Chapter 712: Humans’ Mindset Towards the Incomprehensible

Ezra was the last to enter the Craft & Research Seekers Club building.

Many of the club members had already returned to the building after the commotion outside came to an end.

The reception hall was no longer as crowded as it had been earlier, but several groups of students were still gathered around the tables and chairs they had taken out earlier and corridors.

Some had returned to their studies, while others were discussing what had happened outside.

The moment Ezra stepped through the entrance, a few members glanced in his direction.

One of them had been speaking to a friend, but his words slowed when he noticed Ezra.

He looked at him for a moment before turning back to the person beside him.

Another member, who had been standing near the reception desk, lowered his gaze and pretended to be occupied with something in his hands.

A few others simply avoided looking at him.

The sudden argument surrounding Ezra had clearly affected them.

Some of the club members had already heard about the article but had managed to brush it off.

They had continued treating him as they always did, especially with the level of his achievements in the club.

However, hearing Ezra’s name brought up again, alongside the scandal of him being a murderer, had made people uncomfortable.

It was no longer just something they had read in an article or heard from another student.

They had heard other students openly discussing it.

Some had even questioned why someone like Ezra was allowed to walk around the Academy without facing any consequences.

Now that he was standing among them, the subject was no longer distant.

"A moment ago, they were all acting like you were a celebrity, and now you’re like a criminal."

Cyrus muttered, looking at the few club members with a disappointed gaze.

He had noticed the change as well.

Some of the same people who had previously approached Ezra with excitement were now avoiding him.

A few had even stopped their conversations when he entered.

It wasn’t even a day change, or a long pass hours change...

It was only like a few hours, or even an hour, that had passed.

But the change was very clear in the behaviour towards Ezra.

Cyrus couldn’t help finding their behaviour ridiculous.

This was the exact thing he hated the most about people.

Ezra didn’t reply or react.

His expression remained the same because he knew quite well how the human mind and heart worked, at least from what he had seen in the memories of his past-self and the way his fellow soldiers had looked at him after his first massacre.

The horrified gazes.

The stares of fear.

Disgust.

Respect mixed with clear fear.

Uneasiness.

Wary looks.

There had been so many different gazes in those memories, along with the silence that many of them had shown him.

It was the way the human mind operated.

Whatever people couldn’t understand or comprehend wasn’t always treated as something to admire or revere.

Most of the time, it grew into fear or uneasiness because the person they thought they knew had become someone they could no longer comprehend.

That was what scared them the most.

Even though Ezra’s world is completely different from the one in his past-self world, it did not change the way the human mind worked.

Powers and inhuman things related to fantasy or myths in his past-self’s world were basically part of Ezra’s everyday life here.

It did not change the way people reacted.

"I don’t understand why you all are acting like babies."

Agnes Scarlet’s voice echoed through the reception hall.

Her words cut through the low voiced conversations.

Several club members turned towards her, including a few who had been trying to avoid looking at Ezra.

Agnes stood with her arms folded. Her expression showed little concern for the awkward atmosphere around her.

"You know, I have killed before, right?"

She spoke casually.

A few of the First-Year club members looked lost and dumbfounded.

One of them glanced at another, seemingly waiting for an explanation.

They had not expected Agnes to bring up something like that so casually.

Samuel, who was standing nearby, looked towards her.

"Hey, Agnes, I don’t think this is the best time to be speaking like that."

He tried to calm her down, even though she looked calm.

Because he knew she wasn’t.

Agnes didn’t immediately answer him.

Her eyes moved across the members who had gathered in the reception hall.

Some were still looking at her, while others seemed uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken.

"I get the fact that a massacre is bad and everything, but are you all cowards? Why are you freezing up or acting uneasy because someone who was stated to have single-handedly..."

She paused, glancing at Ezra.

To her...

Ezra looked completely unbothered by the gazes and the conversation about him.

Her lips tightened.

"Tsk."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Cowards."

She spoke with clear irritation, then turned and left through the hallway.

Her footsteps moved away from the reception hall, leaving Samuel standing where he was.

He watched her leave before looking back at the other members.

He seemed to consider saying something, but the expressions around him made it clear that Agnes’s words had not exactly settled the matter.

The few club members who had felt uneasy looked more complicated.

Some lowered their eyes.

Others exchanged glances, but none of them seemed willing to continue the discussion.

A few had been caught between wanting to defend themselves and not knowing what to say.

Clap!

Clap!

The sound of hands coming together echoed through the reception hall.

"Alright, guys. We can’t all be spending our time glooming in the reception hall."

Luke Sanders walked out from the corridor of the club building.

He looked calm and had a simple smile on his face.

His gaze moved across the gathered members before settling on a group of Second-Years.

"Don’t you guys have a study group going on, before you left to watch the commotion outside?"

He pointed at them.

"Oh, that’s true."

