EPISODE CONTEXT

Sitting at roughly the one-third mark of the 25-episode season, Episode 9 pivots away from the previous episode's focus on Kanshi's part-time job misadventures and returns the spotlight to Nico and Morihito's core relationship while expanding the supporting cast. It functions as a character-deepening breather before the season transitions into the more comedically heightened 'Trope-tacular Student Council' arc. This makes it an important connective episode — grounding the ensemble's emotional foundations before the show shifts gears into broader, trope-driven comedy.