I think one of the issues are if Paul and Lucius got together, people would dismiss Paul's achievements and assume she slept her way to the top (cause she's a woman). There were rumours and gossip in early chapters about this
The squirrels in this chapter reminds me of the manga gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun, when a mangaka placed a raccoon in every scene. It is indeed hilarious! Especially when Ao's expressions are all like this :)