Yeah?

[He guesses he does. It just feels natural to him.]

I guess. After a while, it just seemed like it would be strange. I'd let them believe that I was passing through randomly - everything after that was genuine, pretty much, and it just felt like I shouldn't...bring myself into the story.

[He could've asked Howl about Gerda outright. But he got what he needed all the same - and what he needed changed over time.]