Debuff Master

Chapter 528

“But... Other people do not really appreciate my work. Actually, I\'m not a professional painter; I\'m just painting as my hobby. I\'m not confident that my paintings can meet Your Majesty’s standards...”

Iris seemed reluctant to show him her paintings for fear of not living up to his standards.

‘That doesn’t mean I’ll give up,’ Siegfried thought. He needed a hint that could further give credence to his theory, so he had to look at her paintings no matter what.

“It does not matter,” Siegfried replied with a smile. Then, he continued, “I heard rumors that you moonlight as a painter, too, so I\'m curious: what kind of art do you paint? May you kindly show me some of them?”

“If Your Majesty insists, then I will gladly do so.”

“Oh, so you are fine with it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

“Please, this way.”

Siegfried followed Iris to a certain room.

The room was quite spacious but it was modest just like the rest of the mansion. There were paint splatters on the wooden floorboards, the stench of oil lingering in the air mixed together with the scent of wood, and numerous canvases spread out across the room.

The room looked exactly like how one would imagine a painter’s workplace would look.

“I am quite embarrassed to show them to Your Majesty, but those paintings on the wall are my work,” Iris said while pointing at the dozens of paintings hung around the walls. Then, she added, “They definitely can\'t meet Your Majesty’s standards, but since you insisted...”

“Hmm...” Siegfried muttered as whatever she said came in one ear and left through the other. He was currently busy thinking about something else. ‘They look alright... But what am I supposed to be looking at?’

Iris was most likely the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron, based on his deduction, but there was nothing out of the ordinary about her. In fact, even her paintings looked so normal that he could not figure out anything despite intently inspecting them.

He was basically looking at the paintings but could not tell if they were good or bad. His artistic acumen was basically nonexistent, so trying to understand the paintings was an impossible task for him.

In other words, there would be no difference if he was standing next to a blind person and both of them were trying to appreciate these paintings, as neither would be able to do so.

“Hmm...”

“They definitely don\'t meet your standards, but please, feel free to take your time.”

“A-Alright.”

“Are you disappointed that my paintings are below average?” Iris asked with a hint of worry after noticing that Siegfried was sweating profusely.

“N-No, that is not...”

“But why is Your Majesty looking–”

Clang! Clang!

Someone knocked on the gates outside the mansion.

“Ah, please excuse me,” Iris said with a bow.

“T-Take your time!” Siegfried replied.

Iris left the room to attend to the visitor at the gate.

Phew!

Siegfried let out a sigh of relief before suddenly exclaiming, “Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to tell these apart?”

“Don’t worry, owner punk! Hamchi came prepared! Kyuu!”

“Huh?”

“Hamchi called Gringore over! Kyu!”

“R-Really?”

“Yes! Kyuuu!”

Iris came back to the room the moment Hamchi finished speaking, but she was not alone, as she came back with Gringore.

“Hello, Your Majesty. I came as fast as I could after finishing my concert at Artiur,” Gringore said with a bow.

“Ah! Sir Gringore! Welcome! How was the journey here?” Siegfried warmly welcomed him, which was completely different from how he would usually treat him.

“Hmm? Y-Your Majesty?”

“Yes?”

“Is everything alright, sire?”

“Yeah? Why are you asking?”

“The way Your Majesty welcomed me just now was quite different from how–”

“Come on~” Siegfried waved his hand. Then, he grinned and added, “Don’t think too much~ You know I care about you, right? Hoho!”

“Y-You do?”

“Anyway, welcome! Now, come here and take a look at these paintings. Iris-nim personally painted them!”

Siegfried was smiling brightly the entire time, but his eyes were conveying a completely different message.

‘Take a close look and see if she’s Christie or not.’

‘Y-Yes, Your Majesty...!’

Gringore understood Siegfried’s intentions and carefully inspected every single painting.

Exactly five minutes later...

“Your Majesty.”

“Are you done?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What’s the verdict?”

Gringore nodded and said, “It is the same person.”

“Really? Are you sure?” Siegfried asked.

“Yes, sire. I am certain that they are identical.”

“What if they’re not? How much will you pay me?”

“Sorry...?”

“I mean, you could be wrong, right?”

“I am absolutely certain. Please feel free to execute me if they are not,” Gringore said with certainty in his eyes.

“All right, if you say so. But it’s a waste to execute you, so let’s just settle for one million gold.”

“Please just execute me instead.”

“Is money that important to you? You’re willing to die rather than lose money?”

“Poverty can be crueler than death at times. Hahaha...”

Iris was completely dumbfounded listening to the bizarre conversation between the two.

“Your Majesty, may I inquire as to what you are talking about?” Iris asked.

“What we are talking about? Sure, why not,” Siegfried said nonchalantly. Then, he dragged a chair, sat down, and opened his inventory before saying, “Ah, first things first, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pardon me?”

“The Immortal Alchemist, Acheron.”

“...!”

“You are the famous owner of the Emerald Tablet as well as the alchemist who attained immortality by creating the Philosopher’s Stone, right?”

