I want to shake hands with whoever set up this store shelf: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dw1cd4FUcAAEE_o.jpg

It was just a few weeks, you know. There's already been several time skips of that lenght throughout the manga, and the public exhibition near Christmas had already been mentioned in the previous chapter so it was easy to guess that's when the latest one would be set. Also, the third-years' eventual graduation had been mentioned in chapter 14 as well when talking about the school trip.

Approximately ten pages before the end of the series.

ExcuSE ME WHAT?

I was replying to Ryunmi's post by saying that if they'll ever kiss, I expect it to happen at the very end.

Approximately ten pages before the end of the series.

They did go on that almost-date on the cat island during summer break and to the town festival afterwards. They also text each other frequently although it doesn't seem like they regularly hang out on weekends. I guess that they're busy with schoolwork since they spend every afternoon on weekdays at the aquarium club, which is where they're together most of the time. Personally, I hope one of their next steps is going out once casually without the pretense of club activities. Also, since next chapter releases January 26th (a painful wait that's going to be) and this one kinda had early Christmas elements, I wonder if it might be set around Valentine's Day.

I understand and I also hope things will conclusively develop before Koyuki graduates. Still, there's a year and three months left before that happens and only six months have currently passed in-story and I feel like things have been developing at a nice pace so far. This chapter seems like a pretty important turning point for Koyuki's character if she's come to accept that it's okay to stop putting on an act in front of others, so hopefully from now on she can be more open with Konatsu as well.

Well, that's everyone, isn't it? I hope there aren't people who's overall enjoyment of it entirely hinges on how it will end.

@Batzi: Yeah, it wasn't a matter of hopes as much as one of expectations. I'm sure everyone hopes for a full-fledged yuri end, but as you can see, some people are expecting it while others seem already resigned to it not happening. I found it amusing that there were several consecutive posts on opposite sides.

last edited at Nov 29, 2018 3:08PM

This comments section is kinda bipolar, I wonder which side will triumph in the end.

^The author sure is good at keeping people guessing.

I see Fuyuki has also succumbed to the charm of best girl.

It's not even as simple as going through raws actually, as far as I know they aren't easily found online and the translation group gets them privately and doesn't share them. I still can't find raws for chapter 15 in the usual places, and I've only seen a few pages from chapter 16 on twitter (I'll say to look forward to it). There used to be Korean scans, but the provider of those was busted just a few days ago too.

Long story short (though it's a short story.), "The Salamander" allows the reader to interpret the salamander and the frog's relationship however they want. It doesn't set in stone what they think of each other at the end of it, only their dialogues and actions are written down. This is pretty much the same here. We have countless "flags" of Koyuki having her friendship with Konatsu going over 9000, but it feels like the Yuri Goddess swore to secrecy until one of the girls actually say something directly. That, and the lilies blooming in the background.
So honestly, even if it's frustrating, it feels like the author just wants to give the same freedom of interpretation as "The Salamander"...

Counterpoint: the Salamander short story is just the starting condition of Koyuki and Konatsu's relationship and not meant to be its end state. In the first chapter, Konatsu tells Koyuki she reminds her of the salamander from the short story, to which Koyuki replies that she doesn't think she's as stubborn as the salamander. Then in chapter 14 Koyuki muses about how the salamander and the frog should've been more honest with each other and changes the "I think I've had it" line with "I wish we could always be together", making her own interpretation of their relationship (and her own relationship with Konatsu) explicit. Since then she's been trying to figure out her own feelings towards Konatsu and Konatsu's towards her. To me there's been a clear build-up towards a clear resolution rather than leaving it up to interpretation. Whether that resolution will be super friendship (which would personally feel like a major cop-out to me at this point given how the characters act and many other situations that have occurred) or romantic is a different matter.

Also, this was my very first post, I guess. Hi all.