This is just a simple idea I had to pass the time.

I don't owe anything but the ideas in the story.

Classes:

Elsword: LK

Elesis: GM

Eve: CBS

"Little brother! Little brother! Wake up!"

I'm not dead you know that. I just fell asleep working at the desk.

Though I am feeling like crap. I spent all night long trying to make sense of some strange happenings in the village recently. There wasn't anyone else in the area who were willing to do so.

"I'm wide awake, just tired. What is it?" I asked while rubbing my eyes. These days I seem to be pulling late nighters.

"I have to leave for work soon, but I got something good to tell you."

I don't feel like I'm going to like it. My sister has a rather lousy idea of 'good'. Regardless I'm going to hear her out.

"I got you a job. An easy well paying job."

"Uh-huh…" I nodded in skepticism.

A well paying job does sound good right about now. Ever since I was kicked out of the knights some time ago, all I had done is hide at home helping my sister out with some reports and investigations since she's book dumb.

It wasn't that I was lazy, it was more like everywhere I went, people would scorn me and avoid me like the plague. I can't think of any place in this kingdom where I would be welcome.

I may have gotten a little lazy, but that didn't mean I lost any of my skills. If anything I continued to sharpened it.

"Have you heard of news of the Altera kingdom recently?"

"I heard of how they were sending in a diplomat to try and make peace."

Altera was the land ruled by the Nasods. A war occurred not long ago when their king attempted to harness large concentrations of El to build a huge army, all in the name of fighting the demons. No kingdom took their warnings seriously when he tried to warn them, and so he fought against them to claim the El shards. Eventually they were defeated, and the demons invaded not long after.

"Their kingdom is in terrible state, many lives were lost, and were it not for the demon invasion we probably would be helping them rebuild it given that we owe them seeing that we didn't listen to their warnings."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

"I signed you up as a bodyguard to an important person. Don't worry though, it's not like you'll be attending formal events often."

Oh joy. I sighed. When I was in the knights, my sister used to give me ridiculous jobs to do. Some people claim that she was doing so to keep me away from trouble. Like the time she asked me head back to Elder to check on a supply trade that was completely fine.

"I'm not getting a choice in this am I?"

"I don't see the problem." She shrugged. "You can't just sit at home all day long, and because of my work, I'm seldom at home to look after you. You need to get out some more."

"I can take care of myself." I dismiss her comments about me.

She backs away and sighs. "I meant in a social way. You are good at taking care of others, but terrible at watching over yourself. Besides, it's an easy paying job with good rewards, what are you complaining about?"

"Fine…So what do I have to do?"

She wasn't going to back down. Unless I had a real good reason for challenging her, my sister would usually get her way.

She pulled me into a headlock as she messed with my hair. "That's more like it! It's an easy job, just follow her around and protect her. She's not the type of princess who goes ballroom dancing, so you'll have an easy time."

I pushed her away. She pouted at my resistance. I guess somethings never change no matter how old we get.

"So, where do I meet her?"

"Sometime around noon. You can't miss her. She has long silver hair, and more importantly, an orb on her forehead."

A very last minute request. Why am I not surprise?

"Fine." I shooed her away. "If there's nothing else, I'll head to sleep."

She grinned wickedly in response. Oh that means she still wants something else.

"What? Your sister has to leave for a few days and you won't even make her breakfast?"

Knew it. My sister, like me likes to eat. Especially if it's homecooked. Unable to suppress a grin, I made my way down to the kitchen to see what could be done. She followed me into the kitchen waiting for her meal.

"So sis, how did you come across a job like this anyway? And why me?" I asked. Not that I mean to brag, but I am confident that I'm stronger than most of the members of the army. There are only a few who are as good as me. My sister being one of them obviously.

But at the same time I'm no longer part of the knights. If this was a diplomatic issue wouldn't someone else be a much better choice?

"For starters, you're certainly a lot better than most of the guards that was recommended. And secondly, this diplomat's job is rather peculiar. She's not going for meetings or anything like that. Her job is to travel around looking for sources of El, so a person whose well verse in travelling is must."

"Why's that?"

"To revive the Nasod kingdom, a large supply of El is required. At times of war like this, manpower is hard to get, so the other kingdoms can't spare too much to help search for sources of power. It's why the Nasod's have decided to take matters into their own hand by searching for it themselves."

Ah that explains it.

"Third, it's hard to move around in a large group. So taking a large guard will draw attention. In such cases, a single highly skilled individual would do better, and lastly it's an excuse to get you to interact with people."

Ah there it was. If it was just for the first three reasons, the likes of Rena would do a better job than me given her experience and knowledge of the world had exceeded mine by far.

