Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD and Fate and do not gain profit from this writing.

Chapter 5

Lancer's face was solemn. The battle she was about to enter was crucial, but to her it was merely a game with her side being the undeniable winner.

The campaign for conquest had gone great since the beginning. The modern army of the United Kingdom was no match for her. The mages from their association had done everything they could, and yet they could do nothing but perish under the light of Rhongomyniad.

The royal family was captured easily when she caught them off guard, not that they could have done anything differently. All the male members were publicly executed, while some of the females were handpicked to become slaves and concubines. The most beautiful woman among them was pregnant and crowned queen now, and thus legitimated his right to rule.

The Red Dragon Emperor had returned to take back Britannia from the Anglo-Saxon after centuries.

The news had spread like wildfire throughout the island and the rest of the world. Followers and supporters kept coming up to join the new monarch, for no one could oppose the power of Y Draig Goch. While they didn't directly contribute to the military force it was still necessary to have a standing army and civilians to form a new nation. Lancer alone was enough to demolish anything the current government of Great Britain could throw at her.

Now the remnant of their army along with the last mages stubbornly held down a fortress at the edge of the island, their backs facing the English Channel. There was the promise of help from other countries, but it might as well be an empty threat after Lancer reduced a foreign warship fleet into molten scrap before it could even enter the water of her island.

Even when they were outpowered, even when they knew they had no chance to win they still chose to oppose her instead of surrender. For that she respected the UK army, and would fight without holding back. Those who surrendered had been spared, and currently under penal reform to serve the new king.

She glanced at the modified vehicle behind her, where a naked man sat on a throne, served by several scantily clad women, some of them royal and noble, looking bored. Without doubt he would be the most important figure of the newly reborn Britannia, and yet there was no security, no protection. He did not need any, for no sword or bullet could pierce his skin, and no missile or spell could bleed him. Thus the only thing he needed was pleasure, and so pleasure was with him.

Upon noticing her glance, he dragged a half-smile out of his lips.

"What are you waiting for, my spear and shield? Go forth, crush them and make me the king of this nation."

'Yes, my lord.'

She was the tool to kill his enemies and protect his properties. This was what she did best, so naturally she had to act up her role.

"Is this your best nightmare, Lancer?"

She turned her head to the voice and blasted her spear at the source.

'To think I let my guard down this much…'

But the wizard simply reformed in front of Lancer, his face showed no joy, but no fury either.

'Is this your doing?... No, please forget my question.'

Lancer knew Merlin had the ability to create and modify dreams, but she also knew this was not his work. By catching his sight she was able to regain full consciousness, therefore she knew what was going on.

"Hm… To think this is your taste in men." Merlin cast his gaze on the naked man on the throne, still looking bored and not bothered by the appearance of the new person. "I must say that the real docile one is better. Your personality isn't compatible with the playboy type. Though who knows, maybe you two can work this out?"

Lancer felt a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment, but she held it down not to comment on Merlin's words. She silently raised her lance, and with one strike annihilated the last army of the enemy.

'Why are you here?' Lancer knew Merlin had always entered her dream back then, but this was different.

Everything around Lancer and Merlin stopped, and faded into a blurry mess. It couldn't be anything but Merlin's manipulation of dream.

"I'm on here on my volition, if that can reassure you." He sat on a conveniently placed rock. "Now if there is anything you want to share, you can do so. I will listen to your worries."

There was an urge to confess, but Lancer bit her lips with her eyes shut hard.

"... The vision you saw scares you, Lancer."

'No…' She shook her head, trying to deny it.

"If you continue to act like this you will only hurt both you and him. It is not hard to see that you are suffering."

'Begone!'

Lancer swung her lance at Merlin, and the stone ceiling entered her eyes. She let out a long sigh, an ale barrel was next to her along with the other 2 empty ones.

"How pathetic… since when do I have to drink myself to sleep…?"

Lancer touched her aching forehead, she noticed that her breath was chock full of alcohol. From the noise and smell outside it seemed that Merlin was making breakfast, and she would hate to let Issei know that she had wasted herself the night before.

