"Kau pasti bercanda."
Salah satu anggota klub dari kubu tempat Ezra dan Vera baru saja bermain menatap papan target dengan tak percaya. Mulutnya terbuka sedikit, dan meskipun permainan sudah berakhir, matanya tetap terpaku pada dua panah yang menancap di tengah papan yang berputar.
Papan itu akhirnya mulai melambat, putarannya yang konstan perlahan kehilangan momentum, namun hasilnya tetap ada di depan matanya.
Kedua panah menembus bullseye.
Bukan hanya itu...
Mereka menembus persis titik yang sama.
Aku sudah pasti menyuruh mereka tidak menggunakan Cognis, dan mereka juga tidak boleh menggunakan statistik alami penuh. Kita bahkan meningkatkan kecepatan putar papan target, tapi mereka tetap menembus bullseye dan persis titik yang sama, mendapatkan jackpot.
Dia memikirkannya lagi.
Semakin dia memikirkan, semakin gila rasanya.
"Kamu yakin mereka tidak menggunakan statistik alami mereka sedikit pun?"
Dia menoleh ke anggota klub lainnya, banyak di antaranya berkumpul dekat kubu untuk menyaksikan dua orang yang saat ini menarik perhatian hampir seluruh area Mix Arena.
Kerumunan di sekitar mereka jadi lebih besar tanpa ada yang sadar. Mahasiswa yang awalnya lewat perlahan, sementara yang lain mendengar kabar datang untuk melihat Ezra dan Vera sendiri.
Beberapa anggota klub tampak bingung seperti dia.
Yang lain, namun, ekspresinya menunjukkan mereka sudah bisa menebak ini akan terjadi.
"Kuduga ini ide buruk."
Seorang bangsawan tahun pertama dari klub menggelengkan kepala ringan.
"Aku paham Lady Vera Ashenlocke bisa sebaik ini, tapi apakah Ezra Ashenlocke dulu selalu sebaik ini?"
Seorang anggota klub tahun ketiga bertanya sambil menatap Ezra dengan tak percaya.
"Semua yang kalian bicarakan bukan masalah sekarang..."
Seorang mahasiswa lain tiba-tiba bicara.
Orang di sekitarnya menoleh ke arahnya.
"Masalahnya dia bersama Lady Vera Ashenlocke."
"Tapi mereka tidak pacaran. Lady Vera Ashenlocke sudah bilang mereka cuma mitra bisnis."
"Aku tahu, tapi melihat dia dekat sama dia dan main game bareng kayak gini bikin aku kesal."
"Aku juga."
Beberapa cowok di sekitar mengarahkan pandangan ke Ezra, ekspresi mereka jadi rumit.
Beberapa mengerutkan dahi.
Yang lain mendecakkan lidah pelan.
Beberapa cuma menatap dia dengan mata penuh iri.
Waktu sederhana dengan salah satu Bunga Britannia...
Dan salah satu Bunga terbaik lagi...
Sialan, dia beruntung banget.
Pikiran sama lewat di benak beberapa cowok hampir bersamaan.
Dan bukan hanya cowok di sekitar kubu klub, atau yang berkumpul menonton Ezra dan Vera, yang merasakan emosi sama.
Beberapa cewek di kerumunan juga melirik cepat ke Vera.
Mata mereka jelas iri.
Mereka tak bisa tidak merasa Vera memonopoli Ezra Ashenlocke.
Alasannya simpel...
Karena Vera sudah umumkan dia dan Ezra cuma dekat lewat kemitraan bisnis, dan keduanya baru-baru ini menciptakan senjata api yang jadi heboh di seluruh Britannia sehingga narasi mitra bisnis sangat cocok, banyak orang percaya hubungan mereka hanya bisa dijelaskan lewat kerja.
Mereka dekat karena bisnis.
Itu yang Vera katakan ke semua orang.
Karena itu, beberapa cewek merasa Vera harus melepaskan Ezra di saat kayak gini.
