Debuff Master

Artiur was the paradise for all artists on the Nürburg Continent. It was located in the northwestern region of the Marchioni Empire. Singers, bards, poets, painters, sculptors, actors, and other artists often gathered in the city to show off their artistic prowess.

One would find it interesting that an entire city was dedicated to art, as art could not be considered a driver of the economy.

However, Artiur managed to grow into a paradise for artists solely due to the immense support the Marchioni Empire bestowed upon it, and the man behind all of this was none other than Emperor Stuttgart.

Emperor Stuttgart strongly believed that art was an important factor in the advancement of civilization. He donated sums equivalent to the annual budget of a large kingdom so the artists could focus on their crafts without worrying about their livelihood.

As expected of the most powerful man on the continent, even his hobby was on a completely different scale compared to others.

‘So something like this is also possible if you have too much money,’ Siegfried thought in awe after realizing just how much was spent on this city.

Who in their right mind would spend such an amount on a hobby?

However, this only proved the vast wealth possessed by the Marchioni Empire, and the rumors they could wage war against the entire continent and still emerge victorious were indeed not baseless.

– We will be landing on Artiur shortly! Please fasten your seatbelts!

The Super Airship, Huracan, landed and Siegfried entered Artiur together with Hamchi.

“Wow... so this is the Paradise of Artists...” Siegfried failed to contain his awe after seeing the city.

The city looked very peaceful and beautiful. Its streets were full of artists such as painters, bards, actors, singers, etc., and every single one of them looked as if they had no worries in life.

But that was not all...

The streets of Artiur were lined up with well-maintained roads, buildings, sculptures, and murals. Each and every one of these art pieces had their own unique characteristics, but they harmonized extremely well together to make the entire city look like a canvas.

This city was without a doubt the most beautiful city on the continent, as even Siegfried, who did not possess an ounce of artistic insight, could tell at a single glance that it was indeed beautiful.

“So it is indeed befitting to be called a paradise...”

“Kyu! Owner punk!”

“Hmm?”

“Are you a tourist?! Kyuuu! Time is ticking, and we don’t have enough of it! You must go find the owner of the Emerald Tablet!”

“Fine...” Siegfried replied with a pout.

He proceeded to walk the streets of Artiur, but there was one problem.

“Where the hell am I supposed to go...?”

He had no idea where to begin with. Where was he supposed to go, and who was he supposed to ask? He was ignorance itself when it came to art, so he had no clue what he was supposed to do in this city.

“Should I go to an art gallery first?”

“Sounds like a plan! Kyuuu!”

“Let’s go.”

Siegfried decided to go to an art gallery to inquire regarding the painting Deus gave him.

The gallery owner greeted him, “Welcome! Are you looking for a painting?”

“No,” Siegfried replied.

“Then why have you come to an art gallery?”

“I want to inquire about something.”

“This is not such a place.”

“I will pay for the information.”

“Ask away!”

“...”

“I have no idea what you’re seeking, but I will answer you to the best of my knowledge.”

Siegfried was in disbelief when the gallery owner suddenly made a three-hundred-sixty degrees change when money got involved, but he decided to shrug it off and focus on his motive for coming here.

He took out the painting and asked, “Can you take a look at this painting?”

“Hmm... This is an old painting,” the gallery owner replied while inspecting the painting.

“Yes, it is a bit old,” Siegfried responded. He took into account that if the owner of the Emerald Tablet lived eternally, just as Deus said, then this painting was most likely more than three hundred years old.

Why did he come to that conclusion?

Because Daode Tianzun said that the last known owner of the Emerald Tablet, Acheron, disappeared three hundred years ago.

“Hmm... I can estimate this was painted around one hundred fifty years ago judging from the paint and canvas used...”

“And what else?”

“The painter’s skills are... hopeless.”

“Eh?!”

“He’s good for an amateur but not good enough to be a pro.”

“Hmm...”

“We probably have more than ten thousand paintings of this level here in Artiur alone.”

“Hiiiik?!”

“But why did you want me to take a look at this?” the gallery owner asked. Then, he narrowed his eyes and added, “Did you get scammed from somewhere?”

“Huh?”

“There are people who sell paintings, claiming they are the final work of a famous painter. They will tell you all sorts of things and even give you a special discount just to get you to buy them.”

“N-No, that’s not what happened.”

“Then, was this passed down generation after generation in your family? Or did you come to appraise it, hoping it's worth a lot?”

“N-No...”

“Then why are you inquiring about this hopeless painting?”

“Hmm...” Siegfried pondered for a moment. Then, he decided to answer, “Well, I was wondering if you felt anything from this painting or if there’s something out of the ordinary with it.”

“Nope. None at all. Nada.”

“Then do you perhaps know who painted this...?”

“Tsk... It’s probably one of the many James in the capital. Anyone can paint this if they have a bit of skill.”

“...”

“Are you really trying to find the painter of this worthless painting from one hundred fifty years ago? I suggest you give up and go get some sleep. You’re just wasting your time, my friend.”

“I see...”

“Alright, is that all?”

“Yes, thank you.”

The gallery owner narrowed his eyes and asked, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Here you go,” Siegfried threw a few gold coins at him and left the art gallery.

“What are we supposed to do now, owner punk? Kyu!”

“What else? We’re going to keep searching until we find someone who knows something,” Siegfried replied. He had no plans to give up and continued looking for clues to the painting given by Deus.

***

Siegfried proceeded to visit every other art gallery in the city after coming out from the first one, and he even went to the pawnshops to find any clues. However, he was unsuccessful in finding anything regarding the painting.