Lancer put the barrels back into the storage before letting herself into the bathroom. She slept naked last night so there was no need to undress. The knight let the cold water fall on her head, which made her somber again. When the bathtub was filled with warm water Lancer gently climbed into it.

"Haaaa…"

It wasn't the extravagant Roman style bathroom back in her quarter that every nobles got, but it was still much better than bathing in the wilderness. Lancer felt spoiled by these conveniences, and she wasn't going to reject it.

Lancer grabbed the green bottle on the shelf and poured the thick contents into the bathtub. She was thankful for this lemon flavor body wash. It could help her get rid of the ale smell all over her body.

"That incubus…" She let the bathwater soak into her skin, easing the dirt and removing the alcohol smell.

The accumulated stress must have lowered her guard, so that he could see the depth inside her heart. Otherwise she wouldn't just let him in so easily. Even if he wasn't the Merlin she knew the two couldn't be too different for her to protect her own mind.

What happened earlier was not a dream, but rather the manifestation of her consciousness when she solely focused on a subject too much. For the last three months, ever since that day… Lancer had imagined over 30 scenarios of what would happen when she responded to Issei's proposal.

She wished it could have been easy, yet it could not be. The result was always unpositive, or negative and outright depressing at worst. It was an inevitable end, just like how Camelot must end. Lancer knew she was fighting a losing war, so she chose to run damage control, and draw out the best possible outcome that she could get.

"But even so…"

Lancer already had her answer, but she continued to repeat the hypothesis. She knew she couldn't beat the impossible, but still she imagined the possibilities. Before she knew it they had arrived at Avalon, and Lancer still hadn't got the outcome she wanted.

The knight did not want to give up.

Lancer stepped out of the bathtub in silence. She quickly wiped her body with a towel, and headed for the wardrobe. When she had crossed time and space the only clothes she had was the ceremonial set, but when they arrived at the island on the first day Merlin had given her multiple sets of clothes, an included handout along with the house. The white one entered her view, and it reminded her how annoying the court mage was even in this world. She pushed them aside, and picked a dark green shirt to go with brown pants along with a gray coat. Lancer checked her face in front of the mirror one last time to ensure that Issei wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary before heading out for breakfast. Her hair was tied into a bun like usual.

The food was nice, but it didn't improve her mood.

"So… wanna ride me today?" Issei timidly asked after finishing his meal.

Lancer saw no problem not to go with him, and this would serve as a distraction for both of them. Issei put on the boar skin to let Lancer mount him, and with one strong flap he launched into the misty sky. The cold wind caressed their faces, and made Lancer's coat flutter.

Even without handles Lancer had no problem balancing herself on a relatively fast dragon. Issei began to make a tour along the coast of the island. Although they couldn't see anything but the mist, the sand and the water. Anything inland was still shrouded in thick fog. Lancer could still see a glimpse of a white tower at the center, but she had no interest in it at the moment.

It was like Issei told her. There was a great sense of freedom riding in the sky. They were only flying in a circle but it definitely gave her the feeling that she could go anywhere in this world. For a second she felt her mind relaxed, and just enjoyed the cool breeze.

"You know, about that… Never mind." Issei sheepishly said. Lancer flinched for a half a second before calming her body.

She knew Issei was probing for an answer again. It pained her every time she had to give him a cold shoulder, but still she didn't want to answer him now.

She looked at his wings, and another set of horns that wasn't there the day before. The more complete a dragon Issei was, the more difficulty he would face if he wanted to become a human again. Yet she had nothing to say, for what she could say when this was a good distraction to the mess that entangled them?

They stopped for lunch, then Issei went to train by himself. Obviously set up by Merlin. The mage must have talked to him in his dream too, and got himself into the mentor position again. This time for the descendant of the Welsh Dragon. In a way it was fitting for Merlin to instruct Issei.

Lancer knew she should figure out why Merlin wanted to turn Issei into a hero, but she couldn't afford the extra thought when she still had to deal with her one big main problem. Besides Issei getting stronger wasn't that bad of an idea, she would not say no to a strong dragon partner.

