Yeah, as many people is saying I too felt like this chapter was kind of a deus ex machina device, I don't know how to solve the tension or don't want to step on the definitive line (yeap, this or that character is a lesbian) so I make them kiss as a joke to keep my readers happy and not bother the higher-ups. I know Kishi is a yuri author but this isn't serialized in a yuri magazine, hence, there's some stuff you can't show entirely so, welp.

is this really an issue of higher ups not allowing yuri to be show? I mean mio and shizuka literally slept together in a very dramatic chapter showcasing the development of their relationship not too long ago