@OniBarubary "I mean, that was literally him turning her down. Whatever his reason for doing so it's saying "let's just be friends" Since it's a manga of course the (long distance eventual) progression to more will happen but in reality most of the time if you view someone as a friend and don't want to continue down a romantic path...it's not gonna turn into a relationship. You've already decided.
So while it was nice seeing "progress" this is actually not that great. I honestly don't know anyone who when told by the person they love that they should just remain friends would be like "Okay awesome" =/"