Therefore Lancer simply retreated to the rooftop of her house, with a box of biscuits and a bottle of honeyed lemonade, to observe Issei's training.

Rows of targets popped up from the sand, which were frantically incinerated by Issei. Although he had trouble targeting the ones far in the back without blackening the sand with his flame. Still it was much better than when they were traveling to Avalon.

"Hm… I'm going too fast." Lancer noticed that half of the biscuits were gone, so she slowed down a little.

The next training was push ups, or how dragons should do push ups. It was similar to how a human did, only with a boulder on Issei's back.

"...20 ...21 ...22..."

She could see that he was struggling. How much weight was that boulder? Could be 200 or 300 kg eyeballing.

"...48 ...49 ...50…!"

Issei dropped on the ground with the boulder still on his back, breathing hard. He looked like a lizard who had been crushed by a boulder. Coincidentally Lancer had also run out of snack. Issei would repeat the boulder push ups for a few more times before taking his rest. Lancer too went back to her room for a short nap.

Dinner came and went. Another day ended without the right answer.

The three ale barrels were refilled, which was a nice perk. Lancer's pride was too high to ask Merlin to give her more alcohol with Issei around. The mead Merlin served them during dinner just didn't cut it anymore. She was certain that the ale was magically enhanced, otherwise it would be impossible for it to knock her out with only 3 barrels.

Lancer undressed and put her clothes into the wardrobe, which magically cleaned out all the dirt on them. She picked up a box of crackers from the storage, and guzzled down the ale barrel in the living room. The hot ale went well with the crackers, and Lancer continued to drink without stopping. She let the ale punch her in the throat, in the stomach, and in the mind.

Lancer had found out that this was the fastest way to make her sleep. If she hadn't drunk she would constantly be trapped in her thoughts, and just like those days when they were traveling she would lay down and close her eyes, but couldn't fall asleep. Physically she was healthy, but mentally she was facing a great exhaustion that prevented her from making any decision with a clear mind. Secondly the ale did give her a flash of inspiration for the scenarios, so to speak.

"So next he would throw me away… because there is no way nobody wouldn't get mad…"

Lancer blacked out, and she would dream, hoping to reach the conclusion that she desired for.

Days and nights cycled. Lancer would hang out with Issei until lunch, then he would begin his training with Merlin until dinner. For her part Lancer didn't have anything to do. So when Merlin told her she could practice archery Lancer took it to the field with a bow, given as a courtesy of the mage. For a knight of her caliber Lancer had never been great with the bow and arrows. Sure she could hit a target because archery was a requirement of the knighthood that she was trained in, but among the Round Table Lancer had never been the archer specialist like Sir Tristan, for example.

The arrows Merlin gave her had no tip, only a sharp end of the wooden stick. She nock one, then released the arrow into the board. It landed on the target with a snap sound, but nowhere close to the bullseye. Lancer adjusted her aim then released another arrow, but she misread the wind so the arrow landed even further from where she wanted it to.

Lancer considered this a challenge to hit the bullseye by dinner.

"Brushing up on your archery skill?" Merlin appeared behind her, but she could sense him from afar so Lancer didn't get startled. "You know you have always shot a beam of light, and not an arrow, at something when you want to kill it at range."

Lancer readjusted her bow, read the wind, and released the arrow. It landed just a few centimeters above the bullseye.

"You are correct that I like shooting beams more than firing arrows." She rapidly released two arrows, but they failed to hit the board. "It is much simpler than flexing an arrow."

"The Arthur of this world did too." Merlin held his staff high, which released an orb at high speed toward the board. When it landed it blew up the entire target.

"Just ask if you're interested in deep magecraft study." Merlin tapped his staff and a range of targets popped up from the ground. "You have all the time in the world now without managing a kingdom."

"What you just did is magic from the Age of God which is only possible in the Reverse Side of the World." Lancer's mind was still struggling between focusing on the target and the scenarios, but she didn't show it. "Has Issei done with the training?"

