You can read the beginning of any chapter to find out what moronic idea Nishikata has come up with to "beat" Takagi, then you can skip right to the end of the chapter to see that he has lost again. Progress=none. Romance=none.
That's the whole point of the story. It's like watching an episodic show then wondering why it has no developpement coming in every episode. It's the point.
You can read the beginning of any chapter to find out what moronic idea Nishikata has come up with to "beat" Takagi, then you can skip right to the end of the chapter to see that he has lost again. Progress=none. Romance=none.