A massive red flash, so blinding he couldn’t keep his eyes open, faded away, and Kay’s feet landed on solid earth.
The salty scent of the sea brushed his nose. A moist, gentle breeze caressed his cheeks.
This was the air of the living world—the breathing atmosphere of the present, strikingly different from that of the Abyssal Realm.
“…I’m back.”
Kay let out a rough breath and looked around.
He stood at the edge of the world, where violent waves pounded sheer cliffs and an ashen mist enveloped the coastline.
Northwest Britain: the Isle of Skye on the Slith Peninsula.
That’s right. This was the same stretch of shore where he’d once gone fishing with Gareth, only to be smacked by Merlin’s staff and forcibly flung into an interdimensional rift.
“Master, is this your homeland, Britain? There is a considerable amount of mana in the air. I never imagined a place that still retains the environment of the Age of Gods to this day. Yet, it is an environment of the Divine Age without any actual gods. That makes it all the more dangerous.”
Medusa spoke while remaining on guard, scanning the surroundings. Tamamo and Jeanne d’Arc Alter reacted in turn.
“Oh my, after staring at that dreary sky of the Abyssal Realm, seeing the blue sea really opens up the heart! Now then, Master! Where shall I escort you? Shall we head straight to sever that nightmare fiend’s head?”
Tamamo asked, her tails wagging excitedly.
“No, first we need to assess the situation. Five years have passed in the Abyssal Realm, so I have to see if my sisters are safe. When it comes to gathering information, there’s no place like a tavern. There’s a village nearby; let’s start there.”
Kay fastened the Golden Axe and his magic sword securely to his back and waist, then set off for the small fishing village of Tokabeig, not far from the shoreline.
The village was much the same as before: a small, shabby fishing hamlet, still full of worn nets and the pungent smell of fish.
Unsurprisingly, none of the villagers recognized Kay.
After all, it was the dazzlingly beautiful Artoria sisters who had received lavish welcomes and held banquets; no one would remember the rough-hewn man who quietly packed the gear and went fishing. Besides, they had only gone fishing a few times—there was no way they would remember him after five years.
Clink~
Kay pushed open the door of the village’s largest and rowdiest tavern and stepped inside.
Though it was midday, rough fishermen and young men clustered in small groups, slamming cheap ales and shouting.
As three overwhelmingly beautiful women followed Kay inside, every gaze in the tavern snapped toward them, but Kay paid no mind. He made straight for the loudest table of men.
Thud.
Kay withdrew a hefty ancient gold coin from the thick leather pouch Scáthach had given him and set it on the table.
The men seated around the table went wide-eyed. In this small, impoverished fishing village, such a gold coin was a sight few would ever see in their lifetimes.
Since Britain was no longer Roman Britain, a new currency system had been introduced—but after Uther’s death and the rise of Vortigern’s reign, it had essentially become worthless, and most trade had reverted to bartering.
Luxuries like gold and gems, however, still held absolute value.
“H-Hey, buddy... what’s this...?”
“This is for the drinks. Get everyone the finest ale this joint has. And spend the leftovers on your own snacks.”
Kay pulled out a chair and plopped down. Tamamo, Medusa, and Jeanne d’Arc Alter formed a protective line behind him like royal guards.
“In exchange, answer everything I ask to the best of your knowledge. Tell me the current state of Britain. And... any news of King Arthur and her knights.”
The power of gold was absolute.
The men hurried to fetch premium ales and dried meat, then began eagerly spilling everything they knew.
“Well now, buddy, asking about King Arthur makes me think you're from out of town! Especially since you're asking about the date right off the bat.”
“I... was away in another place for about five years.”
No matter that the Abyssal Realm was another dimension, the flow of time was the same.
It wasn't like the Fairy Kingdom, where time ran strangely; the Abyssal Realm was not like that.
“So, how are King Arthur and her knights doing? I heard rumors that the King has several beautiful and formidable younger sisters by her side.”
Kay forced himself to mask the tremor in his voice. He was tormented by thoughts of how heartbroken Artoria must have been in his absence—and whether she had even bothered to eat properly.
But the man’s answer was enough to freeze Kay’s heart.
“Sisters? Oh, yeah, back then. There were rumors of shining fairy knights guarding the King of Knights. But buddy, your intel is way out of date.”
The man guzzled his drink, wiped his mouth, and said, “Those sisters? They scattered to the winds several years ago.”
“...What? Scattered? What do you mean by that?!”
Kay shot upright like a coiled spring. The table lurched, and a goblet toppled.
Even the Servants behind him held their breath at the sudden, ominous atmosphere.
“Whoa, whoa, calm down, buddy. I don’t know the exact details, but rumor has it that when King Arthur’s forces were marching north, a huge rift occurred. That was about five years ago, right? From then on, the sisters’ relationships froze over. Anyway, the only one left by the King’s side now is the youngest, Lady Lily.”
