Last Gun Alchemist

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

One of the club members from the booth where Ezra and Vera had just played the game stared at the target board in disbelief. His mouth had fallen slightly open, and even though the game had already ended, his eyes remained fixed on the two arrows lodged at the center of the rotating board.

The board had finally begun slowing down, its constant spinning gradually losing momentum, yet the result remained right in front of him.

Both arrows had struck the bullseye.

Not only that...

They had hit the exact same spot.

I made sure to tell them not to use their Cognis, and they weren’t supposed to use their full natural stats either. We even increased the rotation speed of the target board, but they still hit the bullseye and the exact same spot, scoring a jackpot.

He thought about it again.

The more he thought about it, the crazier it felt.

"You sure they didn’t use even a bit of their natural stats?"

He turned toward the other members of his club, many of whom had gathered near the booth to watch the two people currently attracting the attention of almost the entire area of the Mix Arena.

The crowd around them had grown larger without anyone truly noticing. Students who had originally been passing by had slowed down, while others who had heard the rumors came over to see Ezra and Vera for themselves.

Some of the club members looked just as bewildered as he did.

Others, however, had expressions that showed they could already tell this was going to happen.

"I told you this was a bad idea."

A noble first-year from the club shook his head lightly.

"I understand someone like Lady Vera Ashenlocke being this good, but was Ezra Ashenlocke always this good?"

A third-year club member asked as he continued staring at Ezra in disbelief.

"All that you guys are saying isn’t the issue right now..."

Another student suddenly spoke.

The people around him turned their attention toward him.

"It’s the fact that he’s with Lady Vera Ashenlocke."

"But they aren’t dating. Lady Vera Ashenlocke already said that they’re just business partners."

"I know that, but seeing him getting close to her and even playing games together like this is getting on my nerves."

"Me too."

Several boys around the area turned their eyes toward Ezra, their expressions becoming complicated.

Some frowned.

Others clicked their tongues under their breath.

A few simply stared at him with eyes filled with envy.

A simple time with one of Britannia’s Flowers...

And one of the best Flowers at that...

What a lucky bastard.

That same thought passed through the minds of several boys at almost the same time.

And it wasn’t only the boys around the club booth, or those who had gathered to watch Ezra and Vera, who felt that same emotion.

A few girls among the crowd also took quick glances at Vera.

Their eyes carried obvious jealousy.

They couldn’t help feeling that Vera was monopolizing Ezra Ashenlocke.

The reason was simple...

Since Vera had already made it known that she and Ezra were only close through their business partnership, and since the two of them had created the firearms that had recently gone wild throughout Britannia making the business partner narrative fit a lot, many people believed their relationship could only be explained by their work.

They were close because of business.

At least, that was what Vera had told everyone.

Because of that, several girls felt that Vera should let Ezra go during times like this.

That way, those who wanted to get close to him would also have a chance.

And who knew...

Maybe one of them could have gone on a date like this with Ezra instead of Vera.

Some girls even found themselves watching Ezra more closely.

The boy who had once simply been another Royal Academy student was no longer easy to ignore. His inventions, his victories, and the attention surrounding him had gradually made more people notice him.

So, watching Vera openly walk around with him was naturally enough to make some of them feel irritated.

However, there were also girls who looked at Ezra like he was a pest.

Those girls already had Noblemen in mind whom they believed would be a better match for Vera.

They felt that Ezra was the one forcing things with Vera and simply becoming a nuisance to the real Noblemen they wanted to see get close to her.

To them, Ezra might have become important because of his achievements, but that didn’t mean they believed he deserved to stand beside someone like Vera Ashenlocke.

Both Ezra and Vera could clearly see many of those emotions and thoughts through the eyes and faint expressions of the onlookers.

Envy.

Jealousy.

Disapproval.

Curiosity.

Even expectation.

However, neither of them gave even a millisecond of their time to care about what the others thought.

Ezra merely glanced around once before turning his attention away.

Vera didn’t even bother looking twice.

The two were simply focused on reck—

No...

Winning important prizes from the clubs that used games as part of their displays.

"Where next?"

Vera asked as she placed the prize she had gained from the game into her Space Bag.

"I want to go back to the club booth. We’ve been doing this for hours now."

Ezra replied plainly.