Supaya yang mau dekat sama dia juga punya kesempatan.
Dan siapa tahu...
Mungkin salah satu mereka bisa kencan kayak gini dengan Ezra bukan Vera.
Beberapa cewek malah menatap Ezra lebih dekat.
Cowok yang dulu cuma mahasiswa Royal Academy biasa sudah tidak mudah diabaikan. Penemuannya, kemenangannya, dan perhatian di sekitarnya perlahan bikin lebih banyak orang memperhatikannya.
Jadi, lihat Vera terbuka berkeliling bersamanya wajar bikin beberapa dari mereka kesal.
Tapi, ada juga cewek yang memandang Ezra seperti hama.
Cewek-cewek itu sudah punya bangsawan di kepala yang mereka rasa cocok buat Vera.
Mereka rasa Ezra yang memaksakan hal sama Vera dan jadi gangguan buat bangsawan asli yang mereka mau dekat sama Vera.
Bagi mereka, Ezra mungkin jadi penting karena pencapaiannya, tapi bukan berarti mereka percay dia layak berdiri di samping orang seperti Vera Ashenlocke.
Ezra dan Vera sama-sama jelas lihat banyak emosi dan pikiran itu lewat mata dan ekspresi samar penonton.
Iri.
Cemburu.
Tidak setuju.
Rasa ingin tahu.
Bahkan harapan.
Tapi, tak satu pun dari mereka luangkan sepersekian detik peduli apa pikiran orang lain.
Ezra cuma melirik sekilas sebelum mengalihkan perhatian.
Vera bahkan tidak repot melihat dua kali.
Keduanya cuma fokus pada mengejar—
Bukan...
Memenangkan hadiah penting dari klub yang pakai game sebagai bagian pameran mereka.
"Ke mana lagi?"
Vera tanya sambil memasukkan hadiah dari game ke Space Bag-nya.
"Aku mau balik ke kubu klub. Kita udah berjam-jam ini."
Ezra jawab datar.
Dia menatap langit di luar bagian terbuka Mix Arena.
Sore perlahan beranjak ke malam. Cahaya terang yang memenuhi arena sepanjang hari mulai berubah, dan seluruh Club Tournament perlahan mendekati akhir.
Besok pemenang akan diumumkan.
Mahasiswa dan tamu, tapi, masih memanfaatkan sisa jam, pindah dari satu kubu klub ke lain saat percakapan, tawa, dan kebisingan aktivitas berbeda terus bergema di arena.
"Yuk ke satu tempat terakhir sebelum balik ke kubu klub."
Vera jawab santai.
Dia sudah mulai jalan ke arah itu, tangan di belakang punggung.
Ezra diam menatapnya.
Dia tahu definisi satu tempat terakhir milik Vera bisa berarti beberapa hal, dan tak satupun menenangkannya.
Tetap...
Dia ikut.
Penonton, yang tadi bersikap seolah tidak mengikuti mereka berdua, juga mulai bergerak.
Awalnya cuma beberapa orang.
Lalu lebih banyak.
Gerakan di belakang Ezra dan Vera perlahan jadi mustahil diabaikan.
Tujuannya jelas.
Klub Kekuatan Martial.
"Lady Vera!"
Saat Vera mendekati pintu kubu, Nina berlari ke arahnya.
Dia memeluk Vera erat, menempelkan wajah ke dada Vera dengan kekenalannya yang sudah biasa.
Lalu Nina tajam menoleh ke Ezra.
"Urgh..."
Suara kejengkelan keluar dari mulutnya.
Mata menyipit.
"Kalian berdua apa di sini?"
Dia tanya, jelas tidak senang lihat Ezra berdiri di samping Vera.
Ezra menatap Vera.
"Jadi, kita apa di sini, Vera?"
Dia tanya datar, jelas mengabaikan Nina.
"Kita datang buat game cat peluru."
Vera jawab sambil jalan ke pintu kubu Klub Kekuatan Martial.
