Act Three: Path of Insincerity, Part Three

I thought I could help you make headway faster once I'd made some progress on my analysis of the labyrinth's pattern...

...but I'm afraid its layout is still just too difficult for me to predict.

I'm sorry...

Please, don't be. All the speed in the world isn't going to help us if we just end up running around in circles.

I am sure we would be taking even longer if we did not have you leading the way, Tsubone.

Relatively speaking, one could argue that we are already hurrying as quickly as we can...

At any rate, analyzing the labyrinth's data is primarily my job, so I promise I will be doing everything in my power to figure out what still lies ahead.

And I promise I'll be doing my best to help keep you all healthy!

Speaking of which, you've been walking for a pretty long time now. Are you holding up okay, Master?

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Well, we can't have that! Okay, let's take a break then. We'll get nowhere fast if we push ourselves too hard too soon, after all.

Hmm, this place looks kind of like a living room. Maybe there's a futon you can lie down on somewhere...

...?

A futon...in the Ooku...

At this point, I think anything soft would do. What about seating cushions? Are there any of those there?

Oh my... Anything soft would do...!?

So that is what we need now, is it?

Something soft upon which Master can lie in sweet repose... You must be referring to a woman's body, yes!?

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...Oh, forgive me.

I suppose I was so distracted that I spoke thoughtlessly, even crudely.

Perhaps I may have, at times, a somewhat lurid turn of mind...

Oh, how embarrassing... I just hope I haven't said anything to arouse your ire...

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W-well, everyone makes mistakes now and then. Please, pay it no mind.

I'm more interested to hear what it was you were thinking about.

If you're feeling a little unwell yourself, maybe it would be good for you to rest up too?

Oh no, quite the opposite. I did not quite understand at first, but as we've made our way through this floor...

...I've come to see how I might be able to help, in however small a way.

Master, you've been receiving mapping data from Lady Sion and Lady Mash, correct?

May I borrow the device you have been using to read it, please?

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Thank you, Master. Now, let me see what I can do with this data myself...

Um, I apologize if this is rude, but I'm surprised you know your way around that so well...

I'm impressed you know as much about computers as you do about Buddhism.

Hm? It looks like you are adding some new numbers to the map...

Fascinating. What is this data, and how are you evaluating it?

That's a good question. I suppose the simplest explanation would be that I am merely taking the impressions I gathered in my capacity of my true profession and quantifying them.

Your true profession? Given how skilled you are as a nun, it's hard to imagine you ever doing any other kind of work.

Teehee. Yes, I am indeed a nun now, but I am also a therapist of sorts.

My calling entailed listening to people speak of their troubles, helping them develop strategies for coping, uncovering the traumas they had buried deep within themselves, and then taking that pain away.

I wouldn't say I exactly chose it as a profession so much as I fell into it when I realized just what it was that I was doing.

I see. Well that's not too surprising.

I'm sure any highly virtuous member of the clergy would attract people wanting to lay down their burdens.

After all, saving people is a core part of Buddhist teachings, right?

...Yes, that's right. The title given to those who devote themselves to saving all living things is "bodhisattva."

That is what I strive for: to do my best to save all living things, no matter how big or small or anything else.

Shujou-muhen-seigando. The vow to save all living things.

Houmon-mujin-seigangaku. The vow to learn as many things as possible.

Butsudou-mujou-seiganjou. The vow to seek enlightenment.

...These are the various vows I have made to myself. I was simply doing my best to uphold them.

But the desire to save others is still, in itself, a desire. That I once thought of this as my calling only shows how far I still am from enlightenment.

But that is a paltry price to pay for one such as myself to save those in need, or relieve them of their own earthly desires.

Should it be necessary, I would gladly offer up my body...and soul in service to those in need.

I recognize those! Those are the four Buddhist vows any budding boddhisatva strives to fulfill!

Oh, wait...

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I believe the fourth is called bon'nou-muryou-seigandan, and that it is the vow to relinquish all one's earthly desires.

...I remember hearing about such things from the high priest I studied under as a young man, so as to apply them to my swordsmanship.

Teeheehee. I will say only that some things are best left unspoken.

I have, of course, made that vow as well, but I imagine you and I interpret it...rather differently.

...

At any rate, it is thanks to all of that...

...that I happen to have a bit better understanding of what goes on in others' hearts than most.

And that is, perhaps, why I was able to sense this...

In brief, the mazes on these floors all feel as though they represent some condition of the heart.

...What do you mean?

Actions and emotions are inextricably linked.

Just as certain behaviors elicit specific feelings in an individual, so can this apply to any number of people.

The opposite is true as well, to a degree. Creating feelings in someone can help determine how they may act.

By way of example, let's say a group of people is exploring a maze, and they come to a fork in the path.

It is not difficult to imagine that those most enthusiastic among their number might choose one path to take, while those favoring caution might choose another.

There you have it.

If you wish your more eager parties to win, you merely place your goal at the end of the path they are more likely to choose, or do the reverse for the cautious.

Hmm. I suppose you're right.

So, with that in mind, and based on the paths we have seen so far...

...I was wondering if there might be some rule related to the heart on this floor that could help us determine the correct route.

Those numbers I appended to the map are my estimates based on these theories.

And if I'm correct, I believe that on this floor...the more we follow our urge to keep moving forward, the more likely it is we'll come to a dead end.

...!

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That being the case, we can plot a way forward that will help us reach our goal.

In essence, what we must do is "lie" to ourselves, in a sense, and choose the path that appeals less to our desire to make forward advances.

Hmm! Now that you mention it, there HAVE been times when we only found a way forward...

...once we investigated places like bathrooms and closets that you would think would be dead ends.

And then there's the way this path has been anything but straightforward...

So you're saying there are laws governing these layouts? That it's not all just a coincidence?

Assuming my analysis is correct, yes, I think so.

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This is great! I never thought you would provide us with helpful analysis like this on top of your fighting skills!

Having you as the last Servant at Chaldea...

...might just have been the best stroke of luck we could have hoped for.

Fluctuations based on one's state of mind, huh... I was analyzing the rules governing this labyrinth's three-dimensional layout on our end too, of course...

...but I never would have thought to include psychological parameters that accounted for how you felt by going down certain paths.

I guess there are some things that only become apparent when you are actually out in the field. I cannot believe I missed this!

Please don't feel bad. It is only our good fortune that permitted me to notice this.

Besides, I doubt this alone will be enough to see us to our goal.

Some parts of this I am afraid I cannot figure out, I must confess...

...and I expect we will encounter paths in the future that will be even harder to choose between now that we understand this governing principle.

So in those cases, we will still need to depend on Lady Kasuga-no-Tsubone to show us the correct path.

So it still comes down to my intuition, huh? I can do that!

All that aside, you really are something else, Lady Sessyoin.

Between your cool-headedness, your analytical insights, and your keen observation, I don't think you're quite like any monk I've ever met.

If it were at all possible, I would love to hire you for the Ooku once this is all over.

The Ooku's true attendants are always worrying about one thing or another.

If they could talk to you about their problems, I think you'd be able to help resolve them handily. What do you say, Lady Sessyoin? I'd be happy to reward you handsomely for your trouble!

Oh my, that sounds lovely. Of course I would be happy to go wherever I'm needed. Oh, but don't worry about a reward.

I love people so very much. Guiding them to salvation is its own reward.

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Oh, that's right. I am your Servant now, yes, Master?

Forgive me, Lady Kasuga-no-Tsubone, but I'm afraid I must decline your kind offer to serve as the Ooku's therapist. Hehe, sowaka sowaka...

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