"I am Guillermo Markitas. I'm Guillermo Marchitas. Can you tell me your name?"

Guillermo Marchitas opened his arms as if he had no intention of fighting and welcomed them into the room.

"I am Jin Nido."

"My name is Reiko."

This answer startled Markitas.

Jin Nido!　You can't be him!　...... No, no, I know that your body is a highly sophisticated puppet doll (slave doll). So is this body of mine."

"I see."

As Jin was thinking about what to say next, Markitas began to speak.

"I have been wanting to meet you for about 360 years now."

And then,

"Do you also have long-lived blood?　Or is there another way?"

He asks me.

"No, I'm probably just a regular guy. I'm probably just an ordinary guy who got saved by chance and luck, and here I am.

Jin-D gives a somewhat blurred answer.

"Hmm. I envy you. When I think about it, I was not lucky enough.

Saying this in a whisper, Markitas keeps his mouth shut. Now Jin asks a question.

"Why did you do such a useless thing?"

What do you mean by "futile"?

Destroying civilizations does not advance mankind, does it?　We can see that in the wars of the Magical Wars. History has proven it.

"I see, that's your argument."

Markitas listens to Jin's words without making fun of them.

"-First of all, what do you want the human race to for?"

Jin asks. Evolution" here means liberation from matter.

Markitas knew this and answered confidently.

"For what?　It is obvious, isn't it? For the happiness of the human species.

Happiness, huh? Then what is happiness?

This was the first time Jin had ever heard such a logical or philosophical question and answer. Normally, he would have left this matter to the old man.

However, his intuition was telling him that he had to face this person himself.

It is a state of mind.

Then, what kind of condition is happiness?

Jin continued his question.

"In short, .

There was a shred of truth in what Markitas said. Certainly, a state of contentment is happiness.

<>, that is, <>. What is fullness and sufficiency?

Markitas continues in his speech.

"As long as there is a body, we cannot avoid depending on matter. And matter is not eternal or immortal.

"......"

Jin listens in silence.

"In other words, we cannot seek eternal happiness in the things of this world, material things."

"So we should become a spiritual being?"

"That's right."

But Jin rejected this theory.

"No. It's useless.

"What?

"You'll never be satisfied with a spiritual life form. It's always craving, always looking for things that interest it. And it will never end.

Jin remembered the he had met in the other space.

"What?

"It's a delusion to think that you can be happy if you only exist as a spirit.

How can you say such a thing?

Because I have met such a being.

What?

This statement seemed to surprise even Markitas.

"It was about four hundred years ago. Contact with another space occurred and this world was in danger. I flew around trying to do something about it and got ...... trapped in another space for a time. That's when I met a <>."

"What ...... is ......?"

Markitas (the puppet doll) held his head in his hands. Jin continued.

"They were an old, old race. From my point of view, they in a world of ."

"......"

Markitas kept his head in his hands, but Jin continued.

"They were beginning to get tired of and were interested in the phenomenon of , the skill of dealing with free magical elements (ether). And I remember they said they had a subject to study for the next 100,000 years or so of their time."

"......"

Markitas still had his head in his hands.

"You only have to look at them to see that. , if they can do that, they're happy. But I think you should seek more than that, <>."

"Peace of mind ......?"

Finally, Markitas looked up.

"Yes. You said it yourself, . If by 'state of mind' you mean . That's what you should be aiming for."

"Peace ......?"

Yes. You talk about matter and spirit, but in the end you seem to be stuck in matter.

"I am?　You think I'm trapped in matter?

Yes, you are. I think that's what they call it.

Jin uttered a word that he had heard from the director of the institute when he was in the institute.

"You mean, 'obsession ......'?"

"That's right. As long as you have it, you'll never find peace."

"......"

Markitas seemed to think about it and the puppet doll (slave doll) fell silent.

Jin continued to speak as if he was about to fold up his words.

"Humans have a habit of getting used to things. What satisfies us today may not satisfy us tomorrow. So I think the important thing is not contentment but peace."

"......"

"You say that, but it's difficult. I haven't reached such a state yet.

"......"

"But it's important to try. Don't you think so?"

"......"

But Markitas remained silent.

"Father, what are you going to do now?"

"Well, I guess. ......"

Jin was somewhat discouraged.

I was hoping it would all be over.

"...... Jin Nido, you're a frightening man, aren't you?"

"What?"

Before I knew it, Guillermo Malkitas's puppet doll (slave doll) had woken up.

"You almost had me in the middle of this," he said.

"No, I didn't mean to.

But Guillermo Marchitas would not listen.

"Shut up!"

The atmosphere has changed dramatically.

"A spirit life form?　You're talking nonsense ......."

Jin sensed something disturbing through Jin D.

"Markitas ......?　No, who are you?"