Last Gun Alchemist

Vera walked a few more steps ahead of the group while continuing her conversation on the Zphone.

She had now moved far enough away that the others could no longer hear the details of the call, although every now and then, they could see her lips moving as she calmly answered whoever was on the other end.

Behind her, Cyrus moved closer to Ezra again, turning his attention toward him.

"So, what’s your plan for tomorrow?"

He asked while walking beside him.

Ezra kept his usual plain expression as he looked ahead.

"The same as usual."

He replied flatly.

Tomorrow was the usual general free day.

And Ezra planned to use it for his usual personal activities.

But I should also go back to the library to study the remaining book on Essence tomorrow.

Ezra thought to himself.

He still had a book on Essence that he wanted to finish reading, and considering how much useful information he had already gained from the previous books, he didn’t want to leave it unfinished for too long.

Cyrus looked at him for a moment before asking another question.

"Wait... you haven’t joined a Faction yet?"

His tone carried a little more curiosity this time.

Ezra turned his head slightly.

"Why do you ask?"

He replied, his expression remaining as plain as ever.

"Tomorrow is when all the factions will be throwing their welcoming parties for new members."

Cyrus explained.

"That’s why I wanted to know if we are in the same faction."

Ezra’s eyes shifted forward again.

"Oh..."

He paused briefly.

"I have joined one, but maybe they haven’t sent any message about their welcome party."

Cyrus immediately became more interested.

"Which Faction is that among the Eight?"

He asked.

"I mean, you did receive invitation letters from multiple Factions."

Ezra nodded slightly.

He knew that much was true.

Unlike the clubs in the Academy, which were mainly built around interests, skills, research, craftsmanship, combat, and other activities, Factions had been created for an entirely different purpose.

Factions were associations built to create connections between students of similar status, background, or interests.

The students within them were expected to help one another during their Academy lives and, in many cases, continue those connections after graduation when they entered the wider kingdom.

It wasn’t simply about having a group of friends.

A faction could become a network.

It could become a source of information.

It could become a place where future nobles, Non-Nobles, craftsmen, businessmen, Royal officials, and other influential people built relationships that could benefit them years later.

The first Faction ever created in the Royal Academy had been established by a prince.

His purpose had been simple.

He wanted to use the association to unite his followers while also building connections with other noble and Non-Noble children.

At the same time, the Faction gave him another advantage.

It allowed him to weaken his competition in the battle for the throne.

Because at one point in Britannia’s history, a Prince or Princess’s academic ranking had been very important in the race to become the heir to the throne of Britannia.

Their performance at the Royal Academy could influence how people viewed their ability to rule.

Their connections could influence who supported them.

Their achievements could become weapons in political arguments.

Because of that, the Factions gradually became more than simple student groups.

The second Faction was created by another prince who wanted to fight back against the first.

Then another Faction appeared.

And another.

Some were created with similar political goals, while others were formed simply because students wanted to associate with people who shared their preferred clique, interests, social position, or way of thinking.

As the years passed, smaller factions were absorbed by larger and more successful ones.

Some disappeared completely.

Others merged with groups that had similar goals.

Eventually, only eight major Factions remained within the Royal Academy.

They were:

The Royal Blue Faction.

The Golden Circle Faction.

The Iron Vanguard Faction.

The Arcane Foundry Faction.

The Crowned Order Faction.

The Royal Crest Faction.

The Ivory Circle Faction.

The Grand Crucible Faction.

Cyrus looked at Ezra again.

"So?"

He asked.

"Which one did you choose?"

"I ended up picking the Golden Circle."

Ezra replied in his usual plain tone.

Cyrus raised his eyebrows.

"The Golden Circle?"

He looked at Ezra for a moment before giving a small shake of his head.

"You picked that one knowing it’s a politically biased Faction, right?"

Ezra didn’t seem bothered by the statement.

"I do have my reasons."

He replied calmly.

"And it seems to be a good Faction."

Cyrus stared at him.

He seemed to want to ask what those reasons were, but before he could, Vera finally finished her call.

She lowered the Zphone and placed it back inside her Space Bag.

"Boys."

She called.

Ezra and Cyrus looked toward her.

Vera stopped walking.

"Bye."

She said plainly.

Cyrus lifted one hand.

"Oh, bye, Vera."

He waved once.

Vera returned the gesture with a small wave before turning her attention toward Ezra.

For a moment, her eyes rested on him.

She gave him another small wave.

"See you tomorrow, Ezra."

Her voice was calm, carrying the same casual tone she used when speaking to him.

Then the sound of an approaching steam engine drew their attention.

A Royal Steam-Carriage moved toward them and came to a smooth stop nearby.

The metal parts of the vehicle gave off a quiet mechanical hum as the steam system settled.

The carriage door opened.

Becky immediately stepped out.

She walked around the vehicle and opened the passenger door.

Zack, his attendant, and Nina were already inside.

"Lady Vera."

Nina suddenly popped her head out from the carriage, waving energetically toward Vera.

"Lady Vera!"

But the moment her eyes shifted toward Ezra, her expression changed.

Her smile disappeared.

"What are you doing w..."

Before she could finish her question, Vera calmly reached over and pushed Nina’s head back inside the carriage.

"Stay inside."

