During Valentine's Day, Kiriha had learned that her first love was in fact Koutarou. But after that, Kiriha had remained the same. She didn't want to be doted on like Kii, nor did she ask him to become her lover. It was almost as if the events during Valentine's Day never happened.
That confused Koutarou. She had been searching so desperately for her first love, Koutarou, but now she showed no signs of it. He had his own problems since he found that Kii and Kiriha were the same person, but despite that, Koutarou couldn't imagine why there was seemingly no change to Kiriha.
“Fufu”
Kiriha figured out the meaning behind Koutarou's question after thinking for a moment, and she smiled as she put her hand by her mouth. She then drew her mouth close to Koutarou's ear and whispered.
“...That's because if Kii comes out now, you would be troubled, right, Onii-chan? And that's the same for us”
As Kiriha whispered that, she smiled like Kii. But after she finished whispering that, she separated from Koutarou and returned to her normal, mature, expression.
“The surface invasion is proceeding smoothly. While things are proceeding well, I have to hold down the opposition. So sadly, Kii doesn't have a turn for a while...”
“I see...”
From this short discussion, Koutarou understood what Kiriha meant.
Kiriha-san is prioritizing the People of the Earth over her own feelings...
In the end, Kiriha had the same idea as Theia.
“Besides, Koutarou, judging from your personality, if I was to act on my feelings, it would make you push me away, no?”
“That might be true”
Kiriha understood Koutarou very well.
There was no way that Koutarou was going to choose a lover amongst the invaders until all of their problems had been resolved. The power balance of the room would change, and their judgement would be clouded by personal feelings. The serious Koutarou wanted to avoid all of that.
“That's why, as long as I act like normal, you will never push me away”
And since Koutarou wouldn't choose, forcing the matter would only cause him to reject her. In other words, as long as she didn't force the matter, Kiriha could stay by Koutarou's side. That was the decision she had made.
This was the best option for her as it allowed her to continue her invasion while continuing to yearn for Koutarou.
“We will probably start after all our problems are resolved in the future”
Apart from Kiriha, there were others that also had feelings for Koutarou. And ignoring those feelings and taking actions by herself went against Kiriha's way of doing things. She wanted to wait until everyone had reached the starting line.
“Besides, you know how I feel for you. You will stay where I can reach you. I can see your happy smile, and feel your warmth nearby. What more could I ask of you now?”
For these past ten years, all Kiriha could do was project her feelings from a distance. But now, the person she felt for was right in front of her. They could laugh together and support each other. And that was enough for Kiriha for now.