Chapter 600: The Grand First-Year Combat Festival: Back in Action

The morning sun shone brightly over the vast grounds of the Royal Academy as people began moving toward the same destination.

The Main Administrative Center.

After three days of rest and preparation, the final day of the Grand First-Year Combat Festival had finally arrived.

The roads surrounding the Royal Academy Main Administrative center were already crowded.

Families walked together while discussing the previous rounds, students moved in groups while arguing over who would win, and visitors who had come specifically for the tournament carried bags filled with food and newly purchased merchandise.

The excitement could be felt almost everywhere.

The conversations were no longer only about which First-Year students who had made it to the finals.

After everything that had happened during the Combat Festival, many people had started talking about something much larger.

New talents had appeared.

Young Alchemists who had once been unknown outside their own families had suddenly gained the attention of the Kingdom.

At the same time, several of the already famous young geniuses had shown exactly why the powerful families of Britannia considered them the future of the Kingdom.

The first round had already produced surprises.

The later rounds had produced even more.

And now, after all of that, only the final match remained.

Families, Royal Academy students, and visitors, all moved toward the Main Administrative Center.

Some bought merchandise bearing the names of the two finalists.

Others stopped at restaurants for breakfast before entering the Arena.

Vendors shouted over one another as they tried to sell food and tournament souvenirs, while children pointed toward banners hanging from buildings and asked their parents questions about the fighters.

The excitement was immense.

The Royal Academy had not felt this lively in days.

Back at the First-Year Residential District in the East Wing, inside Ezra’s home, the atmosphere was much quieter.

At least for the moment.

"I’m Backkkkkkkkk!!!!!"

Lucy’s cheerful voice echoed loudly from her room.

Ezra, who was in the kitchen, heard her immediately.

He had already known that Lucy would be ending her Meditation Advancement today, so he had prepared enough food for two people.

He left the kitchen then calmly placed the last dish on the table.

Then he heard hurried footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Ugh! My Scholars, I smell so bad!"

Lucy shouted in disgust.

The sound of her running footsteps quickly followed.

She clearly did not like whatever smell was coming from her own body after spending so much time in meditation.

Ezra glanced toward the doorway.

He did not need to ask what had happened.

A few minutes passed.

"Master!!!!"

Lucy ran into the dining room with tears gathering around her eyes.

She immediately knelt beside the first chair to Ezra’s right and grabbed the backrest.

Instead of sitting normally, she leaned the chair backward and rested her chin against it, looking as though she had just suffered some terrible tragedy.

"Binder Alchemist Rank Lucy reporting for duty."

Her voice carried a clear sobbing tone.

Ezra looked at her.

"Why are you sounding like that?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly while wiping his hands with a napkin.

"Because..."

Lucy sniffed.

Then she sobbed even harder.

"I made you take care of the whole house by yourself, and as your maid, how could I let that happen?"

She lowered her head.

"I’m a failure of a maid."

With that, Lucy dropped the chair back onto the floor and placed both hands against the ground as though her entire life had fallen apart.

Ezra stared at her for several seconds.

The expression on his face made it obvious that he was not buying the dramatic display.

He had seen enough of Lucy to know when she was being overly theatrical.

"Eat, and let’s go attend the Combat Festival."

Ezra spoke plainly.

Lucy immediately raised her head.

"Oh, the Combat Festival."

The sadness vanished from her face almost instantly.

She stood up sharply and dusted off her maid clothes before walking around the dining table.

She took the seat opposite Ezra and immediately began eating the food he had prepared.

"I didn’t check how long I have been away, but I guess the Combat Festival should still be around the Round of Sixteen or something like that?"

She looked at Ezra with growing excitement.

"That means I’ll be able to watch my cool Master kick all those other First-Years’ butts."

She tightened one hand into a fist while taking a sip of water.

"Today is the final, Lucy."

Ezra replied flatly.

He dropped the napkin onto his plate before standing up.

His clothes for the day were casual rather than his usual combat attire, and he adjusted the fabric around his waist before looking toward Lucy.

"Puff!!"

Lucy suddenly spat the water from her mouth.

"What?"

She stared at her Master in disbelief.

"I was out for that long?"

Ezra did not bother replying.

He simply walked toward the living room and sat down on the couch, waiting for Lucy to finish eating.

Lucy stared at his back for a few seconds.

Then she hurriedly returned to her meal.

After she finally finished breakfast, the two left the house and boarded their usual Noble Steam Carriage.

The carriage moved through the First-Year Academy grounds before the boarded the Mini-Train which took them to the Main Administrative Center.

When they finally arrived, Lucy’s eyes widened.

The Arena was already occupied.

Music played throughout the enormous structure while thousands of voices mixed together beneath it.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators filled the seats, and many of them were singing along with the music that played across the Arena.

The sound rolled through the air like a wave.

Lucy stood there for a moment.

She could not stop thinking about how much she had missed.

She had so many questions.

Which round had her Master reached?

Had he made it to the finals?

Had Lady Vera Ashenlocke made it to the finals too?