Breakfast was my favourite time of the day, and so was my sister. Candied bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee. Something simple, but so refreshing. We ate in peace and made small talk.

It was a quiet meal, but one we enjoyed. My sister is leaving after all, and it'll be some time before we see each other again.

"I'll be going now little brother. If you need me, you know where to find me!" Elesis bid farewell as she checked the last of her supplies.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't trouble your vice captain too much."

I know how difficult it is working under her. Given that she's practically hopeless in paperwork. I had to do that part for her when I worked under her before.

She pouted at me. "I don't trouble Penensio that much."

"So you do trouble him."

"Ah!" She lets out a cute cry of despair. "How did my adorable little brother turn into such a bully?"

"When I started to do your paperwork."

I'm almost grateful to Aisha for teaching me how to do things like paperwork and sort things out. If it weren't the case, I probably would never have been able to get so close to my sister.

"Well whatever the case." I said to her as I pat her head. "Just remember to keep yourself safe. I know you often tried to keep me from danger whenever possible by either sending me away, or just not taking me along whenever possible. I wish you could take as much care of yourself as you did for me."

She in turn pat my head while grinning. "No promises there little brother, but I'll at least try."

Slowly turning around, she picked up her bag and her claymore and went to the door. "Remember little brother. Noon at the village entrance." She reminded me as she waved goodbye.

"Bye sis, remember to take better care of yourself!" I watched as her figure disappeared down the road.

After she was gone, I looked to the side and saw what time it was on our grandfather clock.

Three more hours to go I see.

There was enough time to clean up the house and prepare for the journey.

I looked around the house to see what supplies I could take. It wasn't much but it was enough. Afterwards I checked my weapon and armour. Both of which are still in good condition despite being used for a long period of time.

It was my first time travelling after a long time. I had to be prepared.

I made my way to the village of Ruben without any difficulty. I didn't go in but rather waited at the entrance.

The people here were rather nice unlike many other places. I just felt a little bad for troubling them these days. They couldn't afford me a job because there wasn't anything much to do here.

I leaned against the gates of the village and thought about what led me here.

Three years ago, I along with Rena and Aisha started out on a journey to reclaim the El shard when Banthus had stolen it. The guy certainly was the start of what was going to be a long journey. To think a simple bandit was capable of making us run across two entire continents, fighting robotic armies, lizard man and wild beasts.

After reclaiming the shard, we went our separate ways. Aisha went on a journey to reclaim her powers. Rena returned home, and I went to join the knights when I heard my sister was commanding them.

Everything was going so well, until the demons came.

"Excuse me."

A woman's voice broke me out my thoughts. I quickly turned to face her.

"M-May I help you?"

It was the first thing I should be saying. However I ended up stuttering. It was embarrassing to see someone catch me off guard so easily. It didn't help that I was mesmerized by her beauty.

A tall woman with a slim figure, wearing a regal dress accompanied by two floating drones stood in front of me. Her long sliver hair that somehow branched into two directions and the azure orb on her forehead was a dead giveaway. She was the one I was supposed to guard.

"You are Elsword? Formal Vice captain of the Red Knights?" She monotonously asks.

I nodded before asking. "And are you the diplomat of Altera?"

This time she nods in confirmation. "My name is Eve."

What a short reply. Guess she's a woman of few words.

"Wait! Where you going?"

She looks at me with a blank expression. "To the Tree of El. I wish to see its condition."

The woman doesn't even wait for me to say anything else as she takes off on her own, with her drones following her. My job clearly isn't going to be as easy as my sister makes it out to be. I'll smack her when I see in the future.

For now however I better do my job properly.

I noticed how she seem to not care about discomfort. She walks through thick bushes and gets hit by tree branches every now and then but doesn't even blink. It was as if the common annoyances don't even bother her.

"Are you alright?" I asked as she trips over a tree brunch. I try to offer her a hand but she ignores it.

"I am fine."

"Perhaps we should—"

"I said I am fine." She repeats herself. This time in a more forceful tone.

Well if she says so. If I find her in over her head, I'll step in to help regardless of whether or not she approves of it.

"Hmm…" I grabbed onto her shoulder and stop her movement.

"What is it now?"

"I hear something. It sounds like something's here."

We remained still for several moments. Sure enough we heard movement all over us. I drew my weapon, while Eve took a defensive position.

One by one, masked individuals started charging forth from within the bushes.

Bandits. A common sight in this area. It's why there's normally people patrolling this place. The El Shard was a great source of power, but for all that is holy, why do people insist on leaving it out in the open where anyone could steal it? I know it's supposed to be providing for the land so we can't treat it roughly, but it's still a stupid idea to leave it in an open area.

