On the ashen earth of the Shadow Realm, an alien and intense storm of mana swept across for the first time in hundreds of years.
Scáthach’s massive summoning circle, woven with blood-red mana, glowed like the sun beneath Kay’s feet. The geometric runes shone with blinding brilliance.
"Focus, Kay. The gate is open. Let the resonance of your soul reach the Throne of Heroic Spirits."
Scáthach pressed her hands firmly against Kay’s chest from behind as she shouted.
The overwhelming mana poured through her palms, threatening to burst Kay’s blood vessels, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
There were no grand ideals of becoming a king or some lofty ambition to save the world.
There was only a humble, desperate devotion—the simple wish that his younger siblings and nephew could eat warm meals and sleep in safety.
That pure, weighty love for family—that absolute sense of responsibility—flowed through the circuits of rune magic and reached out toward the Throne of Heroic Spirits.
"I decree: Your body beneath my command, my fate in your blade. According to the will of the demonic realm, if you follow this intent, this principle, answer my call. I swear this oath here. I am the eternal fulfiller of all good; I am the eternal suppressor of all evil."
Kay’s rough incantation rent the sky of the demonic realm.
"You who wear the banisher's Word of Command over the seven heavens. Run, act, and judge. O Guardian of the Scales...!"
Paaaah!!
A blinding flash, too bright to behold, split into three pillars of light and shot up from the summoning circle.
With a deafening roar as the dimensional wall shattered, thick clouds of dust and earth churned around the circle.
The geothermal heat of the demonic realm surged, and three distinctly different colors of mana swirled in a violent vortex.
Before the dust could even settle, a calm yet heavy mana flowed out from the first pillar of light.
A purple afterimage trembled, and the silhouette of a woman with long, silky hair fluttering in the wind appeared.
"...May I ask, are you the Master who called me?"
Her voice was composed and chilling, yet somehow laced with an irresistible, mature allure.
As the dust cleared, her form was fully revealed.
She wore black full-body tights that clung to every curve of her figure, a uniquely shaped blindfold covering her eyes, and held a long, slender chain-dagger.
Class Rider, Medusa.
Despite the blindfold, she turned her head precisely toward Kay. The tip of her nose twitched ever so slightly.
...This Master smells strangely similar to me, Medusa thought.
She was a being who had loved her two older sisters dearly, willingly sacrificing herself and choosing the path of a monster for their sake.
That essential nature resonated perfectly with Kay’s own guardian-like disposition—a man who had spent his youth devoted to his younger siblings.
Perhaps that was why Medusa felt as if the man standing before her was a kindred spirit.
"Servant Rider. I have answered your call. ...Henceforth, let me bear your burdens alongside you."
Medusa bowed her head with composed courtesy.
"Miko~ong! I've kept you waiting for so long!"
From the second pillar of light came a voice that completely flipped the atmosphere—cheerful, bubbly, and brimming with aegyo.
Amid a phantom flutter of cherry blossom petals, a woman wearing a gorgeous blue kimono sprang forward with a hop.
Golden fox ears glowed in the light, and behind her, a lush, soft fox tail swayed playfully.
Class Caster, Tamamo-no-Mae.
She was the incarnation of the sun and one of the Three Great Demon Lords, yet her true dream was simply to be a wonderful wife to the person she loved.
She was a master of cooking and household chores, finding her greatest happiness in caring for someone with all her heart.
However, in her previous life, she had been cast aside, unable to fulfill that dream—a sorrowful past she still carried.
Oh my? This Master's soul is absolutely stunning! A top-tier, first-class handsome soul!
Tamamo peered into Kay’s soul the moment she was summoned.
Despite his rough and coarse outward appearance, the warm, noble glow of his soul—the light of someone who would blindly care for and take responsibility for others—hit Tamamo’s radar as the perfect ideal.
"Ah, Master! You already smell absolutely wonderful!?"
