"So it's Edwina. Years later, I didn't expect the quiet and reserved little girl to become 'Vice Admiral Iceberg,' famous throughout the Five Seas... Fate is always full of such surprises." Tylers said, smiling at Edwina upon hearing her words.
Edwina merely nodded at him, then leaned closer to Ebner and whispered, "Tylers Renault, a lecturer at Lunburg University, a high-ranking deacon of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom... According to Professor Isabella, he fortunately obtained the main ingredient for the 'Prophet' potion three years ago and successfully advanced."
Fortunately obtained the ingredient? He must have gotten a clue from the "Dream Labyrinth Tower's" rewards!
But since he's a lecturer at Lunburg University and a high-ranking deacon of the Church of Knowledge, his previous words must have referred to the God of Knowledge's favored one...
Seeing Ebner still maintaining his guard, and the black-armored Heroic Spirit's "Spear of Unshadowed" ready to be thrown at him at any moment, Tayles, while commending Ebner's caution, further explained, "Before entering the first-floor scenario, I received an oracle instructing me to assist the holder of 'Light Seeker' in achieving final victory..."
Speaking of this, he glanced at the "black-armored girl" and continued, "So, after my Heroic Spirit discovered that you had summoned a Servant from the 'Sun' domain, he immediately rushed over."
The God of Knowledge issued an oracle telling a 'Prophet' to assist me? Heh, this is still part of the 'act' for that other one... If it weren't for Miss Temperance's reminder, which made me realize the problem, I would have certainly believed that the God of Knowledge actually approved of Roselle's resurrection.
As Ebner pondered, his Servant, "Lancer" Lya, stated solemnly, "My Lord, I have notarized his words, and the result is that he did not lie."
Hearing this, Ebner came back to his senses, first nodding slightly to the black-armored girl, then looking at Tayles, "I need to verify that."
"How do you wish to verify?" Tayles asked with interest.
Ebner did not reply. Instead, while having "Lancer" maintain her guard, he himself began to set up a ritual to pray to the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom."
At this moment, Tayles, realizing what Ebner was doing, kindly reminded him, "The 'Dream Labyrinth Tower' does not permit praying to deities or hidden existences."
"I know that, but I'm an exception." Ebner, possessing the Pure White Eye and well aware of the tower's "bullying the weak and fearing the strong" nature, replied indifferently.
Soon, he skillfully drew the holy emblem of the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom," set up the corresponding altar, and placed a parchment with the "oracle" Tayles had just spoken onto the altar.
Then, he lit a candle, picked up the pure dew extracted from lavender and mint, and dripped it onto the quietly burning flame.
Having done all this, he spoke in ancient Hermes:
"I pray for the power of knowledge;
"I pray for the power of reason;
"I pray for the favor of the God of Wisdom;
"I pray for you to discern the truth of the oracle conveyed by Tylers Renault."
.....
Whoosh!
As the incantation reverberated, a phantom of a "brass eye" suddenly appeared on the altar. It scanned the contents of the parchment and then vanished.
And on the parchment, a single word appeared out of thin air: True!
Seeing this, Tayles's eyes filled with surprise. First, he was surprised that the "Dream Labyrinth Tower" truly didn't prevent others from praying to deities. Second, he was surprised that the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" would actually respond to such a simple ritual from him!
This is no ordinary Favored One... No wonder he could break into the first floor of the Labyrinth Tower even before becoming a Demigod!
As thoughts raced, Tayles composed himself and asked with a smile, "Is that all right now?"
Ebner nodded while gathering the ritual items, and ordered "Lancer" the Servant to retract her "Spear of Unshadowed," maintaining only necessary vigilance.
Speaking of which, Ebner performing this ritual wasn't really because he doubted Tayles's words; in fact, he mostly believed them. The main purpose of asking the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" for confirmation was to "deter" the other party and gain the upper hand in the conversation.