Vera said without changing her expression.

Thud.

She stepped into the carriage.

Becky closed the door behind her.

Then she turned toward Ezra and the others and bowed respectfully.

Ezra watched her for a moment.

So, that’s Vera’s maid.

He thought plainly.

Lucy and Hermione returned the bow.

The carriage soon began moving again.

Its wheels rolled across the road as the Royal Steam-Carriage carried Vera away from the group.

Cyrus watched it disappear.

Then he looked toward Ezra.

Ezra remained silent.

Not long after that, Hermione turned her attention toward Diane.

"Let’s go, Mistress."

She spoke softly.

Hermione gently guided Diane away from the boys and toward their Private Royal Steam-Carriage, which was parked a short distance away.

Diane followed her without complaint.

Once they reached the carriage, Hermione took the keys from her pocket.

She pressed the lock button.

Click.

The locks, released.

Hermione opened the door.

Diane lazily entered the carriage before immediately laying herself across the soft seat.

She looked completely comfortable.

Hermione closed the door behind her.

Then she turned toward Cyrus and Ezra and bowed.

After that, she walked around the carriage and entered the driver’s seat.

She started the steam engine.

The engine responded with a low mechanical rumble.

The vehicle began moving.

Lucy stared at the departing carriage.

"Wait..."

Her eyes followed the Royal Steam Carriage.

"She can drive?"

Ezra looked at her plainly.

"Didn’t you plan to learn?"

Lucy sighed.

"I have already started training."

She replied.

"The Royal Academy has a training course for things like that, but I had to pay to sign up."

She rubbed the side of her head.

"When the semester ends, I will finally get my license."

Her voice carried a tired tone just from thinking about how difficult learning to drive had been for her.

Ezra looked toward the road where Diane’s carriage had disappeared.

Then he looked back at Lucy.

At least she was already learning.

The three of them eventually entered their Mini-Streamliner.

Once they reached the academy exit, they took different Noble Steam Carriages, departing from the Royal Academy grounds to their residence.

The streets outside the Academy were already becoming busier as other students returned home, while various Steam-Carriages moved along the roads.

After some time, Ezra finally arrived at his residence.

The familiar building came into view.

Once the Noble Steam Carriage stopped, Ezra stepped out.

Lucy followed.

Before entering the residence, she remembered something.

"Master."

She turned toward Ezra.

"Didn’t Cyrus suggest that we check the mailbox?"

Ezra paused.

He had nearly forgotten.

Mainly because...

They had stopped checking the mailbox regularly because of the sheer number of useless letters Ezra normally received.

Most of them were not important.

Some were confessions of love.

Others were strange messages from people Ezra didn’t even know.

There had even been threats from unknown senders telling him to leave Vera alone.

None of them contained any useful information.

Because of that, Ezra and Lucy had eventually developed a simple habit.

They usually left the mailbox alone throughout the week and checked it on Sunday, then disposed of all the useless letters together.

Still, since Cyrus had mentioned it, Lucy decided to check.

She walked toward the mailbox and opened it.

Several letters were inside.

Lucy reached in and pulled them out.

She quickly went through them one by one.

"Useless."

She tossed one aside.

Another.

"Also, useless."

She threw it into the disposal pile.

Then she found another letter.

She paused.

This one was different.

It was golden.

Several Alchemy Circle designs had been carefully printed across the surface of the letter, arranged in a decorative pattern that made it stand out from the ordinary letters.

Lucy looked at it for a moment.

Then she turned toward Ezra.

"Here, Master."

She handed the letter to him as he was about to enter the residence.

"Thanks."

Ezra accepted it.

He looked at the golden letter for a moment before opening it.

The seal came apart easily.

His black eyes moved across the information written inside.

He read silently for several seconds.

Then he finally spoke.

"Our Welcome Party starts around five tomorrow."

Lucy looked at him.

"Tomorrow?"

Ezra nodded.

"Yeah."

He continued looking at the letter.

"Well, that changes my plans for tomorrow."

He had originally intended to return to the library and continue studying the remaining book on Essence.

The Welcome Party had not been part of his schedule.

If he had been given the choice, he would have preferred to skip it and spend the time studying.

But he couldn’t simply ignore it.

Every new member of a Faction is expected to attend the welcoming party.

It is a basic courtesy.

Members from other Factions would also be holding their own gatherings, and attendance is part of maintaining the social connections expected from a Faction member.

If someone failed to make an appearance without a proper reason, they could quickly gain a bad reputation.

And a member who is considered unreliable would eventually receive little respect from the other members.

In the worst case, they could even be kicked out of the Faction.

And once someone gained the reputation of being a bad member, that reputation wouldn’t remain inside a single Faction.

The other Factions would hear about it.

Soon, the students could find themselves treated as an outcast across the Academy.

Ezra lowered the letter slightly.

So much for studying tomorrow.

He sighed inwardly.

He had only just joined the Golden Circle Faction.

It would be foolish to damage his reputation before he had even properly entered the group.

He folded the letter and placed it away.

"Five tomorrow."

Ezra muttered to himself.

His original plan would have to wait.

For now, he had a new obligation.

The Golden Circle Faction was welcoming its new members.

And unfortunately for Ezra, skipping it wasn’t an option.

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