Chapter 9: The Beach Bum Meets The Prim And Proper Lady / The Holy Sword Held By A Hero, The Gramd Excalibur!

Three years passed

Evan, lime, and gram met up at breakfast, and went to eat outside in the front garden

“So, you’re staying the night again tonight, right?” Evan asked, yawning

“Yeah, moms busy. Nobody is home. Same room?” Gram asked

“Yeah. Here, it’s a pain for the guards whenever you sneak in and out. Also, we don’t use the room so you can have it as long as you want.” Evan said, throwing Gram a key

“Oh. Cool. This place is closer to the beach than my house is.” Gram said

“Truly, you are a beach bum.” Evan said

“What’s going on?” A voice asked

“Oh. Liz. Have you ever met Gram before?” Evan asked

“Huh? No, I don’t believe so. Hello Gram, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Elizabeth.” Lizzy said

“Liz. Not an important guest in that kinda way. Be casual.” Evan said

“Darling, Liz is just being polite.” Lime said, her eyes still weren’t completely open.

“I’ll be casual, then. I hate having to act polite so often.” Lizzy said, relaxing her posture.

“So, Evan. This is one of your rich people friends?” Gram asked, grinning

“Well…. kinda? Actually, wait, Liz. Why are you here, anyway? It’s not often that you visit.” Evan asked

“Oh….. uh. It’s actually not really very good news. Apparently, our families have agreed upon our engagement. So…. we’re both stuck.” Liz said

“What do you mean by ‘both stuck’?” Gram asked

“I’m not into guys.” Liz said, sighing

“Oh? Hmm.” Gram said, grinning even wider

“Wait, Lizzy, you aren’t into guys?” Lime asked

“Wasn’t it kinda obvious? I guess it’s weird to already feel this way when we’re this young.” Lizzy said

“Well I’m glad I met you, Liz! Another friend!” Said Gram

“Oh? Oh! Indeed! Another friend is always a good thing!” Liz said, the grin spread onto her face as well

A few minutes passed

Gram was teaching Liz random stuff, like darts.

“Well those two get along well. I expected as much… I was planning on introducing Gram to everyone later, though.” Evan said, sitting on a bench next to lime

“But look how happy they are. Isn’t it a good thing when your friends get along?” Lime asked, snuggling up to Evan.

“Yes, yes it is.” Evan said, smiling. He rested his hand on Limes' head, and they fell asleep.

“Is it normal for people to fall asleep like that?” Gram asked

“No, but let’s wait until lunch. Then we can wake them up. Tell me more about the beach.” Liz said

“I’m still shocked you’ve never been to one. Well, it depends on the type of beach, too.” Gram said

“Well, I don’t think I’ll really have too Many chances to go somewhere like that. And tell me about your favorite kind of beach.” Liz said

“It must be a pain to have to follow all those rules. Why don’t we just go to the beach together, then? Oh, and I have two answers for my favorite beach. One is a tropical beach, the other is the beach that isn’t even a five minute walk from here.” Gram said

“I don’t have a bathing suit, though.” Liz said, sadly

“Ungg...here. There’s a clothing store around ten minutes from here at the mall. They should already be open, it’s like 11, isn’t it? You know where it is, right Gram? Take this. Get some food and stuff too.” Evan said, half asleep. He handed Gram his wallet.

“Cha-Ching! Come on Liz! Let’s go! Thanks Evan!” Gram said waving

“Oh? Oh my!” Liz said, being picked up by Gram, who shot off, running towards the store.

“This is gonna be fun!” Gram said, with a face that smiled at the world

“Yes. Yes, I think it will be.” Liz said, with a face that smiled at only a single person.

They arrived at the mall

“Food first or clothing?” Gram asked

“It’s been… around three minutes since we left. Didn’t Evan say it was ten minutes to the store? I guess clothes first.” Liz said

“Got it. Favorite color?” Gram asked

“Oh. Dark red.” Liz said

“Gotcha. There’s actually a couple clothing stores here, I think this ones the one we wanna look at.” Gram said, pointing to the map

“How long are you gonna be here for?” Gram asked

“A few days.” Liz said

“So we can go to the beach a couple times. Awesome.” Gram said

They arrived at the clothing store. Gram proceeded to judge everything like a professional. Well, she tried. The important part was they picked out what they needed, and had fun doing so. Not the fact that Gram set up spotlights and a little runway in front of the changing room.

