A Dragon's Freedom

Chapter 7

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As Minerva held onto him, he remembered how he said his goodbyes to Rossweisse, Irina, Gabriel, Ravel, Kiba, Tosca, Gasper, Valerie, Sona and her peerage, Riser and his peerage, Grayfia, Milicas, Ophis, Lilith, and even Yasaka and Kunou came. He knows he did not tell them anything and then figured out that Lilith let it slip when she and Ophis were in Kyoto. He had to scold his little sister to not get bribed by sweets, considering how she and Ophis were the same person, in a sense. The difference is he felt that he spoiled Lilith, which had given her more of a childlike mindset.

Kunou was sad, but she did not call him "Otou-sama" as usual, that was because Issei stopped her from doing so. He quietly explained to her that he was not mature enough to be a father and he was sorry that he would have to leave her. He told her to look at him as a big brother and that he would return to see her so as to not make her cry. He asked her to train to get stronger as well and asked Yasaka to train her because he knew Yasaka herself was as strong as an Ultimate class devil. To appease the little kitsune even more and let her know that he was not abandoning her, he informed Yasaka that if she needed assistance in handling renegades, she should let him know, forming a contract with her.

He talked with Milicas as well, knowing that he was stronger in using the power of destruction than Rias. He told him to train to one day lead the clan and asked Grayfia to make sure he doesn't become spoiled. Of course, knowing his big sister, he knew that wouldn't happen with Milicas. He told everyone that was there that they should train and not be complacent, considering that there were still renegades out there.

With Gasper bawling on him, he told Valerie to take care of him and told her to make him wear men's clothes. Considering that Gasper was saying that he would be a "man" in Issei's absence. He gave Kiba a brotherly hug and told him to enjoy his relationship with Tsubaki. He felt honored to meet Kiba's friend, Tosca, telling her to keep Kiba in check. Although with a girlfriend like Tsubaki, it shouldn't be an issue, something that made Tosca giggle. He also said the same thing to Genshirou, while the dragons talked mentally to each other. He gave a hug to the rest of Sona's peerage, telling them to take care and surprisingly, got a kiss on the cheek from Reya. She claimed that she didn't get to really get to thank him for their outing a few days ago.

He kissed Rossweisse, Ravel, and Irina and gifted them with gold bracelets, of course, when kissing Ravel that was interrupted by Riser. Issei joked about calling him "Nii-san" in the future, which did make Ravel blush because he indirectly declared that he would marry Ravel. Similar to before, when he talked with Riser in the hallway, he told him to look after her, to which Riser agreed and gave him a hug. For Gabriel, he informed her that he holds no fault against the angels, since he was informed by Irina that Michael and Gabriel stood by him, it made the seraph glad and gave him a hug, blessing his relationship to Irina. He did not tell her where he was going, but she understood his decision not to, same with Yasaka, knowing it could compromise her, if the factions went looking for him.

After saying his goodbyes, Seekvaira and Alivian escorted him and his parents, who came back to see who Issei's true friends were. He had begun to settle in and found a letter from Ravel. He had figured out that Ravel's gift to him was a new wardrobe, now making sense why she took his new measurements. He did feel a little offended that she called his old clothes tacky, but she had an eye for fashion, so he would trust her judgment.

Minerva: So are we going to be seeing your little sister again? - snapping him out of his thoughts.

Issei: Hmm, Lili-chan, I won't be able to tell you, she likes to visit spontaneously.

What he was referring to was over the first few months before he met Minerva, Lilith took it upon herself to consistently see him. He would usually wake up to her snuggling up against him. He did try telling her that she could not keep doing so because her energy signature could be traced due to being a powerful being. He went to talk with Ophis about it, which she told him that before he looked like a lecherous faced father. Due to his change, she noted that Issei treated Lilith like his kin as a dragon would and then said that Lilith's stubbornness came from him.