The Wish of the Dragon

Chapter 154: Side

*BOOM!*

A loud rumbling sound resounded in the city.

On the crowded streets, the civilians immediately become shocked.

"Wh-What was that?!"

"That sounded like an explosion, is there somebody fighting nearby?"

"Is it those magicians?"

"T-The law enforcement team? Hurry, call the law enforcement team!"

The pedestrian on the entire street is in great confusion and hastily run towards the loud explosion sound.

What enters their sight is a scarlet haired woman choking a rather tall middle-aged man and has black hair and tanned skin. He has a unique-looking beard just like a chin curtain, with several lines of facial hair around his mouth shooting upwards in an odd pattern.

His upper clothes are already burned away leaving him only in his ripped pants.

Around the scarlet-haired woman, there's also a group of people lay unconscious on the ground.

"Which Guild Magician is that?" One of the pedestrians who just arrived asked.

"I don't know... But she looks a bit familiar..." Another responded.

"Which guild emblem is that?" They look at the emblem on the woman's back.

"I've never seen that emblem before..."

"It's probably just a small guild?"

The woman ignored the commotion and annoyedly look at the man she's holding.

"Y-You... You dare..." The man groaned.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" The woman raised one of her eyebrows in amusement.

Also at this moment, the commotion in their surroundings started to intensify.

A large group of soldiers wearing the standard knight armor holding weapons rushes towards the woman.

A tall, muscular, and well-built man who's wearing an armor that stood out from the rest comes forward: "I am Fiore Kingdom army Crocus garrison army Cherry Blossom Knight Regiment Captain, Arcadios." The man glared at the scarlet-haired woman.

"During the Grand Magic Games forthcoming period, I and others are appointed as the law enforcement team, are responsible for maintaining the order on street, to prevent a dispute by the Magician Guild who might harm the Crocus resident, therefore, can you tell me, what's the cause of your dispute?"

"Hm?" The woman turned her gaze towards the captain but the man she's holding hastily shouted before she could respond.

"I am <Raven Tail> Guild Master, Ivan Dreyar! The <Fairy Tail> Magicians just to remove a strong opponent on the Grand Magic Games, sneak attacked me!"

A few words, making the surroundings entire crowd become rowdier.

"I-Is that true?"

"Unexpectedly dares to do that?"

"That <Fairy Tail> who's at the bottom?"

"To compete for the position, this Guild finally starts to resort to all means?"

"She's so beautiful yet she acts like a complete villain..."

The woman rolled her eyes at the bored crowds.

"Miss, is it true?" Arcadios narrowed his eyes.

"Big sis!" Another shout resounded before the woman could answer yet again.

"Yo." The woman casually greeted the newly arrived group.

"What's going on here?"

The onlookers become dumbfounded at the sight of the two almost identical twins.

"T-Twins?" They muttered in shock.

Even Ivan who's within the scarlet-haired woman's grasp is also shocked.

"H-Huh? H-How come there's two of them?" He said in disbelief.

These two are obviously the two Erza.

"Ivan!" Makarov who saw Ivan gritted his teeth.

"What's going on here, big sis?" Erza S. asked confusedly.

"Nothing much, these weaklings probably mistook me with you and they were planning to do something bad." Erza H. said with a shrug.

"Y-You're lying!" Ivan denied: "We weren't going to do anything to you back then!"

"Maybe, but I find that all of you are not pleasing to the eyes so I get rid of you first." Erza H. lazily responded: "And you might be not going to do anything right away but that doesn't mean you won't in the future. I mean, your whole aura is so disgusting that it practically screams 'I'm a bad guy'."

"..."

"Oh, I see." While the onlookers are dumbfounded at her reasoning, Erza S. readily accepted her reasoning.

"Oi!" They retorted.

"Hm? What?" The two Erza tilted their head.

"While we also didn't like them, but don't you think the way you casually accepted her reasoning is weird, Erza?" Cana pointed out.

"What's weird about it? Big sis said that they're not pleasing to the eyes so that's that." Erza S. responded as if it were obvious: "And knowing their history, it won't be far fetched to say that they're planning something bad right? Besides, big sis won't randomly find trouble with other people unless there's a good reason for it."

"W-We know that, but still..." They groaned since they have nothing to say in return.

"Excuse me, but if that's your reasoning then we will have to take you in. Along with your other guild members." Arcadios said.

"Muh? What guild members?" Erza H. asked annoyedly.

"Yours of course. You're from <Fairy Tail> are you not?" Arcadios said.

"From <Fairy Tail> your head." Erza H. spat: "I'm not from <Fairy Tail>. We're acquaintances with each other and that Erza could be called my sister but that's about it. I'm not from <Fairy Tail>."

"What? But..."

When Arcadios about to continue, a sweating soldier hurriedly went to his side and whispered something.

In the next seconds, Arcadios eyes went wide before he hurriedly bowed deeply: "I-I-It was our mistake. Please, carry on!" And with that said, they practically disappeared from the scene leaving behind the stupefied group of onlookers.

