That said, even though all he needed to do was fix what he was presented with, Edward sometimes took it upon himself to transform the objects into strange novelties. Just a short while ago, he’d turned a cute, lacy baby carriage into a contraption sporting a drill-like growth, sinister eyes, and a mouth. That had forced Alphonse to apologize to the indignant woman who owned it before once again taking it upon himself to retransmute it back to its former state.
“Ugh, right when his reputation was getting better,” Alphonse sighed.
After returning the fixed doll to the elderly lady, Alphonse turned around and saw that Edward had placed the little girl’s toy in front of him. Edward brought his hands together. Alphonse waited with worry, and the girl waited with anticipation. Through Edward’s transmutation, the toy horse with its broken leg was restored—with its shape intact.
“Wow, thank you!” The toy was fixed in the blink of an eye, like a magic trick, and the girl clapped enthusiastically.
Suddenly, they heard clapping that rang out even louder than the girl’s.
“Bravo! That was truly incredible!”
Standing close by was a young man wearing a flat cap, suit, and glasses with thin frames. His eyes glittered with emotion. A camera hung from his neck, and he clutched a notebook and pen.
The young man removed his cap, then gave the brothers an enthusiastic bow. “A pleasure to meet you. I’m a journalist at the Central Times. Am I correct in assuming you’re State Alchemist Edward Elric and his younger brother, Mr. Alphonse?” The young journalist seemed like a very proper young man and introduced himself quickly while presenting his business card.
“In our paper, we have a section called ‘Person of the Week.’ While I unfortunately can’t disclose who because of confidentiality, someone nominated you, Mr. Edward, for your services to the people and to society! I’ve come to request your permission to write an article about you. I’d like to follow and observe you for half a day, and I promise to stay out of your way! Would that be all right?”
“You’re here to do a report on Ed?” Alphonse accepted the business card, shocked.
The Central Times was a big name that Alphonse was very familiar with, and the name on the young man’s business card looked familiar too.
“That column about state alchemists in that magazine … Could that have been … ?” Alphonse said, recalling the article on state alchemists he had read just the day before. The name of the journalist matched the credit on the article.
“You read that?! I’m honored, thank you very much! I’ve always wanted to be a state alchemist myself. I didn’t have any talent for alchemy and ended up going down the path of journalism, but I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to speak with you in person like this!” The journalist’s eyes sparkled as he put extra emphasis on the word “incredibly.”
“Oh ho! I guess someone grateful for my help must’ve nominated me.” Edward, the perpetual attention hog, smirked at the mention of getting coverage. “You know, I’ve always wanted to be in the paper, even just once.”
Despite having had more experiences than others his age and carrying a somewhat more adult worldview as a result, when it came down to it, Edward was still an immature fifteen-year-old. Completely unaware of Roy and Havoc’s machinations, Edward gave his assent with simple, childish glee.
“I’ll take you up on that! You can even have a front-row seat so you can see everything better,” Edward said.
“Are you sure?! Well, that’s incredibly kind of you! Thank you very much!” Overwhelmed by the generosity coming from one of the state alchemists he revered so highly, the reporter’s hand shook as it gripped his pen.
Alphonse glanced at the grateful journalist, then quickly pulled Edward to the side. “Ed, I don’t think giving him such an up-close and personal view is a good idea.”
“Why?” Edward blinked, already holding a broken radio, ready to mend it with alchemy. “If we’re in the paper, there’s a better chance that Scar will notice us, so what’s the issue?”
“Uh,” Alphonse didn’t know what to say.
There was an issue. A pretty big one.
Yes, landing a huge interview in the paper was possibly the most efficient way of improving Edward’s reputation—if no problems came up.
“That journalist seems to have put state alchemists on a pedestal. If he spots something even slightly problematic, he might end up devastated and write something terrible about us,” Alphonse explained.
“Ha ha ha! Al, you’re such a worrywart! It’ll be fine!” Edward laughed off his concern.
“But!”
“No worries, no worries! You’ll see, I’ll play super nice the whole time he’s here!”
Giving a final, firm thumbs-up brimming with confidence, Edward placed the radio on the ground, then clapped his hands together to fix the broken antenna with a flash of transmutation.
In a split second, light enveloped the area, and the journalist and spectators exposed to the seemingly awe-inspiring glow released a wordless gasp. When the light faded, the radio was completely restored.
“Here, this one’s done!” Ed declared.
“Wow, it’s completely back to normal!” The man who owned the radio stroked it happily. “This thing holds a lot of precious memories for me. I’m so glad it’s fixed.”
“No need for thanks! Nothing to worry about, see?” Edward glanced back at Alphonse with a charming smile as he extended a hand to grant the man a handshake.
But at the man’s next words, Edward’s smile froze.
“Thank you so much, little alchemist!”
“Agh!” Alphonse let out a cry of despair and turned his face skyward in prayer. This was exactly what he had been afraid of.
It was all too easy to imagine what would happen if Edward blew a fuse in the middle of an interview with a prominent journalist. The area surrounding them would fill with screams, and the journalist, upon witnessing the fleeing masses, would slam the reckless violence perpetrated by state alchemists in his writing. The article, published in a major newspaper, would be read by everyone in the city, and Edward’s infamy would spread throughout the entire country of Amestris.
From that point on, they’d be met with scorn everywhere they went. Alphonse felt the world go dark before his eyes as he imagined himself and his brother being chased out of every town. Avoided like the plague by everyone in the country, the two of them would have no choice but to wander the wastelands alone.
“Ugh, Ed, looks like everyone hates us now.”
“I’m sorry, Al. I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment.”
“You promised never to say that, Ed!”
“Oh, Al!”
In Alphonse’s mental image, the two brothers clung desperately to each other until they eventually faded into the dust clouds of the imaginary wasteland.
Now that Edward’s reputation had started to improve, there was also more to lose, and it had led Alphonse’s mind down that dark path. But this wasn’t the time to contemplate their bonds of brotherhood. Alphonse needed to overcome this if Edward was to become a beloved state alchemist.
“Who’re you calling a—”
“Ed!” Alphonse grabbed the tail of Edward’s coat before his brother could leap at the man. “Don’t! Hold it in! Didn’t you say you’d behave?”
“Ugh!” At the last moment, Edward gritted his teeth and held himself back from grabbing the man’s shirt and instead left his hand extended for a handshake as he’d originally intended to do before the grave insult. But he made no movement to actually shake the man’s hand.
“Is something the matter?” the journalist asked. He’d been waiting for his cue to capture the handshake on camera, but paused upon noticing that Edward’s hand had frozen. The man who’d wanted the handshake looked down curiously when the hand extended toward him failed to grip his. Even the spectators, who had been chanting Edward’s name, fell into silence as they became aware of the tense atmosphere.
“C’mon, the handshake!” Alphonse urged quietly into Edward’s ear and, grinding his teeth, Edward slowly grasped the man’s hand.
“Thank you so much,” the man said. Wincing at the vice grip, the man once again tried to express his gratitude. “Um, regarding payment …” Edward shook his head and raised both hands, still moving awkwardly.
“I can’t accept anything like that. Please don’t worry about it.” Usually, the words were accompanied by a cheerful grin, but now Edward recited them stiffly, with no smile on his face.
“Um, did I offend you in some way?”
“No, nothing of the sort!” Alphonse stepped in, waving his hands to alleviate the man’s concern.