“Hmm... This artist chose to paint a scene not so famous back then. I’m not sure who this is, but they were most likely not famous.”

“What do you want me to say about a painting like this? It doesn’t even have the signature of the painter, nor does it have any title.”

“You want to find the painter who painted that? I think it will be easier to find the remains of a nameless soldier who died one hundred fifty years ago!”

Siegfried spent a fortune trying to find anyone who might know something about the painting given by Deus, but none of them seemed to know anything about it. He kept searching until sunset.

“Ugh... When will I find anything about this...” Siegfried grumbled while sitting on the fountain at the main square located at the center of Artiur.

“Kyu! We wasted our time!”

“But there’s no way Master would make a mistake...”

Siegfried had never doubted Deus, even for a single second. Deus was capable of looking a thousand steps—no, ten thousand steps into the future, and the way he saw this world was very different from how ordinary humans saw the world.

There was no way he would have made a mistake with the painting. Then what about the opinions of the countless experts and curators he consulted so far? The answer was simple: their skills were hopelessly bad.

Of course, it was unfair if he blamed them like that, as they were not at fault. It was just that Deus could see things they could not.

Growl...!

Hamchi’s stomach growled.

Growl....!

Siegfried’s stomach also cried out, asking for food.

“Hey, let’s go eat something.”

“Great idea!”

Just when they were about to get up and walk away, a huge crowd started to gather around the fountain.

“Hmm? What’s going on?”

He decided to stay and observe the crowd to find out why they were gathering, and it did not take long for him to find out the reason.

“The busking session of the world’s greatest bard, Sir Gringore, will soon begin!”

A group of people started shouting and setting up chairs in the main square. The chairs were quickly filled by the crowd yet more and more people started gathering at the main square.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The crowd clapped at once.

“Ah... It’s because of him...” Siegfried muttered after spotting Lamborghini, who was currently acting as Gringore’s manager.

Gringore was an artistic genius, and he was the continent’s most popular celebrity as well, so it only made sense that such a large group would gather just to see him perform.

“Your Majesty!” Gringore exclaimed and rushed after spotting Siegfried. Then, he greeted him with the utmost respect, “I, Gringore, greet my liege.”

“Long time no see,” Lamborghini greeted.

“Yes, it has been a long time. You seem to be busy, though,” Siegfried replied.

“Not at all, Your Majesty. We are just here at the request of the Marchioni Empire. They wanted us to busk here in Artiur.”

“Oh, really?”

It was while Gringore and Siegfried were exchanging pleasantries with each other that the crowd started getting rowdy. Everyone was glaring at Siegfried with eyes full of disdain.

“Who’s that?”

“Tsk... Why is he holding Sir Gringore up?”

“That buffoon is delaying the show.”

The crowd had gathered after hearing that Gringore would be performing, yet some unknown man was holding him up, delaying the show.

“Go and do what you’re supposed to do.” Siegfried waved his hand and sent him back after feeling the sharp glares from the crowd.

“Kyu! Owner punk!”

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t you ask Gringore?!”

“Ask what?”

“I heard he’s a genius!”

“Oh? Now that you mention it...” Siegfried recalled Gringore was a genius in all aspects of art and not just singing, so he yanked him back.

“What the hell?!”

“Who the hell is that?!”

“Argh!”

The crowd voiced out their disdain toward him, but Siegfried remained unfazed.

“Sir Gringore.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Can you take a look at a painting for me?”

“Certainly, sire.”

Siegfried took out the painting given by Deus, and Gringore thoroughly inspected it.

Five minutes later...

“A-Amazing...! Such intricate details... This is expressing the raw emotions of the painter!”

“Huh?”

“This painting is around one hundred fifty years old. It is lacking in terms of technique, but the emotions within it are just...”

As expected, Gringore was different from the rest. He was able to see the same thing Deus had seen, unlike the experts and curators of Artiur.

“This is a masterpiece, Your Majesty. Every stroke of the painter contains raw emotions, and those emotions seeped into the canvas, making it look as if it was conveying these emotions to you,” Gringore said, sounding slightly excited.

“R-Really?”

Frankly speaking, Siegfried had no idea why Gringore was getting all worked up over the painting, but he decided to just play along with him. After all, everyone was allowed to have their own taste in art, right? There was nothing to be ashamed of just because he could not understand the painting.

“This is an amazing work of art. Where did you get it, Your Majesty?”

“That is...” Siegfried proceeded to explain what happened and how he ended up receiving the painting from Deus.

Gringore pondered for a while and finally said, “Hmm... It is impossible even for me to find the painter who painted this.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“But I think I know someone who we could inquire about this issue with.”

“Who’s that?”

“Marquis Keitel, the host of the Champs Elysees Auction. I believe he could identify the painter of this painting.”

“Champs Elysees Auction? Marquis Keitel?”

“They deal with every type of art piece in this world, and the host of that place, Marquis Keitel, who is eighty years of age, has seen all sorts of artwork this continent has to offer. I believe he might recognize this painting.”

“You think so?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I advise that you go look for Marquis Keitel.”

“I should probably do that,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

It was then.

– Whiiiiiiiing! Whiiiiiiing!

Sirens blared all over the city.

Siegfried grimaced at the blaring sirens and grumbled, “What’s that? Is there a fire somewhere–”

It was then.

– Attention all citizens of Artiur!

– Attention all citizens of Artiur!

– Martial Law has been declared from this hour onward!

– I repeat!

– Martian Law has been declared from this hour onward!

The city of Artiur was suddenly under Martial Law. Knights and Soldiers flooded the streets and put the city under lockdown.

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