Last Gun Alchemist

Chapter 285: Orientation Week II

Ezra quietly listened as Veda and Nickolas continued talking about last year’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony...a ceremony he himself had never attended.

There was so much happening inside the enormous lecture hall that it was impossible to follow every conversation.

The classroom had become completely lively.

Near the entrance...

Groups of girls still gathered around the famous young ladies of Britannia, while on the opposite side, several noble boys from House Galehart surrounded one of their respected Mainlines, discussing matters only they seemed to understand.

Elsewhere...

Students who had never met before began introducing themselves.

Some quietly spoke about the famous heirs sitting around the classroom.

Others secretly pointed toward the Ashenlocke Family members, whispering to one another while trying not to attract attention.

The entire hall buzzed with different conversations.

Every corner seemed to have its own topic.

Some discussed yesterday’s briefing.

Others talked about the Point System.

A few were already wondering which professors were the strictest.

The atmosphere reminded Ezra of something.

His black eyes slowly lost focus.

For only a brief moment...

The noisy classroom before him gradually overlapped with another classroom.

Students laughing.

Friends chatting.

Groups forming naturally.

A classroom...

From another world.

Ezra blinked once.

The illusion quietly disappeared.

His eyes returned to the Royal Academy.

Another memory...

...from my previous life.

He quietly thought to himself.

His expression never changed.

Even after recalling that distant memory, his face remained as calm and unreadable as ever.

Near the entrance...

"Hello, Sasha."

Selena walked toward her with her usual gentle smile.

The soft curve of her lips carried the same graceful elegance that had earned her admiration throughout Britannia.

"Selena."

Sasha folded her arms comfortably.

"How’s your day been?"

"Everything has been well."

Selena nodded politely.

"Thank you for asking."

Her voice flowed gently, carrying the freshness of a cool morning breeze.

Sasha looked around.

"What about your sister? I haven’t seen her yet."

Selena smiled helplessly.

"Oh... She’s somewhere nearby. You know how she is. She always tries to avoid attention whenever possible."

Her smile became slightly more amused.

"It’s almost impossible to drag her into a crowd willingly."

Sasha raised one eyebrow.

"Really?"

Before Selena could answer...

A quiet voice drifted in from the classroom entrance.

"It’s crowded..."

The voice sounded soft.

Almost sleepy.

Another voice followed immediately afterward.

Fast and sharp.

"I’m sure this happened because some jobless girls refuse to sit down. They’d rather block the entrance than enter the classroom."

The moment those familiar voices echoed...

Sasha instinctively turned.

Several girls surrounding Selena also looked toward the doorway.

Then...

The crowd naturally split apart.

"I can’t hear you properly, Vera. You are speaking too fast"

Diane gently rubbed one ear with her index finger.

Her sleepy expression hadn’t changed in the slightest.

"That’s because you’re still half asleep."

Vera replied with her usual flat tone.

"I’m surprised you aren’t walking around with your eyes closed."

Diane looked toward her.

Her crystal-light blue eyes remained heavy with sleep.

"That’s why... I made sure to sleep immediately after getting home yesterday."

She answered honestly.

"But..."

She tilted her head slightly.

"I woke up because I got hungry."

Her hand naturally rested against her stomach.

Vera quietly looked at her.

"So...You didn’t actually sleep as much as you wanted."

"...Exactly."

Diane covered her mouth with one hand before letting out another small yawn.

"Let’s go find our seats."

Without waiting for another reply...

She gently reached out.

Holding Vera’s hand naturally...

She began walking through the classroom.

The girls standing around immediately stepped aside.

No one dared block their path.

Behind them...

Nina quietly followed.

Her expression looked unusually complicated.

Her eyes remained fixed on Diane’s hand holding Vera’s.

Jealousy quietly stirred inside her heart.

Unfortunately...

There was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

Zack simply watched the scene before silently walking toward another row to find his own seat.

Selena maintained her elegant smile.

She lightly waved toward the two girls.

"Good morning."

Diane merely glanced in her direction with sleepy eyes before continuing to walk.

Vera didn’t even turn around.

She simply continued following Diane without the slightest intention of stopping.

Sasha watched the two disappear.

"Tch."

She quickly hurried after them.

"Vera. Diane."

She called out loudly.

"You two couldn’t even greet us?"

She narrowed her eyes dramatically.

"You heartless girls."

Her accusing tone caused several nearby students to chuckle.

The three girls continued walking while Sasha followed behind them.

Selena remained standing where she was.

Only after they disappeared farther into the classroom did she quietly return her attention to the girls surrounding her.

For several seconds...

Nobody spoke.

Then...

One girl suddenly let out an emotional sigh.

"...Wow."

Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"So... Those are Britannia’s true flowers."

Another girl nodded enthusiastically.

"Lady Diane’s voice is so beautiful."

A different girl clasped both hands together.

"And Lady Vera... her presence alone feels incredible."

The admiration in their voices became even stronger.

Selena quietly continued smiling.

She politely greeted the remaining girls one after another.

Outwardly...

She looked exactly the same.

Warm.

Graceful.

Elegant.

Inside...

Her thoughts were completely different.

You girls think they’re elegant?

Selena quietly sighed inwardly.

Those two are practically barbarians.

Especially when they’re together.

She almost laughed to herself.

Seriously...

How does this make any sense?

They should be complete opposites of what Britannia calls proper noble ladies.

One sleeps whenever she feels like it.

The other speaks without caring how blunt she sounds.

They’re closer to weird warriors than elegant young ladies.

And yet...

Those same two girls somehow became Britannia’s greatest Flowers.

How?

