Last Gun Alchemist

Ezra narrowed his eyes as he looked at Veda.

"Wild rumors, huh?"

His voice remained calm, but there was a faint change in his gaze as he repeated those words. The dining room had been filled with the pleasant smell of the food only a few moments ago, and Cyrus was still holding a few fries in his hand, yet the atmosphere around the table had gradually changed.

Although, that faint change in Ezra was nothing more than simple curiosity, as he merely wanted to know what those wild rumors about him were.

Lucy lowered her eyes slightly before looking at Ezra.

"I wanted you to rest before you saw or heard about those rumors."

She spoke softly, though there was still a trace of worry in her voice.

Ezra had only recently returned from his training, and Lucy had wanted him to spend at least one peaceful day inside the house without immediately dragging her master into another troublesome matter.

Cyrus continued eating as he listened.

"I heard about all the wild rumors too when I came out of my seclusion around the beginning of the third week. There were a lot of annoying and braindead rumors, and I’m very sure about who the culprit behind all this is."

His voice was calm and his expression relaxed.

Unlike Lucy and Veda, he didn’t look particularly affected by the matter. He simply picked up another fry, dipped it into the sweet spicy ketchup, and placed it into his mouth.

Veda leaned forward.

"The rumors were things like this..."

He brought out his Zphone 14 and tapped the screen several times. A faint glow spread from the device before a holographic image appeared above it.

The image contained a list.

Cole had already written everything down in advance, since his Lord wanted to show it to Ezra directly.

Ezra’s eyes landed on the floating holographic screen.

The first rumor appeared before him.

’Hidden truth behind Ezra Ashenlocke... Ezra Ashenlocke is actually a conning young noble, using his nonchalant act as a ploy to attract the Flowers of Britannia in his year. With the addition of his rise in the Ashenlocke ranks after being treated badly as the ghost of his own family...’

Ezra’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

His eyes just moved toward the next one.

’Another speculation our sources might have discovered about the relationship between Ezra Ashenlocke and Vera Ashenlocke is that their business partner relationship is just a mistress-and-dog relationship, where Vera Ashenlocke uses Ezra Ashenlocke however she likes, just like how she used Palmer Ashenlocke until he committed suicide to escape her. Now... What are the chances of Ezra Ashenlocke also suffering the same fate?’

Lucy’s fingers slowly tightened against the edge of the table.

The next rumor appeared.

’The invention of the Phantom Rolls could actually be a design made by Vera Ashenlocke. That explains why Ezra Ashenlocke refused to sign any contract with any company or industry and instead sold the rights away. It was actually an order from his mistress.’

Ezra continued reading, already finding the whole wild rumor thing faintly amusing.

Then Selena’s name appeared.

’Selena Galehart, although known for her beauty and elegance... but in truth... that is the only thing she amounts to. She will definitely be the worst performer amongst all the Flowers of Britannia, and even rank below the ordinary students. She is just lucky that the Galehart’s showered her with a lot of Alchemy Accessories to boost her weak Cognis pool.’

Another rumor followed.

’Maxwell is a despicable human being, but what could be expected from a commoner? Our sources have discovered that he oppresses Cherry Sailor into giving him money to live his life in the academy under the pretense of being her helper, while poor Cherry Sailor is simply too timid to refuse his evil nature.’

The list continued.

There were more names.

More accusations.

More claims written as though the person behind them had spent days preparing every word carefully before throwing them into the academy.

Many of the rumors were aimed at Ezra and Vera, while Selena’s name appeared several more times among the different posts.

Veda’s name also showed up.

Cyrus’s name appeared as well.

It seemed that almost everyone connected to Ezra’s group had somehow found themselves dragged into the anonymous messages.

Not that it meant anything, because also Ravenor Burnwick’s name and Nate Ashenlocke’s name were amongst those wild claims.

However, when Ezra was getting towards the end of the list...

Something caught his attention.

His plain eyes stopped moving.

The words remained suspended before him.

’Vera Ashenlocke is actually the biggest fraud amongst all the so-called Geniuses in this kingdom. Not only did she lose badly to the Sleeping Ice Beauty, Diane Bergwyn, she also somehow lost the fight for the Heir title of the Ash House to her untalented twin brother. How can someone like that truly be identified as a Genius amongst all the young ladies of Britannia? Has she ever really shown anything worthy of the title Jewel of Ash? No... and we will see more of this embarrassment when the Combat Festival starts. Vera Ashenlocke will lose, as she always does, to those who are the true Geniuses... you could now say that her brother is the true Genius of the Ashenlockes, not her. Vera Ashenlocke is merely a beautiful lady fit to warm the bed of her future husband. Let’s stop with this Genius claim. It is an embarrassment toward the Flowers of Britannia.’

The room became quiet for a moment.

Even Cyrus stopped chewing.

Ezra stared at the message for a few seconds before speaking.

"That person didn’t hold back with their words."

His tone was completely flat.

There was no visible anger on his face, nor was his tone showing any sign of anger.

He was merely faintly amazed that someone would actually dare speak so badly about the iconic queen of sharp tongues.

"I know, right..."

Veda frowned deeply.

"Just reading it again keeps pissing me off."

His hand slowly tightened into a fist.

"How dare they write something like that about my sister?"

The anger on his face was clear.

Vera could be difficult.

