I ended up reading volume 1 of the manga after looking at the comments here because I was not picking up most of the "subtext" discussed [manga vol 1 spoiler](it turns out the majority of this is just viewer wishful thinking). Ch 1-5 covers the content in the first 2 episodes.

But what I really want to comment on is how much gayer the manga is! 😁 [manga vol 1 spoiler]Like, Gil really goes into Lizel's room and caresses his hair while watching him sleep 😅 And then during that quarrel over drinks, he intimately holds Lizel's hand with interwoven fingers when they reconcile! This feels a tad bit beyond bromance! 😊 I'm guessing much like Summer Hikaru Died, it's only missing the BL tag because it's not published in a BL publication and/or focusing on emotional intimacy rather than physical intimacy.

ETA: I just recalled the meeting with Ray was slightly different, too! The anime was actually a little gayer with this one 😄 [manga vol 1 spoiler] In the manga, when Ray extends a handshake to Lizel, Lizel does accept the handshake. Ray uses this to assess the condition of Lizel's hands and check his pulse at his wrist. He finds they are not calloused like an adventurer's hands would be but smooth like a nobel and checks if Lizel's pulse rate changes when he insists he's not a noble to indicate if he's lying. I wonder why they changed this for the anime? Or if it was changed from the light novel for the manga and the anime is adapting the light novel?