"Lady Vera di sini!"
Lyra tiba-tiba melompat dari pintu dengan ekspresi antusias.
"Hai, gadis liar."
Vera sapu santai.
"Aku denger kabar kamu dan Ezra keliling Mix Arena bareng, dan Nina kira bohong."
Lyra bilang sambil lihat Vera dengan antusias anak anjing main sama tuannya.
"Lyra!"
Nina langsung mendekat dan menutup mulutnya.
"Diam. Informasi itu tidak perlu."
Dia bilang gugup, apalagi pas dia sadar jumlah orang berkumpul di luar kubu.
"Mm... mahah... mmhaha."
Lyra tertawa di balik tangan Nina, bahu bergerak saat dia coba lanjut tertawa meski mulut tertutup.
"Kamu bilang mau main game cat peluru kami, Lady Vera Ashenlocke."
Seorang senior klub, diikuti beberapa anggota Klub Kekuatan Martial lain, keluar dari pintu menyambut Vera.
"Kalian berdua menakuti klub lain. Beberapa sudah tutup aktivitas game mereka karena tidak lagi punya hadiah penting buat tarik tamu. Sekarang giliran kami, sepertinya."
Senior klub lain menyilangkan tangan sambil menatap Vera langsung.
"Memanggil orang menang game menakuti di bawah standar."
Vera jawab tenang.
"Kita cuma punya skill dan menikmati masa muda."
Beberapa mahasiswa di pintu saling menoleh.
Ezra diam menatap Vera.
Dia mulai rasa dia jadi nyaman ngomong hal aneh kapanpun menguntungkan dia.
"Lalu coba deh. Kami Klub Kekuatan Martial akan berakhirin tirani kalian."
Anggota klub perempuan itu bilang, menatap Vera percaya diri.
Anggota Klub Kekuatan Martial terlihat jauh lebih siap dari klub lain.
Mereka sudah denger apa yang dilakukan Ezra dan Vera.
Mereka tahu hadiah penting yang hilang dari kubu lain, dan jelas tidak mau hal sama terjadi di sini tanpa lawan.
"Yuk selesaiin aja. Aku mau istirahat di kubu klub."
Ezra bilang sambil jalan tenang ke samping Vera.
Nina terus menatap tajam dia.
Mata mengikuti setiap gerakannya seolah masih coba paham kenapa dia di samping Vera.
Ezra, tapi, terus mengabaikannya.
"Tunggu!"
Suara familiar tiba-tiba bergema dari belakang.
Ezra berhenti.
Dia berbalik dan menatap orang itu dengan ekspresi datar biasa.
Vera juga berbalik.
Tangan menyilang, dia menatap tenang ke orang yang baru teriak.
Orang lain di sekitar ikut menoleh.
"Ezra Ashenlocke."
Leofirc Hawthorne berdiri di tengah kerumunan.
Ekspresinya bawa rasa dikhianati jelas saat dia menatap Ezra.
Dia menunjuk langsung ke Ezra.
"Kira-kira kau bilang kamu dan Vera cuma mitra bisnis."
Ezra memiringkan kepala sedikit sambil menatap teman Dewan Tinggi satu faksi itu dengan ekspresi datar biasa.
Sebentar, dia tidak paham kenapa Leofirc kelihatan seolah dikhianati pribadi.
"You’ve got to be kidding me."
One of the club members from the booth where Ezra and Vera had just played the game stared at the target board in disbelief. His mouth had fallen slightly open, and even though the game had already ended, his eyes remained fixed on the two arrows lodged at the center of the rotating board.
The board had finally begun slowing down, its constant spinning gradually losing momentum, yet the result remained right in front of him.
Both arrows had struck the bullseye.
Not only that...
They had hit the exact same spot.
I made sure to tell them not to use their Cognis, and they weren’t supposed to use their full natural stats either. We even increased the rotation speed of the target board, but they still hit the bullseye and the exact same spot, scoring a jackpot.
