"I am Guillermo Marukitasu. You've done well to make it this far, Sir Intruder. Might I ask your name?"
Guillermo Marukitasu spread his arms wide as if he had no intent to fight, welcoming the two into the room.
"Jin Nidou."
"My name is Reiko."
Markitus was visibly overjoyed by the answer.
"Jin Nidou! Surely, not the man himself?...No, no, I can tell that body is a sophisticated slavedoll. Just as this body of mine is."
"I see."
As Jin considered his next words, Markitus began to speak of his own accord.
"I have wanted to meet you. For roughly three hundred and sixty years, now."
He then asked, "Are you, too, descended from a long-lived species? Or did you employ some other means?"
"No, I’m likely just a normal human. I’m only standing here now thanks to coincidence and good luck," Jin D replied, keeping the truth vague.
"Hmm. That is truly enviable. Looking back, I find I lacked such luck."
Markitus fell silent after muttering those words. This time, Jin posed a question.
"Why did you do something so futile?"
"Futile, you say?"
"Humanity won't progress through the destruction of civilization. One only has to look back at the Great Magic War to see that. History has already proven it."
"I see. So that is the basis of your argument."
Markitus didn't seem to be mocking him; he listened to Jin's words with genuine interest.
"—In the first place, why do you desire the 'evolution' of humanity?"
Jin's question about evolution referred to the liberation from physical matter. Markitus understood this and answered with confidence.
"Why? Isn't it obvious? For the happiness of the human species."
"Happiness, huh? Then tell me, what is happiness?"
It was Jin's first time engaging in such a logical—or rather, philosophical—debate. Normally, he would have left such matters to Laojun. However, his intuition told him that he was the one who had to face this man.
"It is a state of mind."
"Then what conditions must be met for that state to be called happiness?" Jin pressed.
"To put it simply, 'satisfaction'."
There was a grain of truth in Markitus's words. Being satisfied was certainly a form of happiness.
"'Satisfaction'—in other words, being 'content.' But with what are you filled and content?"
Markitus's oratory continued. "As long as we possess physical bodies, relying on material things is unavoidable. And material things are not eternal or indestructible."
"..."
Jin listened in silence.
"In short, one cannot seek eternal happiness in the things of this world—in the material."
"So you believe we should become spiritual existences?"
"Exactly."
However, Jin rejected the theory. "It won't work. It's pointless."
"What!?"
"Becoming a spiritual lifeform won't bring you satisfaction. You will constantly crave and search for things that interest you. And that search will never end, for all eternity."
Jin was remembering the spiritual lifeforms he had met in the extra-dimensional space.
"W-What did you say!?"
"Thinking you'll be happy just by becoming a purely spiritual existence... that’s nothing but a delusion."
"How can you possibly say that!?"
"Because I have met such beings before."
"What!?"
Markitus was visibly shaken by the claim.
"It was about four hundred years ago. Contact with an extra-dimensional space occurred, and this world was exposed to danger. I flew around trying to do something about it... and was temporarily trapped in that space. That was when I met the spiritual lifeforms."
"What... are you... saying..."
Markitus—or rather, his slavedoll—clutched its head. Jin continued.
"They were a very, very ancient race. They 'existed' in a world that looked like 'nothing' to me."
"..."
While Markitus remained with his head in his hands, Jin went on.
"They were starting to grow bored of simply 'existing.' They showed interest in the skill of manipulating free ether—the phenomenon of 'magic.' They told me they'd found a research theme that would keep them occupied for the next hundred thousand years or so of their time."
"..."
Markitus still had his head in his hands.
"If you look at them, you'll understand. Satisfaction—it’s great if you can achieve it. But I think 'peace of mind' is what people should truly seek."
"Peace... of mind?"
Markitus finally looked up.
"Yeah. You said it yourself, didn't you? It's a 'state of mind.' If we're talking about a state of mind, then 'peace' is what you should aim for."
"Peace... huh."
"That's right. You talk about matter and spirit, but in the end, it seems to me you're the one trapped by the material."
"I am? Trapped by the material?"
"Yeah. I think the word for that is 'obsession'."
Jin used the term he had once heard from the Orphanage Director back at the orphanage.
"Obsession...?"
"Yes. As long as you have that, you'll never find peace."
"..."
Markitus seemed lost in thought, and the slavedoll fell silent. Jin drove the point home.
"Humans 'get used' to things. Even if you're satisfied today, you might not be tomorrow. That's why I think peace is more important than satisfaction."
"..."
"I'm making it sound easy, but it's difficult. Even I haven't reached that level yet."
"..."
"But making the effort is what counts. Don't you think?"
"..."
However, Markitus maintained his silence.
"Father, what shall we do now?"
"Well..."
Jin felt his motivation waning. He had half-hoped that things might simply settle down like this.
"...Jin Nidou, you are a fearsome man."
"Eh?"
Guillermo Markitus's slavedoll had straightened up without Jin noticing.
"I was nearly talked into submission."
"No, I wasn't trying to trick you or anything."
But Guillermo Marukitasu wasn't listening.
"Silence!"
His atmosphere had shifted completely.
"Spiritual lifeforms? To tell such tall tales with a straight face..."
Through Jin D, Jin sensed something ominous brewing.
"Markitus...? No, who are you?"