"Oh he is studying by himself. His talent is nowhere near yours so he will need to work hard to grasp the basics. Although he has the determination, which is an important quality when one wants to achieve a goal."

Lancer released an arrow again, this time hitting below the bullseye.

"It will be harder for him to turn back into a human after tapping so much into his dragon power. You do know that, right Merlin?"

"I give him a choice, and he is the one who makes that choice." Merlin shot back. "Among 7 billion humans he is the one who is fated to be the host of Y Draig Goch. It would be such a waste, if he just sits on the power of a Heavenly Dragon doing nothing about it."

'Fated to be the Red Dragon Emperor huh…'

"You could say that because he is the one who inherits the power of the Ddraig that he has the right catalyst to summon you in the war, on top of a particular obsession of his." Merlin had a knowing grin that made Lancer want to smack it out of his face. "The circumstance might have… granted unwanted side-effects to Issei, but it has also allowed him to become the one closest to Ddraig, even more than the other two famous strongest Boosted Gear possessors. I can't lie that I'm not interested in him. I'm looking forward to the story of his life."

The bow cracked under the grip of Lancer.

"... Issei's family is the reason why he wants to become a human again. The Hyodo are an irreplaceable aspect of his life, and they have raised a wonderful son who is worthy of the legacy of the legendary Red Dragon." Lancer hissed. "If, by accident or not, his parents die or disappear, Issei loses a reason to return to the human world to reunite with his family and as a result becomes stronger then know that I shall get to the end of the cause, and crush the skull of the culprit with my bare hands."

"Death and destruction to the enemies of the Red Dragon." Smiled Merlin, unfazed by her threat. "Although tragedy could strike at any time, you were a king in a tumultuous time. This should be nothing new to you."

"We will see." Lancer quick-aimed at a target, and had her arrow land perfectly on the bullseye.

"I should be back to check on our whelp now. Call me if you need anything." Merlin's smile never disappeared on his devilish face.

Lancer continued to practice archery until dinner, and Merlin never came to bother her. The next days she would play with various weapons from sword, zweihander, gladius, mace, axe, spear, pike, javelin to katana. The eastern curved blade was interesting. Lancer gave it a few swings, but she couldn't replicate the same moves that the female Saber had shown her in the Grail War. Perhaps there was a specific way to master this weapon that she didn't know of.

Lancer also had a chance to try out the famous Mongol composite bow. She really enjoyed using the thumb ring, a remarkable item that nobody back in the Isle of Britain or the Roman Empire used. This bow had a higher firerate and firepower than the ones her soldiers had used, but it might take more resources to arm them with this so if she had had the knowledge on how to make one at best she could only have one or two composite bow squads.

All in all this was a great way to destress, so Lancer continued this physical activity at day, and drowned in her own world at night.

Before Lancer knew it was decided that they would go to the territory of Tannin for help.

The last night on Avalon was a feast, with numerous kinds of dishes buffet style on the long table.

"Do you enjoy your time here in Avalon?" Merlin poured mead, the strongest so far, into Issei and Lancer's cups.

"It's great! We are only on the beach but I love it."

"I'm glad to hear that." Merlin didn't wait for Lancer's comment, because they both knew she wasn't in a mood to say anything about it. "Now, it is customary for the host to gift the guests before they leave. Tomorrow I will come into your house, and present you with a boon."

Issei was a little confused, but quickly returned to normal.

"Thank you. You have done so much for us Merlin."

"Think nothing of it. I have also enjoyed your company here. Now let us enjoy the feast."

They gorged on dinner till the last bit of meat and mead.

Lancer chose not to drink that night, and simply went to bed early. She was surprised that she could sleep straight to morning without any dreams. When she woke up she took a long bath, and picked a suitable set of clothes. They were going to the land of a Dragon King to seek help, so she couldn't dress like a wanderer. However she wouldn't be there as a noble so a formal dress would be too much, this was a show for Issei after all. For that Lancer selected a dark blue blouse to go with a pair of black tapered pants and a pair of high leather boots.

