Matthias let out a sigh, his hand tapping the edge of his throne as he waited for the noble before him to stop speaking.

"...And as such, I believe that Lady Corinthia should repay me!" The man spoke, looking up to Matthias.

He turned his gaze to Corinthia, who simply stared back for a moment before speaking. "May I remind you, Julian, that you were the one who offered to host my soldiers, free of charge? Surely you must have known about the costs of an army, correct?"

Matthias let out another sigh, fighting the urge to close his eyes and sleep. Instead, he decided to redirect his annoyance to trying to get back to the main topic at hand.

"Now, as much as I would love to sort out this issue between Lady Corinthia and Lord Julian, I must ask that we return to the main subject. I was told by one of my servants that you wished to talk about the Accessory Hero, correct?"

The two nobles before him fell silent, and the others, who had been sat in their seats stopped their own conversations.

"We did call for a meeting to discuss the Accessory Hero, yes." one noble spoke, standing up.

Matthias simply nodded at them. "Then may I ask what it is you wish to discuss about him? Is this about his progress? Or something else?"

"A bit of both, your Majesty." The noble in question moved towards the center of the hall, bowing slightly before continuing. "You have reassured us that the Accessory Hero, along with the Dagger Hero are both growing stronger by the day."

"That is correct. What of it?" Matthias asked, slightly on edge.

"Then why, I ask, was the Accessory hero cut down? If he was getting stronger at the pace you claimed, then surely he should have been able to handle that, correct?"

"You must understand, each hero has their own specializations, yes?" Matthias spoke, earning a nod from the noble. "Whilst the Jewelry tools…" He raised his weapon before continuing. "...is spread between attack and defense, the accessory is different. Yes, it may be a holy weapon, but it is spread between both magic and speed. He is not made to take hits."

"That may be true." The noble conceded. "But that still does not explain why he was cut down. Surely a hero should be able to take in their surroundings and act accordingly, correct?"

"You do understand that the Accessory Hero was summoned just two weeks ago, yes?" Matthias spoke, his attention fully on the noble.

"That may be, but again, he is a hero of legend! Surely the worlds from which they are summoned should train them to-"

"Get to the point already," Matthias spoke, staring at the noble.

"Always in a rush. I understand. Fine. I would like to hold a vote."

"...A vote. For what?" Matthias asked, getting a sinking feeling from the smile on the noble's face.

"Why, a vote to summon a new hero, of course!"

Matthias paused, looking at the noble, whose grin didn't seem to fade. "You understand that all the heroes are summoned, correct? That we are all working together. There is no need, no reason to summon another hero, especially when we are all alive."

"Oh? But what if we had the chance to summon a more… competent Accessory Hero?" He asked. "Surely that would give us a greater chance of surviving this calamity, correct?"

"...Are you suggesting…" Matthias began, being cut off by the noble.

"That we kill off the current Accessory Hero? Why yes I am! You catch on so fast, your majesty."

"I refuse." Matthias spoke flatly. "If this was supposed to be some sort of joke, then it is not, and never will be funny."

The noble seemed to cock his head at that. "A joke? Now, why would it be a joke? I'm being completely serious. In fact, people even agree with me!" As he spoke that, several nobles stood up, leaving only a third sat down, looking around in confusion.

"Is this simply because of what happened at the wave?" Matthias asked slowly, his eyes looking over each noble who had stood up.

"Indeed it is." The same noble began. "We believe that the current Accessory hero is not enough to face the oncoming waves. He failed to defend himself from an attack during the wave, and yet-"

"No. You will either sit down and never speak of this again, or I will strip you of your titles and land." Matthias spoke, standing from his throne. "Do you understand what happened during the wave? Do you understand who it was that attacked him?" Matthias spoke up, staring down at the nobles.

"Well, no, we are not aware of who attacked-"

"A hero of another world." Matthias stated simply.