Erza H. wryly smiled at a distance where a mature woman with the same colored scarlet hair can be seen blowing a kiss in her direction.

"Well, you guys can take it from here. I believe you and this weakling has some unfinished business." Erza H. tossed Ivan's body towards Makarov who received it with popped veins.

"Ivan..." Makarov gritted his teeth looking at the so-called son of his.

Erza H. decided not to stay to look at the family drama. She just wanted to continue her sightseeing...

Suddenly a young, slim, large-busted woman, with long, straight black hair that is cut into a hime style appeared in front of her.

"Hm? You are..." Erza H. mused to herself seeing the familiar looking girl in front of her.

"A-Aneue? Is that you?" The girl said in disbelief.

Beside her, there's also a tall honest-looking man. He's also looking at Erza with disbelief and joy.

"Oh, you're... Kagura and Simon? I couldn't recognize you two seeing how you've become all grown up." Erza H. said after remembering a bit.

"Yes yes, it's us!" Kagura and Simon nodded enthusiastically.

"Hee, it's been a while."

"Indeed it has... We never thought that we could meet you again..." The girl named Kagura teared up a little. Then she started to look around searching for someone: "I-Is foster father also here with you?" She asked hopefully.

When Kagura was a young girl, she lived with her brother Simon in Rosemary Village. Though the two of them were poor, Kagura enjoyed her life, until Simon was about to be kidnapped by a group of fanatics.

Issei arrived in a timely manner and saved them both... Issei took pity on the two and decided to take care of them for a while. He also thought that it would be great if his Erza could have more friends during their stay in this world.

Kagura and Simon are not the only ones who are saved by Issei. When he finds out about the "Tower of Heaven" project. He tracked and hunted down every single fanatic he could find...

And during his little hunt, he saved quite a bit of a group of children.

While Issei never really adopt them as his own, he also didn't stop them from calling him foster father.

"Ah, no... Right now it's only me. But otou-sama should arrive later though." Erza H. informed.

"I see..." Simon and Kagura felt a bit disappointed hearing this news.

"Oh? Is that Kagura and Simon? Long time no see you guys." Erza S. also joined their conversation.

"Erza." Kagura and Simon greeted Erza S. with a smile.

"Hmm, why did you call me 'Aneue' but you call sis by her name." Erza H. tapped her cheek.

"Well, that's just how it is... Right?" Erza S. said as a matter of fact.

"Right." Simon and Kagura nodded at Erza S. words.

"Your recognition is messed up... I'm obviously younger than the three of you." Erza H. said tiredly.

"By the way, is the others with you?" Erza S. asked Kagura and Simon.

"Millianna was with us but she went somewhere. As for Sorano and Yukino, we don't really know where they are. The last time we heard of them, they both joined the <Sabertooth>." Kagura informed.

"It gave us quite the shock when Erza went missing though," Simon added: "Sorana and Yukino probably joined the <Sabertooth> since they wanted to use of their position as the number 1 ranked guild to search for you."

"Hear that big sis... You're making your other siblings worried. All because of your laziness." Erza H. deadpanned.

"Ugh... I know my mistake already..." Erza S. said exasperatedly.

"Well, we can just inform the two of them that you're safe already," Simon said.

"There's no need." A voice belonging to a young woman with pale skin, brown eyes, and long silvery hair, with bangs covering her forehead, resounded not far from their location.

Next to her, there's also a girl with a similar appearance but with shorter hair.

The two of them are very well-endowed and they're obviously sisters with how similar they are. They're not identical like the two Erza but their similarity is very obvious to all.

"Sorano, Yukino, you're here." Erza S. greeted.

"Erza, Elder sister." The two of them greeted back.

"No, like I said... Nevermind." Erza H. finally decided to just give up. Each and every one of them is messed up in the head! She scowled inside her head. She's obviously the younger one here but here they are treating her like she's the oldest...

The four of them giggled at her reaction. It's a known well fact that Erza H. is treated as the older one since she's basically the strongest and also the actual daughter of their foster father. They respected them both.

"So so, where's foster father? Where is he?" Sorano asked while looking around excitedly.

"He will arrive later."

"Awww..." Sorano pouted feeling disappointed. Next to her, Yukino is also feeling the same.

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"So, I've heard the two of you joined <Sabertooth>?" Erza S. said.

"Mhm, we thought that considering that they're basically the strongest after your guild, we could make use of them to gather some information but the reality is quite saddening." Sorana shook her head: "Their guild leader is very bad... Whether it's his personality or strength. His personality is basically the worst and his strength is barely passable. We were thinking to leave the guild soon enough but when we find out that you're back, we decided not to."

"How so?"

"We want to see just how strong have we become. Since we basically have the same master, we wanted to see just how far did you grow." Yukino added.

"About that..." Erza S. averted her eyes while Erza H. is giving her a scrutinizing look.

"You don't need to spar with her... She has been so lazy that she got her ass handed by some lizard wannabe king." Erza H. scoffed.

