56 Chapter 55 Elcair...

Morning arrived and some silent footsteps were heard slowly walking away.

"Where are you going brother?" Asked Ddraig without even opening his eyes as he layed on the ground.

The footsteps stopped for a second before a male voice replied.

"I'm just heading to do some more exploration, don't worry you can head back to sleep Ddraig" Replied issei.

"Whatever...just don't get into trouble" Replied Ddraig with his eyes still closed.

"Sure bud" Replied issei before sprinting away without waking Eclair up.

Issei was sprinting for a while now as

light morning exercise and hasn't found anything interesting or worth looking at yet so he reached the second level of the mountain.

Everything seemed a little different.

Everything was still burned and destroyed or at least damaged but it seemed that the structures and designs of the buildings were a little different and a statue in the centre of the town was found.

"It's fascinating that dragons in this world, at least fairy dragons, built towns to live in rather than live in caves like dragons in my world" Said issei to himself as he walked towards a statue of a dragon.

The statue was overgrown with plants like other buildings and had cracks in different sizes.

The dragon itself had horns that looked demonic as well as its claws but at the same time it had a halo over its head and had four wings, the upper ones were large and the lower two were a little smaller.

"That's interesting" Said Issei until he saw a stone sign with words that he somehow understood to some extent.

"Dragon god....of the three... races, Errier?" Read Issei slowly.

"Now it makes sense why it has demonic features together with a halo, this dragon here is the god of the three races in this world, and his name was Errier" Said issei as he looked at the statue.

"I wonder how strong he was" Said Issei as he started to walk away.

After half of the day of exploring he didn't find anything useful in the next three upper towns except for a lot of metal that was really high quality and extremely strong as well as light, with all the metal he collected he could build a full metal castle.

Combined with his crafting skills the metal would become even stronger.

For now he kept all of the metal in his inventory as he didn't have any use for it as of now.

Right now he was in the sixth town and walked into some kind of house that looked like some kind of shop but it was damaged like any other and completely empty.

He was about to leave but noticed a hatch in the ground.

He was curious to see what it had inside, if it had anything in the first place.

He opened the hatch and saw ladders leading down and soon enough started to climb down and the lower he got the less he could see because of the darkness.

He reached the bottom and couldn't see anything so he lit up his finger with a flame and looked around and instantly put out the fire because the basement was filled with tons and tons of gunpowder barrels.

He released his holy aura which made his body glow golden in the dark and he was able to see without a risk of blowing half of the mountain.

"I wonder, why would dragons need gunpowder" Said Issei as he looked into one of the barrels.

He thought for a second before deciding to keep all of the gunpowder.

He thought maybe it will be useful in the last wave for traps or something.

After an hour of collecting all of the barrels full of gunpowder he decided to finally leave but before that he saw one last barrel of gunpowder that he somehow missed.

He walked towards the barrel to collect it, but as he got close, he tripped on some kind of wire that sent the whole shop sky high.

The sky roared with the explosion.

'Brother, what happened?' Asked Ddraig as he contacted him through a mental link.

'Nothing to worry about Ddraig, everything is fine' Replied issei as he got out of the rubble with a groan and dusted himself.

'I said not to get yourself into any trouble' Said Ddraig with a tired sigh.

'I know, but that was just unexpected, watk.ch out for any traps, even tho no one has been here for years the traps in some places still work, be careful' Said Issei.

Ddraig just grunted before he cut the link.

"Is he okay?" Asked Eclair.

"He's fine, just being a careless idiot like always" Replied Ddraig with a sigh.

"He may be an idiot but he is our idiot" Said Eclair with a giggle.

"Yeah..that's true" Said Ddraig as he eyed the girl suspiciously with a hidden smirk.

Back with Issei.

He walked towards the last level of the mountain and what he saw was stunning.

There stood a large castle with large walls surrounding it.

Of course it didn't look that good as it was unkept because it had many cracks and plants growing all over it but the sheer size amazed Issei.

"That's the biggest castle I have ever seen" Said issei with a stunned expression as he walked towards the broken gateway.

As he walked through he noticed the same statue he saw on the second level but much larger as it was life sized and it was made out of pure gold.

As he walked to it to inspect it he saw a sign that was in the same language that he didn't know how but somehow was able to read it like the last one.

"Sacrificial wish" Read issei out loud to himself.

"So that's where I'll be doing the ritual at" Said issei.

Suddenly in his vision for a split second, he thought that he saw the same dragon god but not covered with gold and alive.

"Wh-what was that!?" Shouted issei as he backed away from the statue a little.

"Why am I feeling a faint presence in this statue now?" Asked issei as he came back to the statue.

Issei's instincts told him to bow to the statue but issei's pride in being the emperor didn't let him.

"I should go and explore the castle for now" Said issei as he left the statue.

He walked and reached large metal double doors.

He put his hands on the doors and started to push and slowly with a loud screech opened the doors.

As he opened the doors he was met with complete darkness as in the first room there were no windows.

