For a series that is usually very humorous in nature, it really felt very emotional here. Anyone who has experienced getting 2nd in anything can empathize with the sadness that Kurage feels. The anxiety and nerves that we see her having these past few chapters give a clear indication of how hard she has been working.
For Mimei, I think it makes logical sense he didn’t understand Kurage’s sadness. As he isn’t as good as Kurage in terms of making jokes. Hell, showing that he would be more than fine making 2nd shows this well. I love that he wants to understand and catch up to her. How it uses the swing set to illustrate this is that he is not there yet, but he absolutely aims to.
Beautiful chapter.