Selena genuinely couldn’t understand it.

Elegant ladies...

Tomboys...

Brutes...

Those personalities weren’t supposed to fit together.

Yet somehow...

They did.

Perfectly in those two.

Ah...

I’ll probably never get used to being around those two.

Not in this lifetime.

Even while thinking all that...

Her gentle smile never faded.

No one around her noticed the thoughts hidden beneath that graceful expression.

As the entrance gradually became less crowded...

Selena finally walked toward her assigned seat.

Around the same time...

More students from the highest-ranking noble families entered the lecture hall.

Felix...

Gareth...

A male mainline from House Derlis...

And the Fifth Prince walked in together.

The group seemed to be discussing something amusing.

Smirks appeared on several of their faces as they quietly exchanged words.

Not long afterward...

Priscilla...

Page...

Tracy...

And Lyra entered through another doorway reserved for academy attendants.

Meanwhile...

The Third Princess of Britannia gracefully entered the classroom.

Several noble retainers accompanied her.

They naturally praised her as they walked.

The princess accepted every compliment with practiced elegance.

The moment she stepped inside...

Her golden eyes slowly swept across the lecture hall.

It almost looked as though she was searching for someone.

A few seconds later...

Her gaze stopped.

Ezra.

He quietly sat near the back of the classroom.

One hand calmly held the Academy Guidebook while Veda and Nickolas continued talking beside him.

Nate now occupied the seat on Ezra’s right.

His arms remained folded across his chest as he silently observed the classroom.

Without anyone saying it...

Their entire row had naturally become occupied mostly by members of House Ashenlocke and families aligned with them.

The Third Princess smiled faintly.

A trace of amusement appeared in her eyes.

Then...

She calmly walked toward her own seat.

Moments later...

The Fourth Prince entered.

Then students from House Drake walked in not after.

Their coordinated entrance naturally drew attention from everyone nearby.

By then...

The classroom had become almost completely full.

Only one student remained absent.

And nearly everyone knew exactly who that person was.

Yesterday’s declaration had made him both the most talked-about...

And the most disliked...

First-year student in the academy.

Several minutes later...

Maxwell finally entered the classroom.

Walking beside him...

Was the instructor.

The moment Maxwell appeared...

Countless eyes immediately turned toward him.

Mocking whispers quietly spread throughout the room.

Some students openly laughed.

Others simply looked at him with curiosity.

The atmosphere became noticeably restless.

"Quiet."

The instructor’s firm voice immediately echoed throughout the lecture hall.

The whispers instantly weakened.

He calmly walked toward the podium before placing his Zphone Tablet upon its polished wooden surface.

Meanwhile...

Maxwell quietly found an empty seat.

Almost immediately...

The students sitting nearby stood up.

Without saying a single word...

They moved farther away.

Within moments...

An entire section around Maxwell had become strangely empty.

It was as though no one wished to be associated with him.

Maxwell noticed, but he simply didn’t care.

He calmly sat down.

His attention remained focused on the instructor standing at the front of the room.

"Greetings, students."

The instructor looked across the classroom with a calm, professional expression.

"My name is Kent Preacher."

He rested both hands upon the polished wooden podium.

"And I will be your Main Instructor throughout your first year."

The moment he introduced himself...

Soft whispers immediately spread once again.

Quite a number of students recognized that name.

Anyone who had read through the academy history books provided inside their assigned residences study room would have come across it.

Kent Preacher...

A graduate of the Royal Academy.

A man who had earned one of the academy’s prestigious titles.

Someone who had once served inside the Royal Palace before eventually becoming one of the Royal Academy’s instructors.

His reputation alone commanded respect.

Kent patiently waited until the whispers faded.

Only then did he continue.

"As all of you already know... This week has been designated as Orientation Week."

He slowly walked away from the podium.

"Today’s schedule begins with your Student Identification Card registration. Afterward... You will receive a guided tour around the First-Year District."

He paused, allowing everyone enough time to process the schedule.

"But before that... There are several things I want all of you to understand."

He placed both hands behind his back and slowly walked across the front of the classroom.

"As yesterday’s briefing already explained... Every one of you sitting here... is competing against everyone else."

His calm eyes slowly swept across the room.

"You will earn Academy Points through your academic courses... your practical lessons...your examinations... and various other academy activities."

He continued pacing slowly.

"The better your performance... the more points you will accumulate."

Several students nodded quietly.

Everything matched what they had learned yesterday and read in their student guidebook.

Then...

Kent suddenly smiled.

"But... For your first semester... none of that truly matters."

The entire classroom froze.

"...What?"

One boy sitting near the front blinked repeatedly.

Confused expressions immediately appeared throughout the lecture hall.

Didn’t they just spend yesterday learning how important Academy Points were?

Then...

What exactly did the instructor mean?

A student finally raised his hand.

"Instructor... If that’s true... doesn’t that make studying this semester meaningless?"

The question echoed throughout the classroom.

Kent immediately looked toward the student.

"It doesn’t."

His answer came without hesitation.

"You must still study. You must still attend classes. And you must still accumulate Academy Points."

He calmly returned toward the podium.

"The reason I said they don’t matter... is because something far more important awaits all of you."

He rested both hands upon the podium once again.

A small smirk slowly appeared on his face.

"During the final month... of your first semester... The Royal Academy... will hold the Grand First-Year Combat Festival."

Silence.

For a heartbeat...

The entire classroom remained completely still.

Many students widened their eyes in surprise.

Others looked at one another in disbelief.

Of course...

There were also a handful of students whose expressions never changed.

Since they had already been informed by their families long before arriving at the academy.

The real competition...

Was only just beginning.