I imagine he found shorter pudgier her more appealing + easier to draw. Rhitos got visually more simplistic too, I feel like it just went more down the easier to draw route than pure goon
Nah he's been like this for ages, he's been called out on it as well.
His habit of observing others and helping others while self sacrificing while being detached from his own life is a running trend since chapter 1.
She's not thinking about it because she's completely out of her field here. She never thought about romance, she still views herself as a 35 year old neet anyway.
Maybe she'll ease up to dating her age again over time but she's gonna be trying to figure this out.