Standing at the entrance of the church and staring at the bustling scene inside, the two women remained frozen for a long time, unable to process what they were seeing.
Fortunately, Bronya noticed them and nudged Valerius, who was still fiercely focused on his game.
"Valerius, two Masters are here. Aren't you going to see them?"
"Wait a second."
Without even lifting his head, Valerius kept his eyes glued to the screen.
"The Corpse King is about to die. I have a feeling this one is going to drop something amazing."
Bronya could only laugh helplessly.
So you've really become addicted to gaming.
"Alright, I'll play for you. Go handle your business."
"…Fine."
Valerius reluctantly stood up, but not before giving one final instruction.
"Remember, grab the skill book first."
"I know."
After repeating a few more instructions, Valerius finally walked over to the two women, who were still staring blankly at the church.
"Looking for intel? …Not internet time, intel."
"Mr. Valerius, what… is all this?"
Yanagi Tsukishiro was utterly baffled.
How had a church turned into an internet café?
"Oh, I was bored, so I opened a cyber café for fun. Let's talk over there."
He led them to a quieter corner and pulled up a menu.
"Here's all the information on the participants. One point per piece of intel. Interested?"
"So much?"
Jean frowned.
Each participant had one piece of information. There were sixteen contestants in total.
Even excluding their own two members, there were still fourteen entries.
Since she and Yanagi were cooperating, acquiring all the information would still cost twelve points.
After thinking for a moment, Jean turned to Yanagi.
"Miss Yanagi, I suggest I purchase the information on the three Knight classes, plus the Rider Master. You buy the information on the four Cavalry classes, plus the special-class Master. As for the Servants, we can investigate those after making contact."
"Agreed."
Yanagi thought briefly, then nodded.
At the same time, she made a silent deduction.
Jean was almost certainly among those four classes, most likely Rider.
Of course, Jean would probably conceal part of the information.
But the same applied to her own data, hidden among the Cavalry classes.
And with the game only just beginning, buying only Master intel was the most efficient move.
If they knew the Masters, they could directly target them.
Having reached an agreement, both women paid three points each.
"Here you go."
Watching them cooperate so smoothly, Valerius almost laughed.
He really wanted to tell them:
Are you two sure this friendship is going to last?
Your Servants already fought each other.
And Barbara already lost one life to Hoshimi Miyabi.
And you're still teaming up?
Spreading the sheets open, Jean scanned them quickly.
Her feelings were mixed.
Relief, because the information didn't reveal anything too devastating.
Frustration, because her identity was now effectively exposed.
After reviewing everything, Jean said:
"Saber's Master is Miss Yae Miko. Her cover identity is a fox spirit with unusual abilities."
"Lancer's Master is Silver Wolf, a student."
"Archer's Master is Miss Asta, the daughter of a major conglomerate."
Once she finished, Jean looked at Yanagi.
Your turn.
As for Barbara's information?
Forget it.
"Caster's Master is Beidou, whose public identity is an employee at an aquarium."
"Berserker's Master is Yanqing, a middle school student."
"The special class is Ruler. The Master is Navia, whose identity is an overseas representative for an international corporation."
Like Jean, Yanagi withheld information about herself.
But now the situation was clear.
Her Servant was Assassin.
Jean's Servant was Rider.
As they exchanged intel, the cognitive interference affecting the Masters vanished.
At last, they could recall every Master's appearance.
"Not bad."
Yanagi smiled.
Everyone else was still stumbling forward in the dark.
She, however, had just unlocked the entire map.
And Miyabi was an Assassin.
Wouldn't that make it easy to eliminate the Masters one by one?
Once the Masters were dead, the Servants would lose their mana supply.
Cleaning them up afterward would be much easier.
The two women exchanged glances and stood.
It was time to make their move.
After bidding Valerius farewell, they stepped outside.
But instead of leaving immediately, they remained nearby.
"Acting Grand Master, care to chat?"
Kaeya approached Jean.
One look was enough for her to understand.
She followed him to one side.
At the same time, Harumasa led Yanagi to another corner.
A few minutes later, both women returned with bitter expressions.
"Well?"
"Kaeya couldn't say anything. He couldn't even hint at anything. What about your side?"
"Same."
Both sighed.
They had hoped to squeeze additional information out of the non-participants.
But the rules clearly prevented that.
Normal conversation was fine.
Yet the moment Kaeya tried to reveal any useful intel, he would abruptly lose the ability to speak.
"…Let's go."
Looks like the game won't allow that kind of loophole.
With no other choice, the two women pushed open the church doors and walked out.
Meanwhile, hidden in a discreet location near the church, Yunli and Yanqing were lying in wait.
"What do you think? Are they Masters?"
Because of cognitive interference, Yunli couldn't identify them directly.
But these were the only two people who had come to the church all day.
That made them highly suspicious.
"Very likely. Let's follow them quietly."
Yanqing gestured to Yunli.
Their plan was simple:
Camp near the church and wait.
Anyone who came to visit Valerius was worth investigating.
And these two clearly hadn't come to pray.
That made them likely Masters.
Since it was daytime and the streets were crowded, they decided to tail them and strike later that night.
After leaving the pedestrian district, Jean and Yanagi hailed a taxi.
Yanqing and Yunli immediately jumped into another.
"Driver, follow that car."
The driver glanced at the two children in the back seat with a puzzled expression.
"Kids, is something wrong?"
Both Yanqing and Yunli looked far too young to be conducting surveillance.
Yunli froze.
What excuse should they use?
"That's our older sister," Yanqing answered instantly. "She's been staying out all the time lately, so our father sent us to keep an eye on her."
"I see."
The driver nodded in understanding.
Then he stepped on the accelerator.
"Don't worry. I'll tail them perfectly."
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