When questioned as to where she got these props, she pointed to her right.

“Over there.”

And proceeded to give no further information. We have no idea where she gets all her props to this day….

“Okay, what do you wanna eat?” Gram asked

“Mm. I don’t know much about these kinds of places.” Liz said

“True, it’s my job to figure out the date plans, anyhow, so give me a second.” Gram said, looking at a map

“Oh. Oh my.” Liz zoned out for a second

“Got it. Liz, this way!” Gram said

“Where are we going?” Liz asked

“Well, the mall has some pretty good food, but if we’re trying to get the real beach experience we need to eat at the beach!” Gram said

“At the beach? Wait, there’s food at the beach?” Liz asked

“Yup! There’s a few small shops. We also need to go get some towels and an umbrella and stuff. There’s some at the mansion. Let’s see. I don’t usually think about sunscreen, but I don’t want the sun ruining that soft skin of yours. It’s hard to get such pretty and pale skin. Evan and lime are the albino things so theirs is almost colorless. That’s not the pale I mean. It’s just… pretty. Maybe it’s the person INSIDE the body, not the body itself that’s pretty in this case, though.” Gram said, grinning

“Though, the issue is more the damage the sun will do to your health. We don’t want you getting hurt or sunburned.” Gram said, looking through a few rows of sunscreen bottles.

“Ah. Perfect. This one should do it. Hmm. We need a backpack or something.” Gram said

“I can use magic to store stuff in an alternate storage space. Evan always changes the way he describes it, but the magic backpack thingy.” Liz said

“Magic?” Gram asked

“Huh? Uh. You… you do know about magic, right? Please don’t tell me I just made a big mistake.” Liz said, sweating. Her eyes were staring ahead blankly, her face frozen in a nervous smile.

“No, I do. I’m just surprised that a sheltered girl like yourself can use it. That’s pretty impressive.” Gram said

“It is? It’s not even difficult magic.” Liz said, visibly relieved.

“Well...I’m not able to use magic.” Gram said

“Evan never taught you anything?” Liz asked

“It’s not like that. I’m not compatible with magic. I’m not able to use it at all, no matter how hard I train. Evan said that it’s for the best, that magic is a world you shouldn’t touch lightly. Still, I can’t help but get a little bit jealous. Well… forget about using it actually, I can’t even feel it. I can’t notice it at all. The only reason Evan says I can remember that it exists is because of what happened when I met him. Honestly, I shouldn’t even be able to get involved with any of you. Yet, here I am. Still, I’m happy here.” Gram said

“I-...that.. makes no sense to me. What do you mean shouldn’t be able to get involved with me? I’d say you’ve already done quite a bit more than just getting involved with me!” Liz said, blushing

“Ah! Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Um. Evan explained it like this. Think of a story. You know how there’s a bunch of main characters? And Then there’s side characters. But there’s also those who are in the background of those stories. Ones who never affect the plot, don’t get involved with the story, and have no idea what’s going on. Evan said that I’m one of those. Or to think of myself as one of them. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m not supposed to affect you guys. I’m not supposed to know anything about you. But then I crawled through a hole in a wall, and I fell into a whole new world. And, now I’m here.” Gram said

“As if! How would you even be a side character! Unless you do something like going to live happily ever after in some sort of tropical paradise with me, I won’t accept it!” Liz said, folding her arms across her chest

“Wait. That’s right.... Evan said I was one….I guess that means I don’t have to be one anymore, right? Liz, I can choose to stay here right? I can keep hanging out with you, right?” Gram asked

“Of course you can.” Said Liz

“That’s perfect! Full speed ahead, then!” Gram said

They bought their supplies and headed to the mansion to pick up the towel and umbrella and stuff

“Huh? Gram? Oh! Someone pulled the sword from the stone, huh? From decorating the background to a holy blade! Just like your last name! Who did it?” Evan asked, laughing happily, a smile plastered to his face

“Evan, you told her something about background characters. Why did you call her one?” Liz asked

“Oho? Ohohoho? Haha! It was you! Elizabeth the hero, wielded of the holy swords! Owner of Gram and Excalibur! This is priceless! This is perfect!” Evan said, laughing happily.

