Right in the middle of the central district, the trio of Silvano, Rebecca, and Nathan were watching the ceremony. They came to the hospital to see if they could buy some supplies or ask questions about their technology, but the result was that today the governor of the city, Lord Telir, came to hold a special ceremony.

"Thank you all for attending. It is no secret that the city's hospital staff members' efforts have resulted in such a high quality of life and health. Their work is an inspiration to everyone else. As proof of their effort, Director Ephis invented a new infusion that can replace blood for up to 24 hours."

Ephis walked to the governor's side in the middle of an ovation from people and staff members.

"As the governor of the city of Lorsaus and the surrounding area. I gave you this medal for your contributions to medicine in the name of the Ministry of Research."

"Thank you, Governor. It’s an honor not only for me but for everyone in Lorsaus’s hospital." She raised the medal to the public, which broke again into applause.

Silvano and Nathan just went with the flow, but Rebecca was truly impressed.

She saw a demonstration in a living rat of the properties of Ephis’ infusion. To be capable of replacing 100% of an individual's blood was insane, but the empire had the knowledge and technology to do it.

"Incredible. I would like to see more, but…" She couldn’t go and ask more about their inventions. If she raised suspicions, the guards could take them for questioning. That would be a problem for Silas and the others.

"What if you pretended to be a doctor's apprentice or something?" Nathan suggested.

"Don’t be dumb. They would ask me for some kind of identification. There is no reason for merchants to ask about their health science."

"At least we got these bandages."

They were the same kind that Silas had wrapped around his body when he returned to them. These had smaller symbols engraved, so they were probably weaker, but she would have an easier time understanding them. Maybe she could learn the power hidden in these magic symbols.

"Ok, we already came here and ate the free food; I want to see the art things." Nathan hurried them to their next objective.

They saw the town hall in the distance; they could start from there and walk all over the Street of Art. Beginning right in front of the residence of the governor, stores and statues filled the street.

People are painting or writing in parks, drawing inspiration from nature. Public stands for theater play or musicians. Puppet shows for kids and even debates for the older generations Everything was a form of self-expression on this street.

"Incredible! Look at the technique of the coloring. I can’t believe it was made by hand." Silvano was the most excited. He was delighted by the paintings in the small park.

Several artists could put their works here, some for only public recognition and others for sale. The paintings mixed with the trees and flowers around; it was like an idyllic paradise. A museum of the spirit.

"The plants are very pretty."

"I think they’re an expression of art as well. They take good care of this park; it reminds me of a museum close to my old home." Rebecca walked with Nathan among the flowers, admiring the work.

At the same time, Silvano walked past inside a building. He read the sign until he found something written in English. "Lorsaus Museum of Public Art," a location containing some of the city's most important and beautiful creations.

All the creations were donated by the original artists or by the previous owners. It was a testament to the good will of the citizens of the Valein Empire, so their work can inspire new generations. So that everyone who saw them could reach their inner artist and make something unique.

Silvano looked at the statues; they were made of several kinds of stone. He could even see one of them had some green ore used to enhance the color of the eyes.

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"Using that stone for something like art. Don’t you think it's a waste?"

He heard a man on his side. It was an older man, most likely in his early thirties. He was wearing a deep blue jacket with a hat. For a moment, he forgot he was a human in the middle of the empire and talked only about the art.

"No, I don’t think it is a waste. The green stone is probably too small to use for any practical purposes. Or maybe he grounded the stone and used it to paint another material; in that case, he would need even less green stone to have the same effect."

"Hahaha, nice one. I like you; you know about statues. Were you a sculptor back on Earth?"

"No, I was a painter. Sorry to disagree, but this is not a waste. I believe it’s incredible. A Valein with green eyes. Perhaps it was something based on reality." All the valein he had seen had purple eyes, so this statue caught his attention. It could be real, or maybe the sculptor is just taking artistic liberties.

"Oh, don’t take that in a bad way. I was just asking to see if you’re the kind of person who only looks at things with simple eyes."

"Simple eyes?"

