Ultimate Gamer System: Factory Must Grow!-Chapter 98: Didn’t you steal my lips?!

"Why would you try to throw us both into the water?!"

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

By now, Theo was nothing else but angry.

Not frustrated, not at a loss on how to act around this clearly familiar-unfamiliar woman, not even baffled by her behavior.

'I went to such great lengths to keep you safe through the monster wave, and the first thing you do afterward is throw yourself to a certain doom, all so that you can hug me? Or was that an attempt for some romantically deluded and involuntary double suicide?!'

Still, no matter how angry, if not outright furious, Theo could be, there was a strict, although undisclosed, limit to how far he could go. After all, this woman's men were still on the other side of the moat!

And while they didn't intervene when Theo fully focused on trying to bring their lady back to life, even if their confused faces made it clear they had no idea what he was actually trying to do, if he were to lash out at her now that she was awake...

"I..." the girl attempted to say something, only for her cheeks to fully cover in crimson and for her eyelids to flutter, only for her to then look away, too embarrassed to form a single, cohesive sentence.

'What the heck are you even getting embarrassed for? Are you a child or something?!'

It was only with the utmost effort of his will that Theo managed to stop himself from screaming his honest thoughts into the girl's face.

After going through everything he did... just how frustrating would it be to die if she panicked while drowning and ended up dragging him to the depths of his moat with herself?

And while nothing like that happened... it certainly was a possibility she had to account for when she risked stepping into the water despite not knowing how to swim! After all, how could she know there was a small bridge Theo created to make it easy for himself to cross the moat?

"Actually, screw it, it doesn't matter. Instead, answer me this," Theo requested as he stood up and retreated a step towards his gate. "Why are you..." he started, only to squint his eyes and shake his head, "no, what did you do to get here?"

Despite having close to no memories of his current body's past incarnation, at the very least, Theo knew what place he was stuck at.

A place where some sort of power sent convicts to be executed by exile. Or, in simpler words, a place where those who entered were deemed highly unlikely to return alive!

And that could only mean those people, this girl, and all of her men were here not because of their own will or desires but because they, just like Theo himself, ended up sentenced to death!

A reasoning that only made it easier for Theo to distance himself from the other party.

'If they were common criminals, no one would bother so much to bring them all the way over here. A common executioner with an ordinary axe or a noose would suffice.'

"You really don't remember a thing, do you?" Finally, the girl spoke out, somehow managing to fight off whatever it was that made her struggle to produce her voice before.

Yet, contrary to how energetic and livid she was before in everything she did and said, now that those last words left her mouth, this fiery-headed woman visibly deflated.

"Isn't that a stupid question?" Theo countered. "If there really are memories I don't recall, how would I know it in the first place?"

"That's..." Once again, the girl was left speechless. "That's a good point," she admitted after a while. "As for your question before, we are here to bring you out of this place, that's all."

"Is that so?" Theo raised his eyebrows before resting his hands on his hips and taking another step back, only to then raise his hands and spread them open as if to point at all of the land and buildings surrounding them. "And do I really look like I need saving?"

Even though they didn't need to do it, both the girl and her men looked up to the area Theo's arms were pointing at, their eyes locking first on the huge wooden wall before turning over to the massive line of his guns.

It didn't matter if they knew how they operated. What mattered was how they saw... and felt the power those brought to the table.

A power that was easily able to deal with a full horde of monsters that their entire group struggled to fight a single one of.

As such, there could be only one answer to Theo's question.

"No, you don't," the woman admitted, lowering her head as a sense of even further defeat appeared in her eyes.

"To nail the point even further, with how things are going," Theo took yet another step back, now just a single jump away from the gate, "in about two days, I should be able to leave this place all on my own. And that brings us to the most important question for now," he stated as he finally lowered his arms.

A moment of silence Theo used to build up the tension. Later, he smiled.

"If I'm able to defend myself here, if I'm able to leave this place pretty much as I wish, what do I even need you guys here for?"

By now, Theo stood just a few inches behind the line of where his gate would normally close. And now that he could somewhat guarantee his own safety, he finally allowed his guns to move, turning all their barrels to point both at the girl on the same side of the moat—ignoring the risk of friendly fire between the guns—and at her team stuck on the other side of the moat.

"It's simple." Now that the situation started to turn tense again, strangely, the girl stood up, her face freed from all the grief, sadness, hesitation, and burden that was there just a moment ago. "It seems you don't need us here at all. But that brings another question," she stated, her face perfectly deprived of any emotions. "Now that you've forgotten all about who you are, did you turn into someone who would cast strangers out to their deaths?"

"Strangers?" Theo raised his right eyebrow. "From how you act and speak, it doesn't seem that you consider me a stranger, though."

Yet, not even pointing this out was enough to put the girl back on the defense.

"That's because you are not a stranger to me, even if you lack any of the memories that we share. And even if you wish to claim we are nothing more than a bunch of strangers to you, didn't you steal my lips while I was all defenseless and vulnerable?!"

'Hmm?'

Theo scoffed, struggling to believe that this girl in particular would try to use this sort of angle in this discussion.

Even if he didn't know her almost at all... she never gave him the vibe of someone who would use the fact that he saved her... against him!

"In case you are not aware, I didn't kiss you. I merely made sure your heart would continue to beat, even if it already stopped doing so on its own."

Hearing this, the girl smiled before taking a step forward.

"Oh, sweetie," she smiled with a predatory smirk, "what makes you think I was talking about what happened just now?" she asked, only to then take another step... and suddenly cover in blush again as the realization of what happened while she was out of it broke through the facade of her bravado.

"Wait, what are you even talking about?!" At this point, Theo couldn't help but freak out.

'Don't tell me this body actually got one over my original self...' Theo thought, ready to curse the original will of his current body to hell and back. 'Shit, now that I think about it, it's quite obvious that I used to be some sort of noble. So, it's hardly a surprise that he would do it with a maid or two, but...'

Even though Theo managed to deflect the initial strike of learning that the former will of his body actually managed to outdo Theo's lonely, virgin life of his original lifetime, as soon as he realized the implication behind the girl's words...

"Even if you did forget all about it, I'm quite sure all I need is some beers and one night to remind you all about it," the girl gritted her teeth through embarrassment before resorting to her earlier bravado to push through her shame.

'A fucking tactician, isn't she?' Theo gritted his own teeth, perfectly aware that it was his own reactions that gave the girl the information she needed.

For now that she realized this angle was actually working on him, she acted like a shark that smelled blood in the water and quite clearly wasn't going to let go.

Theo took a deep breath, killing the rapid pace of this devolving conversation as he took his sweet time to calm down and process all that was said.

'If she's willing to admit so much out in public while fighting off her shame...'

Once again, Theo ended up gritting his teeth before finally exhaling out.

'If so, the chances are she really is connected to this body in one way or form,' he admitted to himself, only to then shake his head and relax his arms before taking a step forward.

Initially, the girl took a step back, retreating as soon as Theo dared to advance, only to then stand still, refusing to move even a single step further back.

"Okay, I get it. You wouldn't go that far if you were spewing nonsense," Theo admitted out loud before raising his arms again. This time, though, he kept them bent at his elbows, turning it into a gesture of simple surrender. "But before we move on, there's one more question I need answered," he then stated while allowing his guns to lower their barrels.

"What the hell is actually going on here?"