“Evan, snap out of it. It’s Elizabeth Hero, not Elizabeth the hero. My last name is Hero, and I don’t even know what to say about that other nonsense.” Elizabeth said

“Liz, what’s my name? My full, real name.” Evan asked

“Oh, Akihiro Vampire, correct?” Liz asked

“Correct. What’s Suikas name?” Evan asked

“Suika Wulf. Why?” Liz asked

“Seriously? The hero, the wolf, the vampire? It's so obvious.” Evan said

“Oh! No wonder! Wait… wait, then what about all the other stuff you babbled about?” Liz asked

“Oh, right. Fine. Gram, can you tell Liz your full name?” Evan asked

“Oh. I’m Milly Excalibur. Me liking swords is honestly just a coincidence.” Gram said

“And how did you come up with the name Gram, then? Pretty interesting how big of a coincidence it is that it’s also the name of another holy sword. Remember this, Liz, Gram.

We choose our names.

We choose who we are.

For the owner and wielder bit, I’m not going to say that out loud. You guys figure that out. But I got some good news. Gram, you developed a working set of mana valves. A hero always has a holy blade, huh?” Evan said

“Wait...I what? Does that mean that I can use magic now?” Gram asked

“In your case, it’s somewhat unique. I got a bit bored with how magic normally works so I tweaked reality a small bit. You can use magic, yes. Well, rather, someone else can use your magic for you, turning you into a weapon for them to wield. What a coincidence that one is a holy sword and the other is a hero. Seriously.” Evan said

“Dear, stop it with the obvious acting. Just tell them.” Lime said, laying down in Evans lap

“Ah, fine. So then. I guess it’s easier to teach you. Now, Liz. Turn Gram into a sword and you can use her as a weapon.” Evan said happily

“I shouldn’t have trusted you to explain it properly. Fine. Lizzy, send some of your mana into gram. Keep your hand out to your side, palm down, thumb facing your eyes. Focus the mana inside of Gram, and the rest you should understand how to do naturally. Other than that, you can refine the technique over time. That’s just the easiest way for you to do it right now.” Lime said

“All right.” Liz said

Liz followed limes instructions

She closed her eyes, and focused her mana on Gram.

Eventually, her mana seemed to almost mix with Gram.

She knew what to do next. She didn’t know why she knew, but she did

She released her focus and closed her hand, as if she was grabbing something

She felt something heavy. It seemed to be hovering, magnetically stuck to the spot it had formed at, it’s weight balanced so that it wouldn’t hit the floor.

She tugged gently, and its weight fell into her hands.

She opened her eyes

In her hand was a sword. It looked like a plain iron sword. Specifically, a hand and a half sword. It’s weight, length, and balance seemed to have been made with her in mind, yet it all shifted occasionally. If she moved it weirdly she found that she could extend the blade, hit something harder than she should be able to, and cut things as though it was air.

“What the heck?” Liz asked

“That’s Gram. Gram, say hi to Liz.” Evan said

“Hey Liz. This feels kinda weird doesn’t it? I feel connected to you almost…” Gram said

“Ding ding ding! Correct! You have fused your mana into Gram! You could say you guys are partners. Well, you are, but still. It’s kinda like something we used to make that we called marks, but there was an extremely glaring issue with them.” Evan said

“I don’t know what you’re even talking about.” Liz said

“Oh. Well this is all you need to know, I guess. Our previous problem was with the rate of growth a mark could exhibit, which was virtually none. However, you guys will grow in technique and strength the more you two practice. Also, Gram shares your magic. She can use your mana as if it was hers, and you can basically turn her into a weapon that can focus your magic, and take on shared properties between the two of you. This also has one glaring problem, though. Um. You guys aren’t the only ones who can do this. There’s other mages out there, and other people who can connect to those mages as this new kind of mark. All of them will take on properties that connect the two of them, like you guys.” Evan said

“Why exactly is that a problem?” Liz asked

“Not everyone is exactly a good person. And almost everyone that can do this is incredibly powerful. Oh! There’s one now! That’s quick! Huh. Wonder how they figured it out. I did make it so that good people have an easier time with it, but… interesting… I’m going to go check that out. If you have questions, ask lime. Lime, honey, I’m going to be leaving for a minute, I’ll be back soon.” Evan said

“Mhm. I’ll walk them through it.” Lime said

Evan vanished