To everyone wondering about the "change in tone" - it's always been there. The story and world is more than just the knight guy, and the WN carries this sort of "comedy/drama" balance and quality consistently through.
Yes, the softcore porn probably makes it seem like it should just be dumb harem slop, but erotica and drama aren't mutually exclusive traits of storytelling. I'm honestly happy that there was an author who wanted to make something with a bit more depth to the world and characters, even if the premise is fairly "off the wall" and tends to trend more low-effort among other titles that use it.