Chapter 484: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Seventh Round

"Mum."

The daughter of Park, who had been holding onto her mother’s casual gown, looked at Ezra with curiosity.

Her small fingers were still wrapped around the fabric, and she tilted her head slightly as she studied the young Alchemist standing in front of her. She had clearly heard his name many times before, but seeing the person himself seemed to make the name feel different.

"Yes, dear."

Park’s wife answered calmly, gently rubbing her daughter’s hair.

She then removed her other hand from her son, who had been holding onto it, and placed it softly on top of his hair.

"That’s Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke."

She said while looking at her son.

"That’s the Young Alchemist you two and your father always talk about."

The moment the children heard that, their eyes widened.

"Ehhhh!! Ear Ashelocke!"

The two shouted at the same time, looking at Ezra in shock.

Their voices were loud enough that a few people walking nearby turned their heads toward them.

"It’s Ezra Ashenlocke, kids."

Park looked at his two children and corrected them with a helpless smile on his face.

He had probably heard them mispronounce Ezra’s name enough times that correcting them had become a normal part of his life.

"Yes."

The two kids replied at the same time.

"Hahaha... I’m sorry, Young Alchemist."

Park’s wife said softly.

"I don’t mind."

Ezra replied calmly.

His plain expression didn’t change in the slightest as he looked at the two children.

"Wow, it’s the real Ezr."

The daughter of Park moved a bit forward, looking at Ezra excitedly.

She had probably seen him before on Holographic Screens, posters, and the merchandise being sold around the Combat Festival, but standing directly in front of him was clearly much more exciting.

"He looks huge."

The son of Park looked up at Ezra with sparkling eyes.

From his position, Ezra probably did look much larger than he had expected.

"We were going to buy your new merch when I happened to see you from afar, so I ran to greet you."

Park said while removing the hand of his baby, who was busy playing with his face and hair.

The baby had apparently become more interested in Park’s face than anything happening around them, pulling lightly at his hair while Park tried to continue the conversation without letting the child disturb him too much.

"But are you the only one?"

He looked around Ezra’s back.

His eyes moved through the people passing behind Ezra, as if expecting someone else to appear.

"I don’t see your Maid... Lucy."

Park said, curious about why Lucy was not with Ezra.

"She’s stuck with something back at our residence."

Ezra replied calmly.

"Oh, I see."

Park nodded, adjusting his hold on his baby girl.

The baby shifted slightly in his arms, and Park instinctively supported her back before looking toward his wife.

"We should be going, dear. So, we don’t miss the new merch of the Young Alchemist."

Park’s wife said while walking toward Ezra.

Because her two children were already gluing themselves to Ezra.

Both of them grabbed his hands.

"Wow, is this the hand of an Alchemist?"

The son of Park said, amazed.

He looked at Ezra’s hand as if he had discovered something special about it, turning it slightly in his small grip.

"I wonder who is stronger between Father and Ezr."

The daughter of Park said, also excitedly.

Park’s expression immediately became a little awkward.

The two children, however, were already in their own world, completely focused on admiring Ezra while he simply let them do whatever they wanted with his hands.

Ezra lowered his eyes toward them.

The children were small compared to him, and neither seemed to have any fear of grabbing the hands of an Alchemist who had already become famous throughout Britannia.

They simply looked happy.

Really happy.

The feeling of seeing the happy children felt too unnatural to his eyes.

It wasn’t that Ezra couldn’t remember the times he used to smile like these two children.

I used to...

A lot.

With his mother in his arms, or when he read new books about the Sterling history, Britannia history and so on.

But it was already a life filled with to many reality checks that this genuine carefree happy feeling felt so unnatural to him.

The wife of Park carried her daughter up.

"We have to leave the Young Alchemist now."

She said warmly.

"Noooo! I want to see Ezr."

The daughter protested.

She stretched one hand toward Ezra while her mother held her securely.

The son of Park immediately hugged Ezra’s leg tightly, hesitant to leave.

