@CapableCivet ah but if that happened it wouldn't be older woman x high school kid pedo romance and we can't have that now can we, gotta keep it fcked up
I mean, all this manga had to do was make the kid college age, i.e. 18+
Well, if you read the manga even a moderate bit, you realize that not only is the story itself F'ed up, but part of it comes from a teenager/glorified child being exposed to the aftermath of things way above his pay grade without having the experience and understanding to know he was basically being taken advantage of and getting way more hurt than he should allow himself to get.
In other words, his young age is essential to the characterization and the depth and gravity of the story.
I mean, a 18 y.o. or 20 something y.o. going through that is an idiot, a 30 something y.o. is just a selfless guy trying to save his love (and likely also an idiot, tbh), but a 16 y.o. facing the burden of the trauma of a lady that much older, while she doesn't even treat him with sincerity through a lot of it, is a victim being taken advantage of and being abused, which is in line with the overall theme and tone of the manga, unfortunately.
That being said, I was lured by the cover, closed it before beginning to read because of the second red tag, opened again to try (maybe it wouldn't be that bad? It was, but in short segments, and the worst parts were more about manipulation and emotional abuse), and ended up reading to the end despite feeling very bad because horni and curious. Ended up only having something near satisfactory at the very end, after getting scarred by the story 😢