"I... can't say. This is the final safeguard. You tell me—so long as you speak your name, I can confirm it. Then everything will be certain! I will be your longsword and burn this rotten world to ashes for you!"
Lina gritted her teeth against the pain and forced those words out through clenched teeth.
After saying that, her eyes even held a trace of pleading, as though she were waiting for release.
But...
Theus sighed. He truly did not know!
Even now, he still could not recall the specifics of what had happened before he crossed over. His mind seemed to contain only knowledge, no memories.
Yet he clearly had emotions, a desire to change this world, and expectations, but no memories to carry those feelings—as though they had appeared out of nowhere.
"Is there any other way to verify it?"
"You don't know your own name?"
"Though it sounds absurd, I really did forget it." Theus shrugged. "So I don't actually know whether I'm the [father] you speak of."
Lina hesitated for a moment, then reached up and knocked hard on her head. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Gear Sage! Right, we can have the Gear Sage judge!"
"Wait for me here!"
She exploded with all her strength, moving so fast she left an afterimage as she quickly ran toward somewhere in the valley.
Little Gwen watched her retreating figure, then looked at Theus and could not help scratching her head.
The way things had developed had gone somewhat beyond her expectations.
Honestly, she had hoped that Theus was [father] himself.
But when Lina had said it just now, she had instead become somewhat lost.
If Lord Theus truly was [father]... how was she supposed to get along with him? Could they still be friends?
Little Gwen only