I like how her expression almost immediately changed when he inadvertently revealed that he knew about the lineup she talked about during her introduction.
Hmm, yes, a surprise lick that naturally transitions into sex. What a simple yet effective method!
That's the critical moment (page 4, panel 2) when Kuriyama recognizes
Kazeno as a closet geek who is (possibly) a fellow free spirit. "I felt like you had the same scent as me... "
(page 9, panel 3)
On page 6, panel 4, we see there truly is a frustrated free spirit inside
Kazeno, struggling to get out.
In this dark time, the void in my heart can only be filled by Pennel’s super cute girls. Kills me that the space between their releases are so large ;-;
The ending is muted, but realistic. For Kuriyama, school is still a painfully boring place, but now it's tolerable because she has found a boyfriend who's a kindred spirit.
That's an excellent point. Kuriyama becomes a little more "grounded," as you say, while Kazeno loosens up a bit. They're good for each other. We don't often see a chapter in which the MCs subtly change each other for the better (as opposed to corrupting or perverting each other in an extreme way).