A suffocating silence hung over the cabin's living room.
Kay looked down at the small life cradled in his arms—Gareth.
The baby slept peacefully, oblivious to the world, breathing in soft, rhythmic puffs. With golden hair and pale skin, the child was the unmistakable image of the Pendragon bloodline.
“Sigh… by the time you wake up, the Great Disaster Battle will probably have begun.”
Kay managed a bitter smile and took another swig of his lukewarm ale.
Then, it happened.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ground trembled.
It was the sound of footsteps, but they were far from ordinary.
“So, you’ve arrived.”
Kay gently laid Gareth in the cradle and steeled himself.
The doorknob turned.
Bang!
The door swung wide, revealing eight girls silhouetted against the blinding glare of the sunset.
Each gripped a legendary weapon, standing with an air of imposing majesty.
Artoria was the first to speak.
“I'm home, brother! We’ve—”
Her bright smile froze mid-sentence.
The expressions of Alter, Lily, Lancer, and the other sisters were the same. Their gazes locked onto a single point.
The basket on the table.
Inside lay a sleeping baby, and beside it, Kay, who was waving his hand with awkward hesitation.
“…Huh?”
“…A baby?”
Silence.
A suffocating stillness reclaimed the cabin.
The tension was so thick that the drop of a pin would have sounded like a thunderclap.
The temperature in the room plummeted. No—the air itself was freezing over, saturated with murderous intent.
Sparks of magical energy crackled with a sharp zap from the Excalibur in Artoria's hand.
“Brother.”
Artoria's voice was absolute zero.
“Would you… mind explaining this?”
“Wait, just calm down! This isn’t what you think it is…”
“While we were out drawing the sword…”
Alter slammed her blade into the floor with a heavy thud and growled.
“You couldn’t even wait that long before screwing up?! Who is she?! Which wench did you fall for to bring a child home? We were gone for half a day, and you managed to find a hidden kid in that time?!”
“Brother… I am disappointed. To think you would do this without a word to us…”
Lancer's eyes flashed with a light sharper than Rhongomyniad. She trembled with a sense of profound betrayal.
Artoria X Alter silently activated her red beam saber, its ominous, low-frequency hum vibrating through the room.
“I shall find the mother of this child and give her a Force Choke…”
“Brother, congratulations! …I want to say that, but my heart hurts too much!”
Lily collapsed in a heap and began to sob.
The cabin instantly descended into chaos.
Jealousy, rage, betrayal, and sorrow.
A storm of magical energy, fueled by eight conflicting emotions, bore down on Kay. At this rate, not only the cabin but all of Tintagel would be blown to pieces.
“Hey! Hey! Stop it! Everyone, put your weapons away!!”
Kay shouted urgently, shielding the sleeping Gareth in his arms.
“He’s not my kid! He’s not!”
“Liar! I can smell it! He smells like you—no, he smells like a Pendragon!”
At X's exclamation, Kay yelled back.
“Yes! Of course he smells like a Pendragon! Because he’s your sister’s child, you idiots!”
“…Eh?”
In an instant, the rampaging magical energy vanished.
Eight pairs of eyes blinked in unison.
“Sister… you mean?”
At Lancer Alter's question, Kay snapped in frustration.
“Morgan! Morgan le Fay! That witch came by while you were all gone and just dumped him here! Like a cuckoo bird!”
Kay beat his chest in grievance, venting his frustration.
“She claimed she'd give me a whole kingdom as child support and then bolted! His name is Gareth! He’s your nephew, you morons!”
“…Oh.”
Alter's jaw dropped.
Artoria hastily extinguished the light of Excalibur, and Artoria X Alter quietly deactivated her beam saber.
“Morgan’s… child?”
“Our… nephew?”
The girls cautiously approached the basket.
As Kay gently peeled back the swaddling cloth, the blonde baby stirred and let out a tiny yawn.
The child was undeniably a Pendragon. He resembled Artoria, but with a softer, more vacant expression that made him look incredibly adorable.
“…So cute.”
Lily smiled, gently grasping the baby's wriggling hand.
“He’s so small…”
Alter murmured, staring at the infant with genuine curiosity.
“To think this child is our nephew.”
Artoria Caster looked down at Gareth with a complex expression.
The murderous atmosphere vanished completely, replaced by the cooing of eight doting aunts.
Only then did Kay let out a long sigh of relief and collapse into a chair.
“Sigh… I’m getting old. I’m really getting old.”
Just then, Merlin stepped through the open door. He tilted his head, looking around the room in confusion.
“Now then, what on earth is happening here? Why is there a baby?”
“Why don’t you tell him, Merlin? Tell him what your pupil did.”
