What a warm chapter. I hope Subaru continues to develop, and eventually grow out of the "Kaoruko saved me, so I'll be her guardian forever" schtick into her own character, and her interacting with the other boys while Rintaro and Kaoruko hang back a bit feels like a step towards that. Might be too early to seriously ship her with anybody, but I feel like she might be a match for Saku, if this manga is gonna have any side ships at all. Two more Kikyo girls joining this secret friend group when?
Speaking of ships, I am pleased that our main pair's romance was not completely ignored here, we're even getting a little bit of progress.