With her fox tail flicking wildly, she looked ready to throw herself into Kay’s arms at any second.
And finally.
The third pillar of light was different from the first two. Pitch-black darkness and malignant flames mixed and roared, as if intending to incinerate the very air of the demonic realm.
"...Hmph. So you're the one who called me?"
From the flames walked out a girl whose voice dripped with hatred and cynicism.
She wore black armor and a tattered cloak, holding a jet-black standard in her hand. Her skin was as pale as ash, contrasted by her silver hair.
The most astonishing thing, however, was her face.
"Uh...? Alter?"
Kay flinched in surprise the moment he saw the third Servant’s face.
Her features were chillingly similar to Kay’s sister, Artoria Alter. From the stern eyes to the slight, haughty upturn of her lips, the resemblance was perfect.
Class Avenger, Jeanne d'Arc Alter.
An irregular Servant, the inverted version of the Saint Jeanne d'Arc.
She spat out anger and cutting words at the world, but deep inside, she was the embodiment of a tsundere—someone who wanted to be acknowledged more than anyone else, possessing a strangely human side.
The same stubborn streak that drove Kay to cook and stand firm against the malice of the world, combined with the deep ties he shared with his own sister, Alter, had pulled her toward him.
"Alter? Well, technically, yes..."
Jeanne Alter slammed her flag into the ground and stared Kay up and down.
"I see. I nearly got flustered for a second. What do they call this... the causality of fate? Whatever. Who cares."
Pouting, she grumbled openly. But soon her gaze drifted behind Kay to the fortress where Scáthach stood in all her overwhelming majesty.
"Uh... Oh. That castle is actually pretty cool. Those pointed spires and the eerie atmosphere—it's totally my style."
Suddenly her eyes sparkled as she began admiring the castle’s architecture. Kay was already completely forgotten.
As the echo of the summoning faded, the giant rune circle dissipated.
Kay looked around at the three stunning female Servants before him with a dumbfounded expression.
The silent, mature Medusa with the blindfold.
The high-energy shrine maiden Tamamo, wagging her fox tail.
And the delinquent youth Jeanne Alter, who looked exactly like his sister.
"Uh... I guess I should introduce myself first. I'm Kay. I'm not a mage... just a knight who cooks. I look forward to working with you."
Kay scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he spoke.
"Is that so? A warrior skilled in the culinary arts is quite a rare find."
"No, no! The kitchen is Tamamo’s sole domain! Master, just rest your head on my fluffy tail and I’ll serve you a feast every single day, miko-n!"
"Ah, sure. Cooking, right. You'll probably be great at it."
The three were certainly unique personalities. Still, compared to dealing with his sisters, he figured this might actually be less of a headache.
Just then, Scáthach, who had been watching with her arms crossed, let out a soft chuckle and stepped forward.
"Not bad. Quite a successful summoning. Your soul really attracted some peculiar women."
As Scáthach’s overwhelming presence radiated outward, the three Servants abruptly stiffened and looked at her.
She possessed the aura of an absolute—a presence more commanding than even their own Master.
"Kay. As my husband, I permit you to take concubines, but you must ensure you keep them under control."
"Wh-Who said you're my wife or that they're concubines! Stop saying such weird things! I mean, I'll acknowledge you as a lover, but still!"
Kay shouted back in protest, but the Servants’ reactions were all over the place.
"Oh my... So there is a principal wife, is there? Well, that’s no problem at all. Cooking by day, and by night, the thrill of seducing a Master who already belongs to another... hehe! That's actually much more appetizing."
"...Master has rather interesting tastes, it seems. At least I don't have to worry about the misfortune of him falling for my sisters if we ever meet."
"Wh-Who says anyone's interested! Don’t just jump to conclusions! Ugh, who would even like a useless loser like him! Honestly... this is ridiculous."
Scáthach watched them and felt a premonition.
She suspected that before Kay returned to Britain in about two years, a great war of love and jealousy would break out.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register