One of them replied, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Another member beside him glanced towards the direction of the Workshop, as though only now remembering what they had been doing before leaving.

Like that, the club members realized that they actually had other things they had been doing long before the commotion and the reminder of Ezra’s article.

A few began gathering their belongings.

Others returned to their previous conversations, while the Second-Year group Luke had pointed at started making their way towards their study area.

The reception hall slowly became less crowded.

Not everyone had completely forgotten what had happened, but there was no reason for them to remain standing around discussing it.

The club still had its own activities, and Luke’s reminder was enough to get most of them moving again.

Ezra signaled to Cyrus that they should also head to the Workshop to discuss the study they were researching together.

Especially the new things they had discovered after reviewing the study personally.

Cyrus noticed Ezra’s gesture and nodded.

He was about to follow when a familiar voice interrupted them.

"President Luke."

Vera calmly called the club president.

"Oh, Lady Vera Ashenlocke."

Luke turned towards her and lowered his head slightly.

"Is the professor around?"

Vera asked.

"No, but he did say he would be back tomorrow."

Luke replied calmly.

"So, will you be giving the news today, or will you wait?"

He asked curiously.

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke has some news?"

A few of the club members who were still hanging around the reception hall glanced towards where Vera stood.

Diane was behind her, resting her head peacefully.

Her eyes were closed, and she seemed comfortable enough to sleep despite the activity around her.

Vera glanced at her before answering.

"I prefer to get it done today, since this sleeping beauty and I will be spending a while settling some papers and other stuff tomorrow."

She replied casually, pointing at Diane.

Diane didn’t seem particularly bothered by being called a sleeping beauty.

She remained where she was, leaving Vera to handle the conversation.

"Oh, okay. Then I’ll call everyone to the meeting room now."

Luke said before turning and leaving.

He walked towards the corridor, preparing to make the announcement.

A few members who had been about to leave the reception hall stopped when they heard the exchange.

The mention of news had naturally caught their attention.

"What’s happening?"

Cyrus asked, looking at Vera and Diane curiously.

"You seem to have gotten used to our presence here, to the point that you’ve forgotten we’re just temporary club members."

Vera answered in a calm tone.

She looked at Cyrus with her dull black eyes before shifting her gaze towards Ezra.

"We finally got a club room, which is comfortable."

Diane said lightly with a pleased smile.

Her comment was simple, but it made Cyrus look at her for a moment.

He had not expected that to be the reason she was enjoying her time there.

Before he could say anything else, the club speakers came to life.

"Please, everyone should gather in the meeting room!"

The announcement echoed through the speakers installed around the walls of the building.

Club members who had resumed their previous activities turned towards the voice.

Some looked curious.

A few stopped what they were doing and exchanged glances, while others didn’t need much thought before beginning to walk towards the meeting room.

The announcement had reached the different parts of the building, and the members gradually began making their way out of their work areas.

Vera heard the announcement.

"Shall we?"

She said lightly.

Ezra and the group began walking towards the meeting room.

The reception hall gradually emptied as more members followed the announcement.

A few students greeted Vera and Diane when they passed them, while others glanced at Diane, who was still walking close behind her for a while.

Cyrus walked alongside Ezra.

He seemed to have several questions, but Vera’s earlier answer had not given him much to work with.

"You must be excited."

Vera said calmly, while her gaze was on where she was walking.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Ezra replied plainly.

He also kept his gaze towards where he was walking.

"I will be leaving the club, so you won’t be getting your daily club dose of me anymore."

Vera said casually.

"Ahh, I feel so bad. My Inventor will surely miss me, all alone in this place without me in it. What a sad time. But you know... if you join my club, then we’ll have all the time in the world to ourselves."

She spoke lightly while placing her right hand on her chest.

She turned slightly, looking at Ezra with a faint smile on her face.

"Yeah... No."

Ezra replied plainly, without any hesitation.

"A sharp reply. Is this what they call a word-stabbing effect?"

Vera moved gently to the side with a few steps, acting as if her heart had been stabbed by Ezra’s sharp reply.

"You sound like you enjoy hearing no more than yes."

Ezra narrowed his eyes as he looked at Vera.

"And what makes my ever-so-great Inventor think about me like that?"

Vera walked closer to Ezra.

But Ezra turned and entered the meeting room.

Vera looked at the entrance plainly.

Her thoughts were different from the atmosphere she and Ezra had shared.

They really want me to act in this Faction Wars.

She looked plainly at the club members who greeted her as she entered.

But for my Inventor’s sake, I will sit this one out.

I will let the future play out the way it should.

Knowing Ezra...

He will be fine.

So, me getting involved would just lead to a different outcome.

And because of this difficulty...

It seems it’s those people that are trying to get involved with my dear inventor.

Annoying.

Very annoying indeed.

Vera waved at the club members as she and Diane walked towards the front of the meeting room.