3-4

Hypothetically, if I were ever caught dead watching this, I'd probably say that by episode 4, with the help of neko-san and a flashback, Shirota has no doubt grown beyond a mere piece of furniture into a proper rom-com protagonist.

The exploitation and shame play have really been toned down now (though the general lewdness remains), and Takamine even apologized for as much. It might start to ge just the faintest bit sweet in here... hypothetically, of course.