The post directly above you and the many, many posts over the course of this series asking if it's actually yuri contradict your argument. You could try to gatekeep, I suppose, and claim all those people don't count because they don't have your feelings on the subtext, but that doesn't really fit the spirit of tags, which are supposed to serve the majority. Simple fact is yuri-bait is a real thing and extremely frustrating to a lot of readers. You might not think this qualifies, but I can absolutely guarantee you that if this manga stays the way it is now most people will. Maybe I should have used the term "unambiguous romance" instead of "explicit" since you seemed to conflate that with purely physical expressions of love. Now, there are a lot of yuri fans out there, maybe even the majority, who would feel unsatisfied if there wasn't a kiss, but for my personal definition all I need to see is something verbal between the two of them. Hell, they could even just think it. But until we get that I maintain this shouldn't get the tag. The vast majority of people who search that tag will call it bait if it stays purely within subtext alone.
If you can really read my mind, then. . . You are a very kind person. I love you! Chapter 1, page 10. And you are ignoring the impromptu confession I just pointed out in chapter 59. There's the verbal prompts you say you needed. Oto was open about it from the start, it's just been completely shoved into the background (or rather the webcomic), it's Kikuno that has been reluctant the entire time and Kikuno is only now truly starting to warm up to her. This manga is all about acceptance and Kikuno accepting Oto's feelings (whatever they may be) is the end goal. If this were a straight manga then after chapter 59 we wouldn't even be having this discussion because that technique is used so often in straight manga when a character wants to express their true feelings but can't or won't be open about it. Plays are often used for this setting, like it is here. It's convenient because the character can feign ignorance afterwards because it was "just a line in a play" and the story can continue without a conclusion to the romance. It's textbook romance manga storytelling and so rarely ends in "they're just friends" that anytime I see it I immediately think "romance confirmed". Before that I was one of those voices asking if this is really yuri, just not on here. But Kikuno's words were clearly from the heart and that line was cheesy cliché romance. That scene was what convinced me that it's probably more than bait. Could it still be, sure, but that would be mean after this because traditionally that specific scene is used when it's more than just bait. It would also contradict the tone of the webcomic.
The yuri is toned down on purpose for the serialization, someone already pointed this out to you and you're disingenuously ignoring it here and assuming I won't notice. While at the same time telling me to look at previous comments. . . Right. Tell me, did you even read the webcomic after or have you ignored it because you might have to reevaluate your opinion if you read it? It's toned down on purpose because as I said before there is a much more important story about acceptance that needs to be told and that's the direction it's going in. As. It. Should. It very much looks like the webcomic is more for their relationship while the serialization is more for both girls relationships
with others. In the webcomic it's pretty much just the 2 of them for most of it and Oto is clingy and is much more open about her affections (she thinks "I love you" several times and is ALWAYS thinking about her) so the acceptance theme is much more in the background. In the serialization there are more support characters for Oto to interact with regularly so the story of Oto's and Kikuno's growing relationship is what's in the background. When it does come up it's entirely about how Kikuno is incredibly reluctant to get close to Oto because she's afraid of getting rejected (again, this story is about acceptance) but slowly starts to warm up to the idea. Oto herself has always been saying how she wants to keep getting closer and closer even when they are already extremely close and have been for a while. How close does she really need to be to be "just friends"? Isn't she already close enough?
Also, nice Ad Populum. Because the masses can never be wrong so therefore if you can find enough people who believe the same thing you do then you're automatically right. Lets just ignore the fact that someone with an opposing opinion can do the exact same thing. . . This alone completely undermines anything you had to say as it's basically you starting a d!ck waving contest by saying "look at how many friends I have". So what? I don't care how many people agree with you. It adds nothing to the conversation. Round them all up and gang up on me if you want. It's irrelevant. Stick to the evidence or stop talking.
I'd hate to ask what your opinion of
Machikado Mazoku is as the yuri has been just as, if not more, subtle there (maybe 2 of 3
potential scenes tops in 7 freaking volumes) and it is tagged as GL. So is
Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san and that WAS mostly yuri bait. The only confirmed yuri pair happened with a handful of chapters left and they were minor characters who rarely showed up. It had 2 other
confirmed yuri main characters and strongly hinted that they'd end up together only to play the "just friends" card at the end. They actively backpedalled on almost all of the yuri subtext in the last 2 volumes. THAT was frustrating.