Last Gun Alchemist

Many eyes froze on Vera.

Latisha, the upperclassmen, the first-years, the attendants, and even Ezra all turned their attention toward her, their expressions changing slightly as the words she had just spoken settled over the room.

For a moment, nobody seemed to know how to react.

Did she just sound like that?

The question spread through the minds of almost everyone who had heard her.

Even some of the students who had been busy talking with their friends slowly turned their heads, wondering whether they had heard Vera correctly.

But the girl who had caused all of those strange looks didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

Vera simply looked around at everyone with the same plain expression she always wore, as if she couldn’t understand why they were staring at her.

"Focus on yourselves."

Her voice returned to its usual flat tone.

The moment she said it, the students immediately turned away and went back to what they had been doing.

Some of them wondered if they had simply misunderstood her words.

A few upperclassmen even blamed the constant use of loud machine-cutting tools in the butchering room, convincing themselves that the usual noise must have affected their hearing.

Whatever the reason, nobody wanted to keep staring at Vera after she had already told them to mind their own business.

Vera turned her attention back toward Ezra.

He was still looking at her strangely.

She noticed his gaze almost immediately.

"Becky is my secret maid, who the Duke assigned to protect me."

Vera explained it plainly, without any attempt to make the information sound more important than it was.

"She’s also like a training teacher to me since she’s pretty strong as a Combat Alchemist. And she’s also a higher Alchemist rank at that."

Her explanation was simple, and direct.

"I guess I have already seen her, but couldn’t sense she was an Alchemist when I was at your mansion back in the Ashenlocke Estate."

Ezra replied in his usual plain tone.

He remembered seeing the maid before, but at the time, there had been no reason for him to think she was an Alchemist.

Vera’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Speaking like the Ashenlocke isn’t your own family."

She said it sharply, although there was a dry teasing tone hidden inside her words.

That was still one of the many strange things about Vera.

Even when she was teasing someone, she rarely changed her expression.

There was no bright smile, no exaggerated movement, and no playful laugh.

She simply said whatever came to her mind with the same calm face, somehow making the teasing sound more natural because she wasn’t trying to make it obvious.

Ezra didn’t hesitate to respond.

"What about you, who referred to your own father as... Duke? What type of hypocrisy is that?"

Vera tilted her head slightly.

"I say whatever I want to about my father."

She looked directly into Ezra’s black eyes.

"It’s called privilege, and a certain someone doesn’t have that privilege, does he?"

Ezra’s expression didn’t change.

"I don’t, but do I look like I care?"

He replied sharply while looking back at her.

The two continued staring at each other.

Neither of them said anything for a while.

Their expressions remained almost completely blank, yet the silence between them somehow became more noticeable than their argument.

It was difficult to tell whether they were actually angry with each other or simply enjoying the strange back-and-forth.

Around them, however, the atmosphere had already become awkward.

Several students sitting nearby slowly glanced in their direction.

Some tried to pretend they weren’t watching, but their eyes kept drifting back toward the two.

"Are you sure these two aren’t just business partners?"

One student whispered.

"Sheesh, do you want the agents of Lady Vera’s suitors to see this sight?"

Another student whispered back, lowering his voice as though someone might hear him.

"He wasn’t getting pulled back by Lady Vera’s words."

A third student muttered.

"Is there really a boy who could compete with Lady Vera with the same tone and sharp tongue?"

The whispers continued spreading around their side of the room.

Even some club members who had been busy with their own conversations began pausing to look over, curiosity getting the better of them.

Maxwell, who had been talking with Cherry while sharing a few smiles and quiet laughs, noticed Cherry turning her face toward Ezra and Vera.

Curiosity appeared in her eyes as she watched them.

Although, she tried to do it secretly, almost as though she was afraid someone would catch her staring.

Even though there was really no reason to hide it.

Everyone around them was already looking.

Lucy, who was standing beside one of the attendants, also glanced over.

Cyrus, who was seated on the other side of Ezra, couldn’t help but laugh helplessly.

He knew better than to get involved.

Diane, meanwhile, quietly looked at Ezra, then at Vera.

Her sleepy eyes moved between the two.

What’s going on?

She wondered, genuinely unable to understand what was happening.

Vera eventually broke the silence.

"Well, she’s one of the maids you met."

She folded her arms across her chest as she looked toward Ezra.

At that moment, an upperclassman entered the club room and walked toward Latisha, quietly telling her something while holding a box with him, as other upperclassmen entered with more boxes.

