>>2972026Kind of...both?
In the vanilla game, it's the latter. His social link-y events culminate in him admitting that he "loves the hope that's inside you" (lots of people read it as him trying to confess his feelings, but copping out at the last second). The implied romance doesn't go beyond that
In the second mode that you unlock after beating the main game once, however, the ship tease is more straight forward. He refers to your shared domicile as a "love nest," he'll refuse to go swimming but still offer to strip because "he doesn't mind if you just want to see him naked," that kind of stuff. He does have a paired ending in that mode (but then again, so do all the other characters).
In the drama CD, he straight up tells the MC that he loves him. Not that he loves his personality/his hope/what he represents/any of that wishy-washy bullshit - he literally says "I love [you]"
