Man, little kids in manga always make teary-eyed. They are just so innocent and cute and so easily amazed :D
... Kids in real life act like that too. I sometimes volunteer at an elementary school because my mom teaches there and I can tell you they're the sweetest (but no one is without their bad days). So every time I go they go "Oh look it's Isabel!" "Hi Isabel" "Hey Isabel guess what I learned today." "Isabel I drew a picture for you." and etc. They're 1st graders and they don't hate a soul.
Werd... I work as a store greeter and when the little kids get over being shy and wave back to you it's the cutest thing. They don't really know who you are but it's like they get excited just to see someone play/interact with them too. I totally get Onoda in this chapter and her interaction with the little kids. Sometimes I have to deal with some pretty crappy customers in retail, but seeing the occasional smiling kid can really brighten my day.
I just can't get over how the mangaka can have a great blend of comedy and serious stuff /character development that really hits home. I think s/he does a really good job of making the characters feelings come across and making them very sympathetic. Some of the stuff in here is so goofy, but at the same time some of it perfectly captures high school girls being silly. The Sports day pantsing chapter always cracks me up and reminds of how people used to pants each other in high school. Usually they were athletes so they had shorts on under their sweatpants and no one ended up flashing anyone lol. But yeah loving everything about Virgins' Empire.