Ezra glanced toward them briefly before returning his attention to Vera.

"I see."

He replied plainly.

Vera looked at him.

"But was that hard?"

"Hard?"

Ezra looked at her with slight confusion.

He couldn’t understand what she was getting at.

Yet again, Vera had somehow turned a simple conversation into something that sounded like a hidden question, and Ezra wasn’t sure what she was trying to force him to say.

Vera continued looking at him.

"Asking me a question to satisfy your curiosity, instead of just thinking you could solve every riddle by yourself."

Her words were direct.

She didn’t raise her voice, nor did she need to.

Ezra stared at her.

"What are you getting at, Vera? You were the one who made me ask in the first place."

He said flatly.

"You know what I mean, Ezra Ashenlocke."

Vera replied just as plainly.

Ezra remained silent.

He already understood what she was getting at.

More importantly, he understood why she had deliberately forced him to ask the question in the first place.

She wasn’t really talking about Becky.

At least, that wasn’t the point.

Vera was talking about him.

She was talking about the way he always tried to solve everything on his own, even when another person was already willing to provide the answer.

Ezra looked forward for a moment.

Then he turned his eyes back toward Vera.

"Like I said the other time, what’s my problem is my problem."

His voice remained calm, but there was a firmness behind it now.

"If a solution exists, I will find it myself. And if it’s something that piques my interest... I will observe and quench my thirst myself."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"I don’t believe that should be a problem. It’s not like if I want help, I won’t ask. I just don’t see why I should need help over something like that. It’s as simple as that."

He finished speaking.

Vera continued staring at him.

Her expression remained almost completely unchanged.

"It must be nice having that same thought."

Her voice became slightly sharper.

"People would die having that type of lone mentality in that same situation as yours."

The words were simple.

Yet something about the way Vera said them made the atmosphere between them feel heavier.

Cyrus had already placed his earplug back into his ear.

He faced forward and decided that whatever was happening beside him was something he had absolutely no intention of becoming involved in.

Diane had already gone back to sleep.

Her head had lowered slightly, her eyes closed as she rested in her seat, but the strange tension around her side of the room made her look as though she was fighting through some unpleasant nightmare.

Neither Ezra nor Vera spoke again.

For a few seconds, the two simply remained there.

Then Latisha clapped her hands.

"Alright, guys. Let’s resume to the next phase."

Her voice immediately drew the attention of the club members back toward the front.

Latisha walked forward while the upperclassman who had entered earlier followed behind her.

"President Luke will soon be here, so we have to finish with the team assignment."

The upperclassman handed her a stack of ballots.

Latisha accepted them before turning toward the members.

"So, we will be picking balls which have numbers on them."

More ballots were handed to other upperclassmen who were senior club members, allowing the process to move faster.

The senior members began walking between the rows, carrying the ballots toward the students.

"There are fourthy plus balls with the seven numbers inside each ballot box, because every team is going to be a seven-man group."

Latisha explained while moving between the rows of students.

Each ballot contained a numbered ball.

The students would draw one, and those who received the same number would become members of the same team.

The idea was simple enough.

However, Latisha wasn’t finished explaining the rules.

"Also, my dear club members..."

She paused as she looked around the room.

"Because we like things being fair and equal so many teams can actually get a chance to compete properly, everyone who we believe is already on a high tier in terms of Craftsmanship and Research won’t be paired into the same team with another member like him or her."

Her gaze briefly moved toward Vera and Diane.

It was obvious that the rule was meant to prevent the strongest members of the club from ending up together.

If several students who were already far ahead of everyone else were placed on the same team, the other teams would have almost no chance of competing with them.

Latisha walked toward Vera and Diane’s side while continuing to explain.

A student sitting behind Diane raised his hand slightly.

"Does that mean you will change their numbers if they pick the same one?"

Latisha nodded.

"Yes."

Her answer was calm and direct.

The process finally began.

Latisha approached Diane first and held out the ballot.

Diane slowly reached into it.

Her eyes were still closed.

She didn’t even bother opening them while feeling around for one of the numbered balls.

Her fingers eventually touched one.

She picked it up.

The senior member moved away.

Vera was next.

She calmly reached into the ballot and selected her numbered ball without any hesitation.

Then it was Ezra’s turn.

He reached into the ballot, felt several small balls beneath his fingers, and eventually picked one.

The ball rested inside his palm.

He looked down at the number.

Then...

Cyrus was next.

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