Wow you guys are really anti-romance lol. I like the fact that there is a little ship because it’s not the main plot of the story. It gives story to the characters and how they interact with each other and as well as reminding us that they’re children. They’re allowed to have childish feelings, crushes, and moments that come aside from the action. I don’t want a story with mindless action because it’s exciting but constantly seeing it could also get boring but I also like little bits of Arthur’s life outside of the plot and getting to see how they fit in later. In his past life he wasn’t very exposed to love/close relationships and seeing things like that we get to see him open up more. Plus, Tess is like 13 and this boy has saved her life twice and most 13 year olds can’t really separate feelings of gratitude from romantic ones so I’d be really surprised if she didn’t have a crush on Art. I don’t care how their relationship ends up but I hope her character gets more developed and she’s not only there for romance reasons (along with the other girls in the story).