He released his holy aura to see in the darkness and what surprised him was that it wasn't trashed nor destroyed like he expected everything there to be.

The only thing was that there was a lot of dust, a single step created large dust clouds.

"Shit, it's so dusty here" Said Issei as he covered his nose.

He looked around but didn't find anything useful so he searched for another door and went to another room which had cracked windows with tons of dust on them like everything else in the castle.

He looked to a wall and found two paintings.

He wiped off the dust and saw a small Kiyomi and the queen on another.

Both were smiling but Kiyomi's smile was the brightest.

That smile made issei smile in return.

Suddenly his mood dropped.

"I haven't seen her smile like this ....I wonder if I'll ever be able to see it.....for that to happen I need to get stronger otherwise I'll definitely lose her and everyone in this world" Said issei as he gritted his teeth in frustration.

"I promise Kiyomi... Raphtalia, and everyone in my world I'll get stronger and protect you all.....even if I have to sacrifice my life, and if it will take my life then I'll come back to life so I can return to my world" Said issei as his eyes started to literally glow from the pure determination.

"I can't wait any longer....I'll have to do the sacrificial wish ritual once I finish exploring this castle at night while Ddraig and Eclair sleep" Said Issei as he walked throughout the hallways until he reached the doors to what he thought was the throne room.

Once he entered he was amazed by the mini dragon statues that were lined up from the sides in front of colons all the way to the throne.

He walked to each one of them but only one had a sign that was in best condition and closest to the throne as the others had already been cracked and unreadable.

"The most trustworthy right hand of the queen, Chief Astarot" Read issei.

Issei then turned to look at the queen's, princes and king's seats.

All of them had names engraved into them.

Princess name Kiyomi, Queen's name Antoinette and king's seat didn't have a name only a letter T.

"I wonder what's up with that" Said issei.

Later he decided to leave the room as it didn't have anything he could use.

He spent almost three days exploring the castle and he wasn't this disappointed in his life, ever.

"My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.....There's absolutely nothing in this damned castle!" Roared Issei out of fury.

He found this castle and thought there will be tons of valuable stuff that could potentially help him get stronger or something like that but noOoOo! it was completely empty!

"Maybe it was looted when the mountain was raided...but why is everything here....not destroyed?" Asked issei as he was walking through the hallway until he found a door to a room he was not in yet.

He opened the door and found himself in what looked like a little kid's bedroom.

He walked in and the room was pretty big with a king sized bed and a shelf next to a wardrobe.

He walked towards the bed and saw a little cabinet next to it.

He walked up to the cabinet and opened where he found a book and a necklace.

He opened the book and started to read it

"Dear diary" Started issei and immediately stopped.

"I guess that's Kiyomi's and I'll respect her privacy" Said issei as he closed the book and put it into his inventory.

Now he examined the necklace.

The necklace was a heart locket with a ruby in the middle, he opened it and there was a small picture of Kiyomi and her mother, on the other side of the locket were three words...Dad loves you.

"I believe this is really valuable to Kiyomi....better bring that back to her" Said Issei as he put the locket into his inventory as well and left the room as well as the castle.

He was walking back to their camp because it got dark already, while he was heading back he was planning to do the ritual.

"Tonight, when Ddraig and Eclair fall asleep I'll head back to the castle and do the ritual, I know Ddraig will definitely wake up so I'll have to speed run the ritual before he finds out" Said issei.

"I'm doing this so I could protect everyone and possibly return back to my world if I'll survive all of this crap" Said Issei.

He was walking for five more minutes and got bored of walking so he decided to fly to speed up the process.

As he returned to the camp he saw only Eclair who was sitting by the campfire.

He sneaked behind her silently.

"What ya doing?" Asked issei playfully as he touched her shoulder but in return he got not the reaction he wanted... actually he got no reaction at all.

He walked around her and looked at her face and noticed her blank look at the fire with tears and bloodshot eyes.

Issei became very worried.

He tried to get her attention even by shaking her a little but still nothing...

The last idea he got was just to.....hug her and comfort her as much as he could.

So he just sat behind her and hugged her from behind tightly but not too tightly as he grabbed her hands and wrapped them around her waist and put his chin on her shoulder.

"Hey there Eclair.....why are you crying?.... everything will be alright if you talk with me..... remember that you have us, me and Ddraig...we will help you with everything you'll need, so.... come back to me and let's talk about it" Whispered Issei into her ear with a soothing voice as he rubbed her hands with his thumbs.

After two minutes of silence she finally returned to the real world because of issei's warm touch and words.

"Issei?" Whispered Eclair with a shaky voice as she turned her head to the left and saw issei's face filled with genuine worry.

"That is me...tell me what's bothering you?" Aksed issei with a whisper.

"Why.....Why are you so kind to me!? why do you care about me!? we are total strangers!" Shouted Eclair as she started to cry even harder and shake.