"Lizard wannabe king?" They tilted their head at her words.

"It's Acnologia..." Erza S. sighed.

"Acnologia? That rumored Dragon King?" They were slightly taken aback and they started to measure their strength against it. They don't really know for sure but they reckon that it would be quite a miracle for them to win in a fight against it...

So it's not really Erza S. fault for losing against it but then again... she's considered to be their foster father's favorite because of how similar she looks to Erza H. and she also received more blessing from him.

So her losing against a third rate lizard is quite... lame.

"Oh well, putting that aside... elder sister, do you have a picture of foster father with you? How does he look now?" Sorano asked giddily.

Yukino and Kagura's body jolted at her words. They cast their gaze at Erza H. waiting for her answer.

"Damn, how can I forget asking you about his picture!" Erza S. slapped her forehead for forgetting to ask about it.

"Hmm, I don't really bring otou-sama's picture with me since I often see him..." Erza H. mused to herself: "Tell you what, why don't you all just go talk with him now?"

"What? Really? How?" They launched a barrage of questions towards her.

"It's just a simple video call, you might call it... Here, give me a sec..." Erza H. took out her communication device once again before dialing Issei's number.

Not even three seconds pass before the call goes through.

"Hm? Erza, what's wrong?" Issei's face emerged from the holographic monitor.

"Foster father!!!" Sorano and the others called out gleefully. Sorano, Yukino, and Kagura eyes shone brightly with their cheeks reddenning after finally seeing their beloved foster father.

He's still the same... After so many years, he still looks as gallant and handsome as ever... They thought dreamily to themselves.

"Oh? You all..." Issei said in surprise.

While they are chirping around, Erza S. guildmates are also dumbfounded at the sight of Issei... mainly the girls who are blushing furiously.

"I-I-I-Is that the other Erza's f-father? B-But he looks so young!" Lucy stutteringly said.

"Wh-What a stud..." Cana exclaimed droolingly.

"C-Can such a man really exist? Is he not some sort of deity instead?"

"Aww... Wh-What to do... Juvia already has Gray-sama but... but..."

While they're still gossiping around themselves, they suddenly saw a mature woman with scarlet hair wearing an elegant dress appeared out of nowhere.

"Deary~, I miss you~" The woman cooed.

"M-Mom!" Erza S. shouted.

Issei who saw this woman smiles wryly: "Hello, Rene..."

...

"This is the flagship ZAFT of the Le Creuset Team! We surrender! This is our notice of surrender!"

The other party seemed to be in a panic, having made the call with a great deal of noise in the background.

In contrast, the spaceship receiving the call is completely calm.

The voices of the operators could be heard, while the staff members continued to give orders with calm tones.

The ship crew and the surrounding officers calmly look at the crying man in the projector.

But since the other party is surrendering themselves, they need to report it to the highest officer on the ship.

"Princess, the enemy has offered to surrender. It might be true that they took advantage of the smaller ships but we could make use of their capabilities if we turn them to crime slave." A female officer reported.

The officer and the others thought that the battle was probably going to end here.

It was only natural for their enemies to surrender here since they're far weaker than them.

"Surrender? Why didn't they surrender from the start when we were offering them the chance to do so?" The woman called the princess said coldly: "Slave? Royal Father doesn't need these pathetic bunch of trashes to serve him, we have given them a chance and they rejected it. The best mercy we could give them now is to give them a quick and painless death. Continue the assault."

"As you command, princess!" The officers and the crewmates saluted.

They couldn't help but marvel at the princess of theirs. She's only 14 years old but her composure and decisiveness made some of the adults felt ashamed.

The princess is wearing a black and crimson-colored military uniform unique and one of a kind. She also wears a military hat with the same style and there's a <ECH> logo in the middle.

For 14 years old girl she looks quite mature already with well-endowed chests and wide hips and her calm and cold face is drop-dead gorgeous. Her skin is white but not sickly white but rather pearly white and her white-colored hair is tied into a bun under her hat. Her sharp eyes are colored blood red.

Her full name is Setsuna Savant Hyoudou. She's Issei and Rossweisse's first daughter.

"Curse you! Curse you and your entire famil-"

*BOOOMMM!!!*

And that's the end of the pirate flagship...

"Hmph, what a waste. Even till the end of their lives, all they can do is spat useless profanities." Setsuna snorted: "Call the three-legged crow fleet and tell them to clean up the mess."

"Understood."

"I believe there's nothing else that need my utmost attention?"

"There's none, Princess."

"Um, you guys take it from here... I shall take my leave." Setsuna nodded before turning around.

The officers and crewmates paid their respect to the retreating back of the Princess.

Setsuna entered a spatial opening where she plopped down on her chair.

"Now let's see..." She muttered to herself while looking at the news from her house: "Oh? Royal father is visiting a parallel world? Interesting... And mother Semiramis already took one of royal father's 'clone' back, huh..."

She received an incoming call right after she read the last piece of news.