"Spiral Blast!"

I dragged my weapon against the ground and released a massive burst of energy. It's power rips the ground apart easily clearing every enemy charging towards me and those hiding in the bushes.

It was a little excessive, but I didn't dare take my time when I was supposed to be protecting someone.

With a brief moment's rest, I look at my companion. She displays no emotions as she fires one homing laser after another. Each one is strikes the enemy with great precision. Amazingly it doesn't kill anyone. It's only targets were the arms and legs of all our assailants.

The whole thing took less than a minute to clear up. I'm glad to say that Eve seem capable of protecting herself.

"Excessive force but efficient nevertheless." She comments me after seeing my handiwork. "Though you lack control given how you damaged the surroundings."

"Well excuse me! It wasn't like I couldn't do it properly, I was just worried about your safety."

She scoffs. "I need no protection against mere ruffians like this."

"If that's the case, than why bother hiring a guard?"

"It was to divert attention away. The other kingdoms wish to curry favour with mine by offering their services even if it was not needed. They pretend to feel guilty and so they attempt to send their man over in an attempt to learn our secrets. Fools, they were the ones who destroyed it and now seek to salvage the situation."

I noticed a subtle venomous tone underneath her calm demeanour. I decided to press the issue.

"So you hate humans?"

She turns around and resumes the journey towards the tree. "I have no emotions. It is a waste of time."

I don't believe that. While she behaved like a machine, the way she spoke of humans said otherwise.

"Ridiculous. I heard rumours that you leave your shard in an area where anyone can get. Does the foolishness of you humans know no bounds?"

Ok now I was getting a little annoyed by her attitude.

"You speak like you Nasord's are so great. Yet you were partially responsible for your destruction. Even if the humans didn't heed your warnings, that still didn't make it right to attack and steal our resources first."

She turns around and slaps me.

It hurts...a lot.

My head twists a solid 90 degree. Though her face remains passive, I can see that her hand was shaking. Even if she claims she has no emotions, I can tell she was definitely angry at me. However I didn't back down, I just look her in the eye.

"Insolent! Were it not for your foolishness and stubborn attitude, we would never be struggling against the demons in the first place."

Needless to say the remaining of our journey was rather quiet. Her pace had gotten faster, it was clear she was trying to leave me behind. Well I wasn't going to let her get that pleasure.

If this was me from three years ago when I started out on my first journey, I would have been left behind. The current me is easily able to keep up.

Eventually we got to the shrine. The El Shard was just sitting there in the middle of it. The two of us approached it. Eve was about to grab it when I reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't touch it. It's an important treasure of the village." I told her.

"Very well." She pulls her hand back. Surprisingly she backed off without complaint. I thought she would have something to say in response to it. "I will not question why you leave it expose, as the nature of El is still a mystery even to my kind. However it will be more efficient were you to build fortifications around it."

"We don't have the resources to do such a thing. It's why we patrol the area daily. I attempted such a thing in the past, it didn't work out." I replied. It was true. I suggested such a thing to my sister, and she said she had suggested the same thing to the villagers. The answer we got was that because our village was so poor, there was no resources to build any fortifications around the shrine.

"Inefficient. Such methods will not work against a powerful force. If demons were to invade, there would be no way to stop them." She then looks at me. "Even if you are as powerful as the stories claim to be, you will not be able to beat them back forever."

I'm well aware of that. What does she want me to do then? Take it with me? I can't do that.

She opened her mouth but quickly closed it. What was wrong? Was she unable to come up with anything to say?

"Over there." She points behind me.

I turn around and noticed a large smoke trail that extends high into the sky, something must be burning, but more importantly…

"That's coming from the village!"

I panicked. Was the village under attack or something? I turn back to Eve and wondered what I should be doing. I really want to head back there this instant. Apart from me and sis, Lowe was the only who knew how to fight. It was practically defenceless.

However I couldn't just leave Eve alone either. What to do?

"What are you standing around for?" The girl I was supposed to guard asks me. It snaps me out of it. "Are you not going to return?"

"What about you?" I asked.

"I came to examine the El Shard and nothing more. My goal is complete, if you wish to return to the village, you may do so."

Well that was unexpected. But I welcomed this surprise. Flashing a grin, I offered her my hand. "Why not you come with me than since you have nothing else to do? I'll be able to keep a more watchful eye on you then."

She contemplates it for a moment before she accepts my offer.

Seeing how she was able to think about my situation, I couldn't help but think that maybe this job wouldn't be so bad after all.

To be honest, I have no idea where I'm going with this story. But I'll try and carry on.

Give some reviews if you have an idea on how to improve it.

English isn't my best subject after all.