"Why? do I really need a reason? well if that's what you want to know then listen up, why I'm so kind to you and why I care about you is because you are a dear friend of mine we're definitely not strangers, not anymore as we shared many stories of ours....well at least I did as you didn't want to talk about yours but that's not the point right now. As I said, you are a dear friend of mine and Ddraig and probably others that are still in Melromarc, you are now part of my party, part of my team and part of my family.

Please don't make me worry and talk to me about what's bothering you so I could help you" Said issei.

Eclair looked at issei for a moment before she turned her head away to look at the fire in front of her before starting to speak.

"When I was ten years old.....me and my parents lived in a small unamended village of fifty or some people.....but I lost them to some dangerous thugs.....my father fought them while my mother hid me in a secret compartment behind the house in a tree....they were both killed...after an hour of hiding I became hungry and cold so I left the hiding spot as I thought that the thugs left but I was so wrong..." Said Eclair as she never stopped crying and issei never stopped hugging her.

"As I left the spot I was caught by one of the thugs.

They wanted to do the unspeakable to me....but before that could happen she saved me..." Said Eclair with a shaky voice.

"The queen Mirellia Q Melromarc saved me as her knights arrested the thugs.

She offered me to stay with her and I accepted her offer of course.

She buried my parents and took me in to live with her....from that day she raised me....Melty was like a sister to me.....while Myne was like a pure nightmare....to repay the kindness I became a knight and the best swordwoman, well before Raphtalia took over that position....I became her right hand and I hunted down the thugs that killed my parents and other thugs that raided villages and I protected families from the same or worse Fate that I had....." Said Eclair.

"That's actually what my nightmares were about.... constantly re-watching my parents deaths and special people I care about...but...you were there to help me...to calm me down...you constantly saved me from those nightmares...." Said Eclair as she started to shake more before taking a deep breath and talking again after a small pause.

"I actually don't have anyone else besides you, Ddraig, Queen Mirellia, and Melty....before that I had a great friend and partner and my reputation made people respect me and look up to me....but one day....on a special escort mission me and my best partner together with some of the best knights were ambushed and I was the only survivor....my friend died....as well as all of the knights....you know how the bandits knew about the escort?" Said Eclair as she looked at Issei.

"One of the knights was a traitor and gave the information and always gave them equipment for them in secret to help them grow stronger...as I was the only survivor.....I was returned back to the capital badly injured and unconscious by some very kind farmer couple that were traveling to the calital....i was in a coma for half a year, after I woke up I was always hated by everyone but Mirellia and Melty, without them I was all alone.... everyone looked down on me and blamed me for the best knights and my partner's deaths even tho I said we were ambushed and I couldn't do anything they still cursed me and wanted my death or punishment....to be honest I blame myself too for being too weak to protect them.....so then I became cold...i closed off my heart and threw away all of the unnecessary emotions...I even stopped loving...I lost interest in everything I cared only about hunting the thugs and criminals and helping the queen in any way I could...but that was all until I met you...I started to feel these emotions again...I started to have fun again...you didn't look at me with disgust and only encouraged me...you even helped me with my nightmares.... I'm really the worst" Said Eclair as she turned with her whole body to face Issei and hugged him.

Issei rubbed her back and the back of her head as they sat in silence.

Only her sobs and fire crackling was heard throughout the night.

Not even wind dared to make a sound or move a branch.

They sat just like that before Issei spoke again.

"You don't have to worry, you aren't the worst, people have their ups and downs in their lives, some are lucky to have more ups than downs some have the opposite but...at least you never gave up...you always stayed loyal to the one who still believed you, and you even regained your emotions which are really important to have, you saved so may lives so many families....all you have to know right now is that me nor Ddraig nor the Mirellia or Melty will ever leave you alone and will always be here for you throughout your hardships so don't keep everything to yourself and share your burdens, we will definitely help you" Said Issei.

Eclair hearing him couldn't help but feel relieved and suddenly she looked up to him and kissed him.

Issei was taken aback and could do anything as she fell asleep in his hold because of his warmth and happiness that issei gave her just from his kind words.

"Wha-what? ahhh! I'll just talk to her tomorrow" Said issei with a sigh.

Unknown to him someone was watching the whole thing.

Of course that was Ddraig who had a big smirk that said victory.

"Great bother, just keep this up and my plan will work out perfectly hahah? this is for taking Kiyomi from me! you shall face the wrath of your other mates hehehe" Laughed Ddraig menacingly before he walked over to them.

"Where were you?" Asked Issei as he looked at Ddraig.

"Just walking around don't bother, but I see that something interesting happened here" Said Ddraig with a smirk as he sat down before laying down his back facing Issei four meters away from each other.

"Don't take this the wrong way" Said issei.

"Yeah suuure" Said Ddraig before he fell asleep.

Issei waited for half an hour before he moved Eclair to the side gently and stood up.

'Time for the ritual' Thought Issei.

He released his wings and silently flew away.

"What are you planning brother" Whispered Ddraig to himself with a sigh as he sat up..

[To be continued]...