A few days later.
The cabin was as peaceful as if the chemical attack that day had been a lie. Of course, the heavy dark circles under Kay’s eyes were the sole exception.
"I'm off, Kay."
Ector hoisted a massive hammer onto his shoulder. Once a legendary Black Knight, he had been reduced to commuting to the village forge to feed eight mouths—no, nine, counting Kay.
"I'm going to earn our keep, so look after the house, alright?"
"Don't worry about it. Just buy plenty of diaper cloth on your way back."
Kay waved him off, his tone far too dry for a five-year-old.
As soon as Ector stepped out, the atmosphere inside the house grew heavy. Eight pairs of eyes turned toward Kay in unison.
Their gaze was unmistakable.
Feed us.
"Sigh… fine, fine, you little pigs."
Kay sighed and headed to the backyard. There lay a small wyvern that Ector had hunted the night before, flashing a glimpse of his former prowess.
It was a vicious magical beast with scales as hard as iron and a tail laced with venom.
But in Kay's eyes, it looked like nothing more than some tough chicken.
"We're sick of bear meat, so today's a special treat."
Kay grabbed a knife nearly as tall as himself and climbed atop the wyvern’s carcass.
Clang! Clang!
The scales were too stubborn. It was an impossible task for the physical strength of a five-year-old.
Any other child would have burst into tears and given up, but Kay was different. He scanned the area and hefted a massive rock.
"If it won't cut, I'll just crush it!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Savage sounds echoed through the backyard as Kay smashed the wyvern’s tail joints into powder with the rock.
Once the scales shattered and the flesh was exposed, Kay deftly peeled away the hide and filleted the meat, just as Ector had taught him.
"Good. This should be enough for a decent broth."
Kay filled the cauldron with water and tossed in the drained wyvern tail along with various herbs.
He set the bones aside to be simmered separately later.
As the firewood crackled, bubbles began to froth inside the pot.
The moment the savory aroma drifted indoors, a chaotic crashing sound erupted from the house.
The door flew open, and eight diaper-clad baby warriors crawled out in a swarm.
"Wait! It's not ready yet!"
Kay shouted, using his ladle to draw a "no-entry" line in the dirt.
But reason did not exist for these creatures. They were babies, after all.
Artoria Alter was the first to charge. Already drooling buckets, she leaped toward the cauldron.
"You lunatic! You'll get burned!"
Kay lunged and snatched Alter mid-air. Taking advantage of the distraction, the eldest, Artoria, attempted to lift the pot lid.
"Hey! Not you either!"
Kay held Alter with his left hand and shoved Artoria back with his right foot.
Meanwhile, Artoria X tried to poke a random stick she'd found into the soup.
"That's disgusting! Don't put dirty things in the food!"
Beside them, Artoria Caster was waving her staff, shouting "Fire! Fire!" with an intensity that suggested she actually intended to set the place ablaze. It was honestly strange that a baby not even a few months old could articulate words so clearly.
Kay was losing his mind. This wasn't cooking; it was a tower defense game.
"Please… just stay still! Your big brother is exhausted!!"
Finally, Kay resorted to his secret weapon.
Bear jerky. Once he stuffed a piece into each of their mouths, they fell silent, happily sucking on the meat.
In that brief window of peace, the soup was finished.
The richly infused broth was a restorative tonic, brimming with the essence of the wyvern's tail.
Kay cooled the liquid and divided it into eight bottles. They weren't modern bottles, nor were they made of wood; they were handmade contraptions consisting of leather pouches with bamboo tubes.
"Here, drink up. And please, just go to sleep."
Eight bottles were sucked dry simultaneously.
Suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck.
A grotesque yet peaceful sound.
Perhaps due to the magic-infused broth, the babies' complexions brightened and their eyes grew sparkling and alert.
Artoria Lancer, in particular, let out a loud burp the moment she finished. She slammed her bottle onto the ground and began tugging at Kay’s trousers, demanding more.
"There's no more. You drank it all. Any more and your stomach will burst."
Kay refused firmly.
Lancer began to pout, and then, suddenly, her body started to emit a brilliant light.
"…Huh?"
Mana Burst. Instinctively sensing a crisis, Kay hurriedly handed out the remaining chunks of meat to the babies.
Only then did they settle down, eating the meat with satisfied expressions.
"I mean, is it even normal for infants who aren't even a year old to be tearing into meat? Actually, maybe it's better this way. If they only drank milk, every beast in Tintagel would be drained dry. Meat is way easier to find than milk."
Britain was currently suffering from a severe food shortage.
Grains and milk were perpetually scarce. Meat, however, was different.
The land overflowed with powerful beasts, magical monsters, and sea creatures; as long as one had the strength to hunt, starvation wasn't a concern.
Of course, the problem was that the powerless commoners couldn't hunt such creatures. Normally, Ector would hunt and sell meat to support the household in Tintagel, but now all that game was going into the babies' bellies.
At this rate, the people of Tintagel wouldn't see a scrap of meat for a long time.
"Sigh. Prepping wyvern meat is too much work. Should dinner be bear meat again? But that thing is just pure fat. I could refine the oil for frying, but I have nothing to fry. Can these kids even eat fried food?"
"Bwaaaaah~!"
Watching Artoria X Alter let out a massive burp after her meal, Kay decided it was probably fine.
"Sigh. I'll start by refining the oil."
Thus, Kay spent his time juggling the hardships of childcare while melting and refining bear fat.
By evening, Ector returned.
"I brought the cloth for the diapers, Kay. And I caught a shark by the coast on my way back."
"Oh, okay."
Catching a shark right by the shore wasn't exactly normal, but in the apocalyptic state of Britain, anything was possible.
"How are the children?"
"Does it look like they're doing well?"
Looking at Kay, who had become a human toy and was covered in baby drool, Ector cleared his throat.
"It would have been wonderful if your mother were still alive."
"I think it's a blessing she passed away before I had to deal with this hell."
"Listen to the way this brat talks. Tsk, though I suppose you're right. It's not right to put this kind of childcare on you."
"Father, what about me?"
"You're the eldest son."
"Damn this patriarchy."
Kay let out a long sigh while Ector expertly prepped the shark meat. It wasn't particularly tasty, but it was edible.
Since Ector loved his liquor, the house had plenty of vinegar. Kay soaked the meat for thirty minutes to remove the fishy odor.
After seasoning it, Kay began to fry it. There was no batter, of course; flour and eggs were far too precious.
The result was simple, plain fried shark.
"Here, eat up."
"Kay, is this really okay for them?"
"What? They're eating it just fine."
Ector wondered if fried food was appropriate for infants, but the Artorias devoured it happily.
"Phew. I'll have to hunt in bulk tomorrow."
"Please do."
That was Kay's true fear: just how much they would eat once they actually grew up.
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