"Yes, mother Semi?" She responded to the call.

"Setsu? Would you be a dear and see if your father's second 'clone' doing okay?" Semiramis voice resounded: "Mother is in the middle of something right now so I can't personally pick him up. Your mother Irene is supposed to be the one who picks it up but it seems that she's occupied with something else as well you see..."

"Mm, of course." Setsuna nodded readily.

"Thank you, dear. And here are the coordinates for the 'clone' location. And insert this soul piece inside his body when you met him." After sending the coordinates and the soul piece, Semiramis ended the call.

"Uhm... Looks like this royal father's clone also a normal human being... but he got summoned to another world?" She muttered while observing the 'clone': "But... It appears this 'clone' became a bit of a wimp..." She said discontentedly watching how this 'clone' feeling upset just because of a single girl.

"This won't do... A clone or not, Royal father's dignity needs to be upheld." She said seriously.

Setsuna waste no time before she descended on that said world...

...

When she arrived at the clone's location, what she saw annoys her a lot.

Her royal father's clone is wearing a Dark Knight armor and he seems to be fighting against a human woman but even though he's obviously winning, he seems more depressed than his foe.

Even when he manages to disarm the woman, he still seems clueless probably feeling heartbroken because of what the woman just said.

"Sooner or later Reiji-kun will beat you! Because Reiji-kun is more handsome than hundreds of you!" The woman shouted while crying.

The pathetic of a clone is only standing there frozen...

What's the relation of being handsome in this type of situation? Just because her favorite man is more handsome, she thinks that he will come out victorious? Where's the logic in that?

The girl seems to be in her 17's so that probably explains some illogical things that she said. But this clone is not any better... Why did he just take her insult silently like that? Even if that said woman is his love interest...

The two of them still didn't realize her presence since she was floating above them.

But she has to say that this clone's soul wave is a bit off... It's like there's something missing...

"Are you alright, Shirone?!"

"Shirone-san!"

Hm? Looks like there's a couple of newcomers arriving when she's still lost in her thoughts. A couple girls, and a man. One of those girls appears to be a Goddess since Setsuna can sense her divinity.

"R-Reiji-kun?" The love interest of the clone's whose name is Shirone exclaimed happily.

"You! Dark Knight Diehart, stay away from Shirone!" The young man named Reiji who's a handsome blonde said.

And the clone seems to be more depressed than ever after this man's arrival... Okay, that's enough. She couldn't handle seeing this pathetic side of the clone any longer.

Setsuna lowered herself to the clone's side making the rest of them dumbfounded.

The clone also froze at her sight.

Setsuna extended her right hand and took off the clone's helmet revealing a masculine face with a slight shadow on it along with his dark hair, almond-shaped eyes accentuated by his dark pupils.

Overall, he's quite handsome and even not lose against the blonde man whose name is Reiji.

Their difference is that Reiji seems more wild and unfettered while this clone is more of the silent type.

"Hmm, barely passable..." Setsuna muttered. While the face under the helmet doesn't even come close to her royal father's gracefulness, it's still barely passable by a normal human standard.

"...K-Kuroki?" Shirone said in disbelief seeing the man under that helmet.

Upon hearing those words, everyone is looking at Shirone.

"W-Why are you here, Kuroki" Shirone's scream reverberates throughout the surroundings.

"Ah! I know him! He's Shirone's childhood friend!" A girl named Rino pointed out.

"E-Ehhh!? He's your childhood friend, Shirone?!"

Why is Shirone's childhood friend is here? Is what on their jumbled minds, except for Reiji who keeps staring unblinkingly towards Setsuna.

Even the Goddess didn't expect that the dark knight's true identity is Shirone's childhood friend.

Meanwhile, the man in question is still frozen in place and didn't even react to the commotion in his surroundings. He's in a similar state with Reiji but he's not enamored by Setsuna's beauty but rather because of his soul's reaction.

"But if that's your childhood friend then... who is that girl?" One of them asked.

"...S-So beautiful..." Reiji muttered seeing the otherworldly beauty of Setsuna's.

"Y-You! Get away from Kuroki!" Shirone growled at Setsuna who ignored her completely.

"...That girl is probably a Goddess..." The Goddess said after looking at Setsuna.

"Eh? She's your friend, Rena?"

"No wonder she's so beautiful..."

"No... She's not one of my friends nor is she related to Gods and Goddesses that I know..." Rena denied: "I never saw her even once before this..."

"Th-Then..."

When they're about to continue asking, Setsuna muttered: "Good day to you, royal father's clone... and goodbye."

She then proceeds to stab the clone right in his chest but he still didn't react in the slightest. And if one looks clearly, there's not a single drop of blood coming from his stabbed chest.

"KUROKI!!!" Shirone screamed in absolute shock.

The clone closed his eyes before a large surge of power emerged from his body.

"Hm?" Setsuna raised her eyebrows at this. Wasn't she just supposed to collect the clone's soul? Then how come it seems different from what she's been told?