Ezra looked down at him plainly.

The boy had both arms wrapped around his leg and seemed determined not to let go.

"You know we have to buy the new merch of your favorite Alchemist, or else how would you get to cheer for him during his match?"

Park’s wife said calmly.

Her son looked at his mother.

The boy seemed to think about what she had said.

His expression changed slightly as he considered the problem.

The words seemed to work effortlessly on the two children.

The son finally let go of Ezra’s leg and ran toward his mother, grabbing the edge of her casual gown again.

The daughter also settled down in her mother’s arms, though she continued looking back at Ezra.

"It’s good seeing your face again, Ezra."

Park said with a warm smile.

The joking expression he had worn earlier softened.

"I wish you luck in this next round... Ezra to win, right guys?"

He said while looking at his two children.

"Ezr to win!!"

The two replied with the same energy as their father.

Their voices were loud enough to draw another few curious looks from the people nearby again.

"Thank you."

Ezra replied calmly again.

"Bye, Young Alchemist."

Park’s wife said while holding her son’s hand before they began walking in the direction where they would buy the merchandise of Ezra Ashenlocke.

"Bye, Ezra."

The two children waved their hands, finally getting Ezra’s name correctly.

Ezra waved lightly at the family.

His plain eyes remained on their figures as they moved away, slowly becoming part of the crowd surrounding the Arena.

The children continued looking back for a while, waving whenever they caught sight of Ezra again.

Eventually, the family disappeared among the people.

Ezra lowered his hand.

Then he left too, moving into the crowd toward the Arena.

He was walking with Lenny earlier, whom he had promised to meet in the shop-stall area so he could greet Rogers, who had told Lenny to call him when Ezra was with him.

That had been the reason Ezra had come through this part of the festival grounds.

After the call, however, he had gotten stopped by Park.

So, now he had wasted a bit of time before getting to the Arena.

Ezra continued walking towards the Arena as the sounds of the festival grew louder.

The closer he got to the Arena, the harder it became to hear individual conversations.

There were too many people.

Parents were guiding their children through the crowd, students were discussing the upcoming matches, and merchants were calling out from their stalls while trying to sell festival merchandise before the Seventh Round began.

Some people were already wearing clothing with the names of their favorite Alchemists printed across them.

Others carried small flags and banners.

The entire area seemed to be moving toward the same destination.

The Arena.

Time passed.

By the time Ezra reached the Arena, the entire place was filled with Noble and Non-Noble guests.

The voices of hundreds of thousands of people rose together, creating a constant wave of sound that filled the enormous structure.

People cheered excitedly for the Seventh Round to commence.

Some spectators stood while waiting for the matches to begin, while others remained in their seats and discussed the matchups displayed on the Holographic Screens.

All the Counts, Viscounts, High-Embers, Low-Embers, and Barons sat in their designated sections, while their other family members occupied the lower columns below them.

The different noble families had their own areas, and the higher-ranking members naturally occupied the better positions.

The High Powers of the kingdom sat in their usual section.

Their presence alone was enough to make that part of the Arena feel different from the rest.

The Queen sat among them with an excited expression, although it obviously couldn’t be seen clearly because of the veil covering her face.

For today’s round...

The Queen had gone full yellow with a little silver on her royal gown.

The fabric caught the light whenever she moved, while the silver details broke up the yellow without taking away from the main color.

Around her sat all the Heads of the Royal Alchemist Branches.

They watched the stage while Patrick prepared to begin his usual speech.

The noise in the Arena gradually settled as more people noticed that the announcer was about to begin.

Patrick stood on the fight platform with his microphone in hand.

Behind him, the enormous Arena stretched outward in every direction, packed with spectators waiting to see which young Alchemists would rise and which would fall during the Seventh Round.

Patrick began his usual welcoming speech before showing the list of matches and commencing the first match.

On the fight platform, small Holographic Screens began to appear one by one, hovering above Patrick’s head.

The first screen appeared.