The lead noble froze for a moment, but spoke once more. "A hero from another world? Surely you are kidding-"

"No, this is the second time it has happened. The first claimed he was threatened to attack our world. The second, I am not aware of his motivation, but he came close to killing our holy hero. And here you are, attempting to fulfill that hero's goal. Tell me, are you working with him?"

"W-what?" The man stuttered at that. "Are you accusing me of working with another world, Your Majesty!?"

"Well, based on your current suggestion, it is a valid concern, is it not?" Matthias let out a sigh before continuing."I have humored this conversation enough, maybe even for too long. Clearly, you are all out of your minds. If our Holy Hero perishes, then-"

"But the texts say it only happens if it is during a wave, Your Majesty. We have… seven days until the next wave?" He asked before continuing. "Surely with your assistance, along with the Dagger hero, the newly summoned hero would be more than prepared for the wave to come."

"Did I not tell you all to sit down?" Matthias spoke slowly. Some of the nobles, along the edge of the group, skittered off back to their seats, but a majority of them still stood behind the lead noble.

"I told you I will not tolerate any more of this, did I not?"

"Is that your answer, your Majesty?" the lead noble prompted.

"It is. I will not have Kurose die to appease you lot. As much as I may rely on your armies, I can assure you that we would do fine enough on our own without your lot. I will repeat it. Kurose. Will. Not. Die."

The lead noble seemed to nod at that. "It seems as if you have gotten attached to him. A shame. But let us put your theory to the test, shall we? As of today, I am withdrawing my support from this coalition."

Behind him, the nobles who agreed with him all spoke similarly, pulling their support from the coalition. Matthias looked on without a hint of emotion on his face.

"The way to get us to rejoin is simple." The leader spoke. "As long as you summon a new Accessory Hero, then we will once again assist. But until that is met…" He trailed off, and Matthias took that opportunity to speak up.

"I see how it is. You wish to sink your claws into a new Accessory Hero, do you? Or is it simply because I have managed to secure him without letting him interact with any of you?" He asked slowly. "Then I will ensure that none of us heroes will assist you in your times of need." He spoke, a hint of anger leaking into his voice.

"Should a monster rampage in your lands, one that your men cannot handle, we will not support you. Should you be overthrown, we will not assist you. Should a wave happen upon your territory, I will allow the monsters to ravage your lands, protecting only the civilians who have done no wrong. As of now, you are exempt from the hero's protection. Until my dying breath, I will not allow a single hero, no, a single one of my subjects who still remain, to assist you."

"You would let the Waves continue, unchallenged in our land?" The lead noble spoke up in shock. "That goes directly against your role as a hero!"

"No, I will seek out the boss monster and slay it. That is the one thing me and the others shall do. But should we encounter any monsters attacking your men, or destroying your personal homes, we will do nothing to stop them. Think of that as punishment for your actions. Explain to your soldiers how the heroes will not protect them because of your foolish decisions. I wish you luck in doing that, along with the backlash you will get, as I am well aware of the dominant religion in this country."

"You… You can't do this!" Another noble spoke up, and Matthias locked onto him immediately, realizing it was the bigger noble from before the wave.

"I can and I will. Think yourselves lucky that you are being let off this easily. If I could, I would strip your lands and titles from you and give them to those more deserving, but as I have no one on hand as of this point, this punishment will have to do. Now begone, out of my sight. That includes those who are sat, and have agreed with their words thus far."

Some of the nobles, including the leader, left the hall without any fuss, whilst some remained behind, trying to plead with Matthias, but upon seeing that he was having none of it, they soon followed the others, leaving the hall. A few shot glares at the king, but he returned them all in kind.

Once they were gone, Matthias gazed around the room, seeing that now only a quarter remained. He let out a sigh as he fell back onto his throne, speaking up. "A fourth… that's how many of those who answered my call to arms are truly loyal?"

He looked around the room, nodding his head as if counting the nobles in the room, and checking them off a list. Included among them were Lady Corinthia and Lord Julian, who both sat beside each other.