He thought about it again.
The more he thought about it, the crazier it felt.
"You sure they didn’t use even a bit of their natural stats?"
He turned toward the other members of his club, many of whom had gathered near the booth to watch the two people currently attracting the attention of almost the entire area of the Mix Arena.
The crowd around them had grown larger without anyone truly noticing. Students who had originally been passing by had slowed down, while others who had heard the rumors came over to see Ezra and Vera for themselves.
Some of the club members looked just as bewildered as he did.
Others, however, had expressions that showed they could already tell this was going to happen.
"I told you this was a bad idea."
A noble first-year from the club shook his head lightly.
"I understand someone like Lady Vera Ashenlocke being this good, but was Ezra Ashenlocke always this good?"
A third-year club member asked as he continued staring at Ezra in disbelief.
"All that you guys are saying isn’t the issue right now..."
Another student suddenly spoke.
The people around him turned their attention toward him.
"It’s the fact that he’s with Lady Vera Ashenlocke."
"But they aren’t dating. Lady Vera Ashenlocke already said that they’re just business partners."
"I know that, but seeing him getting close to her and even playing games together like this is getting on my nerves."
"Me too."
Several boys around the area turned their eyes toward Ezra, their expressions becoming complicated.
Some frowned.
Others clicked their tongues under their breath.
A few simply stared at him with eyes filled with envy.
A simple time with one of Britannia’s Flowers...
And one of the best Flowers at that...
What a lucky bastard.
That same thought passed through the minds of several boys at almost the same time.
And it wasn’t only the boys around the club booth, or those who had gathered to watch Ezra and Vera, who felt that same emotion.
A few girls among the crowd also took quick glances at Vera.
Their eyes carried obvious jealousy.
They couldn’t help feeling that Vera was monopolizing Ezra Ashenlocke.
The reason was simple...
Since Vera had already made it known that she and Ezra were only close through their business partnership, and since the two of them had created the firearms that had recently gone wild throughout Britannia making the business partner narrative fit a lot, many people believed their relationship could only be explained by their work.
They were close because of business.
At least, that was what Vera had told everyone.
Because of that, several girls felt that Vera should let Ezra go during times like this.
That way, those who wanted to get close to him would also have a chance.
And who knew...
Maybe one of them could have gone on a date like this with Ezra instead of Vera.
Some girls even found themselves watching Ezra more closely.
The boy who had once simply been another Royal Academy student was no longer easy to ignore. His inventions, his victories, and the attention surrounding him had gradually made more people notice him.
So, watching Vera openly walk around with him was naturally enough to make some of them feel irritated.
However, there were also girls who looked at Ezra like he was a pest.
Those girls already had Noblemen in mind whom they believed would be a better match for Vera.
They felt that Ezra was the one forcing things with Vera and simply becoming a nuisance to the real Noblemen they wanted to see get close to her.
To them, Ezra might have become important because of his achievements, but that didn’t mean they believed he deserved to stand beside someone like Vera Ashenlocke.
Both Ezra and Vera could clearly see many of those emotions and thoughts through the eyes and faint expressions of the onlookers.
Envy.
Jealousy.
Disapproval.
Curiosity.
Even expectation.
However, neither of them gave even a millisecond of their time to care about what the others thought.
Ezra merely glanced around once before turning his attention away.
Vera didn’t even bother looking twice.
The two were simply focused on reck—
No...
Winning important prizes from the clubs that used games as part of their displays.
"Where next?"
Vera asked as she placed the prize she had gained from the game into her Space Bag.
"I want to go back to the club booth. We’ve been doing this for hours now."
Ezra replied plainly.
He looked toward the sky beyond the open sections of the Mix Arena.
The afternoon was gradually moving toward the evening. The bright light that had filled the arena for most of the day had begun changing, and the entire Club Tournament was slowly approaching its end.
By tomorrow, the winners will be announced.
