A few moment earlier, on the beach…

Alicia, Greaves and Lian arrive at the beach, with Will in a princess carry in Lian's arms. She carefully sets him down on his beach mat. Despite the gentle movements, Will still grunts softly in pain.

Lily and Athea arrive shortly after them. Athea decides to sit down on Cycelia's mat, and turn her back to the rest of the group, while Lily is standing on the sand and looking towards the torn dirt road with her arms crossed.

Alicia quietly utters out a short incantation under her breath, and her extended palm projects soft green light directed at Will's chest. He sighs in relief as the spell generates a continuous, soft chime.

「Will, how are you feeling?」

Alicia asks, looking at his face when his grimace of pain eases.

「Better. At least it doesn't hurt anymore.」

He replies with a quiet, lightly groaning voice. Sitting on her own mat, Lian sighs with her arms crossed.

「You're lucky. It's not a broken rib, it's just cracked. If you take it easy like you promised you would, it'll get better on its own. I'll heal the worst of the damage.」

Alicia says, reminding Will of his words with emphasis on hers in an upset tone of voice.

「Yeah… Thanks, Alicia.」

Will nods, takes his glasses off setting them aside, and places his forearm over his eyes as he rests.

「Some relaxing time at the beach this is, isn't it?… It almost ripped my arm out.」

Lian remarks, looking over her shoulder at the dead kraken above the beach.

「Are you okay, Lian? If you're hurt, I can heal you-」

Alicia offers, but Lian cuts her off.

「There's no need. I've had worse. Focus on Will.」

She bluntly replies, shaking her head, and her black ponytail with it. She glances at Alicia, before returning her eyes to the kraken.

Greatly alarmed, Greaves and Lian shoot up to their feet. Alicia furrows her brows in confusion, not sure what is going on. She notices both of them are holding their weapons in hand and looking towards the kraken.

「Wha-!? The kraken is!…」

Alicia exclaims with her eyes wide open and focused on the kraken. It moves, slowly and only a little, but it definitely is showing signs of life despite its rolled-up tentacles and glazed over eyes.

「What?… Oh shit!」

Will lowers his forearm to take a look at the kraken, and rapidly sits up in panic while haphazardly hooking the glasses back on his ears.

「Damn… What do we do? Even with out weapons we-」

Greaves asks, clutching onto his carrot-like hilt. He suddenly aborts his sentence.

「Ahh… It's just that bastard. Tsk.」

He sighs out, sounding almost disappointed as he sits back down on his mat. Lian sits down as well, shaking her head. A gigantic purple vortex begins slowly swallowing the kraken along with its thick tentacles.

Greaves sighs, and Will lays back down. A brief silence begins. Will looks at Greaves, who's hugging his knees with a slanted mouth.

「…What are you so upset about, Greaves?」

Will asks, and Greaves only shoots him a side-glance.

「What? It's that obvious?」

Greaves asks, this time actually looking at Will's face, his mouth still aslant.

「It's pretty unmistakable… What's up?」

Will replies, and Greaves turns his head away towards the now calm waves.

「I'm mad that bastard is the legendary hero, and I just have a regular sword.」

Greaves grumbles, glancing at his sword's carrot-like hilt. Will sighs.

「It's not a regular sword, Greaves. It's magical. I hope you understand how crazy that is, and you're just exaggerating.」

Will reminds him, rolling his eyes at Greaves's dismissal of the sword's power.

「Tsk. So what? He's the legendary hero, and I'm not.」

Greaves replies, and burrows his mouth in his knees, with only his eyes sticking out above them.

「He's not the legendary hero, Greaves. I don't know what put that idea in your head. That he has a fancy sword? That's it? Fancier than yours? Grow up, Greaves…」

Will scoffs, shaking his head.

「Even if, it doesn't matter. I'm not the legendary hero. Some random cocky bastard saves everyone without breaking a sweat, and I can't do anything again. Some legendary hero I am…」

Greaves grumbles harder, and sinks his face entirely into his knees.

「…I knew it, anyway. It was just a stupid idea I had. Why would some random kid with dead parents in the middle of nowhere be somebody? That just doesn't happen. The legendary hero? Give me a break. Stupid.」

He continues grumbling away. Will sighs, but remains silent.

「You know, Will, you were pissing me off…」

Greaves says, lifting his eyes above his knees again.

