Last Gun Alchemist

Ezra narrowed his eyes and remained silent for a moment.

The words of the two students stood between them, while the upperclassman beside Ezra shifted his weight uneasily. He had clearly not expected a simple errand to turn into this.

”Lowline of Ashenlocke!”

The female student standing behind the other male student suddenly pointed at Ezra, her expression turning even more hostile.

”Answer now! It’s an honor to be called by the Prince, so get on your knees and accept his call.”

Her voice carried through the entrance of the Mix Arena, and several students passing through the area turned their heads after hearing it.

Ezra tilted his head slightly.

This is worse than even Felix’s tone.

He looked at the female student for another moment before quietly muttering to himself.

”The day I would even think someone like Felix is better than another person.”

His voice was low, almost as if he couldn’t believe the thought had actually crossed his mind.

”What did you say!”

The female student immediately raised her voice.

Ezra’s eyes shifted toward her again.

Beside him, the upperclassman swallowed hard.

He had no idea what he was supposed to do.

Only a short while ago, he had been thinking about how he could use this errand as an opportunity to get closer to Ezra Ashenlocke and build a connection with one of the most talked-about first-years in the Academy.

Now, he had somehow ended up standing between Ezra and two followers of the scary Second Prince of Britannia.

The upperclassman glanced at the two students in front of him.

Then he looked at Ezra.

”Ezra Ashenlocke.”

He lowered his voice, almost whispering.

”I think it’s better for you to go. The possibility of you getting onto the Second Prince’s hate list is without a doubt, and he’s not known for forgiving people from what I heard.”

The upperclassman gave his advice carefully.

He didn’t want to offend either side.

On one side stood Ezra, whom he had only just started trying to get to know.

On the other stood two people who had come directly under Prince Daniel’s orders.

”What are you two saying amongst yourselves?”

The male student, who was a follower of Prince Daniel, looked at them with a serious expression.

”Nothing!”

The upperclassman answered immediately.

His reply came so quickly that even Ezra glanced at him.

The upperclassman cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure.

”I’m sorry, but as you can see, me and my club upperclassman are on an errand for our supervisor, and we have a study session with our supervisor waiting for us.”

Ezra finally spoke.

His voice remained calm, with the same plain tone he usually used.

”But if you really want me to follow you, then you will have to discuss it with Professor Nine, our club’s supervisor.”

As he said the professor’s name, Ezra deliberately raised his voice enough for both followers to hear it clearly.

The effect was immediate.

The two students instantly stiffened.

Their expressions changed almost at the same time.

Once the two followers of Daniel heard the name Nine, they immediately flinched.

”Tsk.”

The male student clicked his tongue, his annoyance becoming more obvious.

”We can’t meet with him. He’s too annoying and scary.”

The female student turned slightly toward the male student as she spoke.

”I know.”

The male student replied with the same frustrated expression.

”But what do we do now?”

His voice lowered.

”If we come back empty-handed... You remember what happened to the boy who spoke rudely to Lady Vera the time Prince Daniel came to take Lady Vera home.”

His eyes showed a trace of fear as he remembered the incident.

The female student tightened her fist.

Neither of them wanted to experience something similar.

On one hand was the crazy Professor Nine, a person almost every student avoided whenever possible. Even Royals and high-status nobles didn’t like getting involved with him.

And on the other hand was the arrogant Prince Daniel, who had never seemed willing to accept the word no.

The two followers exchanged a troubled glance.

They felt as if they had somehow been placed in the middle of a situation where either choice could cause them trouble.

Ezra looked at the two of them.

He had been listening quietly to their discussion, and after watching them struggle with the problem they had created for themselves, he finally decided to give them an easy way out.

”I have a good idea for you two seniors.”

The two immediately turned their eyes toward him.

Ezra spoke without changing his expression.

”Just tell the Prince that you two saw me, but I was with Professor Nine, so you couldn’t get to me. Simple.”

He gave the suggestion in a straightforward manner.

There was no complicated plan behind it.

They only needed an excuse, and Professor Nine was already a good enough reason for them to avoid claiming that they had simply failed to bring Ezra back.

The two followers stared at him.

Ezra didn’t wait for their response.

He turned around and walked away.

The upperclassman from his club stood there for another second, staring at Ezra in shock.

So, that was one way to escape.

He thought to himself, still surprised by how calmly Ezra had handled the troublesome situation.

There had been no argument.

No shouting.

No need to threaten anyone.

Ezra had simply given them a reasonable excuse and walked away.

The upperclassman quickly followed, catching up to Ezra as the two headed back toward their club building.

Behind them, the two followers of Prince Daniel remained at the entrance, still thinking about Ezra’s suggestion.

”But why did Prince Daniel’s people come looking for you?”

The upperclassman looked thoughtful as he asked the question.