Why did this clone's scent start to getting more and more like that of her royal father's?

Shirone and the others are also shocked at this sight.

"Wh-What happened to your childhood friend, Shirone? He seems to be... transforming?"

"I-I don't know either... But that girl did something to Kuroki! Get away from him!" Shirone finally sprang into action. She picked up her sword and dashed towards Setsuna.

"Shirone, wait!" Her friends called out to her.

Shirone ignored their words and immediately swung her sword down on Setsuna.

Setsuna didn't even look in her direction and let the sword hit her body only for it to break into pieces the moment it come into contact.

"Wha-!?" While Shirone is still in disbelief, Setsuna notices some changes in the clone's body.

His hair grows longer until shoulder-length and his body also slowly grow taller... And what catches Setsuna's attention the most is the aura the clone is releasing. His hair doesn't turn white but his dark eyes turned wine red just like the original. By the end of it, he practically becomes the second Issei but only with dark-colored hair instead of white.

"...Royal father?" Setsuna mumbled seeing the clone's body starting to resemble her royal father's more and more...

"Hmm..." The clone which now turned into the second Issei stretches his body.

The girls on the scene become frozen stiff while Reiji scowled at his sight sensing the 'danger' he's emanating.

"Oh?" Issei turns his head towards Setsuna who's looking at him in askance.

"Hello, little princess." He smiles gently at her.

"Royal father, is that really you? How come you..." Setsuna muttered in confusion.

"No, it's not the original me... you can think of this body as my avatar or some sort." He informed with a wry smile: "The piece of soul your mother Semi gave you must've contained 50% of my original strength."

"Why did she..."

"She was experimenting if we could make use of my 'clone's' body as a substitute for my soul vessel just in case I got killed."

"But that's impossible! No one can defeat you, royal father!" Setsuna exclaimed.

"There's nothing wrong with being prepared early on, little princess." Issei smiles fondly while giving her head a pat: "We must be prepared for anything and any situation, remember?"

"...Royal father is wise." Setsuna nodded with a thin smile. She doesn't want to admit that there's someone out there that could kill her royal father but she has to agree that they better be prepared just in case something goes wrong.

"Now then... since it clearly works, I should go back to my original body," Issei said.

"Royal father wait!" Setsuna suddenly called.

"Hm?"

"C-Can you..." Setsuna lowly muttered: "Can you stay for a bit and accompany me?" She asked with upturned eyes.

Issei raised his eyebrows before smilingly replied: "Of course but, why don't you just go to my original body if you want to spend some time together? Father would gladly accompany you anytime you want, you know that right, little princess?"

"I'm not little anymore, royal father... And I know you're currently with the others at the moment and I don't want to take your time more than needed..." Setsuna pouted.

"You silly girl..." Issei sighed before giving her head another pat: "You can have all the time you need from me."

"Kuroki? Is that really you?" While they're still bonding with each other, Shirone finally snapped out of her daze.

Setsuna's face turned cold seeing that her time with her royal father got interrupted.

She turned her gaze towards Shirone: "He's not 'Kuroki'. The 'Kuroki' you once knew never existed in the first place... He's nothing but a 'clone' of my royal father."

"N-No, that's impossible!"

"You can deny it all you want but the proof is right in front of you."

"B-But!"

"U-Umm... Sorry to disturb you but... Can you explain what just happened? You said that Shirone-san's childhood friend was just a clone? And how come does her childhood friend suddenly arrive in this world in the first place?" A girl named Chiyuki asked while still red-faced.

"Isn't it obvious? He must be a fake! There's no way Shirone's childhood friend would suddenly appear here. And he must be using some sort of magic to transform his appearance!" Reiji spat before anyone else could give their response.

"Reiji..." Chiyuki frowned at his reply. There are too many holes in his theory even though it seems plausible at first glance.

For one, it's very unlikely for the opposing side to get their hands on Shirone's childhood friend information when Shirone herself rarely talks about him. And it's impossible for them to perfectly duplicate his appearance as well including his memories.

They all can see that just now this unknown presumably Goddess is the one who transformed him. And if they wanted to use this kind of strategy to go against them, they should've just uses a pretty girl like this unknown Goddess to trick Reiji who's the strongest in their party.

But even then, the Dark Knight Diehart or rather Kuroki already defeated Reiji in an easy manner, so it's even more unlikely that they would try to pull such a stunt when they could just basically defeat Reiji already.

So it doesn't make any sense for them to do what Reiji just said.

"And this young lady must've been tricked by that evil Demon King Modes! We need to save her from his hands! He must've blackmailed her or some sort." Reiji said while looking possessively at Setsuna.

Setsuna didn't react to his gaze since a gaze from an insect isn't worth her attention but the same couldn't be said for Issei.

In less than a second, Issei arrived in front of Reiji before proceeding to lift him by his neck.

"Ghk!" He choked.

"Reiji/Reiji-kun!/Onii-sama!" His companions shouted. Only The Goddess from their side is still unblinkingly staring at Issei.

