Am I the only one who's kind of tired of this particular twist? It's cool when it's done right but nothing about this case feels particularly earned.
This story is one of the early originators of the concept, actually. It's just taken that long to be adapted to manga, and for the adaptation to get to this point in the story, too. LN started 2016, ended 2024, 20 volumes. Manga started in 2017 and is ongoing, and we're at manga volume 14 currently; equivalent to about the end of LN volume 6.
Sorta like Mushoku Tensei and how long it took with its manga; the WN started in late 2012, ended in 2015; the LN started 2014 and ended 2022. The manga
also started in 2014, but only releases two volumes a year, and takes longer to tell the same amount of story because of the density of the LN and the difference in format without wanting to compromise the story itself unlike some adaptations; at volume 24 of the manga, we're only just done with the equivalent of the 12th LN volume and currently on the equivalent of LN volume 13... of 26. So, 12 years to get through 4 years of LN.