Last Gun Alchemist

"I have a question, President."

Ezra raised his hand from where he sat among the other first-years, his black eyes focused calmly on Luke at the front of the meeting room.

Luke immediately noticed him.

"Go ahead, Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke."

Ezra lowered his hand.

"Would it be possible for me to conduct my own personal research apart from participating in the general club activities?"

His expression remained as plain as usual, but the question immediately caught the attention of some of the upperclassmen.

Considering who had asked it, several of them weren’t particularly surprised.

Ezra Ashenlocke had already created the Phantom Rolls before entering the Royal Academy, so expecting him to have his own research interests wasn’t strange.

"Yes."

Luke nodded without needing much time to think.

"You are allowed to conduct personal research."

He rested one hand against the table in front of him before continuing.

"Although, we’d prefer that you handle personal projects during your leisure time, rather than allowing them to interfere with whatever group you’re assigned to."

Ezra listened quietly.

Luke didn’t direct the rest of his explanation toward Ezra alone.

His gaze moved across the gathered first-years, making it clear that the same rule applied to every new member sitting before him.

"Once you’re placed into a group, your performance won’t affect only you. Your teammates will also be relying on you, so if someone constantly abandons group activities because they’re more interested in their personal research, problems will eventually develop between that person and the rest of their team."

Several first-years nodded.

That much was understandable.

The club might encourage independent research, but they were still preparing for a competition where teamwork mattered.

"That’s why most members who conduct personal research usually do it during Study Hour or whenever they have enough free time outside our scheduled club activities."

Luke looked back toward Ezra.

"Does that answer your question, Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke?"

"Yes, it does."

Ezra gave a small nod.

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

Luke straightened before looking around the meeting room again.

"Alright. Are there any more questions?"

Almost immediately...

Hands rose throughout the first-year section.

Luke blinked once.

There were far more than before.

Some students even raised both hands, apparently believing that would somehow increase their chances of being selected.

A few upperclassmen chuckled at the sight.

Luke’s eyes moved from one raised hand to another until they eventually settled on someone who stood out far more than the others.

"Yes, Lady Vera."

Vera lowered her hand.

"I want to know if Diane and I still have to join a group, since we might not remain in this club for long."

Her voice remained plain.

Several first-years looked toward the two girls.

Luke nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, you’ll still have to participate."

Vera continued watching him.

"Since it’ll take some time before your new club is officially formed, you’ll remain members of this club until that process is completed."

He placed both hands on the table.

"And considering how long club formation normally takes..."

Luke thought briefly before continuing.

"...I believe both of you will still be here around the time of the first-year Club Tournament. So, until then, you’ll participate in our activities like everyone else."

Beside Luke, Latisha watched with a pleased expression.

As Luke had answered every question properly and explained enough that the first-years wouldn’t need to repeatedly ask about the same issue later.

"Okay, then."

Vera crossed one leg over the other.

Her arms folded beneath her chest as she settled back into her seat.

Diane remained beside her.

Or rather...

She remained partially on Vera.

The side of Diane’s head rested comfortably against Vera’s shoulder, while a sleeping eye cover completely covered her eyes.

She hadn’t moved throughout Luke’s answer.

Making some students to conclude that she had already fallen asleep long ago.

Then...

A hand slowly moved.

Diane raised her thumb.

"..."

Luke stared.

Several first-years stared.

A few upperclassmen also looked toward her.

The thumb remained raised for a second.

Then it calmly dropped again as Diane folded her arms and returned to doing absolutely nothing.

"So, she was listening?"

A first-year whispered.

"I thought she was asleep."

"Maybe she is asleep."

"How can she answer while sleeping?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

Luke looked awkwardly at Diane for another moment.

Then he cleared his throat.

"Okay..."

His attention returned to the rest of the room.

"Let’s get back to the questions."

More hands immediately rose.

And like that, the question-and-answer session continued.

Some questions were simple.

Others required longer explanations.

A few were things the second and third-years had already heard countless times, yet Luke never showed impatience.

He answered each student properly, occasionally allowing Latisha or another experienced member to add information whenever necessary.

Minutes continued passing.

By now, many of the first-years had gained a much clearer understanding of how the club operated.

Eventually, the number of raised hands began decreasing.

Luke looked around once more.

"Finally..."

His eyes settled on Cyrus.

"Mr. Cyrus Burnwick."

Cyrus lowered his hand.

Unlike his usual relaxed expression, he looked surprisingly serious.

"I want to know something about Professor Nine’s study of Life and Death."

The mention of Professor Nine immediately caught the attention of several students.

Cyrus continued.

"Does his study of Life and Death relate to the Craft or Research activities we’ll be participating in?"

Luke’s expression changed slightly.

"Ah..."

He nodded.

"It does."

Cyrus remained attentive.

"A lot, actually."

Luke moved away from the center of the table.

"This is something I was already planning to explain after the question period, but since you’ve brought it up..."

He glanced toward Latisha.

"...we might as well jump straight into it."

Latisha immediately understood.

Her fingers moved across the Zphone tablet she held linked to the holographic display.

Swipe!

The previous slide disappeared.

And a new one replaced it.

Several books appeared across the holographic screen, arranged beside information concerning their authors and subjects.

The first-years raised their heads to get a better look.

Because these weren’t ordinary club manuals.

They were research books.

More specifically...

Books concerning Essence.

Each one had been personally recommended by Professor Nine.

Luke turned toward the first-years.

"So..."

He pointed toward the holographic display.

"I’m sure that during your Foreign Class, Professor Donald Joan told all of you to study Essence, right?"

He asked the question despite already knowing the answer.

"He did."

Several first-years answered at once.

Many nodded.

"He was also disappointed that we didn’t know much about it."