"Do you believe that I won't poke out your eyes from leering at my daughter?" Issei said coldly.

The sheer pressure from him is enough to make all the girls stay rooted on the spot.

"Royal father, you didn't need to waste your time and dirty your hand with this kind of weakling..." Setsuna said softly.

"Hmph." Issei scoffed before throwing him away in his companion's direction.

"W-We apologize for his behavior." Chiyuki who's the most level-headed of the rest of her friends apologized hastily. She can see that Reiji is not badly hurt from that throw just now.

Issei and Setsuna didn't reply to her apology but instead, Setsuna started taking out some clothes from her inventory.

"Royal father, let's get you out of that silly outfit. That armor doesn't suit you at all." Setsuna said giddily before she pulled out a bunch of matching outfits for Issei to wear.

What she took out is mostly a military uniform that looks a bit similar to her outfit, complete with the military hat as well.

Issei could only smile wryly at her enthusiasm. Looks like she spent too many times with Esdeath's group as of lately...

Issei of course won't refuse his little princess's request so he calmly took the outfit and put it on.

Of course, he used his magic to wear his new outfit... there's no way he would strip on the spot. He's not an exhibitionist after all.

Once he's done wearing his uniform, which basically the male version of Setsuna's outfit, he earns another entranced look from the girls.

Reiji scowled even further seeing his companions got entranced at Issei's sight.

"Splendid, royal father!" Setsuna clapped happily: "Now we have a matching outfit."

"U-U-Um, can you please answer our question just now?" Chiyuki somehow managed to snap out of her daze yet again.

Setsuna looks very annoyed now... She almost couldn't stop herself from knocking these bunch of weaklings out from their sight.

Issei who sensed her anger lightly stroke her head.

She squinted her eyes in bliss.

"To answer your question..." Issei started speaking: "Indeed, I, or should I say this body which previously belongs to a boy named Kuroki Yukisaki is a clone of my original self just like you heard from my daughter."

"No... No, there's no way Kuroki is just a clone... There's no way!" Shirone denied adamantly: "You must've done something to him! Give him back to me! Give him back!" She cried.

"Sorry, but I can't do that." Issei calmly shook his head: "And besides, don't you have the man that you like already." Issei pointed at Reiji.

"What? No, Reiji is..."

"Special?" Issei speak before she could finish her sentence: "Then what about your childhood friend? Is he also a special existence? But that would be impossible since you argue with him and have a falling out with each other just because you want to defend your special person over there."

"Kuroki and Reiji are different! Reiji is a hero everybody deserves while Kuroki is gentle but good for nothing person with no good qualities!" Shirone replied.

"Sh-Shirone..."

Even her friends are feeling awkward about her assessment of Kuroki.

"Just the fact that you couldn't see what's wrong with what you just said is pretty amazing in my opinion... Truly a good childhood friend." Setsuna said sarcastically.

"Wh-What? But it's the truth!" Shirone spat back: "He's also a closet pervert that likes to ogle on girls!"

"A good for nothing, huh... Then how come is that good for nothing able to defeat you and your Mr. Hero over there? If he's good for nothing then what are you two who got defeated by him. What makes the of you then? A complete utter failure?" Setsuna sneered: "And do you think Mr. Hero over there is not a pervert?"

Shirone's words got stuck on her throat when she heard Setsuna's words. Reiji's personality is extremely well known to everyone... For one, he will only save beautiful women and won't even bother taking a second glance if the one needed help is a man or not a beautiful woman.

Rather than calling him a hero, a Philanderer is more suitable to describe him as a whole.

It's mostly unknown to them but he has a lot of mistresses in the dark... One of them being the princess of a country and that said princess is also engaged.

"Have you ever treated your childhood friends with kindness before? Or did you always treated him like a retainer after all this time?" Issei asked once again and Shirone is at a complete loss for words.

When she remembered her past with Kuroki, she has never treated him kindly... And she always bosses him around... just like a retainer.

Issei then changed his attention to Chiyuki and the others: "And all of you shouldn't be here. Your presence caused the balance in this world to tip over on one side. You bring more harm rather than good for being here."

"Nonsense! We're heroes! We saved a lot of people from the Demons!" Reiji retorted.

"He's right, the Demon King is the cause of the suffering of many people," Chiyuki added.

The others also agreed with their statement.

"Are the 'people' that you mentioned include those who are of the Demon race?" Issei asked.

"Of course not. They're the ones who bring harm to the humans after all."

"Are you saying that the human never bring harm to others in this world?"

"That's..." They're feeling stumped at his reply.

"From what this 'clone' memories tell me, it seems that the Demon King is always staying in his territory, so how did he cause the suffering of many people?"

"Yes, it's true that the Demon King never leaves his territory. But the demons are the ones attacking humans. Isn't that the same as the Demon King causing the suffering of many people?" They reasoned.

"The Demon King never ordered them to do so."