"Yes, most people look at things on a surface level. Take the statue, for example. Most people would say it looks pretty or fine, nothing too deep. A minority would argue that it is a waste to use the stone in a mere statue because of the value of the materials used. He took a coin from his pocket.

"Those people tend to be sellers, merchants, investors, you name it. Their perspective is solely based on the monetary value. An even smaller minority are people like you who can see the real value of a treasure. You looked past the materials and gauged that the impression that it gave you was worth the price of using the green stone."

"And what type of person are you?" Silvano followed along with the strange man's conversation.

"Me? I'm a little of the second and third one. I’m a vendor but also a professional gambler."

"You mean like poker or betting on horse racing?"

"Yeah, before the world went to shit, I used to earn money by playing all kinds of games. Cards, races, slot machines, etc."

"Really, I thought that was just the fantasies of people trying to convince themselves they were going to make it big by betting."

"Hahaha, you’re right. Every game has winners and losers, and in most cases, the house wins by allowing one lucky Joe to walk away with money while taking everything from the other ten poor bastards. The trick to being a good gambler is to make it so that you end up being that lucky Joe."

The man threw the coin into his hands.

"The name is Knud, by the way."

"Silvano." He inspected the coin; it looked like it was made of silver.

"Say Silvano. Do you mind doing a tour of this museum with me? I'm not an artist, and I like to have someone fun to talk to."

"Sure." He had no reason to refuse; the man was a bit weird but friendly enough. He also didn’t have too many chances to show off his artistic knowledge.

"Great, let’s make it a game. If you answer all my questions correctly, I’ll give you something even more valuable than the coin."

The men explore the museum, bathing in the new culture of the Empire. At the same time, Knud asked all kinds of questions. Because neither of them knew much about the Empire's art history, they discussed and compared them to human paintings.

When was the Mona Lisa painted? What style did Salvador Dali was most known for? Who painted the "Great wave off Kanawaga"?

Silvano proudly answered everything correctly. It made him happy to finally be able to express his artistic side after suppressing it for over a year. After painting the mural on the Rock his passion for art reignited, and he began to paint again. The trivia was just another facet of his passion for art.

"Man, you’re hitting it big. I’m running out of questions."

"I’m more impressed with the fact that you know so much about the history of art. Why would a gambler need to know so much?"

"I told you, the trick to being a good gambler is knowing how to incline the balance in your favor. If that means learning general culture or random trivia, then I have to do it. Unfortunately, it looks like we have seen everything in the museum."

They came back outside to the garden. The rays of the sun were going down, the night was about to begin, and the artists were taking their supplies and paintings back home.

"I’m a man of my word." Knud took a deck of cards from one of the many pockets on his jacket and moved his finger until he touched the card he was looking for. "This is your prize, but there is one last question. I’m a gambler; this may be a small bet, but I put my all on it."

He saw the determination in his eyes. Despite being a simple game, Knud was looking at him like an opponent at a poker tournament. Silvano swallowed and waited for the last question.

"What color is the coin I gave you?"

"Uh, that’s the final question? it’s…" He stopped himself; if he said it was silver, that would mean he was only looking at things on the surface. I was the most obvious answer; there was no way for this man to give such an easy question. He already saw firsthand his knowledge of the arts; this man would definitely go that far for a simple trick to win in the end.

Did he change the coin? No, it has been inside my pocket all this time. Then it must be made with a material that can change color, but how can I know the color?

His eyes moved to his pocket, but Knud's voice stopped him.

"Don’t cheat; you have to tell me in three seconds. "One, two, three."

"Green!" He chose at the last moment. He took out the coin and saw that it was still silver, the same as before.

"Too bad I won."

"Ugh, I can’t believe I fell for such an obvious trick. You were just bluffing."

"Hahahaha, I’m a professional. It was fun hanging out with you, Silvano." Knud walked and waved one last time.

"Who is that?" Nathan and Rebecca came to his side. They were looking for him after separating in the park.

"A gambler."

The night came, and they decided to return to the inn.