He glanced at Ezra while they walked through the academy grounds.

Ezra didn’t turn toward him.

”Let’s just forget this ever happened.”

He replied plainly.

A few moments later, Ezra reached the entrance of the club building.

He scanned his ID card against the reader.

A short electronic sound rang out.

The door unlocked.

Ezra pushed it open and entered without saying anything else.

The upperclassman looked at him confused yet again.

If there was something he had learned from his short time trying to get to know Ezra Ashenlocke, it was that communicating with him was very difficult.

Not because Ezra was rude all the time.

It was more because Ezra simply didn’t seem interested in explaining things that he considered unnecessary.

The upperclassman sighed quietly before following him inside.

After dropping off the package they had brought to Professor Nine’s office, Ezra and the upperclassman went back to the meeting room.

The room was already packed with the other club members.

Almost everyone had arrived.

The first-years, second-years, and third-years were already seated in their usual places, with some quietly talking among themselves while they waited for the session to begin.

The session had yet to start because they were waiting for the two of them.

Ezra looked toward the seats.

Seeing the one Vera had kept for him.

Cyrus was seated on one side of the seat, while she sat on the other.

When Ezra approached, Vera lifted one hand and waved lightly for him to take his seat.

Ezra walked over and sat down.

Vera tilted her head slightly as she looked at him.

”What took you so long?”

Her tone was plain, and there was no real concern in her expression.

She simply wanted to know why he had taken longer than expected.

”Nothing.”

Ezra replied plainly.

He then turned his attention toward Professor Nine.

The holographic screen at the front of the room was already turned on.

Large letters appeared across it.

Relation of Life and Death with the World.

Professor Nine stood before the screen with both hands resting against the table.

The room slowly became quiet as the students focused on him.

”I’m sure everyone of you has already read through the books I told Luke to recommend to you, so don’t even expect me to go through the basics again.”

Professor Nine spoke in his usual direct manner.

He wasn’t interested in wasting time repeating information that the students were already supposed to know.

The first-years straightened in their seats.

A few quickly opened their notebooks.

Others simply watched him.

Professor Nine lifted his head slightly.

”Now, Life and Death.”

His voice became firmer.

”We all live, and we die at one point.”

The words were simple, but the entire room became quieter after hearing them.

Professor Nine continued without giving the students much time to react.

”The same is true for every invention any of you, copy craftsmen, create.”

He pointed toward a few students he remembered from the Craft Unit.

”All of those scrappy works will have a time where all our preservation methods will fail, and the invention will crumble to dust.”

He removed his hand from the table and began walking forward, placing one hand behind his back as he moved.

His footsteps were slow and steady across the floor.

”Now, what is the key point behind these two words... Life and Death?”

His question was directed toward the first-years.

They were the only members of the club who were just beginning to learn Professor Nine’s famous research.

Several students stared at the professor.

A few lowered their eyes, thinking about the question.

Then, almost at the same time, two voices answered.

”Preservation.”

Vera and Ezra had answered together.

The room became quiet for a brief moment.

Professor Nine stopped walking.

A pleased smile appeared on his face.

”Correct.”

He raised both hands and pointed his two index fingers toward them.

Damn, they are really good.

Luke thought to himself, clearly impressed.

The same feeling could be seen on Latisha’s face, as well as the expressions of several of the other upperclassmen.

They had expected at least a few seconds of thinking before someone gave the answer.

Since in their own time.

None of them could easily answer the question without thinking very hard about it.

Instead, Ezra and Vera had answered immediately.

Vera slowly turned her head toward Ezra.

Her expression remained blank.

”Why are you copying me, Dancer?”

Ezra looked at her slightly.

”Focus.”

His reply was flat and direct.

Nothing more needed to be said.

Vera stared at him for another second.

Then she slightly puffed out her cheeks.

”No fun.”

She deliberately made a small pout before turning her attention back toward Professor Nine.

Her expression quickly returned to normal as she listened.

Professor Nine had already begun explaining why their answer was correct.

”From one of my wordings when I explained how inventions wither at one point of their lifespan, the only reason why they could even survive all this time is because of this word.”

He paused.

”Preservation.”

The word appeared on the holographic screen behind him.

Professor Nine looked across the room at the students.

”The relation between Life and Death is not simply about something being alive and then becoming dead. It is about the process that exists between those two states, and what allows something to remain in its current state for as long as possible.”

His explanation continued as the students listened.

The first-years began writing down notes while the upperclassmen remained attentive.

Vera rested her chin lightly against one hand while listening, her eyes still fixed on Professor Nine.

Ezra remained seated beside her, his attention on the holographic screen as the lesson continued.

For the first-years, this was the beginning of their study into Professor Nine’s research.

And from the way he had introduced the subject, it was already clear that Life and Death would not be as simple as the names made them sound.