Though the progress on the romance front is questionable, elsewhere it's still great to see the dude realised that just because a random person said something about his skills, it doesn't mean anything and he can simply ignore it and keep going. Of course he's still careful, it's about touching other people, after all, but he's not feeling like a worm either just because he happens to possess such skills. Just compare him to Gojou Wakana in Bisque Doll. Gojou carries such a trauma you'd think he's a war veteran.