"...So it's just his subordinates doing as they please? Isn't that irresponsible? Why doesn't he control them? So isn't that the same as having him as the reason for the suffering of people?"

"By your logic, if a human becomes a bandit or a thief and then they harmed others, it's the fault of the human King then?"

"No, that's..." Once again, they're at a loss for words.

"It's the fault of that particular individual?"

"...Yes."

"Then how come when an individual of the Demon race did things on their own volition, it's the fault of the Demon King but when it's a human it's not their king's fault?"

"..."

"The reason why you think that way is because you are not from this world." Issei stated: "It's normal for you to see the Demon race as evil since you came from a peaceful world that is ruled by humans. You automatically assumed the Demon race is evil as a whole while you barely know them. Am I wrong?"

"..." They still didn't or rather couldn't say anything in return since it's the truth.

"But we saved a lot of people during our stay here! You can't deny that!" Reiji tried to refute.

"I don't deny that." Issei replied: "But you only see what you did from one side since it's a lot easier for you. 'Good' and 'Evil' are just opposite sides of the same coin. They are both needed in the world. They complement each other and help the world function properly."

"You probably think that you saved a village full of humans from the Demon race but you never stop and think just why did they attack the human in the first place... Sure some of them attack the humans just because they wanted to but some attacked the humans out of desperation or perhaps because they wanted revenge."

Issei waved his hand to show a projection of the 'clone' memories. In the projection, they can see the humans are attacking a village full of the Demon race without mercy... They killed the children and elderly alike.

Some of them become enslaved and some even being rap*d on the spot.

Chiyuki and the others covered their mouth in shock.

"The humans become more and more fearless knowing that they have a 'Hero' on their side... What do they have to fear? If the Demon tried to retaliate then they can just call you, their beloved heroes to push them back, right?"

"N-No, th-that's not what we..."

"No need to explain yourself. I don't have the intention to judge any of your actions... I only used you as an example. I couldn't care less about what you did to this world or what will happen to this world. I only wanted to teach my daughter to never see things only from one side."

"I understand, royal father. Setsuna will never do things without properly thinking about it." Setsuna said.

"Mm, you can take it easy, princess... If you ever did something wrong, you just need to know that father and your mother will always have your back." Issei smiles lovingly.

"Un." Setsuna teared up a bit before she smiles widely at Issei.

"...Th-Then what have we been doing after all this time... Weren't we supposed to be the hero of justice?" Shirone muttered in tears.

"Don't worry, Shirone. We only need to do things that we think are right. There's no need to listen to him!" Reiji said in reassurance.

Out of everyone here, he seems to be the one who's less affected by his action so far.

"Rei-kun is right... It can't be helped that those things happened to the Demon race but we could change the way we do things from now on." A girl named Sahoko said.

"It's easy to just wave things off like that, isn't it?" Setsuna interrupted their conversation.

"There's no use in overthinking stuff. We just need to save those in need as usual." Reiji said confidently: "If by chance I found out that you're indeed being brainwashed then I would also gladly save you."

He flashed his typical confident smile towards Setsuna.

But rather than feeling touched, Setsuna grows more and more irritated instead.

"How disgusting..." She said in disgust.

"Don't you dare insult Rei-kun!" Sahoko scowled.

"Heh, how ignorant. I truly pity you..."

"I don't need your pity!"

"We'll see about that," Setsuna said dubiously: "By the way, that's a nice ring you have there." She said while looking at the crimson ring on Reiji's finger.

Reiji's body stiffened for a brief moment before he relaxed his body: "...It's a gift from my mother. Of course it's beautiful."

"Hmm, is that so?" Setsuna sneered: "Royal father, may I?"

"No need. It won't be long before it broke down on its own." Issei shook his head.

"Understood."

"And the fault doesn't solely belong to them since they're just ignorant children. The fault lies with the one who summoned them here." Issei looks at the dazed Goddess whose name is Rena.

They simultaneously look at her.

"Why don't you tell them the real reason why summoned them here? To defeat the Demon King? That's a complete utter lie and you know that."

"This..." Rena is feeling nervous being looked on like this.

"Don't worry, Rena! No matter what I will sa-"

"You be quiet." Issei waved his hand to shut Reiji's mouth. It's like his mouth has been sealed shut by something invisible.

"I..."

"I could more or less guess just why did you summon them in the first place. It has something to do with your clone created by the Demon King Modes, right?"

"!!!"

"Looks like I was right." Issei nodded after seeing her reaction.

"What's this about, Rena? What clone?" Chiyuki asked.

"During my clone stay in the Demon King's castle, he saw a woman looks extremely similar to her. Her name is Mona if I'm not mistaken. That woman should be her clone."

"But, how is that possible? How can the Demon King create a clone of a Goddess?" They asked in disbelief.

"It's quite simple actually. That Demon King Modes is also a God like her."

"What? Is that true, Rena?!"

"...Indeed." Rena nodded. Under the gaze of Issei, she couldn't refute anything... It's like she's forced to tell the truth.

