I walked towards the lich after I knocked Chris out and tied her up twice.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle." I said that like a gentleman.

Unfortunately, it looked like no one in the room understood what I just said, after all, I received stares from the three after I said that. Iris facepalmed herself while muttering 'Onii-chan...' and the lich stared at me like I was some sort of weirdo, she also put on an expression that wrote 'what the actual fk is wrong with this guy'. Loby was like, can this man be a bit more mature?

"Ok, I think I have messed around quite enough. Greetings, miss. I am the Magic Swordmaster, Guardian."

"Hey, Onii-chan."

"Yes?" I responded as I turned to Iris.

"It turns out you are correct that the lich needs our help." Iris said. "She said her family was cursed with the Premonition of Death by the God of Darkness and Death, Volras."

"And there is one more thing she mentioned. What Volras is currently after..." Iris continued as she pointed at me.

"Is you, Onii-chan."

"Um, you mean my life or my body? After all, I just want to say I am not-" I interjected in a slightly joking tone in attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

"Apparently, he is after you. Not your life, and definitely NOT your body, he wanted you to be his champion and help him in dominating the world." Iris continued as she tried to maintain her poker face.

Hold up a second, does that mean that Volras guy technically stalked me in my dreams? Or rather, can that be also called a dream as well? I mean, that is exactly what he said in the dream. Oh God, I am so confused!

"What now? Too shocked to hear the news?" Loby said with a slightly teasing tone as he put a smug smile on his face.

"Hey shut up for a sec, I am currently contemplating something kind of important here."

An hour later...

"Alright, I am going to find someone to remodel some of the rooms." I told Loby.

"Where's the lich?" Chris asked in alert as she looked around with her dagger drawn after she woke up.

"She escaped." I replied with a blank expression.

Do you actually think the lich actually escaped? Of course not! Here's what really happened before:

30 minutes earlier...

"Hey, miss-"

"Please don't call me miss. You may call me Saki."

"Ok Saki. We can stop Volras and his nefarious plans, only if we work together." I said with determination. "We need you to stick close to Volras."

"But how...?"

"Easy. Become his follower. During that, you will take the role of an undercover follower and our informant. We will formulate a plan according to the information you collected. Then we will take him straight on, on the other hand, you will make your way to us, and we take him down... together."

"Everyone, take one item." I said as I pull out a few accessories and hung a device which is similar to a military walkie-talkie in the modern world on my belt.

One minute later...

"Before we take out Volras, Saki, you will be called Sierra. Loby will be called Lima, Chris will be called Charlie and Iris will be called India. I will be called as Zulu in the communications. So remember to say these names instead when we are communicating through the devices." I told them solemnly.

"Onii-chan, what are those?" Iris asked as she raised a hand.

"These are military phonetic alphabets from my world, whereas Sierra stands for 'S', Lima for 'L', Charlie for 'C', India for 'I' and Zulu for 'Z'. Any more questions?' I explained the concepts of military alphabets to the three.

"I will tell you the details later." I whispered to Iris, who seemed interested in this topic.

"No? Ok." I said with a smile.

Then I turned onto Saki.

"We... No, the world is counting on you, Informant Sierra." I said as I extended my hand towards Saki.

"No problem, Commander Zulu." She replied as she shook my hand.

"Since when did I become the commander?"

"Never mind that." Saki replied as she made a tehepero expression.

"Onii-chan should be the commander! Since you are the one who bring this up." Iris chimed in as she looked at me with a smile befitting of her age.

"That's right! You made the plans, it's only natural for you to be the commander!" Loby agreed.

"No, that's not it. You guys are missing the point, why am I called the Commander when others got called the party leader?" I asked.

A few minutes later...

"Ah fine. Call me whatever you like." I said in resignation as I raised my hands up in exasperation.

"Yay!"

"Loby, tell Chris about the military alphabets and the plan how we take down Volras after we left." I turned to Loby.

"Roger roger!" Loby replied.

Then I turned my attention to Saki.

"Also, would you kindly cast some magic on us please? I need some 'real' evidence to prove you escaped, considering how zealous my silver-haired party member is in exterminating you..."

"Oh right, no problem. Just give me a second..."

And... That was what really happened half an hour ago.

"That would be our Operational Base." I said as I signaled Iris to come closer. "Anyway, it's getting late now, so I am going to bring Iris home, see you guys around."

"Bye!" Iris said as she waved them goodbye.

A few moments after we returned to the castle...

"Here we go, eat that crystal before you sleep, OK?" I whispered to Iris as we sneaked into her bedroom.

"No problem."

"Nice, sweet dreams, Iris."

"You too, Onii-chan."

The next day...

