Chapter 673: Training with the Duke of Ash

"Seriously?"

Elder Ivanhoe stared at Ezra, his eyebrows rising as he tried to make sense of what the young noble had just told him.

"I’m not the creator, so he should receive a percentage from his own work. I’m fine with three percent since I already have plenty of percentage gains coming from the firearms and gadgets I will earn from their first sales."

Ezra replied in his usual straightforward tone.

He sat comfortably in his chair, showing no sign that he considered the matter worth arguing over.

To him, the decision was simple.

Although he had assisted Blake Wellston with the production of the Steam Bicycle, Blake was the one who had created the original design.

He had helped improve it, but that did not mean he needed to take a larger share of the reward.

He already had plenty of incoming earnings from his own inventions.

There was no reason to collect more from someone else’s work.

"That’s really nice of you. Wow, when I heard from Portia that you were the one who recommended the Wellston child to Ash Academy, I already knew he might be a talent. Especially considering how talented you are yourself."

Elder Ivanhoe leaned back slightly, looking at Ezra with a mixture of surprise and approval.

"You must really like the child."

A pleased smile appeared on his face.

He seemed to find Ezra’s attitude rather admirable, especially considering how much money the Steam Bicycle could bring to the Ashenlocke Family.

Ezra, however, had his own reasons for making the decision.

Taking a higher reward would obviously cause Blake’s parents to question his involvement with me.

He considered the matter without changing his expression.

It’s better to avoid planting the seed for that kind of suspicion.

Giving Blake a fair share of the earnings would also help build his loyalty and earn his parents’ trust.

There was no need to create unnecessary tension when the situation could be easily handled this way.

Of course, those greedy relatives might still have questions.

But that’s all they can do.

Ezra had already considered that possibility.

He knew that not everyone would be satisfied, no matter how reasonable the arrangement was.

Not that any of their thoughts was his concern.

He only cared about Blake’s thoughts and how to keep them in check without doing too much.

Blake is like Lucy.

So, using this method should help me keep track of their loyalty.

His thoughts remained calm and practical.

While Elder Ivanhoe continued praising his decision, Ezra responded when necessary.

He did not reject the older man’s compliments, but neither did he seem particularly interested in receiving them.

He had made his choice, and there was little else to discuss.

Once their conversation about the Steam Bicycle came to an end, The other Senior Members of the Ashcraft walked into the meeting room, settling down one by one for the real meeting to begin.

Ezra reached for the documents he had brought with him.

Then he placed them on the meeting table and pushed them towards Elder Ivanhoe.

"These are the details for the M27 IAR and the ?korpion vz. 61."

Elder Ivanhoe accepted the documents, and the other heads of Ashcraft who were physically present in the meeting room gathered closer to examine them.

Although, several of the leaders were not there in person.

Their figures appeared on the large screens arranged along the walls, allowing them to participate through video calls.

As the documents were distributed, some leaned towards their cameras while others began reading the information displayed before them.

Ezra gave a brief summary of the two firearms, explaining their designs and the points the Ashcraft leaders needed to consider before production could begin.

He kept his explanation focused on the important details.

There was no need to spend the entire meeting discussing every feature when the documents already contained the information they required.

After he finished, the leaders began discussing the production process.

The conversation gradually moved towards the creation of the Alchemy Circle Manuals.

The firearms themselves were only part of the work ahead.

Their Alchemy production methods also needed to be organized, and the manuals had to be prepared so that the relevant Alchemists could understand how to create the Alchemy Circles required for the weapons.

The leaders exchanged their views, discussing the work that would need to be done before the new firearms could enter production.

Ezra listened for a while, answering questions when his input was needed.

By then, however, the daylight above the underground facility had begun to fade.

The light coming through the windows of the reception hall had grown weaker, and the lamps in the reception office as well as other offices in the facility had become more noticeable.

Ezra upon checking the time, eventually left the meeting.

He had other work waiting for him, but there was little reason to remain at the facility once the discussion had reached this stage.

And so, his daily routine at the Ashenlocke Estate began to take shape.

Each morning, Ezra left his room in the Guest House and made his way to the Ashcraft Research and Development Facility.

There, he assisted the staff with the production of the new firearms he had introduced.

The work required his attention, particularly while the team was still becoming familiar with the designs.

Whenever he had free time at the facility, he worked on another task.

He began writing a training manual explaining how to use the Law of Inversion to coat bullets.

The method needed to be explained clearly enough for other Alchemists to understand and apply it.

Since the technique involved using an established Alchemy principle in a specific way, the manual had to present the process in an orderly manner.

Ezra worked on it whenever he could spare the time.

He also checked Lucy’s progress whenever their schedules allowed it.

He had instructed her to begin her training, and he intended to keep an eye on how well she was adapting.

The days passed in much the same way.

Work at Ashcraft occupied most of his time, while the manual and Lucy’s training filled the gaps between his other responsibilities.

He continued with the routine for an entire week before the next important event arrived.

It was finally time for Ezra to visit the Duke of Ash’s mansion for his personal training.

The reward for choosing any of the family’s top Gun Alchemists had been an opportunity that only the children of Ash who succeeded in becoming the highest-ranking students of Royal could reasonably expect to receive.

Training under the Duke himself was not something every student could demand, regardless of their standing within the family.

Naturally, Veda was also allowed to train with his father.

Because as the Young Lord, he already held a position that set him apart from the other children.

Vera, meanwhile, did not need an invitation to receive her father’s teachings.

She was the Duke’s daughter and the number-one student of Royal Academy, so there was little reason for anyone to question her place in such training.

