"Look, he brought back another girl with a great figure."
"This time it's a pretty one with an athletic vibe..."
"Heaven help us, is he planning to repopulate the human race in this World Bubble? Terrifying."
"Gwah! I can't watch!"
Bianka walked through the base with a strange expression. She could hear the discussions that weren't being hidden at all, and at a glance, all the ELF—who looked like chibi-version humans—were eyeing her with pity.
How should she put it... it felt like watching a little lamb walk right into a tiger's mouth.
"Um... little ones, do you have a map? Or could you lead the way for me?"
Bianka was usually a very kind and approachable person; she especially loved cute creatures. Seeing these ELF with their adorable doll-like appearances, she naturally took a liking to them. She squatted down in front of the group, offering a smile.
The ELF exchanged glances, huddled together to whisper for a long time, and then one stepped forward seriously and said to Bianka: "Run while you can, human."
"..."
"That guy is a reincarnated pile driver. He can make a human girl pregnant just by looking at her. His tastes are incredibly broad—whether it's middle-aged women much older than him or androids born less than ten years ago, none can escape his clutches. Today it's the assassin girl, tomorrow it's flirting with the chief engineer, the day after it's playing stocking games with the scientist... after every mission, he chooses at least one and doesn't get out of bed for a month. He can pierce right through the base ceiling."
"So..."
The ELF placed its tiny hand on the shoulder of a completely stunned Bianka.
"Run while you can."
It sounded exactly like the protagonists of those adult anime Rita sometimes teased her about.
That stone-faced guy? He has that much charm? He did have a good face, but Bianka couldn't sense anything attractive about him other than that.
Tap, tap, tap...
Steady footsteps approached. At that moment, all the ELF vanished in a flash as they saw the figure behind her. Bianka tossed her long hair, stood up suspiciously, and turned to look at Lin.
He was walking toward her, carrying a massive cross on his back.
"The Oath of Judah?"
Bianka was shocked to see the cross behind him. She never expected a Divine Key to appear here. She had seen the Overseer's granddaughter use the Oath of Judah with her own eyes; there was no way she could misidentify it.
"You recognize it?"
"Where did you get that?"
Bianka realized she had overlooked something. She hadn't paid attention to where these people came from. If they didn't belong to this World Bubble, what was their original world like?
"...Someone gave it to me."
"Gave it to you..."
A bizarre answer.
"Let's go." Lin didn't say more. He walked past Bianka and headed forward.
"Where to?"
"Didn't you want someone to lead the way?" Lin turned back and spoke to her coldly.
...
"Is Durandal your code name?"
Lin walked in front, occasionally looking up to observe the distant rift, speaking in a conversational tone.
"...Not entirely. My full name is Bianka Durandal Ataegina." Bianka was also watching their surroundings, taking in the environment.
"It's a bit long. Bianka Durandal Ataegina."
"You can just call me Durandal."
"I usually only use full names."
"...If you want to show we aren't close, you can use my surname. And Durandal is indeed my code name."
Lin stopped. He spoke with some confusion: "Surname?"
"What's wrong?"
"What is that?"
Bianka froze at his words. She asked back in bewilderment: "You don't know what a surname is?"
"..."
Come to think of it, when Einstein and Lin introduced themselves, they really didn't mention surnames. Could it be that in their world, people only have given names?
"A surname is a form of inheritance. When you pass a surname to someone else, it usually means letting them inherit your history." Bianka continued walking with her lance on her back, Lin moving beside her. "Most children inherit their parents' surnames."
"A good method," Lin praised sincerely.
Hearing such honest praise, Bianka mood improved significantly. However, she soon took a deep breath and said resolutely: "But sometimes a surname is also a responsibility. To inherit the name is to inherit the duty."
"I know."
"You know?"
"My name was also inherited from someone else."
"..."
Bianka looked at the man with a slight sense of wonder. He said very calmly: "My name, my memories, my weapons, and the very life that allows me to survive—all were inherited from others."
He...
Does he mean he's just an empty shell?
Carrying things that don't belong to him at all.
"But my ideals and my friends belong to me." Lin added another sentence, which caused the look in Bianka eyes to change slightly.
She let out a low chuckle, her expression relaxing: "It seems I misunderstood you. You might not be as strange as I thought."
"Of course." Lin nodded in agreement. "You're the strange one. It's definitely not me."
"..."
Bianka took back her words. She was wrong to have even a tiny bit of a better opinion of him just now.
"The things those ELF said... they're just rumors they spread themselves." Lin felt he had to clear his name. He didn't care before, but things were different now.
Bianka asked with a forced smile: "Then do you have a lover?"
"Yes."
"And did you 'push down' the assassin girl?"
Sakura?
If it meant pushing someone down in the physical sense of combat, then yes. They had fought to a mutual injury back then.
"Yes."
Bianka gaze turned to one of pure disdain.
"Flirting with the chief engineer?"
Lin felt he couldn't deny that one either.
"...Yes."
"Playing stocking games with the scientist?"
"She needed me to help research the durability of the stocking material."
Bianka looked at him like he was absolute scum.
"Staying in bed for a whole month after a mission?"
Lin recalled that after almost every large-scale Houkai eruption, he would be severely injured. Sometimes he had to stay in a recovery pod; lying in a hospital bed was his most common memory.
"Yes."
"Get away from me."
"..."
Lin hadn't intended to provoke her this time, but he had no idea what he'd said wrong to make Bianka look at him with such contempt and vigilance, maintaining a distance of at least five meters.
"We're here."
"Is this the 'Star Gate' you were talking about..."
Bianka narrowed her eyes, looking at everything before her.