Renaissance of Muses for the Maestro Chapter 3

[xuebingcode]

Chapter 3

Elderly Man: Pict’s paintings as well could not escape damage, and as a result we lost more tourists to our town. 

The curator was so heartbroken that the entire town wept with him…until one came to our rescue. The very Pict himself!

When he revived and saw the state of the museum, he repainted the destroyed artworks and donated it all to the museum. The work of a miracle, don’t you think?

And once the nobles caught word of it…well, you see how busy it is. 

He pointed to the long lineup as he spoke. It appeared to be the lineup for entry into the museum. 

Elderly Man: If that piqued your interest, you’d better get in line now. It’s not everyday you get to see a resurrected artist’s work. 

The elderly man advised us. After he parted ways, we began our discussion. 

Akira: Resurrection…could it be the effect of the Great Calamity?

Snow: I have reason to doubt so. The Great Calamity holds no such power. 

Mitile: But…it’s caused so many things already. And it would explain the long lineup…

Snow: Whatever the case, it’d be faster to go to the museum and find out for ourselves. 

We did come here to visit it in the first place. 

Akira: That’s true. Let’s look into that resurrection rumour as we go about the museum.

Exiting the town square’s sea of people, we found ourselves in front of a most dignified work of architecture. 

It was neither towering nor massive, but surrounded by this rustic town I could feel the years of history it held inside. 

Chloe: There’s a long line over here too…!

Rustica: It is as that gentleman said, everyone in town is lining up to see Pict’s artwork.

Rutile: That’s a lot of people…city life sure is something. We’d better line up, or it’ll be nightfall by the time we get in!

Mithra: What do you mean by ‘line up’...?

Mitile: To wait at the very end of this line of people! We have to follow the rules, of course. 

Mithra: Why. If they’re in our way I can just blast them off with my magic.

Mitile: Nooo, no you can’t! We’d be in big trouble…

Riquet: Mithra, over here. Aren’t the stone walls and pillars beautiful? 

Mithra: Hrmm. It’s just a pile of rocks to me. 

Mitile: Well, if you look at this part here…

Heathcliff: …

Heathcliff looked lost in thought as Mitile and Riquet tried to tell Mithra about art. 

Akira: Heath, are you okay?

Heathcliff: Ah, my apologies. I was thinking about something…

Akira: What’s up?

Heathcliff: It’s a bit hard to tell from far, but if you look closely, you can see leftover signs of its repairs. 

I turned to examine the pillars as he mentioned it. Although there were parts that looked cleanly rebuilt, some blocks still looked freshly patched together.

Snow: It seems that the repair work was done recently. 

As the old man had said, after the Great Calamity last visited the museum certainly faced some level of destruction. 

To rebuild it and regain their customers again was no easy feat. The people there must have suffered quite a lot. 

Rustica: Yes, indeed…

Listening to our conversation in silence Rustica placed his hand on a pillar, eyes full of endearment.

Rustica: …Now then. Since we’re all here, shall we cut short our waiting time?

Amorest Viesse. 

A violin was summoned into his hands as he sang his spell. 

Rustica: It is not often you have a group of this many in one area, all anticipating the same destination, waiting the same minutes. It must be celebrated. 

Chloe: Ahahaha, I like your attitude! Yeah, we should have some fun! 

Before I realized it I was smiling, waiting for him to put his bow on the string.

And he did. A bright and eloquent melody drifted into my ears, everyone’s gazes turning to him. 

Lady: Oh my, what a beautiful song…and a beautiful man at that…!

Gentleman: Hoho, what a pick-me-up! I can’t help but dance a little! 

Swayed by Rustica’s playing, the nobles in line danced and sang from where they stood. 

Mithra: …Haaaugh. This is why I can’t stand Western people…

Watching the scene unfold before him, he scratched his head with a grumble. 

He must be bothered by the sunny disposition of the West Country people. Despite that, he didn’t leave, instead staying to enjoy the music. 

Lady: Hey love, what’s this song called?

Rustica: “Anthem to the Line of Love” is its name. So you may enjoy your time in line, my lady. 

Heathcliff: Is that really its title?

Mitile: What a wonderful song! I think it's a hit with everyone in line!

Akira: It sure is! This really will cut time short! 

Mithra: Hmm…I suppose you’re right. It’s better than standing around, anyways.

It’s too noisy though, so it looks like I won’t be getting any winks in…

Thanks to our sudden live performance, time went by like an arrow and we finally stepped inside the museum. 

Riquet: So this is an art museum…

The lighting inside was faint so as to not steal the spotlight from the true lead characters, the artworks of the museum, but still had detailed engravings etched on their holders. 

Akira: (At first glance, it resembles the art galleries back in my world…)

Rutile: Wow, there’s so many people here! It’s like Western citizens from all over the country have come.

His surprise isn’t unfound, as museums like this one are usually supposed to be quiet. Yet this one was bustling with noise, exhilarated voices echoing in my ears. 

Gallery Lady: Ooh la la, this is the one I longed to see most! 

An elated voice spoke. It came from a crowd of people in front of a particular painting.

Gallery Lady: These choice of colours, this brushwork…this is Pict’s painting, no doubt about it! 

I had lost all hope once I heard that his paintings were destroyed…so to think the day would come that I could see them once again!

What they were all looking at was a remarkably profound painting central on the colour red. 

Its layers upon layers of paint on paint created a sea of red waves. 

Snow: Ah…so this is the rumoured…

Mitile: Pict’s painting…

Rustica: …

Everyone in the room, including me, couldn’t bear to take our eyes off it. 

It was just as Rustica had said. Pict’s paintings were one of a kind. 

Even if I couldn’t grasp its themes straight away, this unequaled artstyle and colour palette called for my attention, and I answered.  

Riquet: How impressive…it’s not just its size, but…

Rutile: It’s like the way he uses his reds brings the painting to life. The geometric shapes throughout the art are so impactful too!

Heathcliff: So this is how an artist of the West paints. Bold and vibrant, drawing your eyes in.

Chloe: I thought he’d have a more delicate art style since he was one of Rustica’s favourites but…this is powerful. 

Rutile: You know, this painting reminds me of you, Mithra. The reds here share a similar hue to your hair. 

Mithra: Please don’t compare me with this weird painting. 

<       Index       >