Last Gun Alchemist

"Anything that adds to my wallet is only a pinch of salt, considering I barely spend my money anyway..."

Vera looked at Elder Ivanhoe with her usual dull eyes.

Her expression remained as blank as ever, making it impossible to tell whether she was serious or joking.

Then...

"I don’t actually care."

She lightly raised both hands.

"In fact..."

She turned toward Ezra.

"I can give you the money if you want it, Ezra."

She deliberately dragged out the last part of his name in a teasing tone.

Several craftsmen nearby quietly looked toward the two of them.

Ezra met her gaze without changing his expression.

"I’ll gladly take it."

He replied in his usual flat voice.

"Like you said...It’s still a positive plus."

His blank black eyes calmly met hers.

Silence filled their space with neither of them looking away.

The two simply stared at each other without speaking another word.

Gradually...

The atmosphere inside the Research and Development Facility became strangely awkward.

Several researchers stopped organizing documents.

A few craftsmen exchanged confused glances.

Even some members of the Financial Corps instinctively slowed their work, feeling the odd tension between the two young inventors.

Clap!

The sudden sound broke the silence.

Ivanhoe clapped his hands together with a helpless smile.

"I still have more to say, you two."

He stepped forward, naturally placing himself between Ezra and Vera before either of them continued.

Looking toward both of them, his smile became warmer.

"After the two firearms officially enter mass production..."

He paused for a brief moment.

"The first production profit...The two of you will each receive ten percent."

His words echoed clearly throughout the testing hall.

The surrounding craftsmen immediately looked toward him in surprise.

Ezra looked at Ivanhoe with his blank eyes.

Ten percent huh...

Elder Gram immediately frowned.

"You’re really giving them that much?"

He looked directly at Ivanhoe.

"You know the Elders, the High Board, and even the Family Head himself still have to approve something like this."

His tone carried obvious concern.

Ten percent wasn’t a small number.

If the Colt 1911 and the E-V 26MK.II performed in the market the way everyone expected...

That amount of money would become astonishing.

"Elder."

Several members of the Financial Corps walked over.

The female officer who had spoken earlier adjusted her glasses before looking respectfully at Elder Gram.

"They deserve it."

She spoke calmly.

"So let them have it."

Her hand tightened slightly around the tablet version of her Zphone.

"The two of them created inventions capable of changing the future of Ashcraft. Compared to the profits the family will earn over the coming years... Ten percent from the first production isn’t unreasonable."

The surrounding Finance Corps members quietly nodded in agreement.

Even several craftsmen couldn’t help agreeing inwardly.

Of course, there were still people who found it overly absurd that Elder Ivanhoe wants to give them the first production profit and Ten percent of it at that.

But...

Generally speaking, without Ezra...

The Colt wouldn’t exist.

And without Vera...

The presentation, organization, and numerous improvements made during development wouldn’t have progressed this smoothly.

Gram quietly looked at every member standing behind him, knowing all of this.

After several seconds...

He let out a light sigh.

"...Alright."

He waved one hand lazily.

"But don’t celebrate yet. The others might still disagree."

His tone remained realistic.

Nothing inside the Ashenlocke Family became official until the Duke, Elders and High Board approved it.

Then he turned back toward his team.

"Are you finished with the pricing evaluation?"

He asked.

"Yes, Elder."

Everyone answered together.

The reports had already been completed.

Every production cost...

Material expense...

Labor requirement...

Transportation estimate...

And expected market value...

Had all been carefully calculated.

"Good."

Gram nodded.

"Let’s go."

His serious expression returned once again.

The members of the Financial Corps respectfully bowed toward Elder Ivanhoe before preparing to leave.

Just before following Elder Gram...

The female officer looked toward Vera.

A gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Bye, Vera."

She lightly waved.

Vera quietly raised one hand.

"Bye."

She answered plainly.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

Ivanhoe couldn’t help chuckling.

"Alright everyone!"

He suddenly raised his voice while lifting one arm high into the air.

"Let’s wrap everything up...And properly say goodbye to our two young craftsmen."

Immediately...

Cheers echoed throughout the testing area.

Every craftsman...

Every researcher...

Every assistant...

Raised their hands together.

"Yes!"

Laughter spread throughout the hall.

The heavy atmosphere that had filled the room moments ago disappeared completely.

Soon afterward...

Everyone returned to work one final time.

All research documents concerning the Colt 1911 and the E-V 26MK.II were carefully organized into sealed metal containers.

The prototype firearms were inspected once again before being securely packed away.

Not long afterward...

A large military Steam Truck slowly entered the facility.

Its reinforced cargo compartment had already been specially prepared.

Under the watchful eyes of numerous guards...

Every document...

Every blueprint...

Every Alchemy Circle...