"..." Their mouth went wide agape at this revelation.

"The Demon King, Modes... He, created a clone of myself and named her Mona." Rena bit her lips in frustration: "She is a fake goddess made with my hair as the material. In short, my clone..."

If you ask why I know about her existence, the very reason was the person herself. Though it's not like Modes was trying to hide her.

Though I don't know the reason, someday she just appeared in my dream with me seeing her point of view.

Maybe because she is my clone.

Moreover, though I can get any information from her, she can't do the same thing to me. Maybe that's the distinguishing attribute between the original and the copy. It seems Mona doesn't know that I can get information from her.

Thus, I know information about Nargol first hand while still remaining in Elios.

"...But then, I also come to know about an information that I don't want to know... I am forced to see Mona and Modes having s*x EVERY NIGHT. For some reason, I have to see the naked body of that ugly Modes even inside my dream, to be honest, it's a nightmare to me." She cried in pure disgust.

The girls flinched while remembering the picture of Modes... His height is slightly larger than 4 meters tall. He looked like a giant pig standing upright. He has a pig head with a heavily fat human body... They shuddered imagining his naked body.

Rena demanded Modes to hand over her clone. However, Modes refused and announced that she has to defeat him if she wants Mona. Rena asked the male gods who are infatuated with her to fight Modes. Many male gods fought to defeat Modes, but Modes repelled all of them.

The war between Modus and Rena has always ended in Modes victory... That's why after asking for a divination from a fellow God, Rena finally summoned Reiji and the others.

"Uhh, yeah... She's telling the truth." Issei coughed awkwardly.

No wonder she went mad and desperate... Rather than calling Modes human-like, it's more suitable to call him an orc.

The other girls could feel her pain... Who would be happy if they're in her position?

"...Hey, will you become my knight?" Rena suddenly said after taking a deep breath.

"...What?" They become dumbfounded at her words. Reiji who has his mouth shut is making a muffled sound of protest.

"No, rather, would you become my husband instead? I hate men who are not loyal but if it's you I won't mind. Even if you have a mistress or two I won't mind, so won't you become my husband?" Rena asked.

"No thank you." Issei denied instantly.

"But why?! I'm a supreme beauty!"

"What's your beauty has anything to do with it? I couldn't care less even if you are a hundred times more beautiful, my answer is still no."

"Why?!"

"Do I still need to tell you the reason? It's because I find you annoying." Issei said refreshingly.

"..." Rena's mouth becomes wide agape. The other girls also become impressed at his outright refusal.

Setsuna only sneered at the flabbergasted Rena. Did this idiot thinks that her royal father will just accept anyone as his wife? Dream on!

"But I can help you with your problem," Issei said next.

"You're going to kill Modes for me?"

"No. I will just sever your connection with your clone."

"Y-You can do that?"

"It's easy enough for me," Issei said simply: "But cloning through a strand of hair, huh... Guess I need to look into this method as well."

He should contact Da Vinci and the others to see into this.

...

"For the last time! Go away all of you!"

"Oh come on, Hepy! Share him a bit with us, will ya?"

"My answer is still no! No matter how many times you ask me, I would never share my husband with any of you!"

Hephaestus then proceeds to slam the door to her house.

"Tsk, cheapskate." Loki and the other Goddesses pouted discontentedly.

Hephaestus who's inside her house sighed tiredly.

"They're still at it?" A beautiful and petite Goddess with a youthful appearance and twin tail hairstyle asked wryly.

"Yeah..."

"It's your fault for flaunting your pregnancy, you know?"

"Tsk, shut it... I can't even get enough sleep nowadays because of them." Hephaestus grumbled.

"Can't really blame them though... It's unprecedented for a Goddess to be pregnant after all."

"I know I know... Let's put that aside for now. So you're going to create a familia of your own?

"Yep!"

"Hmm, I thought you're going to freeload on my place..."

"O-Of course not! I would never try to freeload on your place which would leave a negative impact on your husband's impression of me and then earn his ire after all!"

"Uh huh..." Hephaestus deadpanned.

"A-Anyway, I'm going to search for my own 'child' now!" The petite Goddess scrambled to her feet.

"Well, good luck. If you need any help then just tell me... If you want, I could lend a couple of brats to you just to get your familia started."

"N-No thanks! Your so-called 'brats' are basically a God already! It would be cheating!"

"Eh, who cares. If those old farts wanted to say something then let them come and see if they dare to do anything to our kids." Hephaestus shrugged and said ill humoredly.

"You know they won't dare to do anything..."

Hephaestus gives a faint chuckle at the petite Goddess's words. Of course she knows it... Not a single one of the sane Gods dare to cross the Godking's path after all.

"Well, go on then."

"Um, thanks for your hospitality, Hephaestus."

"Yeah yeah, take care."

Then the petite Goddess left her house.

Hephaestus slumped to her sofa and took a sip of the tea on the table.

Then she looks at her slightly protruding stomach and lovingly caresses it.