Kay gestured with his chin toward Gareth.
The moment Merlin saw the baby's face, he turned pale.
“Gah! Morgan’s youngest?! Why is he here?!”
“Because your student left him here. Anyway, why did you come?”
“Ah, I had no intention of coming. But the girls said they’d kill me if I didn’t bring you along.”
“…So I’m going too. I don’t know how to feel about this. It’s… complicated.”
Kay stood up and retrieved a large backpack from the closet. Inside, dried meat, bandages, basic medicines, and cloth diapers were already neatly organized.
“I can handle the cooking, but you lot have to help me raise this kid.”
Kay expertly wrapped Gareth in a sling and hoisted him onto his back.
“…Brother.”
Artoria approached, her eyes brimming with tears.
Because of their insistence, Kay was forced back onto a perilous road—and this time, he was carrying a newborn. He had to manage childcare while accompanying them on their journey. This was far from what he had envisioned.
“I am sorry. And… thank you.”
“Forget it. I’m only going because I can’t stand the thought of you all starving.”
Kay spoke gruffly, giving Artoria a light pat on the head.
Then, he flashed a grin at Merlin.
“Hey, Mr. Magician. You can summon a carriage, right? We can’t exactly walk with a baby.”
“…Sigh. What a life.”
Merlin pretended to grumble as he waved his staff.
A sturdy, spacious carriage materialized in front of the cabin.
Eight maiden knights, and in their midst, Kay with a baby on his back.
This peculiar party set off, leaving the sunset of Tintagel behind them.
Of course, they stopped to bid farewell to Black Knight Ector as he returned from his work.
***
In a forest clearing, a campfire crackled softly.
Kay was stirring a large pot of stew. The aroma of meat and vegetables, enhanced by seasonings he had developed over the last decade, wafted through the woods.
“Hungry…”
Gareth stirred on his back, evidently awake.
Kay expertly scooped Gareth into his arms and began feeding him warmed goat's milk.
He had decided that feeding the baby meat or meat broth—like he did for the Artorias—would be too much. In fact, the baby felt like a different species entirely compared to them.
The eight girls watched the scene, completely mesmerized.
“…He’s so skilled.”
“A true professional. He’s the god of childcare.”
Caster and X marveled at his effortless movements.
Then, Lancer approached. With her mature appearance, she sat quietly beside Kay.
“Brother. Aren’t your arms tired? Let me hold him.”
“No. You’re wearing armor, so you’re too cold. You’ll startle the kid. Just eat your food.”
Kay refused firmly, handing her a bowl of stew. Lancer pouted but took the bowl. On the other side, Alter grumbled while chewing on a piece of meat.
“Tch, that brat is so lucky. Kay didn’t even hold me like that when I was small.”
“Do you not remember me carrying you on my back when you were five? You pooped on me five times.”
At Kay's revelation, Alter's face turned as red as a beet.
“S-Stop talking! My dignity!”
Hahaha!
Laughter echoed into the night sky. It was a peaceful, warm dinner.
However, the gaze Merlin cast upon them was far colder and darker than the campfire.
Standing in the shade of a distant tree, he watched the laughing Artorias and Kay.
A smile played on his lips, but his eyes were devoid of warmth.
…This is a problem. A very big problem.
Merlin toyed with his staff.
A king must be solitary. They must discard human emotion and become a system existing solely for the sake of the nation. Only then can this crumbling Britain be sustained for a while longer.
But the current Artorias were far too human.
And the cause was singular.
Kay.
That ordinary, talentless man was tethering them to their humanity.
He fed them, made them laugh, and provided a place of rest.
As long as he existed, the Artorias could never become ideal kings. They would remain nothing more than girls who loved their brother.
Merlin's eyes narrowed.
Kay was an excellent nurturer; he conceded that. But the time for nurturing had ended.
What they needed now were trials and loss.
To complete the king, that warm sanctuary had to be destroyed one day.
One day… I must tear them apart.
Merlin formulated a cold, ruthless plan in his mind.
He would ensure the Artorias could no longer depend on Kay.
Or, he would make it so Kay had no choice but to leave them—or ensure they could never meet again, by force if necessary.
In a cruel and absolute manner, this "big brother" game had to end.
“Merlin! What are you doing? Aren’t you going to eat?”
Kay shouted, waving his ladle.
In an instant, Merlin's expression shifted. Wearing a benevolent smile, he replied in a bright, cheerful voice.
“Ah, I’m coming! The smell was just so wonderful I lost myself in it~”
Merlin walked toward the campfire.
His shadow stretched long in the firelight, flickering as if it intended to swallow Kay whole.
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