Laine and Veronica arrived at the entrance of the Aesthetic Society.
A bright red carpet stretched from inside to the outside, and a well-dressed attendant, upon noticing Laine's arrival, immediately offered the warmest smile and reception: "Hello! Mr. Laine! Welcome to the Aesthetic Society!"
"Hello! I've long heard of the art of the Aesthetic Society and came today to take a look." Laine looked up; the giant white pillars supported the four-story building, which was almost completely transparent thanks to the adornment of glass windows, and the towering, ten-meter-high silk curtains dangled from the rooftop.
Welcomed by the attendant, they walked into the Aesthetic Society. A gigantic fountain sculpture appeared before them, depicting a giant man carrying a deer on his shoulder, water continually spewing from the deer's mouth. A massive crystal chandelier, five meters long and three meters wide, hung down from the high ceiling. Each painting was from the hands of renowned artists, attracting nobles who lingered, dressed in luxurious silk attire paired with gold and silver jewelry. Meanwhile, merchants were busy negotiating prices with artists sporting berets and waistcoats, emphasizing how much gold and silver they would part with to take home whichever precious artwork caught their eye. Googlᴇ search novel⦿fire.net
"Mr. Laine, would you like me to give you an introduction?" An attendant said enthusiastically, to which Laine nodded: "I'd appreciate that."
"Our Aesthetic Society is dedicated to helping people seek beauty, discover beauty, and fall in love with beauty. Over the past thirty years, under President Agneda Krausner's efforts, we have collected more than 4,000 precious items. The Aesthetic Society Headquarters has undergone nine extensions, currently divided into six sections: the Human Art Hall, Elf Art Hall, Dwarf Art Hall, Painting Hall, Sculpture Hall, and Decorative Arts Hall." The attendant introduced fluently.
"Among the human art hall's collection, the three most valuable treasures are 'The Blessing of the Holy Grail,' 'Battle of the Rick River,' and the first edition of Charlemagne's Code." The attendant led Laine to the Human Art Hall, guiding him to view the Aesthetic Society's collection.
'The Blessing of the Holy Grail' was once a national treasure of Brittania. Unfortunately, the Knight Kingdom currently lacks the funds to reclaim it from the Aesthetic Society. The painting depicts King Arthur, the Founding Knight King, leading the twelve earliest Holy Grail Knights kneeling before the Lake Fairy, swearing allegiance, as the young First Knight King, with striking blond hair and emerald eyes, takes the crown from the Lake Fairy and crowns himself.
Laine remembered that the First Knight King, Arthur, did not live long. Though his powers nearly approached that of a demigod, Arthur ruled Brittania for less than twenty years before succumbing to illness. His body was placed on a small boat that sailed into the depths of Fairy Lake, disappearing forever into the Lake Fairy's mist. Legends state he would re-emerge in the Knight Kingdom's direst need, or that he continues to guard his kingdom in another form.
The Lake Fairy must surely be interested in reclaiming this national treasure of the Knight Kingdom.
"Battle of the Rick River" depicts an earth-shattering war between Nagash, the Master of the Undead, and Emperor Charlemagne. In the painting, human armies bravely fight against Nagash's Undead Army. Laine recalled the war ended with a narrow victory for Charlemagne; Nagash lost his physical form, becoming neither dead nor alive, and Charlemagne took several years to recover from the poisons and curses of the Master of the Undead.
The other treasure is not on display today.
Having toured several galleries, Laine was amazed by the wealth displayed by the Aesthetic Society. Many rare and absolute collections were acquired by Agneda at significant cost, seemingly sparing no expense in both money and connections.
Where did she get so much money from? She wasn't the widow of some great noble, nor did she continuously receive funding from a major merchant, Laine thought.
The answer in his heart became clearer.
After completing a round of the tour, using the grand spiral staircase, Laine and Veronica reached the third floor, a grand luxurious reception lounge, a social venue open to most people. Here, as long as one was properly dressed, anyone could enjoy drinks and snacks. The lounge faced the Great Sea, and everyone inside was from the upper echelons of society.