He looked toward the sky beyond the open sections of the Mix Arena.

The afternoon was gradually moving toward the evening. The bright light that had filled the arena for most of the day had begun changing, and the entire Club Tournament was slowly approaching its end.

By tomorrow, the winners will be announced.

The students and guests, however, were still making the most of the remaining hours, moving from one club booth to another as conversations, laughter, and the noise of different activities continued throughout the arena.

"Let’s head to one final place before we go back to the club booth."

Vera replied casually.

She had already begun walking in that direction, her hands resting behind her back.

Ezra quietly looked at her.

He knew that her definition of one final place could mean several different things, and none of them were particularly comforting to him.

Still...

He followed.

The onlookers, who had been acting as though they hadn’t been following the two of them all this time, also began moving.

At first, it was only a few people.

Then more.

The movement behind Ezra and Vera gradually became impossible to ignore.

Their destination was clear.

The Martial Strength Club.

"Lady Vera!"

The moment Vera stepped closer to the entrance of the booth, Nina rushed toward her.

She tightly hugged Vera, resting her face against Vera’s chest with the familiarity of someone who had done so many times before.

Then Nina sharply turned her head toward Ezra.

"Urgh..."

The irritated sound escaped her mouth.

Her eyes narrowed.

"What are you two doing together?"

She asked, clearly displeased by the sight of Ezra standing beside Vera.

Ezra looked at Vera.

"So, what are we doing here, Vera?"

He asked plainly, clearly ignoring Nina.

"We came for the paint gun game."

Vera replied as she walked toward the entrance of the Martial Strength Club booth.

"Lady Vera is here!"

Lyra suddenly jumped out from the entrance with an excited expression.

"Hey, wild girl."

Vera greeted her calmly.

"I was hearing that you and Ezra were going around the Mix Arena together, and Nina thought it was a lie."

Lyra said as she looked at Vera with the excitement of a puppy playing with its master.

"Lyra!"

Nina immediately moved toward her and covered her mouth.

"Quiet. All that information isn’t needed."

She said nervously, especially when she noticed the number of people gathering outside the booth.

"Mm... mahah... mmhaha."

Lyra laughed behind Nina’s hand, her shoulders moving as she tried to continue laughing despite having her mouth covered.

"You said you wanted to play our paint gun game, Lady Vera Ashenlocke."

A senior club member, followed by several other members of the Martial Strength Club, walked out from the entrance to welcome Vera.

"You two have been terrorizing the other clubs. Some of them are already shutting down their game activities because they no longer have the important prizes they used to attract guests. Now it’s our turn, I guess."

Another senior club member folded her arms as she looked directly at Vera.

"Calling people winning games terrorizing is below standard."

Vera replied calmly.

"We simply have the skills and are enjoying our youth."

Several students around the entrance exchanged looks.

Ezra quietly looked at Vera.

He was beginning to think that she had grown rather comfortable with saying strange things whenever it benefited her.

"Then bring it on. We of the Martial Strength Club will put an end to your tyranny."

The female club member said, looking at Vera with a confident expression.

The members of the Martial Strength Club seemed far more prepared than the other clubs had been.

They had already heard what Ezra and Vera had done.

They knew the important prizes that had disappeared from the other booths, and they clearly had no intention of allowing the same thing to happen here without a fight.

"Let’s just get this over with. I want to rest at the club booth."

Ezra said as he calmly walked closer to where Vera stood.

Nina continued glaring quietly at him.

Her eyes followed his every movement as though she was still trying to understand why he was beside Vera.

Ezra, however, simply continued ignoring her.

"Wait!"

A familiar voice suddenly echoed from behind them.

Ezra stopped.

He turned around and looked toward the person with his usual plain expression.

Vera also turned.

Her hands were folded, and she looked calmly toward the person who had just shouted.

The other people nearby followed their gazes.

"Ezra Ashenlocke."

Leofirc Hawthorne stood among the crowd.

His expression carried a clear sense of betrayal as he stared at Ezra.

"I thought you told me you and Vera were just business partners."

He pointed directly at Ezra.

Ezra tilted his head slightly as he looked at his fellow High Board member from the same faction with his usual plain expression.

For a brief moment, he didn’t understand why Leofirc looked as though he had personally been betrayed.

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