“Only Lily... remains?”
Kay murmured in disbelief.
The sisters who had been so close had fallen apart.
“Then what about the others? Where are they and what are they doing?”
“That’s all I know for sure. But there are some big rumors! King Arthur is currently fighting a bloody war against Vortigern’s tyranny. Under her banner fight Sir Gawain, the Knight of the Sun recruited from Orkney years ago, and Sir Gareth—Gawain’s younger sister and the King's niece—who has grown into a fine knight and is leading the charge.”
“Wait a second. Gareth is already on the battlefield? Five years ago, she was a babbling newborn—she’d be six or seven at most! That bastard Merlin...”
Kay couldn’t make sense of it. The man shrugged.
“Must be the royal blood—or rather, the fairy blood—that made her grow so fast. Rumor says she already has the bearing of a proper young knight. They say her skill with weapons is no joke.”
Gareth...
Kay bit his lower lip hard. Even if her fairy blood caused unnaturally rapid growth...
The thought that the little girl he used to carry on his back was now standing in a blood-soaked battlefield, unbeknownst to him, crushed his heart with guilt.
“And the rumors about the scattered sisters are wild. Of them, the whereabouts of Lancer are the most certain...”
The man lowered his voice conspiratorially. “The sister who wields that terrible lance left the King’s side and went alone to North Wales. There, she single-handedly smashed the tyrant King Rience to pieces, then crowned herself the new Queen of North Wales.”
“Lancer... became queen? And she defeated King Rience?”
King Rience: the Overlord of North Wales, said to rule countless islands off Ireland and demand tribute from various kingdoms.
He was a king so powerful that even King Pellinore—the Fisher King of Wales—couldn’t match him, and he was once called a monster who could stand his ground even against King Uther.
Moreover, he kept a mighty giant named Rito in his service.
Rumor had it he was also a warrior who wielded Heracles’ greatsword. And yet he was defeated, and Lancer became the Queen of North Wales?
“That’s not all. There’s another lance-wielding knight clad in black armor—Artoria Lancer Alter—who calls herself the Wild Hunt. She’s formed a roving mercenary band and is sweeping across all of Britain. As for the remaining sisters, the rumors are so bizarre and varied that I don’t have a clue.”
When the man finished, Kay slumped back into his chair.
His mind was a tangled mess.
The division among his sisters.
No matter how mad Merlin was to want to turn Artoria into a lonely king, he shouldn't have been able to cut the sisters’ strong bonds by force.
Could some third party have been involved?
No. Kay’s painful instinct pointed to a single, clear cause.
...Was it because of me?
It was because of his disappearance.
Though he had no mana or talent and was nothing special, he had been the sole bond that gathered those eight monstrous sisters around a single table.
With that homey, meal-providing patriarch gone, their fragile emotional ties had lost all control and run rampant.
Merlin may have wanted to eliminate the "burdensome nanny" to shape a perfect king, but in doing so, he had utterly destroyed the family.
“...Master. Are you all right?”
Medusa quietly placed a concerned hand on Kay’s shoulder.
“Uh... I’m fine. I’ve got a rough idea of the situation.”
Kay clenched his fist, rose from his seat, tossed the remaining gold coins to the men, and strode out of the tavern.
“So, are we heading straight for the battlefield where King Arthur is?”
Jeanne d’Arc Alter asked, draping her banner over her shoulder, but Kay shook his head.
“It’d be impossible to go directly to Artoria. I don’t even know her exact location.”
Facing the cold sea breeze, Kay explained his plan to the Servants.
“First, we’ll find the one whose whereabouts are most certain. We’re going to the Lancer who became Queen of North Wales. She was the most rational and level-headed of the sisters. She’ll be able to give us the clearest account of how this split happened.”
“North Wales... Understood. Then we’ll need to secure a carriage and horses at once. The distance is too great to walk.”
“My dear husband is surrounded by so many queens~ Should I become a queen too? Of course, founding a nation by charming people would be a cinch for me.”
“Hmph, queen or whatever. If any of those sisters of yours act bratty, I’ll roast them all. I can’t stand to see you get hurt.”
At his Servants’ various, yet reassuring responses, Kay offered a faint smile.
He opened the heavy pouch Scáthach had given him when he left the Abyssal Realm. Inside gleamed a vast hoard of ancient gold coins and fist-sized gems mined from its depths.
“Scáthach... you sure packed a solid dowry for me. Thanks.”
Kay secured the pouch at his side.
“With this, we’ll grab a carriage, horses, and every bit of food we can find. That Lancer—she may be a queen now, but I hope she hasn't forgotten how to eat properly.”
Piercing through Britain’s ashen mists, the humble knight who returned after five years took his first step toward finding his scattered family.
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