to him.... he starts to get a little desperate. as shown by the fact that he tries to pay makoto to be around him, both in thh and in the ending of school mode (where it is NOT a test, so he was BSing in his fte lmfaaoo)
like. it just feels desperate. because it is, in a kind of subtle way, but it is. he is.
(as a bonus hes got the "touching his glasses" sprite here. its not the nervous one but in even the normal version of the sprite man is CLUTCHING his stomach. lol. lmao even)