The students and guests, however, were still making the most of the remaining hours, moving from one club booth to another as conversations, laughter, and the noise of different activities continued throughout the arena.
"Let’s head to one final place before we go back to the club booth."
Vera replied casually.
She had already begun walking in that direction, her hands resting behind her back.
Ezra quietly looked at her.
He knew that her definition of one final place could mean several different things, and none of them were particularly comforting to him.
Still...
He followed.
The onlookers, who had been acting as though they hadn’t been following the two of them all this time, also began moving.
At first, it was only a few people.
Then more.
The movement behind Ezra and Vera gradually became impossible to ignore.
Their destination was clear.
The Martial Strength Club.
"Lady Vera!"
The moment Vera stepped closer to the entrance of the booth, Nina rushed toward her.
She tightly hugged Vera, resting her face against Vera’s chest with the familiarity of someone who had done so many times before.
Then Nina sharply turned her head toward Ezra.
"Urgh..."
The irritated sound escaped her mouth.
Her eyes narrowed.
"What are you two doing together?"
She asked, clearly displeased by the sight of Ezra standing beside Vera.
Ezra looked at Vera.
"So, what are we doing here, Vera?"
He asked plainly, clearly ignoring Nina.
"We came for the paint gun game."
Vera replied as she walked toward the entrance of the Martial Strength Club booth.
"Lady Vera is here!"
Lyra suddenly jumped out from the entrance with an excited expression.
"Hey, wild girl."
Vera greeted her calmly.
"I was hearing that you and Ezra were going around the Mix Arena together, and Nina thought it was a lie."
Lyra said as she looked at Vera with the excitement of a puppy playing with its master.
"Lyra!"
Nina immediately moved toward her and covered her mouth.
"Quiet. All that information isn’t needed."
She said nervously, especially when she noticed the number of people gathering outside the booth.
"Mm... mahah... mmhaha."
Lyra laughed behind Nina’s hand, her shoulders moving as she tried to continue laughing despite having her mouth covered.
"You said you wanted to play our paint gun game, Lady Vera Ashenlocke."
A senior club member, followed by several other members of the Martial Strength Club, walked out from the entrance to welcome Vera.
"You two have been terrorizing the other clubs. Some of them are already shutting down their game activities because they no longer have the important prizes they used to attract guests. Now it’s our turn, I guess."
Another senior club member folded her arms as she looked directly at Vera.
"Calling people winning games terrorizing is below standard."
Vera replied calmly.
"We simply have the skills and are enjoying our youth."
Several students around the entrance exchanged looks.
Ezra quietly looked at Vera.
He was beginning to think that she had grown rather comfortable with saying strange things whenever it benefited her.
"Then bring it on. We of the Martial Strength Club will put an end to your tyranny."
The female club member said, looking at Vera with a confident expression.
The members of the Martial Strength Club seemed far more prepared than the other clubs had been.
They had already heard what Ezra and Vera had done.
They knew the important prizes that had disappeared from the other booths, and they clearly had no intention of allowing the same thing to happen here without a fight.
"Let’s just get this over with. I want to rest at the club booth."
Ezra said as he calmly walked closer to where Vera stood.
Nina continued glaring quietly at him.
Her eyes followed his every movement as though she was still trying to understand why he was beside Vera.
Ezra, however, simply continued ignoring her.
"Wait!"
A familiar voice suddenly echoed from behind them.
Ezra stopped.
He turned around and looked toward the person with his usual plain expression.
Vera also turned.
Her hands were folded, and she looked calmly toward the person who had just shouted.
The other people nearby followed their gazes.
"Ezra Ashenlocke."
Leofirc Hawthorne stood among the crowd.
His expression carried a clear sense of betrayal as he stared at Ezra.
"I thought you told me you and Vera were just business partners."
He pointed directly at Ezra.
Ezra tilted his head slightly as he looked at his fellow High Board member from the same faction with his usual plain expression.
For a brief moment, he didn’t understand why Leofirc looked as though he had personally been betrayed.
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