Can Maki and Ishigami just become a couple now?
Seriously, she was the first girl (whom he did not fear) that called him a friend and supported him with Tsubame
I really hope Aka subverts the whole Ishigami x Iino subplot in favor of IshiMaki, because the former would be the most incredibly standard and predictable route imaginable, and Aka is usually pretty good about subverting tropes.
So, in short Aka's trip to India was just to introduce Mikado (who already has foreshadowed since the very beginning) and to give Maki (perhaps false?) promise of salvation?