The lock-picking thing is a bug, backporting the fix is a bit risky, so it'll have to wait until next update.
The story is approaching the "human relations/therapy" arc which will open up some new romancing possibilities. Currently there's a full scene with Barrel, and also the summer special got animations with the townspeople + party. Though its more of a dream sequence.
Regarding 'the norf', try downloading the bugfixes from this page, I just updated them.