Every prototype...Was transported toward the main Ashcraft Headquarters located in Adamaros.

The month-long project...

Had officially come to an end.

***

The following morning...

Ezra and Lucy were already seated inside a Noble Steam Carriage arranged by Elder Ivanhoe.

The carriage steadily traveled through the quiet streets toward the train station.

Unlike the previous day...

No messages arrived from Vera, because her seclusion had officially begun that same day.

Every communication device connected to Skynet had been temporarily taken away from her.

No letters.

No messages.

No calls.

She couldn’t even properly say goodbye.

Of course...

Ezra preferred it that way.

Without Vera around...

The journey home felt noticeably quieter.

Soon...

The two boarded the familiar Senior First-Class Streamliner.

The massive steam locomotive released a deep whistle before slowly pulling away from the station.

Its steel wheels rolled smoothly along the railway tracks stretching across Britannia.

The journey lasted three full days.

Snow-covered mountains gradually disappeared behind them.

Industrial cities became quiet countryside.

Eventually...

The familiar outline of Steelhaven finally appeared beyond the train windows.

They had returned home.

To the quiet place they now called home.

The moment Lucy stepped inside the mansion...

She immediately looked around.

Dust had quietly gathered on several shelves and pieces of furniture during their long absence.

Without wasting another second...

She moved, passing Cognis through her veins to her legs to increase her speed.

Whoosh!

Lucy darted from room to room with practiced speed, inspecting every corner while mentally organizing what needed cleaning first.

Meanwhile...

Ezra calmly unpacked everything Elder Ivanhoe had given him before leaving.

Among the items...

Was a heavy wooden crate filled with several rare ores.

Which weren’t illegal to have privately.

That was the reason why the Elder gave him when he asked about it.

However...

They were still valuable enough that ordinary Alchemists would rarely have the chance to own them.

Elder Ivanhoe had personally approved Ezra’s request before they departed.

Besides the ores...

Ezra also unpacked several neatly wrapped snacks.

Head Maid Agata had secretly prepared them after Lucy mentioned Ezra’s birthday.

Although she had jokingly told Lucy that she, herself, should be a birthday gift...

She still insisted on sending additional presents.

After freshening up...

The two spent the remainder of the afternoon cleaning the mansion together.

Dust disappeared.

Furniture regained its shine.

Windows were wiped spotless.

By the time everything had finally been finished...

The sun had already begun setting beyond the distant mountains.

Lucy quietly prepared dinner and the two ate together in the peaceful dining room.

Afterward...

Exhaustion naturally caught up with them.

Without discussing anything further...

Both quietly returned to their rooms.

The mansion finally became peaceful once again.

The following morning arrived quietly.

A pale golden light stretched across the windows of the mansion as the early sun slowly climbed above the distant hills surrounding Steelhaven.

The cold morning air drifted through the slightly opened windows, carrying with it the familiar scent of damp earth and pine trees. Outside, the neighborhood was still peaceful. Only the occasional chirping of birds and the distant whistles of steam carriages broke the silence.

Just like every other morning...

Ezra resumed his daily routine.

He started with his physical exercises, moving through each motion with calm precision. His breathing remained steady as he repeated every movement that had long become second nature to him. Sweat gradually formed along his forehead, but his expression never changed.

After completing his exercises, he immediately moved on to his center of gravity training.

His feet shifted across the training platform in slow, measured movements while his body remained perfectly balanced. Every turn, every step, and every adjustment was performed with careful control, as though he were engraving each movement into his muscles.

Only after finishing that did, he sit cross-legged.

His eyes slowly closed.

A faint current of Cognis quietly flowed throughout his body.

For an entire hour, he continuously circulated the energy through every pathway, strengthening his body while allowing the Cognis to settle more naturally within him. The peaceful silence inside the training room made the rhythmic circulation even clearer.

When the session finally ended...

Ezra slowly exhaled before opening his eyes.

Then, he returned inside the mansion, took his bath to wash away the sweat from his training, changed into fresh clothes, and joined Lucy for breakfast.

The meal itself wasn’t particularly complicated.

It was quiet and comfortable.

After spending nearly, a month constantly surrounded by craftsmen, researchers, and members of the Ashenlocke Family, the peaceful atmosphere inside the mansion almost felt unfamiliar.

Once breakfast was over...

The two moved into the living room.

Ezra calmly sat down on his usual couch, leaning back while quietly looking toward the ceiling for a brief moment.

Lucy sat on the sofa opposite him.

Unlike Ezra, she rested comfortably against the cushions, hugging one of the decorative pillows while watching him expectantly.

"So, Master..."

She leaned forward slightly.

"What is our next move?"

Lucy asked with obvious curiosity.

By now, she had already grown accustomed to Ezra constantly planning something new.