「Huh?」

Will furrows his brows, still looking at Greaves.

「You're smarter. You can do magic. I'm a dumbass, so I can only swing a sword. There's barely anything I can do. Lian does everything I do, but better. I was trying to think that maybe I'm meant to lead the party, but I can't even do that right…」

He looks at Will for a moment, before turning his eyes back to the sea.

「…So when you picked up a sword, I got pissed off. You can do magic and you'll swing a sword around? So what am I here for? Because I'm the legendary hero? What a joke.」

Greaves bitterly says, and turns his eyes back to Will.

「It pissed me off because you are the one who's more like the legendary hero. I'm not the legendary hero, I'm not even a hero. I couldn't even win against that mage, and I once again put everyone at risk…」

Greaves says, with his mouth scrunching heavily and his eyes wetting as he turns them to Alicia.

「…Will didn't even need to do anything for you two to get along either. I don't even know how to do that.」

He says, and hides his face back in his knees.

「Greaves…」

Alicia meekly calls out with a frown as she's healing Will.

「Tsk… You know you could have just walked up and talked to us, right?」

Will clicks his tongue and shakes his head gently on the mat.

「…As if that would have worked.」

Greaves grumbles with his face hidden. Will sits up with a grunt.

「Ah, Will-」

Alicia meekly calls out, tracking his chest with her magic.

「You know what, Greaves? You were pissing me off, too. And you still are.」

Will adjusts his glasses, speaking with an angry tone.

「Huh?」

Greaves peeks his wet eyes out of his knees to glance at Will's scowling face.

「You can't know if that would have worked, because you didn't do it! You went and broke your hand like an idiot instead!」

Will furiously exclaims.

「That was because-」

「I don't care why! You could have talked with us like a normal human being! You want to talk about things that piss us off about each other? Well now it's my turn, since you are done with yours!」

Greaves attempts to explain himself, but Will cuts him off with a stream of angry shouting.

「You accused me of trying to replace you, because I pick up a sword! Do you know why I picked up a sword, Greaves!? I'll tell you, because you'll never be able to add one and one together in your empty head!」

Will taps his head with finger, and Greaves's eyes slowly begin turning from sad to annoyed.

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「It's because I feel worthless in a fight, Greaves! All I can do is cast spells that take ages to actually send out!」

Will throws his arms out, shouting at Greaves.

「You can protect Alicia with your sword! If something sneaks up behind Lian, and I'm right there next to her, what am I supposed to do!? Bonk it over the head with my staff!? Tell it to wait a minute so I can cast something!?」

He continues shouting, and motions a two-handed overhead swing of something staff-like.

「I can't do anything if something gets up-close, Greaves! That's why I picked up a sword! You're worried I'm replacing you!? How can I replace you if you're so stupidly strong!? Do you think I don't get self-conscious about this!?」

Will leans in towards Greaves as he shouts a question, causing him to lean away a little.

「Do you!? Well!? Do you!? I get tired at around the same pace as Alicia, and she's a girl! I pick up a sword and start training, I get to see a little of the results, and now you're going nuts that I am catching up just a little!?」

He angrily adjusts his glasses, straightening out. Greaves's brows furrow in confusion.

「Is that how little you practice with your sword, Greaves!? That you are afraid a scrawny mage will be better than you overnight!? Are you done getting better, then!? Are you at your peak, old man!?」

「No, I'm-」

「Shut up! I'm not done yet!」

As soon as Greaves tries to reply to his shouting, Will shuts him down with another shout.

「Do you have any idea how frustrating… How frustrating! It is to study magic for so long, and see little to no results!? It was actually refreshing to start physically training, and feel myself growing stronger right away!」

Will continues his semi-monologue, not allowing Greaves to get a word in.

「Years and years of reading and practice, only to just recently make some actual progress… And then you get upset about me becoming a better mage!? What is wrong with your head, Greaves!? Do you think I was upset when you were getting better with a sword!?」

He slaps his mat in anger with his hand over and over. The ominous giant purple vortex in the distance shuts close.

「You're mad that you didn't beat that mage… Well you wouldn't beat me, either! Do you know why, Greaves!? I've spent years learning magic! It's tough! That guy probably spent decades learning! And you think an underage brat should beat him easily!? Are you stupid!?」

「I'm not a-!」

Greaves protests the insult, but Will immediately shuts him down again.