She could be blunt.

And there were times when even Veda himself didn’t know whether she was serious or simply trying to annoy someone with that quiet expression of hers.

But she was still his sister.

Seeing someone anonymously spread those words about her wasn’t something he could casually ignore.

Lucy glared at the holographic screen.

"How can the News Club willingly spread all these rumors around the whole academy when they know it’s just bullshit?"

Her voice carried clear anger.

The more she thought about it, the more irritating it became. These weren’t ordinary rumors created by students whispering among themselves. They had been given a platform and allowed to spread through the academy.

"Well, you know we are currently in the period of the News Club’s anonymous message event."

Cyrus explained calmly.

He looked far less affected by the rumors than Veda and Lucy.

He picked up another fry.

"And knowing who the president of the News Club is... the answer becomes certain."

Veda sighed.

"Eleanor Tempest."

"Who’s that?"

Ezra asked as he washed his hands.

He had already finished eating since he hadn’t taken much food to begin with.

Cyrus’s expression changed slightly.

"She’s the Young Heir of the Storm Alchemist House, of the Viscount House Tempest."

He paused.

"And probably the most distasteful lady who could ever gain the title of a Flower of Britannia."

There was a hint of dislike in his normally calm expression.

Ezra dried his hands with a new napkin.

"So, basically..."

He looked at Cyrus.

"She’s the one allowing all these bad rumors to flow out when the Combat Festival is close."

"The rumors are meant to mess with our minds."

Veda replied.

"That’s the whole point."

The Combat Festival was approaching.

Every student who planned to participate was preparing themselves.

Their bodies.

Their Alchemy.

Their Alchemy tools.

Their state of mind.

And in a situation like this, rumors could become another weapon.

Not one that could break bones.

But one that could affect how a person entered the arena.

And a major factor about Alchemists...

Is their mind.

Ezra placed the napkin aside.

"This is an interesting situation."

His reaction caused Veda to stare at him.

That was it?

Ezra didn’t look angry.

He didn’t look annoyed.

He didn’t even appear particularly surprised.

The young boy simply finished the cup of warm water in front of him and placed it back onto the table.

Veda looked at him for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.

"Ahh..."

He shook his head.

"I knew you wouldn’t feel anything about this."

A helpless smile appeared on his face.

"Just like Vera."

Ezra glanced at him.

"So she does know about this?"

"She does."

Veda answered.

"And?"

Ezra asked.

Veda stared at him.

"She asked me why I was showing her garbage."

Cyrus suddenly laughed.

Lucy blinked.

Ezra remained silent for a moment.

That response sounded like Vera.

If someone wanted to insult her, Vera could probably stare at them with those dull black eyes before making them feel as though they had just wasted an important part of their life trying.

Veda sighed again.

"Anyway..."

He was now done eating.

"Thank you for the food."

He stood up from his seat.

Cole immediately stood as well.

He had also finished eating.

"We should be leaving."

Veda spoke calmly.

Ezra nodded and stood up.

He collected the package sent from the main family from Veda before walking toward the entrance, leading Veda and Cole outside.

The afternoon had already begun to grow quieter outside.

The Royal Steam Carriage was waiting in front of the residence, its engine producing a steady mechanical sound.

Cole opened the carriage door.

Veda stepped closer to it, then he suddenly paused.

"Do you think you can give me..."

"No."

Ezra replied without any hesitation.

Veda froze.

He slowly turned his head.

"You didn’t even let me finish."

"At least not now."

Ezra added.

For a moment, Veda simply stared at him.

Then he laughed lightly.

"Okay... okay..."

He entered the carriage.

"See you at the festival."

Veda waved goodbye.

The steam engine began working more strongly.

Cole entered the carriage afterward, and the door closed.

The Royal Steam Carriage slowly moved away from Ezra’s residence before disappearing down the road.

Ezra stood outside for a short while, watching it leave.

Then he turned and returned to his house.

Cyrus left a little later as well.

Naturally, he didn’t leave empty-handed.

After learning that Ezra could make food like spicy crispy chicken and sweet potato fries, Cyrus had somehow managed to leave the house with a takeaway portion.

Lucy had watched him carry the food away with an expression that suggested she had already seen through his personality.

The day eventually came to an end.

So did the days that followed.

The rumors continued spreading throughout the academy, but Ezra didn’t spend his time paying attention to them. There were still many things he needed to handle, and he had little interest in chasing after every anonymous message written by someone hiding behind a screen.

The Combat Festival was approaching.

That alone was enough reason for everyone to remain busy.

On Saturday of the fourth week...

Ezra arrived at the Mixed Arena.

The area wasn’t as packed as usual.

Club activities had been reduced since the club tournament had come to an end, so students were no longer required to visit the different club buildings unless they had something important to do.

As a result, the paths around the Mixed Arena had become quieter.

A few students could still be seen walking around in their academy uniforms.

Others were carrying bags containing weapons or Alchemy materials as they headed toward their own training grounds.

Those students were of the combat base clubs.

The usual noise of students gathering around the club buildings had also reduced.

Ezra looked toward the large area before turning his attention toward the building nearby.

He had something to do there.

Something important enough that he had decided to come alone.

Without wasting any more time, Ezra adjusted his space bag around his neck and began walking toward the Craft & Research Seekers club building.

Alone.

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