What about the Young Lord of Ash?

Had Master fought the disciple of Andraver?

Had he faced that crazy Mainline genius from Derlis?

Had he fought Lady Diane Bergwyn?

One question after another filled Lucy’s mind.

There was simply too much that had happened while she was away.

Before she could ask Ezra anything, another sound suddenly cut through her thoughts.

"Kyyyaaaa!!"

Several young noble and non-noble women began moving toward Ezra.

Some were older than him.

Others were closer to his age.

"Good morning, Ezra Ashenlocke!"

Many of them greeted him at once.

Ezra stopped walking.

He looked at the approaching group before giving them a polite bow.

"Good morning."

He did not say much more.

That only seemed to make the situation worse.

Several of the women took pictures with him.

Others tried to exchange contact information.

A few openly mentioned that they had already sent marriage requests to the Ashenlocke House and that their own families had approved them.

Lucy stood behind Ezra.

She blinked once.

Then twice.

Then a third time.

Her expression slowly changed.

She looked from the women surrounding her Master to Ezra, who remained surprisingly composed in the middle of all of it.

Lucy blinked several more times.

"What the hell is going on?"

She muttered to herself.

Her voice was almost drowned out by the surrounding chatter.

Ezra continued moving forward with the same expression, politely responding whenever someone greeted him.

Eventually, after pushing through the crowd of Noble and non-Noble ladies who were trying to gain a connection with Ezra, the two finally made their way toward the First-Year seating section.

"Hey, Ezra."

Cyrus raised one hand and waved.

Ezra waved back.

"Good morning."

Cyrus’s eyes then moved past Ezra and landed on Lucy.

The corners of his mouth lifted.

"Miss Maid."

"Good morning, Sir Cyrus Burnwick."

Lucy immediately bowed respectfully.

"How are you?"

Cyrus stood up and walked toward her while Ezra took his seat.

He placed his right hand against his chin and looked Lucy over for a moment.

"Hmm..."

His eyes brightened.

"You actually broke through to the Binder Alchemist Rank. So cool."

Cyrus gave her a thumbs-up.

"Thank you."

Lucy smiled proudly.

She straightened her back a little more.

The pride on her face was impossible to miss.

Before the conversation could continue, another voice came from behind Lucy.

"Please, I’m coming through. Please, may I pass?"

Hermione’s voice reached them.

Lucy turned sharply.

She immediately stepped aside to make room for her.

Cyrus also returned to his seat.

Hermione came through while carrying Diane in her arms.

Diane was completely asleep.

Her body rested comfortably against Hermione, and her eyes remained closed as though the noise of the Arena had nothing to do with her.

"Oh, thank the Scholars you are here, Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke."

Hermione breathed out in relief.

She adjusted Diane slightly in her arms before continuing.

"The Lady said she wanted to come here to watch Lady Vera Ashenlocke’s fight, even though she has been sleeping lazily since the tenth round ended and she still seems tired even now."

Hermione glanced toward the seating area where the Queen was gathering several of the girls.

"Lady Willow Derlis, Lady Sasha Burnwick, and Lady Selena Galehart are all seated with the Queen. Her Majesty gathered them together so they could cheer for Lady Vera Ashenlocke during her fight."

Hermione lowered her head slightly.

"So, I can only trust you with My Lady. Please."

Ezra looked at Hermione.

Then he looked at the sleeping Diane.

He studied her for a moment before answering.

"Do whatever you want to do. I don’t have any problem with it."

His voice remained calm.

"Thank you."

Hermione lowered her head again.

She carefully carried Diane toward the seats.

Then she placed Diane down in the seat to Ezra’s left.

Diane shifted almost immediately.

Even while asleep, she seemed to know where Ezra was.

She adjusted her posture, leaned sideways, and rested her head against Ezra’s shoulder.

Then she went completely still again.

Her breathing remained slow and peaceful.

Hermione watched the scene for a moment.

She lowered her head once more in appreciation before turning toward Lucy.

Lucy, however, was staring at Diane.

Her eyes slowly widened.

She looked at Diane resting comfortably against Ezra.

Then she looked at Ezra.

Lucy’s cheeks puffed slightly.

"And he said he doesn’t like hugs..."

She muttered under her breath, jealousy creeping into her voice.

Hermione heard her.

"Lucy, let’s go."

Hermione reached out and grabbed Lucy by the wrist.

"Ehn?"

Lucy looked at her in confusion.

"Where are we going?"

Hermione started dragging her away.

"You don’t know that we Attendants of The Royal Academy Students has different jobs to execute while the festival goes on? Idiot, where have you been all this while?"

Lucy stumbled after her.

"Wait!"

She turned her head toward Ezra.

"I want to be with Master! I just got back!"

Hermione continued pulling her away.

"Nooooo!!"

Lucy stretched her free hand toward Ezra as she was dragged farther into the Arena.

Ezra glanced at her for a moment.

Then he looked toward the battlefield.

The noise of the spectators continued rising around them.

The final match were about to begin.

And after three days of rest, the Grand First-Year Combat Festival was finally back in action.