"Of course, it's all the ones who supported my ascension… I was a fool to trust their words so easily."

"I… Your majesty." Corinthia spoke up. "I do not believe it was foolish to believe that the country would unite against the waves."

"Neither do I, Your Majesty," Julian spoke up, seemingly forgetting his squabble with Corinthia for the time being. "It just seems as if they wish for more power during these times."

"Is that not also why everyone else is gathered here?" Matthias asked bitterly. "Is it not for the chance to gain more power in the kingdom? That is what our kingdom is built off. The strong rule, whilst the weak serve."

"It may be what our kingdom decrees, but that will mean nothing if the world is destroyed, will it?" Julian pressed on. "What would our descendants think if we allowed this to happen? I would much rather put my own personal interests to the side until I am certain that the waves have been dealt with."

"You claim that, and yet-" Matthias was cut off as the door was pushed open again, and he locked in on it. Was it another noble, trying to get back into his good graces?

"Thanks Firnen." Kurose spoke as he stepped into the room.

"Gao!" Firnen moved between Kurose's legs before spinning around like an overexcited dog, and Kurose petted his head.

"Yeah, yeah. You are a great guide Firnen, I'll get you something to eat when we get back to my room, alright?" He spoke with a smile.

Matthias stood from his throne quickly, the words he was about to say to Julian dying in his throat.

"Kurose? Are you okay?" Matthias asked quickly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I mean, my back still hurts a bit, but other than that? I'm fine."

Matthias took a step forward before pausing. "Well, if your back hurts, feel free to sit down. Where are the others?"

Kurose nodded, waving towards the nobles as he sat in one of the now empty chairs. "Uhh, I don't know where the others are. I woke up and only saw Firnen, and he guided me here." Kurose spoke with a small smile.

"I see. Then they are probably getting patched up by Leron." Matthias spoke to himself, loud enough for Kurose, and by extension, everyone else to hear.

"Huh? Wait, what happened whilst I was out?" Kurose asked quickly. "I only remember something cutting my back, and my back feeling like it was on fire. What happened between now and then?"

"I…Well, I suppose I'll tell everyone again, even if some of you already know it, you might as well hear it from my perspective." Matthias cleared his throat. "Right. So, it went a little like this…"

Kurose simply sat back in his chair. His back still hurt a little, but it wasn't something he was paying attention to at the minute. What he was more concerned about was Eorna. The fact that she had killed someone probably made her feel horrible, and he wasn't afraid to admit he cared about her a bit. It made him want to go check in on her and see if she was doing alright, or as alright as she could be, considering the situation.

But he would stay still for the moment. It seemed like there was still more stuff Matthias wanted to say, but wasn't sure how to approach it. After a few moments, Matthias let out a breath, speaking up again.

"I… Kurose, there's something I need to tell you as well. Just so you are prepared." He began.

Upon seeing that Kurose was listening, he continued on. "Right, well… there is a faction of nobles who have just parted ways with us, leaving the group we have made to fight the waves because we didn't agree to something."

Kurose wondered what it was as another noble spoke up.

"Is it… Are you sure the Accessory Hero should know?" They spoke cautiously.

"It's better that he knows so that he can be prepared. It would be better for him to know what he may face rather than being surprised by it. Plus, we can't be keeping secrets from each other. Not right now."

"I understand." The noble spoke with a nod, sitting back down.

Now Kurose was a bit more interested. Just what was he about to say?

"Right, well, as I said, the group who left had one demand. That… we kill you, and summon a new Accessory Hero."

Kurose blanked at that, blinking slightly before smiling. "Can… Can you repeat that again?"

Matthias did as he asked. "They demanded that we kill you and summon another Accessory Hero."

Kurose could feel a pit forming in his stomach at that, but he tried to keep the smile on his face, though if the concerned looks he could see being sent his way were any indication, he was failing.

"I… Well, you need those soldiers from them, right? Then… I guess I'll… just die, right?"

