Ah, so THAT is what the holes in the pants were for!
I really love todays page. It has lots of little subtle touches, like Iri pulling Next by the pant holes, and pinching his cheeks. But it is Next that really shines on this page. Every time you can see his face it is a different emotion. I especially like the, for lack of a better word at the moment, slightly swarmy expression in panel 5, which made me envision him thinking "How far can I take this?" which then flows into the fantastic butt grab of panel 6.
And of course the spectacular blush of the final panel.
Now, I have to admit, I do not personally know how to feel about Next just yet, and as such, I do not know if I like him and Iri as a couple. But I DO know that I love how you draw his character, so I look forward to seeing more of him.
I think that the point here is that Next actually is quite skilled at getting what he wants done, done, so what he did is confusing whoever is supporting him in rebuilding the temple with totally plausible reasons, when the reason he made it was actually for Iri.
Of course, being a good politician means that this actually WILL be beneficial to his final goals as a leader.
Basically, Iri>goals>political supporters, but the 3 things aren't in conflict in this specific instance.
You've got some green trying to sneak on set from the right there.
Also: yay for plot points! Maybe I over-think things but lately I read all of Iri's exchanges as her sort of trailblazing through sets of options. Like when she tells someone to speak common even though it seems like she should be able to know all the responses they'd have (though I realize the use of common is also here to make communication with your readers more reasonable).
I guess I'm a little curious how "always on" Iri's ability is or if it's something she has to intentionally use - if you're feeling like divulging any of that of course.