In the end, even the undisputed leading figure of the city of Zans, Count Onen, brought his family along to see the mural in the Holy Jade Cathedral.

This was something that the clergymen of the Universal Church had failed to anticipate. At the time, Lia and the archbishop of the parish were the ones who had welcomed Count Onen and his family.

None of the members of the family had any artistic inclinations, so they knew nothing about oil paintings and had only visited to see what the fuss was all about. The only one in the family with some artistic acumen was the countess, but her skills were only of a slightly higher level than a complete novice. Of course, with parents like these, their children also hadn't developed much of a taste for fine art.

As mentioned by Chahan, Countess Onen came from a family where she had two other sisters, and interestingly enough, she had also given birth to three daughters herself.

Thankfully, the Universal Church didn't have to suck up to these nobles as it was a religious organization that didn't rely on support from nobles.

Thus, even though the archbishop of the parish was greeting Count Onen and his family with a warm smile, he made no attempt to suck up to them. After all, he knew that this entire family followed the Holy World Church.

Lia also had a polite smile on his face, but he was standing completely still on the spot like a pillar, displaying no intention to explain the meaning of the mural to Count Onen and his family.

However, Count Onen seemed to be very interested, and his greasy face was glowing with unbridled curiosity as he rattled off one question after another at the pair of clergymen. It was as if his artistic soul had been awakened from the instant that he set foot into the cathedral. However, even if that were the case, he should've gone to the New Light Church to accept their artistic indoctrination, rather than coming here to engage in awkward conversation with these two.

In reality, Count Onen was only asking so many questions because he wanted to be able to show off his knowledge during gatherings between nobles. It seemed that all nobles had this rather snobbish habit. Their knowledge on many things was very limited, but all of them liked to show off their "unique" insights in front of other people.

Of course, for a complete layman like Count Onen when it came to art, the only way he could give himself the appearance of someone with refined artistic taste was by stealing knowledge from others.

Even though Count Onen was making a concerted effort to learn about the mural, the two clergymen simply didn't know enough about it to answer his questions.

In response to Count Onen's questions, the archbishop turned to Lia with an awkward expression for help, but Lia suddenly seemed to have developed a particular interest in the tiles on the ground beneath his feet.

Count Onen's daughters were very displeased to see the attitude of Lia and the archbishop. They were very reluctant to come to a place like this to begin within, and the fact that they were being given the cold shoulder here immediately tipped them over the edge. Thus, they raised their voices and began to openly express their distaste. Of course, they had no respect for the Universal Church to begin with.

"What's the big deal? It's just a mediocre painting! Do you think we're actually interested in it? Don't flatter yourselves," the eldest daughter, Alicia, said in a disdainful voice.

"Exactly! They're treating a piece of trash like a treasure," the second-eldest daughter, Mina, chimed in in support.

However, the youngest of the three daughters had some self-awareness, and she didn't say anything. She couldn't tell what the mural was trying to convey, but she knew that this was definitely not a mediocre piece of artwork. Instead, the skills and techniques of the artist had to be far superior to the art teacher that had been hired to teach her and her sisters.

In contrast, the intelligence of her two elder sisters, or lack thereof, was truly a cause for concern. If this really were a mediocre mural, then why was it that their father had gone out of his way to come and see it and ask all these questions? They were indirectly insulting their own father with their scathing words, and they were completely oblivious to this fact.

Lia and the archbishop's expressions remained unchanged, and it seemed that they were already accustomed to insults like this. It was as if they already knew this was what Count Onen's family thought of the Universal Church anyway, and it made no difference to them whether those thoughts were articulated or not.

It could be said that north of the Terarody Mountain Ranges, the deep-rooted sense of derision that the nobles harbored toward the Universal Church had already existed for several centuries, so all of the Universal Church's followers and clergymen were already accustomed to it. In addition to that, Lia and the archbishop were both refined and restrained individuals, so they naturally weren't going to react to insults hurled by a pair of kids who didn't know any better.

Count Onen turned to glare at his two daughters, and the two of them finally stopped talking after some persuasion from the countess.

Seeing as the two clergymen of the Universal Church weren't keen on explaining the mural to him, Count Onen didn't force the issue. He was never an overbearing man to begin with.

After that, the topic of conversation transitioned to the artist who had created the mural.

The ceiling of the Holy Jade Cathedral had already been left blank for many years, so Count Onen was very curious about which master artist had finally been commissioned to take on the job. He was far from the only one who was curious about this subject, many of the people in Zans were very interested to find out the identity of this mysterious and clearly extraordinarily talented artist.

Many people had thought that the reason why the ceiling of the cathedral had been left blank for so long was because the Universal Church didn't have enough funds to hire any renowned artists. In reality, this wasn't actually the case. Just as Lia had said, the reason for this was simply because they couldn't find a suitable candidate. The Universal Church wasn't as short on funds as everyone imagined.

In response to Count Onen's question, Lia gave a very simple and concise answer, replying that the mural had been created by a young and relatively unknown artist, refraining from even mentioning Erwin's name.

Count Onen could only nod in response with a resigned expression.

His two eldest daughters were struck by a sense of vindictive joy upon hearing this. I knew it couldn't have been made by any legitimate artist!

Lia was intentionally refraining from mentioning Erwin's name in order to protect his privacy. After all, he didn't know whether Erwin wanted to become famous as an artist. In addition to that, Count Onen wasn't even a follower of the Universal Church, so Lia didn't feel inclined to disclose so much information to him.