Matthias opened his mouth to say something, but paused, looking at Kurose in concern. "What?" he spoke, confused.

"Well, You're going to kill me right?" He questioned. "I mean, it makes sense. I'm kind of injured right now, I'm not sure how long it will take to heal, and I haven't exactly made myself known to the world. It's the perfect time to kill me."

"What?" Matthias spoke again. "No, why would we kill you?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Kurose shot back. "Like I said, I haven't done anything, I'm injured, and there's a chance for you to summon someone who will be a better Accessory Hero than me. It's simple, plus you get the help from those nobles. It's an easy choice. I'm just not helpful enough to justify being kept around."

"Wait wait wait!" Matthias spoke quickly, getting Kurose to silence himself. "Before you continue, we are not killing you. That's non-negotiable. What is it with everyone and being so unbothered about dying?" Matthias ran a hand through his hair before sighing.

"Like I said. We aren't killing you. Just because you are injured doesn't mean you are useless."

"Yes, but the reason I got injured was because I wasn't paying attention," Kurose argued back. "If I had paid attention to my surroundings, then-"

"Then what? You can keep making up situations like that all day, thinking about what if you did something a different way, but it doesn't change the fact that what happened, happened. I am not killing you just because you got injured."

"Alright, let's say you won't kill me for that reason. Isn't the chance of summoning a better person than me a good reason to do so? Doing that would not only get you a better hero but it also gets you the other nobles back."

"Kurose, even if I did kill you, it takes time to set up a summoning ritual. And even then, there is a chance the Holy Accessory might not respond to our summons. If we killed its previous hero, what's to stop us from killing the new hero we summon if they don't meet our standards?"

"I… well, um…" Kurose didn't know what to say to that.

"Stop trying to convince us to kill you."

"I'm not trying to convince you to kill me!" He shouted. "I'm just giving you the benefits of summoning another hero! As it is, I'm useless because I can't exactly do anything right now! I mean, I don't even know just how injured I got, I'm absolutely useless right now!"

Matthias looked at him for a moment, as if trying to see something before speaking. "You're not… You aren't lying. You think you are useless, just because you are injured?"

"Well, yeah. I can't do anything while I'm injured. I can't go out to grind experience for the wave in seven days which I'm still obviously not strong enough-"

"No, you are strong enough for the current waves," Matthias spoke. "It was just because of that hero that you got injured. Nothing else hit you, did it? You managed to deal with the monsters, along with the boss, did you not?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"But nothing. You managed to deal with everything in the wave. In my eyes, that means you are strong enough as of right now, and sure, whilst being this determined to grow is a good thing, it doesn't mean you should be leveling every day."

"Then what am I supposed to do!? Just sit here and heal up whilst knowing the next waves are just going to be stronger than this?"

"When you are injured? Yes, you are supposed to heal up! If it's only small scratches and the like, then you are fine to go out and do whatever you want, but when your back was cut open? Doesn't it seem stupid to not take it easy while it heals?"

"But I can't be useful if I'm just sitting here doing nothing."

"Then don't do nothing! Study, learn the language, learn how to make Charmes, hell, pick up a hobby or something! Yes, growing stronger is important, but do you not remember what I told you before? Enjoy these times while you still can."

"...but I need to get stronger," Kurose spoke quietly, earning a sigh from Matthias.

The jewelry tools hero looked around the room, the nobles keeping to themselves as he spoke to Kurose.

"Alright. Let's just stop it here for now. Once I'm done sorting out the remnants of our group, then we can have a proper talk, alright?"

Kurose didn't exactly feel up to it, but the way he had said it told him that it wasn't a suggestion, but an order. He simply nodded in response.

"Alright, good. Take a look through your new weapon forms, finishing this all off shouldn't take long."

Kurose nodded again, tuning out whatever Matthias was speaking about, instead opting to focus on the weapon forms he had unlocked.