Screen 1: Maxwell vs. Zack Ashenlocke

Another appeared beside it.

Screen 2: Felix Ashenlocke vs. Priscilla Ashenlocke

Then another.

Screen 3: Nina Ashenlocke vs. Willow Derlis

The crowd reacted to several of the names, with different sections becoming louder whenever a favorite appeared, especially for Willow Derlis.

The next screens followed.

Screen 4: Nickolas Balor vs. Gin Drakes

Screen 5: Ezra Ashenlocke vs. Desmond Derlis

The moment Ezra’s name appeared, a noticeable wave of cheers came from part of the Arena.

It was the same for Desmond Derlis, which was mostly ladies who cheered for him.

But this caused a battle, because the majority who cheered for Ezra were ladies too.

Screen 6: Vera Ashenlocke vs. Grace Evergrey

This time, the reaction came louder than Ezra’s own cheers.

Screen 7: Veda Ashenlocke vs. Sasha Burnwick

Screen 8: Ravenor Burnwick vs. Philippa Bergwyn

The crowd erupted just as powerful as the supporters of Vera Ashenlocke cheered, now fighting for who could cheer their favorite Young Alchemist more.

Screen 9: Diane Bergwyn vs. Phiora Casper

The supporters of Diane joined the cheering war.

Screen 10: Selena Galehart vs. Stella Aethelmont

Another group of supporters joined in once Selena’s name appeared.

Screen 11: Cyrus Burnwick vs. Kane Casper

Screen 12: Lyra Ashburn vs. Styles Burns

The twelve matchups remained floating above Patrick, allowing the spectators to look through the entire list.

Some people immediately began discussing the matches with the people sitting beside them.

Others had already begun thinking about which fight they wanted to see the most.

"The matchups for the Seventh Round are surely going to be very exciting from the names I’m looking at facing each other."

Patrick said brightly while looking around the filled Arena.

His voice carried through the entire structure.

"So, without any further time wasting!"

He shouted, holding the microphone in his hand a bit higher.

The crowd began responding.

Some spectators raised their hands.

Others shouted.

A few groups started chanting the names of their favorite competitors.

Patrick waited only long enough for the excitement to rise before continuing.

"Let the Seventh Round of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival begin with the first match!"

He said while looking toward the right Arena entrance.

The crowd quieted slightly in anticipation.

Patrick turned his body toward the entrance.

"The Crimson Flower herself..."

Patrick paused.

The brief pause was enough for the audience to know exactly who he was about to announce.

"Willow Derlis!!!"

He shouted excitedly.

A large cheer immediately erupted from the Arena.

"Vs. the Duke House, which has shown to have a lot of promising children."

He leaned forward slightly.

"I mean... They are the House with the most students still in this round."

He said calmly.

"Nina Ashenlocke!!"

He shouted her name.

The crowd immediately erupted in cheers.

Of course, the cheers were directed at one person more than the other.

And that person was Willow Derlis.

The Crimson Flower of Britannia was already a noble lady of the Duke House Derlis with a reputation strong enough that her name alone could draw a powerful reaction from the spectators.

At the same time, there were still people cheering for Nina, especially among the Ashenlocke supporters.

The two girls walked onto the stage calmly.

The sounds of the crowd continued around them, but neither girl allowed the noise to disrupt her approach.

Nina did feel faintly nervous facing a powerful Alchemist like Willow Derlis.

She kept walking despite the feeling, her attention remaining on the opponent waiting for her on the platform.

Willow held her walking stick in front of her while standing in a calm posture.

Her grip remained steady.

Her crimson-red eyes observed Nina calmly.

There was no obvious excitement in her expression.

No nervous movement.

No unnecessary gesture.

She simply stood there and watched Nina approach.

The distance between the two girls slowly disappeared as they moved toward their positions on opposite sides of the fight platform.

The Arena remained loud, but for Nina, the sounds around her seemed to fade slightly as her attention settled completely on Willow.

The Seventh Round had begun.

And the first match was about to start.