*knock knock*

I bet you are thinking a knock knock joke was about to happen, right? Well yes, but actually no. I did say "Who's there?", but the person behind knocked again instead of saying his/her name and spoiled the fun. So I said "Come in" instead.

My bedroom door was opened and a quite well-endowed figure with short blonde hair and blue eyes (Even though I know most nobles have blonde hair and blue eyes) entered the room. She wore a blue mage robe with her set of rings that allowed her to cast spells freely.

Yes, you may have guessed it. The person who entered my room was one of the three escorts (including me of course) of Iris, Rain.

"Good morning, Guardian-san." Rain greeted me with a smile.

"Good morning, Rain-san. What happened? It seems like you are down in the dumps today."

"Actually, I have a few things to ask you." Rain said.

"Rain-san, before you ask, could you please take a seat? It is kind of awkward for you to stand there."

"Understood." Rain answered as she took a seat.

"Also, would you like to have a cup of tea?" I said as I offered her a cup of tea.

"Yes please." Rain replied as she took a sip from the teacup.

"So, how can I help you?" I asked.

"How did you become that strong?" Rain asked.

"Excuse me, Rain-san, but is that a joke? Am I really that strong?" I asked as I tilted my head slightly in confusion.

"Yes you are. Like the one time you created a crater in the arena with... what was your skill again...? Right, Holy Repulsion. Judging from the degree of damage to the arena, you used a large amount of mana when you cast the skill. How...?"

"That one? Let's be honest. That skill didn't only use my mana." I replied as I took a sip from the teacup.

"What do you mean...?"

"Do you know how do I fight?" I asked back.

"If I remembered correctly, you normally use the Core System to fight."

"Correct. In each core, there is a mana supply pack hidden in the Core Outfit. I can use the mana stored within it to boost the attack power of my skills." I explained as I drank some more tea.

"However, this just also proved that I still have much to learn." I said in a slightly dejected tone as I placed the teacup on the nightstand.

"And why is that?" Rain asked with a wide-eyed expression as she didn't believe what she just heard.

"That is because I still relied on the mana supply pack. The most ideal usage of the mana supply pack is to act as a reserve mana supply for emergencies. If I want to protect Iris, I cannot rely on the mana supply pack that often. I need to protect her, regardless of the help of the mana supply pack." I explained.

"Not to mention, if I fight without the shield and the supply pack, I would probably ran out of mana quickly. So don't worry about it, you are strong in your own way, and that's a solid fact no one can deny."

"I am strong... in my own way...?" Rain looked down in disbelief as she still refused to acknowledge the fact that she was strong.

"Still don't believe me? Let's go for a few rounds, one on one. You will understand what I meant in that way." I raised an eyebrow as I turned to Rain.

"Umm, Guardian-san...? You are still in your pyjamas."

"Oh right." I responded in resignation as I facepalmed myself.

"Please wait for me in the arena, OK?" I said as I turned to Rain. "I will be there in a moment, so please give me a few minutes to gear up." I reached for the Core and get changed.

After 15 minutes of me equipping gear and heading to the arena...

"Alright, I have kept you waiting (Omatase)." I told Rain nonchalantly as I walked into the arena.

"I will fight using the mana supply pack in the first round." I said as I pulled my sword out. "Are you ready?"

"Yes I am." Rain replied.

"Here I go...!" I lunged at Rain at my full speed.

After a few minutes of Rain casting spells and me trying to close the distance between us...

"Lightning!" Rain chanted arcane magic as a bolt of lightning rushed towards me.

'Not again...' I thought as I activated the Light Absorb Shield.

The milky shield absorbed the magic spell the second it hit the shield.

"What happened?! How did my spell vanish?" Rain looked at me with a wide-eyed expression as she still had trouble believing what just happened, despite the fact that she had already seen the Absorb Shield in action once back then.

"My turn." I said in a voice barely audible to Rain.

"?!"

"Sacred Thunderbolt!" I unleashed a large network of light beams towards Rain as I shouted the skill name.

Some of you may think if Rain received a huge amount of damage from my skill.

Matter of fact, I made Rain bleed a little as I calculated the trajectory of the light beams and hit her in the arm with a light beam before the entire network disappeared.

But still, I created quite a few miniature craters in the arena.

"That would be the outcome when I go all-out for now." I said to Rain, who looked at me with shock.

"Then... What would happen if I fight without these...?" I monologised as I removed the bracers. "Let's find out." I continued monologizing as I pointed my sword towards Rain.

"Onii-chan!" Iris shouted and waved at us as she entered the arena with Claire.

"Good afternoon, Iris!" I greeted Iris back with a smile as I waved back at her. "Did you finish your lesson?"

Claire's face stiffened the second she saw me.

Needless to say, that goes for me as well.

"Why the hell are you here?" We asked in sync as we stared at each other with blank expressions.