Ezra’s situation was different.

He had not needed to rank among the top three students in his first-year academic ranking to attract the Duke’s attention.

The Duke of Ash had wanted a one-on-one conversation with him regardless.

That alone made the visit worth paying attention to.

***

The Royal Steam Carriage carrying Ezra arrived at the Duke’s mansion and came to a smooth stop outside its enormous gates.

Ezra opened the door, stepping down from the steam carriage.

The first thing he noticed was the black gate standing before him.

It was tall, thick, and firmly sealed, with no clear view of what lay beyond it.

High walls extended from either side, enclosing the mansion grounds and preventing outsiders from seeing inside.

Ezra stood there for a moment, examining the structure.

His senses could not penetrate the walls well enough to reveal what was happening beyond them.

Whatever security measures had been put in place, they were sufficient to keep him from casually sensing the other side.

Still, he could hear something.

Faint footsteps approached from behind the gate, growing clearer as the Guards of Ash came towards the entrance.

A moment later, the sound of a lock being released came from within.

A small section of the gatehouse opened.

Two guards appeared and approached Ezra with respectful expressions.

Their uniforms were neat, and their attention remained fixed on the young noble standing before them.

"Greetings."

Ezra lowered his head slightly.

"Greetings, Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke."

The guards returned his greeting before beginning the security check.

They scanned his body and examined his Space Bag, making sure there was nothing that should not be brought inside.

Ezra remained still while they worked, allowing them to complete their inspection without complaint.

Once everything had been checked, one of the guards gestured for him to follow.

Rather than opening the enormous gate, the guard led Ezra through a smaller door built into the gatehouse.

He passed through the narrow entrance and into the building, where another door waited on the opposite side.

The guard opened it.

Ezra stepped through, and the mansion’s grounds came into view.

The first sound to greet him was the loud barking of hounds.

Several sharp barks echoed across the courtyard, drawing his attention towards the mansion’s outer grounds.

The sound carried through the open space before fading beneath the movement of people going about their work.

Ezra’s gaze moved from left to right.

The front courtyard was enormous.

There was enough open space for several groups of people to move about without getting in one another’s way, and the paths had been kept clean.

The buildings and other structures were arranged with care, giving the estate an orderly appearance despite its size.

On the right, servants were working in the flower garden.

Some tended to the plants while others worked along the edges of the garden, keeping the area neat.

A little farther away, a maid scattered grains of rice across the ground.

Domestic doves descended towards the food.

Their wings fluttered as they landed, and a few hopped closer to the scattered grains.

The maid watched them while continuing to pour out the rice, taking care not to spill it all in one place.

Guards of Ash stood at different points throughout the courtyard.

Some remained at their posts, watching the surrounding area.

Others moved along the paths, carrying out their duties.

Their positions were spread across the grounds, leaving few places without some form of security.

Ezra continued observing as he walked.

The mansion was not merely large.

Its security had been arranged carefully, and the estate’s structures had been built to match the status of the Duke who lived there.

On the left side of the courtyard stood a stone wall built in the shape of a maze.

Its turns and sections blocked the view of what lay beyond it, making the structure more than a simple decoration.

Ezra gave it a brief look before returning his attention to the path ahead.

He did not linger over any single detail.

He simply took note of what he saw, storing the information away as he continued through the grounds.

Before long, a mini-Steam Carriage arrived to take him to the Duke’s personal training ground.

Ezra boarded it, and the vehicle carried him farther into the Duke of Ash estate.

The journey ended at another secured entrance.

He stepped out and underwent a second security scan before being allowed to proceed.

Once the guards had finished checking him, he was permitted to enter the training area.

A maid was waiting to receive him.

"This way, Young Noble."

She led him towards the changing room, where a fresh set of training clothes had already been prepared.

Ezra looked at the outfit before turning towards her.

"Thank you, Ma’am."

"You are welcome, Young Noble."

The maid lowered her head politely, then left him to change.

Ezra removed his usual clothes and put on the black training outfit.

He checked that everything fit properly before folding his own clothes and placing them inside the wardrobe.

He kept them arranged rather than leaving them scattered across the bench.

Once he had finished, he closed the wardrobe and walked out of the changing room.

A butler was waiting outside.

The man bowed before leading Ezra towards the training ground.

As they approached, the sound of gunfire reached Ezra’s ears.

Bang!

The sharp report rang across the grounds.

Ezra looked towards the source of the sound.

The Duke of Ash was sitting calmly on a throw pillow, watching the training session.

His posture showed no sign of agitation, even with the repeated sounds of gunfire coming from the field.

A short distance away stood Veda.

The Young Lord of Ash was kneeling on the ground with a Springfield M1903A held firmly in his hands.

He kept his body steady as he looked through the scope, aligning his aim with the target in front of him.

His attention remained on the shot he intended to make.

Around him, five large boulders of Blacksteel metal hovered in the air.

Each one was suspended at the same height, spaced around Veda rather than stacked above one another.

Their heavy forms remained level as they floated, and not one had risen higher or dropped lower than the others.

Veda continued holding his kneeling posture, keeping the rifle trained on the target while maintaining control over the five boulders.

The task demanded that he do both at once.

He had to keep his aim steady enough to hit the bullseye while ensuring that every piece of Blacksteel remained suspended in the correct position.

One mistake in their alignment would be enough to break the formation he was trying to maintain.

Ezra watched him from the side, taking in the scene before him.

The gunshot still seemed to linger in the air as Veda kept his eyes on the target.

The five boulders remained arranged around him, all suspended at the same level.

Everything had to remain perfectly aligned.