Ever since they left the Trial Base...

One journey always led to another.

And one project naturally became the beginning of the next.

Although she sometimes complained...

She had also begun looking forward to those adventures.

Ezra remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

"I want to begin gathering the ingredients for some of the food recipes I mentioned before."

His tone remained as calm and plain as always.

Lucy’s eyes immediately brightened.

"Oh, really?"

She straightened her posture, with the excitement on her face becoming impossible to hide.

She still clearly remembered the detailed sketches Ezra had drawn for those strange dishes from another world.

Some looked sweet.

Some looked unbelievably rich.

Others didn’t even resemble anything she had ever seen in Britannia.

Ever since then...

She had secretly hoped they would eventually make them.

Unfortunately...

They had never found the time.

First came the Phantom Rolls.

Then Northwick.

After that...

The Ashenlocke Estate.

The opportunity simply never appeared.

But now...

It finally had.

A wide smile slowly spread across Lucy’s face.

Ezra continued speaking.

"After that...I want to properly set up my training area."

He rested one hand against his chin as he quietly organized his thoughts.

"Now that I have almost every ore I currently need...I also want to continue working on several firearms."

His eyes remained thoughtful.

Countless ideas had already begun taking shape inside his mind during the past month.

Most involved firearms.

Others...

Were entirely different inventions.

He paused.

Then his calm black eyes shifted toward Lucy.

"There is one more thing."

Lucy blinked.

"What is it, Master?"

Ezra answered without hesitation.

"We have to go to the Black Market."

His voice remained completely flat.

"...Eh?"

Lucy blinked twice.

The sentence caught her completely off guard.

She had totally forgotten about the Black Market with all the events and preparations that went by.

"Now?"

She tilted her head.

"So soon?"

"We’ll rest for one week."

Ezra replied casually.

"After that...We’ll leave."

There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in his voice.

His decision had clearly been made long before this conversation.

Without saying anything else...

He stood up.

Turning around, he quietly headed toward his study.

Lucy remained seated on the sofa.

She watched his back disappear into the hallway while trying to process everything he had just said.

"We only just came back from being away for so long..."

She sighed deeply.

"And we’re going to do the same thing all over again?"

Her shoulders dropped helplessly.

A few seconds later...

She rubbed the side of her forehead.

"I really should’ve kept my mouth shut."

She laughed quietly to herself.

Her eyes wandered toward the couch Ezra had been sitting on only moments ago.

The empty seat somehow made the room feel even quieter.

Another smile gradually appeared on her face.

"Another journey..."

She softly murmured.

"And this time...It’s to the Black Market."

Unlike before...

Instead of feeling worried...

Curiosity slowly won.

I wonder what kind of place would the Black Market be?

Would it really be filled with mysterious merchants? Like in those novels I have read.

Rare treasures too? And dangerous people?

Or...

Would it look completely ordinary?

The more she thought about it...

The more excited she became.

Lucy stood up and stretched both arms high above her head.

"I wonder how fun it’ll be."

Her cheerful voice echoed lightly through the living room.

She then walked down the hallway toward Ezra’s study.

As usual...

Ezra buried himself among stacks of books, quietly reading materials related to Alchemy, metallurgy, engineering, and the history of Britannia.

Lucy naturally settled into her favorite chair nearby.

She picked up one of her novels.

Before long...

The study became completely silent once again.

Only the occasional turning of pages could be heard as master and maid spent the peaceful afternoon side by side, each immersed in their own world of books while unknowingly preparing for yet another journey that awaited them beyond the quiet streets of Steelhaven.

As already explained before...

Ores were never resources that ordinary Alchemists or craftsmen could simply purchase and keep for themselves whenever they wished. This rule became even stricter when it involved the rare varieties, as most of them were tightly controlled by the Kingdom.

Unless someone entered one of the great industries that legally possessed mining and manufacturing rights over those ores...

Seeing them was almost impossible.

That was why Ezra had been able to properly study so many rare metals during his time inside the Ashcraft Research and Development Facility.

The ore Ezra was searching for now belonged to that same category.

Orichalcum.

A rare bronze-gold ore renowned throughout Britannia for its extraordinary Cognis conductivity.

Among all known metals...

It was considered one of the finest conductors of Cognis ever discovered.

Whether it was used in advanced Alchemy Circles, precision machinery, or specially engineered weapons, Orichalcum dramatically increased the efficiency of energy flow throughout the entire structure.

For that reason...

It had become the ideal material for creating non-Alchemist weapons that relied on engraved Cognis circuits.

Its value didn’t stop there.

Even an Alchemist who hadn’t reached the rank of a Full Alchemist could still produce high-grade creations simply by incorporating Orichalcum into the manufacturing process.

It was a metal capable of raising the quality of an invention on its own.