When she was done there was a knock on the door, and even when Lancer knew Merlin could just walk in without reserve it was obligatory for her to open the door for him.

"Good morning, Lancer."

"... Just come in."

"Well then, thank you for your hospitality."

If Lancer hadn't restrained herself she would have punched that joke out of his mouth.

"Issei really likes my gift, so I hope you will like it too." Merlin came into the living room.

From his sleeve Merlin pulled out a long metal box and put it on the table. Upon opening it Lancer saw a straight sword. It was a 1 meter long sword, with a red grip and a green jewel in the middle of the golden crossguard. The entire blade was bloodred.

"The same shape of Caliburn and Excalibur?"

"As expected from the former King, you see through the design with one glance." Merlin picked up the sword with both hands and presented it to her. "I was fortunate to get some materials from Issei's Boosted Gear to craft this sword. Dwelled inside it is the essence of the Welsh Dragon. Undoubtedly it is worthy to be the armament for the Dragon Knight."

The sword felt strangely familiar in her hands. Lancer raised it, and the sword shone brightly.

"I christen it… Excalibur Y Draig Goch: Fang of the Red Dragon Emperor!" Merlin excitedly exclaimed.

"... That's a mouthful. Let's just call it Goch."

"Silly Lancer, you know that name holds an important aspect over an object." Merlin shook his head. "Well it's yours now, so feel free to call it however you want. I have also made a personal pocket dimension for you to put it away when not used."

Lancer let her mana flow into the sword, and checked out the connection. With a gesture the sword disappeared into thin air. She would inspect it when she got the time.

"Thank you Merlin. I like it."

"Hm… that smile of yours is great. You should definitely smile more."

'... Can I even do it now?'

"Anyway back to topic, I will give you this card which contains 50,000,000 QP. QP is short for Quantum Piece, a general currency for the supernatural side. You should be able to spend it on almost every realm on the Reverse Side of the World."

"I would like to exchange one of my fang baskets for a chest of gold and jewel."

They were going to the dragon territory so it was necessary to give a present to the owner. She doubted that she could just give this card to Tannin without angering him. The guest present is one thing, and the price to ask for a method to turn back into a human is another thing. Lancer would need to solve this by herself.

"It will be done. I think that my part is done here. Do you have anything else you want to do before our last breakfast and parting party, Lancer?"

For a second she was tempted to ask Merlin to use clairvoyance to tell her of what would happen… but she knew better not to let fate overtake her future. Lancer considered just saying nothing here, but she also knew if she wanted to be advised by the court mage, then this was now or never.

"Tell me Merlin… How would I tell Issei my feelings for him?"

"What is it that prevents you from doing so?" Merlin calmly asked, as if he were expecting this the whole time.

"If it is lust that needs to be sated, then this body can provide him however and whenever he wants. However Issei asks me not of lust, but love. The me back there in the war was a King who cared not for him but my ultimate mission for my kingdom, yet he still fell in love with that facade. I have no excuse for what I did in order to accomplish my goal, and I also know lies could ruin a relationship easily. Therefore I… do not wish to taint such a pure and innocent love with falsehood just because it will result in an immediate positive outcome. Nonetheless I do not have the courage to give him an honest answer."

"You fear that if you tell him the truth he will reject you?"

Lancer gave Merlin a gloomy nod.

"You are overthinking such a small problem with such a narrow view!" Merlin laughed like no tomorrow. "Okay okay before you murder me I'm gonna give you one advice: Think of who Issei is, and you will know what to tell him."

"..."

"Well I will prepare our breakfast now. You should wipe that sour face before heading out. Oh and one more question: Do you need more ales for the journey?"

"Shut ya trap." Lancer kicked the hologram of Merlin out of the house who was actually tangible. When the mage was out of the picture she let out a long sigh, then went to the bathroom to wash her face.

"... No, Issei has said it himself. If I have not tried it, how will I know the result?"

With a new resolve Lancer carried the luggage with her, and closed the door.