Thanks for reading and commenting, Zero_G! I believe the author changed the ending of vol 3 of the LN a little but it should mostly be the same. Yeah, this is too much of a slow starter, and worst of all, it "changed" in the middle of vol 2, so that was a bad idea audience-wise. Those who liked the trope-filled first part would be turned off by the seriousness of the story and not a lot of those who like very serious stories would have made it to the middle of vol 2 and found out what it is.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Foxteller6969! Knowing the type of person he is now, there are many possibilities. He could even have tortured/questioned the female mage for the info. Solcia could have told him too. It's not too much of a stretch.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Leozack! Haha, yeah. There have been super small clues, but to be frank, they're super inconclusive.

Thanks for reading and commenting, dadamori! And for your amazing wordcraft. =)

Thanks for reading and commenting, DavyDrones! (^ ^)