Otherwise, as a Demigod, even if he received an oracle, he might not necessarily follow the arrangements of a mid-sequence "favored one" like himself.
And if he simply didn't follow the arrangements, it would be fine, but Ebner feared he might try to manipulate him in return... So, Ebner decided to put on a show of authority first.
On the other side, seeing that Ebner was finally no longer hostile, Tayles ordered his Servant to stay on guard outside, then "passed" through the French window's glass and entered the sunroom.
The two sides took their seats, and Edwina had the castle's automaton maid bring red tea. After a brief self-introduction, they got down to business.
"How did you find me so quickly?" Ebner asked the question that had been bothering him.
Although he and Edwina had replaced Kiritsugu and Irisviel, representing the Einzbern family in the war, they were immediately in the Einzbern family's old castle stronghold in Fuyuki City upon entry.
This was no secret to the plot characters, but for "tower climbers," unless they were familiar with the plot like him and Klein, it would be impossible to find them so quickly.
Considering the brief meeting in the Sefirah Castle and the subsequent Heroic Spirit summoning, it had only been a little over an hour at most.
"That depends on the identity I replaced..." Tayles took a sip of red tea before continuing, "The father of this identity is the archbishop supervising this 'Holy Grail War' for the church. He is quite familiar with the potential participating parties and has compiled a lot of information available for perusal.
"Furthermore, this identity's teacher is also a 'Master,' named Tokiomi... it's a bit awkward to pronounce, but he is the manager of the 'Mysticism field' in this city and is naturally no stranger to the Einzberns.
"By the way, I have already met with Mr. Tokiomi and confirmed that he is not a 'tower climber'... Hmm, he has also summoned a Heroic Spirit, an Archer-class Heroic Spirit called 'King of Heroes.'"
So, you replaced Kirei? Hmm, your appearance does somewhat resemble "Mapo Priest," except he has brown hair and eyes, while yours are black hair and eyes.
Ebner muttered inwardly. On the surface, after glancing at the petite Heroic Spirit outside the window, he said, "Your Heroic Spirit should be the 'Assassin'-class 'Hundred-Faced Hassan,' right? Then she probably won't just come to me... Have there been any other gains elsewhere?"
Tayles narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. He hadn't expected the young man before him to see through his Heroic Spirit's true name and abilities at a glance. While becoming increasingly cautious, he couldn't help but sigh: As expected of Your Excellency the Favored One, you even understand such a lost grand ritual as the 'Holy Grail War'... No wonder Edwina, such a proud young lady, follows him...
—He didn't believe that a complete ritual system like the "Holy Grail War" could be fabricated out of thin air by Roselle. He only thought that Roselle had restored this ritual from lost Third Epoch or even Second Epoch documents and then fabricated a story around it.
While pondering, Tayles organized his words and replied, "Indeed, there have been quite a few gains...
"The Master of another famous Beyonder family in this city, the Matou family, was replaced by the 'Saint of Shadows' from the Aurora Order and summoned a 'Berserker'-class, terrifying Heroic Spirit wearing black armor, just like this Lancer girl. In just an hour, he devoured all members of that family, leaving only a cute little girl...
"You know, people from the Aurora Order are always more lenient towards good-looking people.
"However, to my knowledge, that little girl is not a true member of the Matou family, but Tokiomi's younger daughter.
"The Saint of the Aurora Order might have left her alive with the intention of using her to restrain Tokiomi.
"Although the people of the Aurora Order are insane, they are not ignorant of strategy."
So, the old worm of the Matou family met a "standard" end... got wiped out at the beginning? And the reason might simply be because he was ugly?
Right, so-called "Bug Masters," in front of Beyonders from the "Shepherd" pathway who are skilled at manipulating flesh and blood, are just proper rations, aren't they?
However, who could that terrifying Berserker-class Heroic Spirit summoned by the "Saint of Shadows" be?
Black armor... Could it still be Lancelot?