As was expected of wave weapons, they were strong. They were at about the same strength as the previous waves, but they all gave pretty decent equip bonuses. Though, much like last time, there were a few specific weapon forms he was interested in more than any others.

The first was the head of the boss monster, which he figures that Eorna or Matthias must have pushed into his weapon when he was out of it.

Occultist head necklace 0/5

Rarity: Rare

Equip Bonus: Magic power-up (small)

Equip Effect Magic Sensory (weak)

The magic power-up sounded like a good idea. He wasn't exactly sure what his skills scaled off, but considering he was split between magic and speed, it was a safe bet to assume that the skills damage was dependent on his magic stat. What Magic Sensory did, however… He had no clue. It was probably something he would have to figure out at some point.

The next was yet again from the wave boss.

Occultist Cloth Scarf 0/4

Rarity: Uncommon

Equip Bonus: Shadow resistance (small)

Equip Effect: Magic defense (small)

It was less of a priority than the necklace, but it would still be good to start getting those resistance equip effects unlocked. Another one he had his eyes on was the Adherent Scarf. Its stats weren't as good as the wave boss, but it did offer him a new skill.

Adherent Scarf 0/2

Rarity: Uncommon

Equip Bonus: 2 magic attack, Flare

If it was anything like the bolt that the Adherent had shot at them, then he was sure it was going to be a pretty good skill.

He let out a sigh, shaking his head. He did wonder what happened to the arm of the boss monster. It had those bracelets on, which he wondered if he could copy. Maybe he could ask Matthias about what happened to it when he was done discussing whatever it was they were talking about with everyone else in the room.

He switched to the Occultist head necklace, intent on unlocking it first before moving over to the item drops. He ignored what he already knew he had before frowning as he realized there was almost nothing new in there. There were more herbs in his drop menu, but Kurose still had no idea what to use them for. He had not seen a singular potion or anything in this world. Maybe some sort of salve or something?

He took a moment to think about it, letting his foot tap against the floor. Maybe he could ask someone what to do with these herbs. If they could be turned into something useful, then Kurose could take the opportunity to learn how to do it himself. After all, Matthias had said to find something to do, so if he was going to be sitting still for a couple of days, then it would be for the best if he made himself more valuable. It did mean there was less chance of them getting rid of him after all.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of it. With that decided, he continued to look through his item drops. He found a couple of gems, which got a small smile from him, along with… a dress?

He couldn't see if there was anything unique about the dress whilst it was in his item drops, but he didn't exactly want to pull it out here to check it out. He bit his cheek, deciding whether or not to bring it out of his weapon, only to be taken from his thoughts.

"-rose? You with me?" Matthias spoke, standing in front of him. When had he gotten there?

"Huh? Oh, um, yeah I'm here." Kurose spoke slowly, looking around the room. Had he really been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed everyone else leaving?

"So, what were you thinking about? I hope you haven't forgotten that we still need to talk about your… mindset, let's call it."

Kurose nodded his head. "I know…" As much as he didn't want to, he knew Matthias wouldn't let it go. It would make things a whole lot easier if he did.

"As for what I was thinking about, I was looking through weapon forms, got a few ideas, just that general stuff."

"Oh? Mind sharing them with me then?" Matthias asked curiously, pulling one of the chairs to sit in front of Kurose.

"Sure, I guess? I mean, it's not like it's anything special. I was just deciding what to unlock first from all the wave monsters. Decided to go with the Occultist head necklace, it gives me a boost to my magic. Before anything else though, for the Occultist, who absorbed its arms?"

"Damn, I really do need to find someone to teach you the language and all that. Need to remember that…" Matthias shook his head." As for who absorbed the arms? I did, I'm fairly certain I did anyway. Why?"

"Well, it was wearing a bracelet on its arm, and I was just thinking…" He trailed off as Matthias' eyes widened in understanding.