「Shut up! While we're at the mage… You were this close to him killing you!」

Will yells in Greaves's face, causing him to lean away again. Will takes his hand, and creates a tiny gap between his thumb and finger, showing it to Greaves.

「If Lian jumped in half a second later, you'd be dead! Have you thought at all how Alicia would feel about that!?」

Will shouts in his face again, pointing at Alicia while angrily glaring at him.

「Why do you never consider anyone's feelings!? Have you thought how I would feel about that!? Dumbass!」

He straightens out again, waving his arms around like a maniac as he continues shouting. He then takes a large breath, and sighs.

「…Are you done?-」

「No. A few more things…」

Greaves asks, and Will immediately replies while angrily adjusting his glasses.

「Don't you dare imply that I'm trying to replace you, or kick you out of the party, or stupid bullshit like that! The whole reason why we're adventurers to begin with, is because I didn't want to just leave you alone and let you do as you like! Do you know why!?」

Will asks a rhetorical question, intentionally pausing and creating a silence as he glares at Greaves.

「Because I know you'd get yourself killed, dumbass! I don't want to be an adventurer! I want to be a mage! I want to learn magic! I want to know how stuff works! If you decide to kick yourself out of the party, then I'm coming with you, idiot!」

He takes another deep breath, and lets out a long, growling sigh with his arms crossed.

「…Are you done now?」

Greaves asks, looking at Will's face. His mouth is angrily slanted, and he adjusts his glasses aimlessly every few seconds.

「I guess. That was like five or so years of my bottled up grievances, flavored with recent misadventures.」

Will shrugs his shoulders, and drops to the mat on his back with his arms still crossed, forcing Alicia to track his chest with her healing spell again. An awkward silence begins.

「…You might not be the legendary hero, but you can still be a hero. But if you get yourself killed like an idiot, then you'll be a mundane adventurer corpse. There's plenty of those around, and I don't think any of them generate legends.」

Will adds, keeping his eyes closed.

「Yeah, right… Like I can be a hero. I'm just a failure. I couldn't beat that mage, and I wouldn't possibly beat the vampire.」

Despite the berating, Greaves's mood is visibly less sullen. His face leaves his knees, and he is no longer hugging them.

「…To your credit, dumbass…」 「Hey, I think that's enough…」

Will says, and slowly sits up with a sigh.

「…It was me who put Alicia and Lian at risk, not you. And I'm fairly sure you're a hero to the people in the city, since you forced a vampire's minion to reveal himself, which caused the vampire to reveal himself. You ruined their plans, pretty much.」

Will says, completely calmly this time.

「Tsk… But I didn't stop them.」

Greaves turns his head away towards the remnants of the big rocks, crossing his arms.

「Well neither did I, so I guess I'm a failure too.」

Will adjusts his glasses, and looks at the sea.

「…And as much as I hate to admit it, because I don't approve, and I don't want to encourage this behavior… It was pretty heroic of you to tell Alicia to wait while you put yourself in danger.」

He adds, and the two look at each other. In the background, Straf walks onto the beach with Cycelia, chatting with her as they approach the group. Lily impatiently taps her foot on the sand.

「And frankly, if not for your stupid drive to be an adventurer and a misguided idea that you're the legendary hero, people could have fallen victim to that vampire. Or the horndogs. Or the topdog…」

Will continues, turning his eyes to the sea as he shrugs.

「My point is… You're right, you're most likely not the legendary hero. But does that even matter? It's just a label that everyone put onto him after the fact. To everyone else in his times, he was probably just a guy with a sword.」

He remarks, and Greaves shrugs in response.

「Yeah… I guess…」

Greaves softly replies, looking at the sea with a slanted mouth. Will sighs, and slowly lowers himself back to the mat.

「Hey, Greaves…」

Will calls out towards him.

「Yeah?…」

Greaves asks, looking down at Will as he's laying on the mat.

「…We're friends, right?」

Will asks with a serious expression. Greaves scoffs and turns his gaze away towards the sea.

「Dumbass, why are you even asking?…」

Greaves shakes his head, and with it, the orange mass of hair.

「…That's pretty obvious, isn't it?」

He side-glances down at Will, just as Straf approaches the group with Cycelia and Lily at his side…