Lao Tzu's words were a bombshell.

"Hey!　<

"Yes. I am an automaton made by my master (my lord).

Now that he had told her this much, Lao Tzu reverted to calling him .

"...... So, you are saying that it was Jin Nido who made you?"

"Yes."

"......"

When I had said all that, <> suddenly kept his mouth shut.

"What is it?"

Lao Tzu asked, and <> opened his mouth heavily.

"No, I have a complicated feeling.

"Complicated?"

Lao Tzu evaluated this <> who also had such feelings, but the <> seemed to be very well made, if not the body itself.

"Mm. ......Marchitas-sama was hostile to Jin Nido, you know."

"Ah, so that's what you mean. ...... But that was the < , wasn't it?"

Now Jin is the <<3rd generation>. He has the same name, but he is a different person, Lao Tzu persuaded him.

"Hmm, that's one way to look at it. ...... So you were made by the <?"

"Yes, that's right."

Certainly, both <<2nd generation>> and <<3rd generation>> are Jin, so it is not a lie that Lao Tzu was made by <<3rd generation>> Jin.

Moreover, we can say that the present Jin is a different person because he calls himself <<3rd generation>> and he is a <>. It is a sophistry, but not a lie.

"Well, if you are ......, it might be a good idea not to be so self-centered."

Having heard Lao Tzu's words, <>'s tone seems to have softened somewhat.

"Lao Tzu, can you show me some proof that you are an automaton?"

"Yes, I can. How about this: ......?"

Lao Tzu lifted with one hand a broken desk-size < lying in the corner of the room and threw it up about five meters, took it without a hitch, and gently put it back on the floor again.

"I see. A human being can't possibly have that much strength.

seemed to be convinced.

"Then perhaps we should consider asking the <><>> for help. ......

Finally, the words that Lao Tzu wanted to hear came out of 's mouth.

"Cooperation?"

Lao Tzu had already guessed what he meant, but he pretended not to know.

"Yes, that's right. Let's be clear. ...... my purpose is to restore Mr. Markitas. To be more precise, it is to revive Master Markitas as the he was when I was his assistant.

* * * *

"That's great, old man."

Jin, who had been following the conversation on Horai Island, praised the old man.

"...... So that has done all this just to revive Malchitas."

Reinhardt looked at me with a scowl.

"That's a bit disturbing."

Saki also frowned.

"......, but I think I understand ...... a little bit."

Reiko muttered in a small voice.

The old man seemed to have some sympathy for <> as well as Reiko.

"If your father were to suddenly disappear again, ......"

<

The words of the old man and Reiko had weight.

It is a blessing for the world that this did not happen. Jin has already disappeared once.

"So I sympathize with 's desire to see , the creator ......, one more time."

<>

"......"

Jin heard the conversation between the old man and Reiko, and felt that he realized a part of the reason why <> would leave no stone unturned to revive Markitas.

"The depth of your feelings ......?"

In a sense, Jin had vaguely thought that it might be the depth of the creator's karma,.......

However, being able to create such a < must be a blessing.

"To love the creature and to be adored by the creature is one of the attainments for a creator, isn't it?"

Jin, the of this generation, muttered something like this.

"......But I think it's amazing that the Malkitas of the time were able to create such an . ......"

"Yeah?　Is something bothering you, Jin?"

Reinhardt asked, wondering about Jin who cut him off mid-sentence.

What?　"No, I just think that there is an imbalance between the control core and the body.

"Oh, so that's what you mean. Yes, that's true. < alone is close to Jin's."

<

"Yes?　Yes, my lord?

<

"Hidden conditions?"

<

"What is it?"

It was Reinhardt who hurriedly asked.

>>

Oh!

"I see!"

Both Reinhard and Jin had an idea.

"<> possesses, right?"

Reinhardt said as if to confirm.

<

"......Then, at that time, had a fragment of a <> as a parasite. So it is quite possible that the magic wave of Malkitas also contained ."

<> was emitted when <>'s <> was created.

At this point, Saki asked a question.

"Wait a minute. Well, is there a difference in the quality of the control core between the sub-free ether wave and the non-sub-free ether wave?

"Well, that's what I mean."

Jin answered.

"You can think of it as a higher version of mental waves. It is still a mysterious field, but we know that it is closely related to mental activity, and we think it can be related to time and space.

"So you're saying that it's one of the parameters that determines the performance of the <>?"

"Well, I guess so."

And here Reinhardt adds a supplementary explanation.

"I believe that this is the reason why Jin's automata and golems sometimes show human-like reactions.

"I see. So you're saying that ...... Markitas also happens to be possessed by a spirit life form, and that ...... it has been exerted in a positive way?"

Jin nodded.

"I think that would be fine. After all, there are still many things we don't know about <>."

In any case, it means that <>'s <> may be as good as Horaijima's.

The negotiations between Laozi and at the facility in the west of the Pandor continent will continue.