"Father, the guests have arrived."
Muller knocked lightly on the door a few times and spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Okay, let them in."
Ed's voice came through, Muller gently pushed open the door, gesturing for Gray and the other man to enter.
The couple hadn't seen such polite people in a long time; the Second Holy See had always given the impression of having a flat management structure and not being overly concerned with details.
The couple felt a strange discomfort in the face of Muller's polite manner.
Fortunately, Muller completing the task, Muller stood guard at the door and did not go in, and Gray was able to see Ed buried in documents behind the desk as he wished.
" My Son of God, it's been a long time."
"Will it take a long time?"
Ed looked up and smiled in return, while Gray also gave a slightly embarrassed smile:
"My lord, this visit was truly not my intention..."
He and Nora sat down in the two chairs that had been prepared beforehand, and he began to tell Ed about what had happened during this time.
Although Gray had been away from the Second Holy See for a little over a month, most of the time he spent on the road was essentially wasted time.
There are only three things that are truly meaningful and worth telling:
First, he encountered someone who resembled the Grand Duke; second, the Antasia's Machine Spirit awakened; and third, he met an old acquaintance Xilǐ'er.
These three events were interconnected, driving Gray to meet with him at the Second Holy See.
After listening to the merchant's story, Ed while stroking his chin.
"Let me confirm with you two, the location where you abandoned your goods isn't far from the area where the Blood Corpse are gathered, right?"
"Yes, we immediately abandoned all the goods after realizing the speed difference."
"Okay, I understand. I'll send an advance team to investigate later."
Ed looked at Gray with satisfaction.
The location where Gray encountered the Corpse Tide was southeast of Klaf City, which is almost entirely consistent with what Luoli had said earlier.
In other words, the one sealed there is very likely Hall, one of the seven Grand Dukes, the Hall whose Authority is still unclear.
The only thing that cannot be compared is that Luoli once said that almost all the Blood Corpse in the Hall Lineage had died, and he didn't know where so many Blood Corpse came from.
Either the Blood Corpse of the Hall Lineage weren't completely wiped out, or Blood Corpse from other lineages were captured by his Psionic Energy and brought under his control.
Either way, Hall's abilities seem almost superhuman...
With that in mind, Ed had already made initial plans for the next step.
The discovery of what appears to be the Grand Duke's sealed location is good news!
The original target was Antos and Adelaide, but now it's Hall and Adelaide, which is almost no different from the beginning.
Furthermore, the " Antos's Escape" scene in the middle will obviously excite players even more.
That's decided. We'll announce it once things are settled with Gray.
Whether as part of the next phase of the main storyline or as part of this DLC, players will clearly love it.
Hearing Ed's satisfied and confident tone, Gray showed a relieved expression.
His wife, Nora, had a rather interesting expression on her face at that moment.
It was exactly the same situation that Gray described on the Antasia!
She looked at her husband, feeling that this was all within his expectations.
She then looked at Ed, sensing that he was even more composed than before.
Isn't that supposed to be a guaranteed High Tier?
Wasn't that a notorious duke or grand duke?
Why did their conversation sound as simple as a casual remark like, "It's time to harvest the rusty wheat at home," or "Okay, I understand"?
What is wrong with this world?
"As for Antasia, what I can confirm is that its awakening is related to me to some extent."
Regarding the question about Machine Spirit, Ed gave a frank answer:
" The World Tree statue I gave you before was created using my plant-based abilities; I didn't know it would have this effect at the time."
"I also sensed unusual Psionic Energy fluctuations recently, so I think this matter is definitely related to me."
Although Antasia was mature and reliable, Gray had always been suspicious of her origins.
Now, hearing Ed admit that Antasia's awakening was related to him, a huge weight was lifted from his heart once again.
As a Graycast Corridor dweller, Gray knew what would happen next—
Is it simply a matter of formulating an experimental plan, replicating the process of Antasia's awakening, deriving all the conditions, and finally declaring success?
Ed ignored Gray's thoughts and instead connected the matter to something else:
The awakening of the Machine Spirit is related to itself and the plants it created, but the plants it created cannot move.
However, several players interested in building mobile fountains and a lich are currently researching several challenges of this technology.
Could the Machine Spirit... become the breakthrough point for this technology?
Although Ed's expression remained unchanged, he was becoming increasingly excited.
He said to Gray:
"Someone will handle this matter as well."
"Now, tell me more about Xilǐ'er. You just said his appearance has changed, but you haven't gone into details about how."
"Good."
Gray nodded and gave a complete description of Xilǐ'er as he was now.
Ed was informed in detail about both the changes in the armor and the growth of flesh and blood.
Although Ed had already gleaned some clues from Silvis's snippets, such as Xilǐ'er's supposed inability to grow by consuming metal, Ed was still inevitably surprised when he heard Gray speak in person.
How exactly did the Eternal Domain manage to transform the knights into this?
Can one switch freely between physical and armored states, or are there certain prerequisites?
If it only takes effect within the Eternal Domain, then neither Silvis nor Xilǐ'er can explain it now.
Or does it mean that it can remain in the Eternal Domain for a period of time after leaving it?
Or perhaps, both forms are actually present simultaneously, possibly depending on the conditions of observation?
If Xilǐ'er has two forms simultaneously, then Silvis should also have one.
So his true form is also that suit of armor?
No, when Silvis was resurrected in the crypts of Klaf City, she didn't retrieve the armor that had fallen some distance away...
Ed's mind was constantly generating ideas, most of which he quickly rejected because they didn't make sense, while the rest were put into the undetermined category due to insufficient information.
Just then, Gray suddenly said:
" My Son of God, here is a gift that Xilǐ'er asked me to give you, as a way of repaying your kindness in taking me in."