A first-year boy added from farther back.

That immediately earned several knowing laughs from the upperclassmen.

"Yeah."

"I remember that happening to us too."

"Funny situation."

A second-year male upperclassman leaned back in his chair, remembering his own first year.

"We went through the same thing."

Another second-year laughed.

"He was scolding us hard back then."

"Seriously."

A female upperclassman shook her head.

"He looked at us like we had committed some terrible crime because we couldn’t properly explain Essence."

More laughter spread through the meeting room.

Even Luke smiled.

"Yeah, I went through the same thing with him."

A third-year sitting nearby laughed.

"Professor Donald must be tired of seeing the same confused expressions every year."

That caused the laughter to grow louder.

Several first-years looked slightly embarrassed now that they knew their year wasn’t special.

Apparently, Professor Donald had been watching new students fail the same question for years.

"Okay... okay."

Luke waved both hands.

"Let’s get back on track."

The laughter slowly weakened.

Students adjusted themselves in their chairs and returned their attention to the holographic screen.

Luke waited until the room had settled.

Then he pointed toward the displayed books again.

"The books you’re seeing on this screen are all very good introductory materials for studying Essence."

His tone became more serious.

"If you read them properly, they’ll give you a much better foundation than trying to jump directly into Professor Nine’s more advanced research."

Several first-years began taking down the recommended books.

Some wrote the information into notebooks.

Others used their Starlixs, and Paras to record the titles displayed on the holographic screen.

Ezra quietly studied the list.

Luke folded his arms.

"Now..."

His eyes moved across the first-years.

"...some of you are probably wondering why a Craft and Research club is suddenly giving you books about Essence."

A few students nodded.

Luke smiled faintly.

"Once you remember the definition of Essence itself, the answer becomes fairly simple."

He took several steps away from the table and closer to the glass board.

"Learning about Essence will help you first-years begin understanding Life and Death to a certain level."

His finger moved toward the books.

"I’m not saying reading these books will suddenly make you experts. It far from it."

He shook his head.

"They’re your foundation."

The first-years listened carefully.

"Once you’ve developed that foundation, Professor Nine and we... the club members who have already reached a deeper level in these studies will help you assimilate that knowledge into the activities we perform here."

Luke gestured toward the two sections from the previous slide.

Craft.

&

Research.

"That knowledge will eventually connect to what you build..."

His hand moved slightly.

"...what you study... and how you understand the subjects you’re working with."

Several students exchanged thoughtful glances.

Yesterday, some of them had probably viewed the club’s strange combination of crafted technology, monster skeletons, biological specimens, and Professor Nine’s research on Life and Death as separate things.

Now, the connection was beginning to become clearer.

At least a little.

"But for now..."

Luke pointed firmly toward the holographic screen.

"...don’t worry about the advanced parts."

He smiled.

"Your job is simple. Study these books before our next club activity."

Several first-years immediately groaned under their breaths.

"More studying..."

One boy whispered.

His friend nudged him.

"We’re literally in an academy."

"I know, but still."

Luke either didn’t hear them or chose to ignore them.

"That’s all for this section."

Clap!

Clap!

Clap!

Applause suddenly came from the first-year section.

More students joined.

Within seconds, the sound filled the meeting room.

Luke blinked before smiling.

"Thank you."

He raised one hand in appreciation.

The applause gradually faded.

"Okay."

Latisha stepped forward.

The easy smile she had worn while watching Luke disappeared slightly as she turned toward the second and third-years.

Her posture straightened.

"Second-years and my senior third-years..."

Several upperclassmen immediately recognized that tone.

"...you’ll be heading to the laboratories."

A few students stood before she even finished.

"Especially those assigned to the butchering room."

Someone in the second-year section sighed.

Latisha heard it.

Her eyes moved toward him.

The student immediately stood straighter.

"We still have plenty of monster dismantling to do."

She began listing the day’s work.

"We also need to perform the usual checkups on the small-organism farm inside the cold storage."

Her fingers moved as she counted each responsibility.

"Then there’s maintenance on the displays in the reception hall. Also, we shouldn’t forget the old storage displays either."

Several third-years nodded.

"We need to begin selecting the ones we’re going to sell during the Club Tournament, so I want the condition of every possible display checked before we make the final choices."

The upperclassmen gradually began separating according to their assigned responsibilities.

Latisha then turned toward the first-years.

"And as for all of you..."

The first-years looked toward her.

"Today, you’ll be watching recorded videos of our previous club activities."

She gestured toward the holographic screen.

"We want you to get a proper visual idea of what this club has done in the past, what our members usually work on, and what we’re trying to achieve."

That immediately sounded easier than dismantling monsters.

Several first-years, visibly relaxed.

One second-year noticed.

"Don’t look so happy."

He pointed accusingly toward them.

"Your peaceful days won’t last."

A few first-years laughed.

Latisha shook her head with a smile.

"Alright."

She clapped once.

"Let’s get to work, guys."

"YES, MA’AM!"

The response came from different parts of the meeting room.

Several students laughed as soon as they finished shouting.

The second and third-years began leaving in groups, heading toward the laboratories, cold storage, butchering room, reception displays, and old storage area.

The meeting room quickly became less crowded.

Attendants belonging to the upperclassmen followed their respective masters and mistresses where necessary, while others remained behind.

Latisha returned to the holographic controls.

A few quick movements brought up the recorded club archives.

The lights in the meeting room dimmed slightly, as the first video appeared across the large holographic screen.

The first-years gradually settled again into their seats.

Ezra leaned back slightly, his black eyes focusing on the footage as it began to play.

Because for now, their work was simple.

They only needed to watch.

To understand what the Craft & Research Seekers had already accomplished...

And what kind of work would soon be expected from them.

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