After completing his first alchemy practice, Liang En felt noticeably tired. This kind of work was extremely draining on his mental energy, especially since he was still inexperienced. After a simple wash, he quickly greeted Joan of Arc before going to rest. For him, a good night's sleep was most important now.
The night passed quietly. Because the castle was located on an island in the lake, it was very peaceful. Only the lights used by the archaeologists outside occasionally shone on the windows.
By the time they woke up the next day, both of them had fully recovered. They had lunch with the people sent by the Italian side and discussed the ownership issue of the cave.
"Yes, sir, we can now confirm that these caves belong to the owner of this island, which is you," said the Italian team leader during breakfast.
"However, from my personal perspective, I don't recommend you keep these ruins. The main reason is that the cost of preserving the relics is much higher than imagined."
Since Liang En had returned the two statues to their original positions in the center of the cave, they were now considered part of the ruins rather than separate artifacts.
The Italian archaeologist suggested this because, as a historically significant site, all maintenance had to be handled by designated cultural preservation departments, which required a lot of money.
Worse still, the maintenance process was very complicated. Sometimes, a report filed in spring might not be addressed until autumn, which could delay necessary repairs.
For instance, Liang En once met an Italian noble at a Golden Dawn gathering who described the difficulties of maintaining his family's ancient castle.
According to this noble, their castle had a bronze doorknob that needed replacing, which cost 1,530 euros, not including the 150-euro installation fee.
Even worse, their roof leak took two months to fix, during which it rained several times, turning a minor repair into a complete room renovation.
Maintaining a site with significant historical and archaeological value like this would be costly and bring a series of expensive expenses.
The issue arose because cultural preservation departments usually prioritized national relics, so private sites like this one were lower on the list.
Moreover, after spending so much money, the returns were minimal because the location was remote, and the number of visitors would be low.
Liang En's simple analysis showed that opening a museum here would cost more than the revenue from tourists, making it a losing venture.
Unlike major ruins, this cave site, although of high quality, only offered about ten minutes of viewing content, unlikely to attract many visitors.
Most people wouldn't find it worthwhile to travel for over an hour into the mountains for ten minutes of viewing, preferring to stay home and view pictures or videos on their phones.
More importantly, although the two precious statues didn't need to be removed, the metal books found earlier had to be handed over.
This meant that the most valuable parts of the ruins might not stay on-site but would be preserved in Rome or other better-equipped locations.
While this was good for the artifacts, it wasn't necessarily good for the site, as the attraction would naturally decrease once the most appealing relics were relocated.
"That's the situation now." After breakfast, Liang En returned to the tower and explained the situation and discussions to Marie Antoinette and Elizabeth Bathory, who were just having breakfast.
Due to their aristocratic habits, both Marie Antoinette and Elizabeth Bathory woke up late, coinciding with their breakfast time.
"Under normal circumstances, I would suggest you donate these ruins," Elizabeth Bathory said after wiping her mouth with a silk handkerchief.
"After all, you've already obtained the most important things from these ruins. The remaining parts, even if you own them, would only bring nominal benefits, not practical ones."
"In this case, trading something of little significance and potentially negative value for prestige is a very smart move."
"Yes, I understand that," Liang En nodded and then asked, "But what do you mean by the normal condition you mentioned?"
"Because we now have an unusual method," Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and said, "My lord, have you forgotten about the Rosicrucians?"
"The Rosicrucians—oh, right, the Rosicrucians!" Liang En immediately realized that since this was once the Rosicrucians' core base, they might be willing to cooperate with him on this matter.
Indeed, after contacting President John of the Rosicrucians, he expressed his eagerness for the ruins and stated he would arrive soon.
Half an hour later, the president and two members arrived at the nearest town by helicopter and then took a speedboat to the island.
Negotiations became a three-way discussion, with each side bringing professionals to maximize their benefits, and it took two days to reach a final agreement.
According to the agreement, the ruins' ownership would belong to Liang En, who would rent the ruins to the Rosicrucians for free. In return, the Rosicrucians would handle all repairs and taxes.
The Italian archaeological department gained the right to study the ruins for free, in exchange for prioritizing the repairs and leaving the metal books on-site.
Of course, the relics would only stay on-site if suitable facilities were built to house them.
Liang En gained the right to commercially utilize the relics without damaging them. Besides common souvenirs or postcards, the replicas of the two statues, especially the previously unseen one, had considerable commercial value.
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