Chapter 542: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: One Day Break IV

"Hey."

The voice came from a Low-Ember Nobleman who was walking toward the main entrance and exit of the Royal Academy Shopping Complex.

He was accompanied by his children, his two wives, three servants, and two Guards who walked on either side of the family, keeping a respectful distance while still watching the busy surroundings.

The Shopping Complex was crowded despite the Combat Festival being on a one-day break.

Nobles moved between stores with their families, while Non-Nobles gathered around displays filled with expensive goods that they would normally only see through advertisements or the windows of larger shops. The sounds of merchants speaking with customers, children calling for their parents, and footsteps moving across the polished floor blended together into one constant noise.

The Nobleman’s daughter, however, seemed far more interested in the Vanilla Ice Cream in her hand than anything around her.

She continued licking it while swinging a shopping bag containing the things she had already bought.

The Nobleman reached out and tapped her shoulder.

She stopped eating for a moment and looked at him.

The Nobleman pointed toward one of the Jewelry shops nearby.

"Isn’t that The Lady of Ash, and that Child of Ash who is the rising Young Craftsman?"

His finger pointed toward the two Young Alchemists of Ash standing inside the store.

The daughter’s eyes immediately followed his finger.

And the moment she saw them, her expression changed.

Inside the Jewelry shop, Vera was standing beside Ezra.

Her arm was still interlocked with Ezra’s.

She pointed toward a few gold bars displayed inside a glass container, then shifted her finger toward several diamond stones displayed in another container.

The sales consultant standing in front of them was a young adult woman.

Ezra looked as plain as always while replying to something she had said.

The young woman, however, was having a much harder time maintaining her professional expression.

Her cheeks were already red.

She kept blushing while speaking to Ezra, occasionally lowering her eyes before looking back at him, while several of the other Sales Consultants nearby couldn’t stop glancing in their direction whenever they had a moment.

They were still attending to the Nobles and Non-Nobles who had come to purchase rare precious stones before having them transformed into wearable jewelry, but the presence of Ezra and Vera had clearly become a distraction.

"Oh, my... they are at it again."

The Nobleman’s daughter spoke with an excited expression.

Like Ezra and Vera, the girl was also a First-Year student at the Royal Academy, and she had already seen enough of their strange interactions to recognize what she was looking at.

"I remember them causing a big commotion during our Club tournament."

The older son, a Second-Year student of the Royal Academy, folded his arms and gave a helpless smile.

He had also clearly seen enough to know that this wasn’t something unusual for them.

"But isn’t that troubling, though?"

The First Wife of the Low-Ember Noble placed her right hand against her cheek.

Her eyes remained on Vera and Ezra as a slight worry appeared on her face.

"What would people say if they saw them like this? Wouldn’t that cause many troubling rumors?"

She turned toward her son as she spoke, still looking concerned.

"Getting close to a very precious Flower of Britannia means a lot, and that Ezra child is only on the rise, not there yet, though."

The Second Wife nodded in agreement with what her fellow wife had said.

The children listened.

Then the son and daughter, along with the other three children who had heard about Lady Vera Ashenlocke and Ezra Ashenlocke from their two older siblings attending the Royal Academy, exchanged knowing looks.

There was a brief silence between them.

Then...

"They are just Business partners..."

"HaHa... HaHa... HaHa..."

The children said it together before laughing at the irony of the thought.

They began walking ahead of their parents, leaving the adults behind with bewildered expressions.

The Nobleman looked at his children walking ahead.

His wives looked at each other.

Neither seemed to understand what exactly the children of the Royal Academy were getting themselves involved in these days.

And the Low-Ember family was far from being the only group that had noticed.

More Non-Noble families had stopped to look.

Several Noble families had also slowed down.

Some pretended to examine items in nearby stores while their eyes remained fixed on the two Young Alchemists of Ash.

Vera Ashenlocke was one of the Precious Flowers of Britannia.

Ezra Ashenlocke was the rising Young Craftsman who had already begun changing the Kingdom’s vehicle industry and also showed new gadgets that could improve the way Combat Alchemy Path Alchemists fought during the Combat festival.

Seeing the two of them moving around the Shopping Complex almost like a couple naturally attracted attention.

Whispers followed them.

Some people were curious.

Others were amused.

A few were already imagining the rumors that would spread through the Royal Academy once the break was over.

Neither Ezra nor Vera appeared bothered.

They had already moved deeper into the Shopping Complex.

***

They eventually entered a Metal shop.

Unlike the ordinary metal stores around Britannia, this one specialized in rare and super-rare metals, some of which were difficult to find even in the larger Shopping Complexes throughout the Kingdom.

Glass displays lined the store.

Inside them were metal bars, refined ores, gemstones, and other materials used by Alchemists and craftsmen.

Several of the materials were so rare that even experienced Alchemists would stop to examine them.

There was only one problem.

The cost.

Ezra stood in front of one of the displays.

His eyes rested on two bars of Mithril.

"Fifteen thousand Dals."

He said it calmly.

The employee standing nearby remained silent, waiting to see what he would do.

Ezra continued looking at the price.

"That’s fifteen hundred thousand Gold Coins, only for two Mithril bars, which wouldn’t even be enough for a Sniper Rifle creation."

His eyes moved from the price to the Mithril.

"Although, if I make an alloy using both Black Steel and Mithril, the firearm’s strength would still increase noticeably compared to a firearm made from only Black Steel."

He paused.

His black plain eyes remained fixed on the two bars as he considered the possibilities.

The thought of using Mithril for a firearm clearly interested him.

The price didn’t.

He lowered his voice and continued muttering to himself.