Most people noticed Laine's arrival. The artists generally didn't favor his "martial" disposition, offering merely nods as greetings, while the nobles and merchants were much more enthusiastic. A noble Count approached immediately: "Hello, Mr. Laine, I am Edmond Huron, you can call me Edmond."
"Hello, Your Lordship Edmond!" Laine greeted Edmond with a friendly handshake, noticing the Count's somewhat weary demeanor.
"Hello, Your Lordship, I am Veronica Bernadotte from the Jialan Council." Veronica also greeted the Count. However, the Count clearly did not take a witch seriously, merely glancing at her briefly before averting his gaze, much to the discomfort of the Jialan Witch. She could do nothing about it, though.
"Why didn't Mr. Laine come when Agneda invited you to the Aesthetic Society, and now you're here uninvited?" Edmond gently patted Laine's shoulder, his voice lacking malice, as Laine had firmly rejected Agneda's advances and had a girlfriend, so Edmond naturally assumed Laine had no interest in Agneda and thus did not see him as a competitor: "Unfortunately, Agneda is away today due to some matters."
"That's indeed a pity." Laine shrugged, speaking casually: "I came today only because Veronica wanted to have a look here, so I brought her along, though we can only tour the galleries downstairs. The upstairs seems to have to wait for another day."
"No, no need to wait. I can show you and your companion around now." Edmond thought it was convenient that Agneda was away, and satisfied this guy's curiosity, to prevent him from reappearing around Agneda.
So, taking matters into his own hands, Edmond led Laine on a tour of the upstairs ballrooms and small exhibition rooms, allowing Laine to freely explore any place he expressed curiosity about, except for the exclusive fourth floor of Agneda, which Edmond expressed helplessness over. Laine amicably replied that it wasn't of any interest to him anyway.
Thus, Edmond with his own motives and the White Wolf Knight hosted a pleasant discussion for about an hour before Laine took his leave. Edmond did not urge him to stay and merely said: "At 8 PM, three days from now, the Aesthetic Society will host an art salon, open to artists from across the continent, though it's for artists only. Are you interested in attending, Mr. Laine?"
"I probably won't come." Laine shrugged, indicating he might not attend. He had already caught Edmond's drift, knowing his kind wouldn't be welcomed unless he was truly accomplished in art.
"Oh! What a pity." Edmond said, sounding regretful yet lacking genuine remorse: "There are many interesting places in Marinburg for you and Miss Veronica to explore."
"I will, Edmond, goodbye."
After leaving the Aesthetic Society, Laine and Veronica promptly returned to Amber Avenue, and the figures tailing them vanished only once they approached Amber Avenue.
"Did you gain anything?" Veronica shook her head bitterly: "It's too clean; I didn't detect even the slightest hint of unusual energy inside the Aesthetic Society."
"Same here; and I dare say, even if we managed to search the fourth floor, we'd find nothing and offend a whole lot of people." Laine was also frustrated: "Is the trail going cold here?"
"We need to consider new methods and search for new leads." Laine pondered: "I'll go see His Grace the Duke."
"Yes, I'll have him create an identity for me, a new identity." Laine grinned wickedly: "With Amelia's Disguise Technique, I know how to proceed."
Marinburg City District, White Wool Inn.
The members of the Blood Axe Mercenary Corps were packing their belongings, their morale plummeted after repeated setbacks.
At that moment, the Imperial Grand Alchemist, Biersaze Gaert, wearing a Golden Mask, wielding a Golden Staff, and clothed in a Golden Cloak, entered the inn and said to the mercenaries: "Get ready, mercenaries, you're going to follow me into the Deep Mine District."
"It's you?!" Viert's eyes reddened at the sight of Gaert approaching him directly, displaying an excitement anyone could notice.
"Mr. Gaert, I need you to give us an explanation."