I love that Elise is not a child in the Beast universe because Mori doesn't need her to channel his caring nature anymore.
He's the orphanage's director now, his full-time job and daily life is caring for children; he doesn't have to hide his nurturing side for the sake of the mafia's reputation; he doesn't have to hide his instinct to protect and guide in favor of the violence his previous job required, or veil it in the guise of leadership; he doesn't need his ability, essentially a doll, to let his inner child free or to redirect his fatherly instincts, and he doesn't to make a lolicon joke out of it to justify the way in which she presents either.
Elise can be his assistant, plain and simple. She's a nurse, like she was during war, and she's still sassy, and she's still the one to call him Rintarou when he's known as Ougai to the world; but he doesn't need her to be the representation of innocence and frailty she used to be, he doesn't need her to pose in as what would be his daughter.
This is a man who has healed, who has found a better place to call home, who can be vulnerable again and prioritize care and comfort after prioritizing logic and war strategy for decades. He doesn't have the burden of Yokohama's (and the world, because Yokohama seems to be the center of it in this story lol) safety upon his shoulders, he's not constantly in fight or flight, or in the middle of a battlefield, or thinking about a huge criminal organization and everything that comes with its management.
This is the genuine Mori, at rest. This is Rintarou.