"Rooting for Rain to kick your ass."

"Doin- Wait, what did you just say?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing, I hope Rain beats you black and blue, that's all." Claire rephrased what she just said with a sadistic expression on her face.

"You know what? I remember I have something to tell you." I said with a smile as I have thought of a good response to that.

"What a coincidence, me too." Claire answered as she returned the smile.

'He/she is definitely up to no good...'

"How about we say what we are thinking at the count of three?" I suggested.

"Fine with me." Claire said with a nod.

"One, two..."

"With all due respect, intercourse yourself." We said it at the same time as we gave each other the bird.

"Ah." x2

An awkward silence filled the entire arena shortly after we said that line.

"I knew you are up to something from the start." Claire said blankly as she drew her sword.

"It's never right to steal other's lines, you know?" I shot back as I put my bracers back on again and channeled my mana into the sword.

"Oho, are you perhaps looking for a fight, Magic Swordmaster?" Claire said with a sneer as she approached me. "Instead of running away, you are approaching me?"

"It is you who is looking for a fight." I replied as I did the same. "Also, I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer."

"Ho ho! Then come as close as you like." Claire replied as she kept moving towards me with no intention of stopping.

Without a doubt, I did the same, and so we recreated an Isekai version of Jotaro vs Dio scene as we slowly approached each other with menacing poses.

"Brace yourself!" Claire yelled.

"En garde!"

We lunged at each other and started fighting, blue and white flashes surrounded us once again as we begun exchanging attacks and parries.

"They don't really get along well, do they?" Rain said in resignation as she facepalmed herself.

"Um (Ano)... Guardian-san...?" Rain asked.

"I have always wanted to fight you once again." I said in a slightly irritated tone with a confident (smug to be honest) expression. "I want to show you how much I have improved...! And I will definitely kick your ass this time!"

"Ha, I would like to see you try! I will make you regret defying me, the elder daughter from the Symphonia House!" Claire said in an arrogant tone as she gave me a contemptuous look.

"Watch me! I am going to get you off of your high horse!"

"Do it if you can!"

We started to adopt the aggressive way as we both begun focusing on attacks instead of defense. As a result, blood flew everywhere as the number of cuts on our bodies increase. But still, neither of us gained the upper hand as we kept on slashing at each other.

A few minutes later, Claire's white suit and my shirt were both dyed red by our blood as a result.

"Guardian-san? Can you hear me? Please don't get sidetracked by Claire-sama..." Rain said hesitantly as she was trying to get my attention back to fighting her.

A few minutes later...

"Rain? Are you okay?" Iris asked Rain with concern as she seemed pissed with me ignoring her and got sprayed with our blood.

"Don't you two ignore me!" Rain cast Lightning towards us as she was tired of being ignored.

Unfortunately for me, I was too busy fighting against Claire, so I didn't notice the bolt of lightning. And the magic spell hit me in the back as a result.

I was sent flying by the bolt of lightning and passed out due to the blood loss and the high voltage of the magic attack.

"Onii-chan!" Hearing Iris' faint voice, I managed to keep my consciousness. However, I couldn't breathe. And my heart stopped beating.

"No breathing... No heartbeat... What should I do...?" Iris said anxiously. "If that's the case...!"

Iris did chest compressions and CPR for me. Thanks for her efforts, I managed to stay alive.

"Thank-"

"Pathetic." Before I could finish, Iris muttered in a voice that was barely audible to me.

"If I remembered what Onii-chan taught me a bit more harder..." Tears streamed down her cheeks and fell onto my face.

"Hey Iris." I called Iris as I wiped her tears gently.

"There is a great song I would like to share with you. But I would sing the best part to you."

"What is it?"

"Never gonna give you up! Never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around and desert you!" I put on a smile as I rickrolled her.

"Thank you... Onii-chan!" Iris gave a dazzling smile.

"Iris, do you know you just got rickrolled?" I asked Iris as my eyes sparkled with mischief.

"What?" Iris asked as she slightly tilted her head in confusion.

"Never mind." I replied as I figured it would be safer not to tell her the definition for rickrolled.

A guard stumbled into the arena all of a sudden.

"Claire-sama! Rain-sama! We are in deep trouble!"

"What is it?" Claire turned her attention to the guard.

"There is a ginger haired man who called himself the Wanderer and knocked out a squad of guards."

"Do you know who or what he is after?" Rain asked as she readied her staff.

"That man is most likely to be after either the Magic Swordmaster, Guardian-san or Iris-sama."

Iris and I looked at each other with concern.

"Fk my life." I muttered under my breath as I internally facepalmed myself for another misfortune upon me.

A/N:Hope you all are enjoying the story!

Positive critiques are appreciated.