Naturally...

Such a resource couldn’t be left circulating freely.

The Kingdom maintained strict control over every piece of Orichalcum that entered the market.

Only the Royal Family, the Duke Families, the Count Families, and a handful of specially titled Alchemists possessed the authority to own or purchase the manufactured version of the ore.

As for the raw ore itself...

Citizens never even caught a glimpse of it.

It was therefore unsurprising that many Mainline children from the Duke and Count Families already wielded weapons forged with manufactured Orichalcum.

Ezra knew that very well.

If he wanted to stand on equal footing with the talented young Alchemists waiting inside the Royal Academy...

He needed Orichalcum.

Without it...

He would constantly begin every competition at a disadvantage.

That alone made this journey worthwhile.

It was precisely why traveling all the way to Velcryon had become one of his highest priorities.

After enjoying a full week of rest...

Master and maid once again packed their belongings and began another journey.

This time...

The destination lay much farther away.

During the trip...

They boarded two separate Senior First-Class Streamliners.

The massive locomotives thundered across endless railway tracks, carrying them through towering mountain ranges, snow-covered forests, prosperous industrial cities, and peaceful countryside villages.

Six days quietly passed like that.

Although the journey was long...

Neither of them complained.

Ezra spent most of his time reading books related to Alchemy, metallurgy, and Britannian history as always.

While Lucy...

On the other hand...

Either buried herself inside another adventure novel or stared excitedly through the train windows whenever they entered a new city.

Every unfamiliar landscape became another story for her imagination.

Finally...

The enormous city of Velcryon appeared before them.

Its skyline was filled with towering chimneys releasing steady streams of white steam into the cold sky, while countless elevated railways stretched between different districts like steel vines.

The city bustled with movement.

Steam carriages rolled through the streets one after another.

Merchants loudly advertised their goods.

Travelers from every corner of Britannia hurried toward their destinations.

After leaving the station...

Ezra and Lucy boarded a Steam Carriage that carried them toward the hotel they had already reserved.

The hotel would serve as their temporary base while they searched for the mysterious Black Market hidden somewhere inside Cryden Town.

Once they finished settling into their room...

Ezra immediately removed his Starlix from his Space Bag.

The holographic map unfolded above the device.

His calm eyes scanned the detailed map of Britannia before zooming into Velcryon and its surrounding districts.

"Cryden..."

He quietly muttered while studying the routes.

Only after confirming the location did he finally look away from the screen.

"Lucy."

His voice remained as calm as ever.

"Get dressed quickly. We’re leaving now."

Even while speaking...

His eyes never completely left the floating map.

"I’m almost done!"

Lucy’s cheerful voice echoed from the bathroom of the suite.

She had already changed out of the clothes she wore during the journey.

Since Cryden is a town filled with low-class citizens and commoners, they had to dress in an outfit that wouldn’t catch any unnecessary attention.

A few moments later...

The bathroom door opened.

Lucy stepped outside while smoothing the wrinkles from her sleeves.

"I’m ready."

She smiled brightly.

The excitement on her face couldn’t be hidden.

Ezra looked at her for a brief moment.

"You’ve really been looking forward to this Black Market."

His blank eyes quietly rested on her.

"Aren’t you getting too excited about everything?"

He raised one eyebrow ever so slightly.

"No."

Lucy immediately shook her head before lifting her index finger.

"My excitement is completely justified."

She confidently placed both hands on her waist.

"You see...From all the novels I’ve read..."

She raised one hand dramatically, as though she were giving an important lecture.

"Black Market arcs always lead to a hidden organization or an evil villain suddenly appearing."

Her eyes sparkled.

"So..."

She continued enthusiastically.

"There’s a chance we’ll end up fighting them. Or maybe we’ll accidentally save an entire town. Or uncover some huge conspiracy. The possibilities are endless."

Lucy nodded proudly, clearly satisfied with her own reasoning.

Ezra silently stared at her.

His narrowed black eyes carried a look that seemed to ask whether she had been reading far too many novels lately.

After several quiet seconds...

He finally spoke.

"Don’t jinx us."

His voice remained perfectly flat.

Without waiting for her reply...

He calmly picked up his Space Bag and slung it over his shoulder before walking toward the door.

Lucy giggled softly behind him.

"Master... I still think it’d make a great story."

Ezra didn’t answer.

He simply opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

Lucy hurried after him, her footsteps echoing lightly against the polished wooden floor.

Like that...

Master and maid officially began another journey together.

This time...

Their destination wasn’t a noble estate, or a grand city.

It was the mysterious Black Market of Britannia...

A place hidden beneath the Kingdom’s ordinary world, where secrets, forbidden goods, and dangerous opportunities quietly waited for those bold enough to seek them.