"Ah, weapon copy. Yeah actually. That might work, though I'm not sure if you could even copy stuff from it. Always worth a try though. It should still be fine in my inventory. It's only been there for… a few hours? Plus I have some inventory rot resistance bonuses unlocked, so it should be fine in there for a while. I'll pull it out at the hourglass later for you."

Inventory rot resistance? Did stuff rot in his weapons inventory? He pushed that aside for now.

"As for some of the other stuff. Just looking through item drops. Got a ton of herbs and that, but I still have no idea what to use them for. You got any ideas?"

"Well… some of the Apothecaries down in the city would probably buy them. Though, I'm sure Leron wouldn't say no to more herbs and the likes."

Kurose had completely forgotten about Leron. "Does Leron know what to use the herbs and all that for?"

"Hm? Oh yeah. The man has studied for ages. Never known someone to study all the time, and still insist there is more to know. Why?"

"Do you…" Kurose hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to take up Leron's time, considering he barely knew him, but he didn't exactly want to go down to the city and ask a random apothecary to teach him some stuff.

"Do you think he could teach me?" He asked.

Matthias seemed to think about it for a moment. "I can't make any promises, but I can ask him when I next catch him if that's alright with you?"

"Yeah, that's more than enough for me," Kurose spoke with a small smile.

"Is there any reason you decided you want to learn from him?"

Kurose fidgeted slightly at that. He didn't exactly want to say it was to prove that he was worth keeping around, but he didn't know how else to put it. After a bit more fidgeting, he finally spoke up.

"I'm… not sure?" He offered uneasily. "Just a spur of the moment thing, you know?"

Matthias looked at him, nodding slowly. It was clear to both of them that he didn't believe his own words. "Uh-huh. Sure. So, want to talk about your mindset now, or do you want to wait until the others are here."

"Now's fine," Kurose answered quickly. As much as he didn't want to talk about it with Matthias, he really didn't want to have to say it all to everyone else. He would much rather limit how much he ruined to one person at the very least.

"Alright then. Let me start by saying I'm no therapist or anything. I don't know how people work, I don't know you particularly well, but I do want to help you, got it?"

Kurose nodded his head, and Matthias took that as a sign to continue. "Alright. So, first off, let's discuss why you think you aren't useful."

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" Kurose leaned forward before letting out a small hiss, sitting up straight. It looked like leaning forward was out of the picture for the moment.

"Why is it true?" He asked. "What makes you think that you are not doing enough? Because as far as I could see, you absolutely were. You helped take down the boss. You did your best to assist the others when fighting those monsters."

"Yes, but again, I just couldn't do anything myself, could I? I always need other people around. And I'm sure there are plenty of other people who can do what I do."

"Plenty of other people who can do what you do? What the hell makes you think that? You are the Accessory hero. Not anyone else, you. You are one of the three people our world is relying on to defend it. Do you think the Accessory would have chosen you if you were useless like you think?"

"Well, clearly it must be broken or something. I'm clearly not doing well enough, am I? I mean, Eorna managed to take out plenty of monsters on her own, whilst I struggled to even take out those Helots."

"Yes, what a shock that a hero with a higher attack stat than you, along with an actual weapon, managed to deal with more of the enemies than you. Did you consider what you were doing, however?"

"I was just doing the bare minimum."

"No, you weren't. Did you need to charge in after Sigun? Did you need to use that ring to make it easier to fight? You could have just fallen back and gathered everyone up for another attempt, but you didn't. You were the one who organized that plan, from what Sigun told me."

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing! Can't you see that your quick thinking helped out? Sigun told me what happened with you during the wave Kurose. I know about you saving Sigun, which he is thankful for, by the way."

"Well, it was just the decent thing to do!"

"Yes, but have you considered that Sigun would quite literally not be here if you had not yanked him back?"

"He also would not have been at the wave in the first place if he hadn't partied up with me."

Matthias let out a groan, putting his head in his hands. "Kurose, why can you not understand that you aren't useless? I'm giving you plenty of things you have done, so why do you keep denying them?"

