"Throughout the 300 years of Tokugawa Shogunate rule, the official suppression of Catholicism in Japan meant that very few of such artifacts have survived."
After discussing the shifts in Japan's attitude towards Catholicism and even the outside world from the end of the Sengoku period through the Tokugawa era, Joan of Arc summarized the situation simply.
"After all, in such prolonged periods of oppression, the local believers just vanished, and these icons often disappeared even earlier than the believers did because they were more visible targets."
"You're right, there might have been many such items back in the day, but after so many years, the ones that remain to this day are exceedingly rare."
At this moment, Liang En found the information he needed and turned his phone around to show Joan and Fan Meng.
"Look, this is a Catholic icon that's going up for auction, starting at 100,000 euros, but everyone feels it might fetch between 220,000 to 250,000 euros."
"It's no wonder Mr. Kimura has been unable to find someone willing to work for him," Fan Meng said, shaking his head. "It feels like a job that might not only fail to make money but could also lead to a loss."
"You're right, so we really need to assess whether this venture is worth pursuing," Liang En pondered before speaking.
From the current situation, it seemed that Mr. Kimura's struggle to find help was purely due to the unattractive remuneration he offered.
They had found this out earlier in a law firm, where they learned that five or six others had inquired about the same matter, with the earliest inquiry dating back over two months ago, yet no one had reported back.
"You're right, unless we can acquire an icon at a lower cost, this business will definitely result in a loss," Joan evaluated the situation as she looked at Liang En.
"However, if we're looking for icons, I'd suggest checking around Nagasaki, as it was the center of Catholic faith in Japan at the time. It might be easier to find what we're looking for there."
"Why not search in the city?" Fan Meng suddenly asked. "I remember that in ancient times, especially in secret religious places, there should be more such things in the cities, and they might have left behind quite a few relics."
"The city won't work, remember the strategic bombings by the U.S. during WWII and that last atomic bomb," Liang En laughed and shook his head. "So even if there really was anything in the city, it would be hard for us to find."
"Besides, those who were relocated there after WWII often went with their wealthy owners, and buying from them might cost even more than at an auction, which is not worth it at all."
"On the other hand, the surrounding areas have historically been active with Catholic believers, so it might be easier to find such religious items in the rural areas around."
"You're right, so we'll prepare today, look up some information, and then go to Nagasaki tomorrow," Joan said as she sipped the coffee placed in front of her on the table.
"As for the search focus, it's best to concentrate on the villages that were once Catholic faith areas. Japan has always had low mobility, so the items we're looking for are likely still there."
That evening, considering they had to travel far the next day, everyone went to rest early, but before sleeping, Liang En spent 16 Legend Points to use the card 【Divination (SR)】.
To find the target of the divination, Liang En made several attempts. Discovering that overly complex information could not be divined, he ultimately simplified the question to whether this trip to Nagasaki would yield the needed items.
Although the divination only asked a yes or no question, making it one of the most ambiguous forms of inquiry, due to the extensive nature of the issue, it cost him 16 Legend Points to get a "yes" answer.
Of course, this answer meant that Liang En had a chance to find the item, but whether he actually could depended on how well he performed.
Nevertheless, this divination gave Liang En a special inspiration, so he was in a very good mood when they went to Nagasaki the next day, and this mindset also filled Joan and Fan Meng with confidence.
Upon arriving in Nagasaki, one of Japan's oldest international trade ports, Liang En and his companions did not search by themselves. After all, with a city of over 400,000 people and more than 1.3 million including the surrounding population, it would take them months to find their target.
Instead, they simply used their connections to find some reliable local private detectives and through their efforts sought the items they wanted.
In the past, Liang En would not have done this because searching for such items in such a large city would not be cheap.
This time, however
, they hoped to quickly find their target and hired 12 private detectives, each requiring 500 to 700 euros to be persuaded to help.
The advantage was that these locals knew the city and its surroundings far better than Liang En and his foreign companions, so after receiving a deposit, they guaranteed detailed investigation results within five days.
Thanks to the help of these local "snakes," Liang En and his companions spent nearly a week traveling in the city. As an ancient trading city, there were indeed many places worth visiting.
Unfortunately, traces of Catholicism were indeed scarce in the city area, mainly because the Urakami district, a concentration area for Catholics, was at the center of the atomic bomb explosion, killing 15,000 out of 20,000 Catholic residents.
This also resulted in most of the local traditional Catholic artifacts being obliterated, so that most of the Catholic-related items in the shops were from other regions or even abroad.
After a week, they indeed found the whereabouts of several portraits of the Visage of Christ from the late Sengoku period to the early Edo period, and not just one.
One of the portraits was located in the center of Nagasaki in an antique shop, considered one of the few fine items in the store. Therefore, although the owner was willing to sell the portrait, he quoted 270,000 euros for it.
Liang En did not intend to lose money on Mr. Kimura's commission, so he tried to bargain with the owner, only to find that the owner stubbornly refused to lower the price by even a euro.
This actually matched the previous investigations by the private detectives. According to these detectives, the biggest feature of this shop was that all the items were appraised by the owner himself, and the owner insisted on a fixed price for all the items in the shop.
Finding that they could not reduce the price at this location, Liang En and his companions had to temporarily give up on this place and then rented a car to head northeast.
According to the private detectives, there was a church in a small town near Tairamachi to the northeast, which housed a portrait that met his requirements.
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