Never saw anything wrong with the pacing it plays out perfectly imo. This is quite literally my favorite vn and I'm all in. I recently just did a full replay last update and if there isn't any new content I'll probably skip this one. Hopefully people like the changes I trust you as the creator but I understand people being worried and wanting you to focus on new content. The art updates are amazing and I see the progression don't listen to anyone telling you otherwise, every new sprite looks amazing. Maybe keep suggestions to patreon and worry less about people who get content for free.
I hope you don't get discouraged by nitpickers.