"Look, I just don't want to talk about this. At all." Kurose spoke honestly. He would much rather keep it to himself. It was better than burdening others with it at the very least.

"Kurose, that's not healthy. In the slightest."

"And? I've done it for most of my life so far. I can continue to do it."

Matthias narrowed his eyes at that. "What do you mean you have done it for most of your life?"

Kurose paused at that but refused to look at Matthias. "It's… I misspoke."

"No, you didn't. What did you mean by it?" Matthias pressed on.

"I…" Kurose let out a sigh. "If I tell you this, can we stop here? Can you stop pushing me for answers?"

Matthias didn't speak for a moment but nodded his head. "Fine. we can stop here. But this isn't going to be the last time we speak about it, alright?"

"...Fine. I was kicked out from where I lived when I was… I don't know…. My memories are pretty fuzzy around that time, but I think I was 15 or just turned 15 at the very least."

"Kicked out? By who?"

Kurose let out a small laugh at that. "Who else but my dad?" he replied sadly. "I mean, the only reason he kept me around was because of the money he got from my mother, but when she passed away and he wasn't getting any money, well, my usefulness ran out to him."

Matthias didn't say anything, simply listening, and Kurose continued. "I spent some time couch surfing, got a part-time job that paid decently enough and managed to start renting. It wasn't anything special, just a small place I could call my own."

"How does this relate to you dealing with it on your own?" Matthias asked.

"I'm getting there. As time went on, I got more swamped with school work, as well as stuff at my part-time job. I couldn't keep in contact with anyone other than my best friend, and I just kind of drifted away. I had barely anyone to talk to, and I didn't exactly want to worry Sheryl with it, so I just… kept it all to myself."

"Couldn't you have… I don't know, asked your friend to sit down? Was there not any other adult in your life you could talk to? Teachers, anyone?"

Kurose shrugged. "Why would I? I mean, as far as my teachers knew, I was doing fine. My grades were keeping up, sure I was a bit more tired, but nothing special. As for adults… Well, after stuff with my dad, I didn't really want to risk it again."

Matthias paused for a moment. "Kurose, that's not healthy." He spoke once again.

Kurose simply rolled his eyes. "And I said before. I can deal with it on my own."

"I… you really, and I mean really, should not have to."

"Well, not like I have anyone to talk to about it, is there?" He spoke with a sigh. He did mean it. He didn't want to burden anyone with it. The only reason he was speaking about this stuff to Matthias was because he had practically demanded it.

"I'm right here," Matthias spoke tiredly. "Come to me if you do want to talk about stuff. If you are feeling annoyed about something, concerned, anything, just come to me, alright? Some thoughts you don't know what to do with? Come to me. You can come to me with anything, and I will try to help.."

"..." Kurose didn't say anything for a moment. "...Why are you offering this?"

"Because I care about you? Why wouldn't I?"

"Because it's… strange?" Kurose wasn't going to lie. He did appreciate the gesture, but did the hero really expect him to just… come to him about random stuff? He barely even knew Matthias, despite spending the last week in his castle.

Matthias simply shrugged. "Well, in the end, it's up to you. But I think coming to talk to me about some stuff would certainly help you out, and it would make me happy to know that you trusted me."

Kurose hesitated before nodding. "I… I will keep that in mind."

"That's all I will ask for. Now, let's get that hand out of my weapon, and see if you can copy the bracelet it was wearing. Then we can find the others, alright?"

"Sure, let's get going then."

In Ortensca

The Wizard ran around his home, packing up any essentials he might need, sighing as he did so.

"Still so much more I wanted to know…" He muttered, picking up another object before chucking it to the side. "I suppose I should be thankful that some guards still consider me their friend. But still, to think he would try to get rid of me this early… How ridiculous." He mumbled, shaking his head.