However, even back in Belama, he had already learned that Erwin was someone who enjoyed being in the limelight.

Of course, Erwin also had to accept partial blame for this as he had forgotten to sign the mural with his name.

Even though the clergymen of the Universal Church were very tight-lipped about Erwin's identity, Lucidy Farody had met Erwin on that one occasion. Thus, when the story of the mural in Zans reached the city of Tellier, Lucidy quickly revealed that Erwin Friar was the name of the painter.

Of course, while mentioning Erwin to others, Lucidy's mind was entirely filled with the image of Erwin's gorgeous wife.

Thus, the name "Erwin Friar" eventually made its way back to Zans, and the identity of the mural's painter was revealed.

...

Meanwhile, Erwin seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this game of hide and seek, continuing to maintain his secrecy to the outside world.

The Universal Church had paid him a hefty sum for the mural that he had painted, so there was no need for him to worry about money in the short-term future. In a show of great generosity, Erwin gave part of the compensation he had received to Chahan to supplement his tight finances.

Chahan initially declined, but it didn't take much convincing for him to accept the money. After all, it certainly wasn't enjoyable living without food and shelter.

As for what Erwin was getting out of this, he and Onean had only just arrived on the northern continent, so he needed a close acquaintance who knew a lot about the city. Given his past ties with Baroness Klay, he knew some things about Count Onen and Duke Eru that most people didn't, and that information was quite valuable to Erwin.

Furthermore, with his understanding of Chahan's personality, he had a feeling that his ties with Baroness Klay wouldn't be severed so easily. 

Aside from Erwin's generosity, what Chahan was most impressed by about Erwin was how indifferent he seemed to be toward fame and wealth.

He had thought that Erwin was the type of person who enjoyed fame and renown, so he would take advantage of this opportunity to build a reputation for himself and enter the circle of nobility in Zans. However, Erwin didn't care about any of that at all.

Unbeknownst to him, given Erwin's background and experiences, it no longer mattered to him whether he was in the noble circles or not.

In addition to that, Erwin had a very wilful personality that made him unwilling to conform to the will of others, and in his eyes, it was unwise to garner a large reputation in a place where he had next to no foundation, so he naturally wasn't going to draw unnecessary attention to himself.

Furthermore, there was another reason why Erwin very rarely left his hotel room of late, and that reason was Onean.

For some reason, she had always been locking herself in her room to study magic recently, and she had rejected all of Erwin's invitations to go and see the city together.

With his competitive personality, Erwin was reluctant to go out and see the city on his own given how hard Onean was working as he didn't want to be left behind. At the same time, he also had a feeling that Onean was giving him a cautionary reminder through her actions, telling him that the two of them still had heavy burdens on their shoulders and couldn't afford to while away their days in fruitless self-fulfillment.

In addition to that, without Onean in accompaniment, there was no fun in going out on his own. If Larwood and the others were here, then he would be happy to go out and have some fun, but the thought of hanging out with Chahan alone was not one that filled him with vigor and excitement.

With Larwood and Chase on his mind, Erwin couldn't help but heave a faint sigh. His thoughts then wandered to Kaiba, who had remained in Tewadedan. 

"The leaders of the Four Winds mercenary legion really are like four gusts of wind blowing in different directions," he sighed to himself with a wry smile.

With Onean hard at work, Erwin decided to lock himself in his room as well, studying his copy of "Laws of Time and Space" day and night, albeit for very minimal progress.

He carefully recalled the details of the battle against the giant ice dragon on that day. He thought back to his own theory, which was that space could be altered in environments where time stood, then thought about the boundless cloud of black mist that had carried him and Onean onto the northern continent, and there were many things that he couldn't understand.

How on earth did that happen? Erwin thought to himself with tightly furrowed brows. It's clear that the ice dragon also used time and space magic, but how is it possible that a magic beast from the Terarody Mountain Ranges is also capable of using this type of magic?

Erwin picked up his copy of "Laws of Space and Time" again before carefully reading through its pages.

How did magic beasts learn to use magic? It doesn't make sense! How did that cloud of black mist generate a phenomenon of spatial displacement? Could it be that this is what happens when two space-time spells collide? Also, how did the front limb of that ice dragon end up being severed? 

Whenever he thought about the events of that day, he would immediately be plagued by countless questions that he couldn't answer.

I need a break. My head's spinning from all this thinking! Erwin climbed up from his bed, heaving a faint sigh as he did so to lament the complete lack of progress that he had made over the course of the entire afternoon.

His dizziness certainly wasn't helped by the fact that he was also starving.

"I'm going out to get some food." While passing by Onean's room, he knocked on her door briefly, then departed from the room without waiting for a reply.

He walked along Flying Deer Street before making his way into a bakery. At this point, it was already time for dinner, and there were scents from all types of dishes wafting over the streets, stimulating his nostrils. Erwin gulped down a mouthful of drool, and he felt as if the walls of his stomach were pressing together. 

Not only had his sense of smell become more acute, for some reason, his sense of hearing also seemed to have become more sensitive.

While listening to the sizzling sound of ingredients being tossed into hot oil, he caught wind of a different type of sound that was coming from within a certain alley. The captivating sound was like an invisible hand that was caressing his ear, gently grabbing him by the earlobe before pulling him toward the alley.

The sound in question was a burst of gentle panting and moaning, and it was generally only heard in red-light districts.