Sorry, it is fairly obvious as to why he did not put forth a terrible amount of effort to respond.

Do not ask questions you can get the answer to by freely thinking for yourself or reading more from the author.

Rest assured he spent time on it. Based on how meticulous he was with the card.

After all, he did respond. It seems to be a polite way to say "i've already answered that." perhaps it's a way to make him feel less guilty than just saying that directly.