To my surprise Akane came with them. I thought the writing was immediately gonna sideline her now that she's apparently on the verge of winning. But apparently I was wrong and boy does that feel good. Missed opportunity to dunk on Ruri with the
+hand forming a half heart meme. He chose to use ✌️ instead so... it's a bit less cruel on her?
Also to my surprise Yuuta is actually aware of the idol-fan thing he has going on with Ruriri, which really only exists inside the cafe (with the help of his money). Outside the cafe they're (on paper) practically strangers and that's where Akane really has her beat. Sorry girl, you can't lean on his parasocial connection to you to snag him. In fact, I'd say she's gone parasocial herself to approach him outside the cafe in the first place.
Though I'm a bit worried that he has to get separated with Akane yet again. Their second date ended prematurely (from Akane's perspective), and they've conveniently separated too many times already to give Ruri her chances to sneak in. Knowing how much of a pushover this guy really is, if Ruri is persistent enough she may yet get ahead despite her embarrassing defeat in this chapter.