Vera, meanwhile, was busy buying some of the rare metals.

Nina, Lyra, and Zack had also joined in.

They were buying several metal bars that could be added to their Gun Alchemy Material Stock, even though none of them truly needed to buy anything at the moment.

They simply couldn’t stand around watching Ezra and Vera shop while doing nothing themselves.

Especially when their Lady had already started buying things.

So, they joined in.

Lyra seemed particularly interested in the rarest materials.

Her eyes kept moving from one display to another, while Nina occasionally had to remind her that they weren’t there to buy every rare metal in the store.

Ezra finally looked away from the Mithril.

"Ahh... I will pass."

He sighed.

The decision clearly hurt him more than he wanted to admit.

He turned away from the display and moved toward the metal bars he actually needed.

Those were more important.

A few minutes passed.

Ezra had already selected several materials and was finishing his purchase when a familiar voice came from beside him.

"Want me to buy the Mithril for you?"

Vera suddenly appeared at his side.

She raised her right hand and pointed her index finger toward the side of Ezra’s nose.

Ezra immediately shifted faintly to the left on instinct.

Vera’s finger passed through the space where his nose had been.

"Hummm..."

She gave an exaggerated little whine.

"Why are you always acting allergic to cute moments, you idiot?"

Her dull black eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Ezra.

The faint smile on her lips made it obvious that the complaint was not entirely serious.

Ezra glanced at her quietly.

He didn’t reply.

Instead, he reached toward the employee handling the payments and collected his Finance Card.

The employee handed it over with both hands.

Ezra accepted it and placed it away in his space bag.

Vera turned her head toward him.

"You heard my question."

She handed her own black-and-gold Finance Card to the employee so she could make her payment.

"I’m very sure it’s part of the things you are buying."

Ezra replied plainly.

Vera’s eyes narrowed slightly again.

Of course, she had noticed.

She had probably noticed the moment his eyes became fixed on the Mithril bars.

"I know you have the money to buy them, so why be stingy with yourself, Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke?"

Vera deliberately called him by his full name, her dull black eyes carrying a faint trace of amusement.

"Saving is better."

Ezra replied plainly while he took the purchased metal bars from the employee.

"I don’t even have the luxury of Cognis to be making use of Mithril in a fight."

The metal bars were placed inside a Space Crate, making it easier for Ezra to transfer them into his Space Bag.

He checked the materials once before storing them.

Vera also collected her purchased metal bars and placed them into her Space Bag.

Then the two turned to leave.

The others followed.

Lyra, however, was still staring at some of the super-rare metal bars as if she had forgotten the rest of the group existed.

Her eyes remained glued to the display.

Nina noticed.

She walked over, grabbed Lyra by the arm, and pulled her along.

"Come on."

Lyra’s feet dragged for a moment as she continued looking backward at the rare metals.

Nina didn’t stop moving.

The group left the metal shop together.

"Let’s go eat, Ezra."

Vera said casually as she walked beside him.

"I’m hungry."

Lyra immediately raised her hand with a bright smile, while she hurried closer to Vera.

"I know, I know, wild girl."

Vera reached over and gently rubbed Lyra’s hair.

Lyra smiled even wider.

Ezra looked at them for a moment before adjusting his left glove.

"I prefer to leave now, though."

Vera turned her head toward him.

"But you will stay, though."

Her tone was confident.

Ezra looked at her.

He already knew that arguing would probably accomplish nothing.

And, as usual, Vera was right.

There was still something he needed from her.

The Gun Alchemy materials she had collected from Elder Ivanhoe were still with her, and Ezra wanted them.

He was also still thinking about the Mithril.

He had decided not to buy it himself, but that didn’t mean he had stopped considering what he could do with it, especially now that Vera had bought them.

So, despite saying he wanted to leave, Ezra stayed with the group.

They eventually left the Shopping Complex and went to one of the best Restaurants near the area.

The restaurant was already busy with customers enjoying the break.

Nobles sat at larger tables with their families, while students occupied several other tables nearby.

Waiters moved between them carrying trays of food, and the sound of conversations filled the dining hall.

The moment Ezra and Vera entered together, however, several heads turned.

Some people recognized Vera first.

Others recognized Ezra.

And some recognized both.

Few also recognized the other three Nobles who followed behind them.

The same questions that had followed them through the Shopping Complex seemed to follow them into the restaurant.

Why were the two of them together?

Were they really only Business partners?

How close were they?

Had something happened between them during the Combat Festival?

Whispers spread from one table to another.

Vera didn’t care.

She simply walked to the table with Ezra and sat down as though none of the attention existed.

Ezra was no different.

He ate without paying attention to the looks around him, only occasionally speaking with the others while Vera remained beside him.

The rest of the day passed in much the same way.

They ate.

Vera forced them to continue shopping.

Ezra collected the things he needed.

Vera remained with him.

And the people around them continued watching and wondering.

Neither of the two Young Alchemists bothered themselves with those questions or expressions.

After a few hours, Ezra finally gathered all of his things.

His Space Bag now contained the materials he had purchased, along with the Gun Alchemy materials Vera had collected from Elder Ivanhoe.

He was ready to leave.

Vera, on the other hand, wore a satisfied expression.

She had spent the day exactly as she wanted.

The Shopping Complex gradually became quieter as some visitors began returning to their guest houses, while others continued enjoying the break.

Ezra turned toward the exit.

Vera followed beside him.

And with all the things they had come for finally collected, the two eventually left the Shopping Complex together.

The break was far from over, but for Ezra, at least, the important part of his shopping was done.

For Vera, it seemed the day had gone even better than that.