For now, he just needed to focus on two things. Packing everything he would need, and escaping the capital. Honestly, he was glad that both of the younger heroes had escaped. Security had tightened up, with identification being needed to enter and leave the city, along with random searches being done when demanded.

However the wizard couldn't help but notice whenever the random searches happened with the prince, or he should say young king, around, it always seemed to target the girls.

An interesting bit of information he would relay to the younger heroes if he ever managed to escape. Back to the matter of security, there were Charmes that he had embedded into the gates, which prevented Charmes from being used within that area.

The wizard himself was currently annoyed that he had not installed himself as an exception into those particular Charmes. Then again, that was the foolishness of his younger years, he supposed. Thinking himself invincible and his knowledge infallible.

He picked up a small box, opening it, and checked everything was inside before putting it into his bag and pausing. He could hear shouting outside of his house, though he couldn't tell what it was that the people were shouting about.

Was it guards closing in on his home? Or was it something else? He strained his ears before letting out a sigh, taking an empty Charme out of his pocket. He quickly inscribed on it a simple command. Magnify sound in the direction this is pointed. He quickly fed his Mana into the Charme, pointing it towards the noise that was slowly and steadily rising.

After a few moments, he realized that it sounded familiar. The sound of wheels dragging along the ground, along with a trio of muted voices, likely inside of whatever contraption it was they were in. Was it some new device created by the royal blacksmiths, intent on demolishing his house?

Had they perhaps taken inspiration from that lady with the train who had crashed into his home, only months prior? His thoughts paused on that, and his eyes widened in horror. He quickly threw himself away from the noise as something slammed into his wall. The metal vehicle swerved to a stop, managing to park just beside his wall. If it had braked but a moment later, he would be missing two walls instead of the one.

He could see a woman on the train, black hair with red tips, one that the wizard was vaguely familiar with. He couldn't remember her name, considering he had been more focused on the husband, who had taken a liking to his Charmes, not that he could blame him of course. His Charmes were top tier after all!

"Damn, where are we?" The driver asked, looking around. Their eyes met, and she let out a breath. "This isn't flower world. This is…" She seemed to think for a moment. "Accessory, that's it! Damn, really went off course there, but it works out for now. Old guy! Where are your heroes?"

"Not even a greeting?" The wizard spoke with a small grin. As much as he was annoyed by the sight of yet another one of his walls being demolished by her, he couldn't help but enjoy the disarray from the outside. It was likely the guards that were sent to apprehend him were panicking over what had just happened.

"I suppose they would be in Palinfa, from what I last heard of them. Either still on the way there, or lost. Either one. Why?"

"I need sitters." She spoke simply, a smile on her face.

"Well, would you mind dropping me off there then? I'm afraid this place isn't really the best for me as of now."

The lady, Riala, his mind supplied, seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding her head. "Yeah, why not. Come on, and we will get going."

The wizard didn't waste a second, immediately moving to the train, and seeing two other unexpected passengers. Both were young girls, but the strangest one had a chair seemingly attached to her back. The wizard simply frowned at that, and was about to speak up, questioning what they were doing here before the train's owner spoke up.

"Right, which way to Palinfa?"

"Straight east. You won't be able to miss the capital."

"East, huh… Alright. Let's get going then! Full steam ahead!" With that, the train began to move once more. The wizard let out a small wince as he witnessed what small portion of the demolished wall was destroyed as Riala drove through it once more, followed by the sounds of shouting.

Huh, wonder who that person with the train is. Surely nothing important. anyways, hopefully this was a decent chapter. not much action or anything, but Kurose is finally up and about.

Anyways, I'm going to be taking a short break, like 2-3 weeks or so. mainly just to go through the previous chapters, sort out a few spelling mistakes, change a couple of things around and just generally try to lay out the chapters better. This probably means a new chapter 1, but I'm fairly certain after this, I wont be changing anything else about the story, as I want this to stay how it is so I can see how much I improve over time. I will probably put the few small changes I did at the top of the next chapter, but it shouldn't be anything major.