Iris did not say anything for quite a while. She stared at him the entire time before moving her mouth so slowly that it looked like a video playing in slow motion. Her expression was completely different from the one she had just a few seconds ago.

“How did... you know?”

***

Iris did not bother hiding the fact that she was the owner of the Emerald Tablet, Acheron.

‘Huh? She’s not hiding it?’ Siegfried was flustered by Iris\' reaction. She seemed so calm that it felt like she would have admitted coolly if he had just asked her right away earlier.

“I believe we should continue this conversation elsewhere,” Iris said before leading them back to the living room. Then, she prepared fresh tea and snacks for them before starting the conversation.

‘Wow... Her expression is truly unique,’ Siegfried thought while observing her face.

“The records state that Acheron possessed an appearance that made it extremely difficult to tell whether he or she was a male or female. Other records state that he was a very beautiful man but there was something feminine about him. Also, there are other records stating that his expression was quite brute for someone more beautiful than most women.”

Iris was exactly how Marquis Keitel described her. Her face and figure looked very feminine but there was something masculine about her for some reason.

Siegfried tried to look at Iris after convincing himself that the latter was a man, but he could not do so as she looked too feminine to be a man that it was hard to fathom for her to be a man.

Her looks and the air she emitted were truly mysterious.

“How did you know?” Iris asked again. Then, she added, “Nobody has noticed these past centuries. But Your Majesty was the one who came looking for me as if you had already known my identity. May I ask how you were able to track me down?”

Siegfried did not feel the need to hide anything so he answered truthfully, “It was not difficult. As you might have noticed earlier, your paintings were the biggest hint. Right, Sir Gringore?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Gringore replied with a nod.

“Please explain in detail,” Siegfried commanded.

Gringore looked at her and said, “You have previously used the name Christie.”

“I think I did. An immortal is bound to live under different names,” Iris replied nonchalantly.

“Haha...”

“So you compared Christie’s painting and my painting.”

“Yes, the years have slightly altered the style and the emotions within the paintings, but your habits still remain.”

“...”

“A master might pass their style and technique to a disciple and that disciple would eventually pass it to the next, but time will eventually change things bit by bit.”

“Yes.”

“But the stroke of your brush, the thickness of the paint, and what you wanted the paintings to project... All of these are unique to every person, and that made me certain that you are indeed the same person,” Gringore explained.

Siegfried took out Seeing Temeraire Off from his Inventory and showed it to her after Gringore\'s explanation.

“This served as the hint,” Siegfried said.

Iris seemed to recognize the painting, as she nodded and said, “Ah, I remember that painting. That was one of my most memorable works even among the hundreds I painted...”

“Oh?”

“But what made you think that was painted by Acheron? I find it difficult to believe anyone could draw a link between that and the Immortal Alchemist.”

Siegfried replied, “My master told me.”

“Your master?”

“You might find it difficult to believe but... My master has already stepped into the realm of gods.”

“That is not possible. Even I, who attained immortality, cannot even dare to say I stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods,” Iris refuted.

Siegfried smiled and said, “But it is true. My master saw this painting one hundred fifty years ago. He was impressed by the emotions it contained and bid for it, then he kept it with him all these years.”

“Hmm...”

“Then, I told him that I was looking for Acheron. He gave me this painting and told me that whoever painted this was the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron.”

“Your master’s insight is... truly frightening.”

“My master has the ability to see through everything in this world.”

“I still find it hard to believe, but I guess I cannot refute anymore since you did find me because of his words.”

Iris seemed to be skeptical that someone could figure out her true identity from just a single painting.

‘Maybe she will if I tell her he likes to bathe in lava...? Haha...’ Siegfried thought while laughing inwardly, as he completely understood where her skepticism was coming from.

Deus was truly a mysterious being that even an immortal found it hard to believe someone like him existed.

Meanwhile, Siegfried could not help but feel proud that such a great being was his master.

***

“All right, thank you for the explanation but... Why were you looking for me?” Iris–no, the Immortal Alchemist, Acheron, asked.

“That is...”

“Please give up and return if you wish to become an immortal like me or resurrect someone from the dead.”

“Huh?”

“I have decided to be a bystander in this world. I am nothing but a cursed being. I do not possess the ability to grant immortality nor resurrect the dead. Well, anyone with such abilities would be cursed rather than blessed.”

“No, I am not interested in immortality or resurrection,” Siegfried said, shaking his head.

“Then why have you come–”

“I merely wish to seek your advice on an important matter.”

“My advice?”

“I wanted to hear your opinion as someone who reached the pinnacle of alchemy. To be exact, this is the matter I wished to discuss with you...” Siegfried said.

He took out the Ignite Soul from his inventory and showed it to her.

“I need to find a way to destroy this—”

It was then.

Kaboom!

A section of the mansion suddenly exploded and a group rushed in from the opening. They were wearing the same purple hooded robe, and their faces were covered by a golden mask.

The Church of Osric was here!