Sometimes friends are just friends. You could easily push the logic further, but I think it's too far-fetched to try to take this completely to the extreme and assume that ALL childhood friends in manga are romantically involved.
Even the nurse turned out to be childhood friends with teacher and in the same chapter, after resolving their misunderstanding from high school, immediately took him on date. With that, we're like 5/5 for childhood friends=couples in this manga. The only exception is Sakura's ex-boyfriend - ex, not current. And the whole "I want to be in the same high school as you, so I will study very hard to get your chosen elite school" is basic romantic trope.
No one denies that this is a manga about childhood friends pairings; it's the series' main running gag. But then again, you're trying to take it too seriously, generalizing it to ALL childhood friends in the story. Like the popular meme that all female characters in yuri are lesbians until proven otherwise. If you read everything as subtext or romantic tropes, you can pair any characters together. Even bitter enemies, because "from enemies to lovers" is also a basic romantic trope. But then again, if you want to ship them, that's your business. You don't need my permission to do that, lmao.
I never cease to be amazed at how slashers seem to genuinely think that using the word "roommates" as a metaphor for a "gay couple" is the peak of humor. Also, Nono literally has a male love interest in later chapters.
Hey, bro, I literally read all the other released chapters, and no, Nono DOESN'T HAVE another interest. Rather, she and Iwai are shown in the backgrounds doing the same things the other couples are shown. So yeah, the Yuri is at least implicit. Regarding your comparisons, in manga, you actually assume everybody is straight since japanese culture is a tad bit more conservative than western, and the readers may not take it well if a gay couple is explicited in a non-dedicated work (yaoi/yuri). So the author is most likely dropping hints that they will end up together without saying it out loud.
Dude, you're writing me a wall of text right now, trying to convince yourself first and foremost. After a while, we have literally a few chapters where the author teases Nono's interaction with one of the boys. And no, you're just using Western logic with it. Shonen works have no problem with yuri side-pairings because their audiences naturally overlap. Not to mention shoujo. It's just a search for an excuse. Conservatism has nothing to do with this, we are talking about the media, not real life. Chainsaw Man literally has a lesbian side characters with a harem, for example. And this is one of the most globally hyped boy manga right now. Astra Lost in Space features an openly intersex character with teased tension between him and another male character. This manga has won awards. Please don't waste my time with necroposting and another abuse of the idea of implication like "it's not said directly because it's implied."
