“First, I need to make sure she’s well-fed. She’s far too picky an eater, after all.”
Kay stood before a massive cauldron in the castle kitchen, stirring its contents with a ladle.
He was preparing a special abalone, seafood, and meat congee. It was made from precious white rice he had grown and harvested himself in the Abyssal Realm alongside Scáthach and Tamamo-no-Mae, enriched with fresh shrimp, octopus, abalone, and heaps of minced meat.
The savory, nutty aroma of sesame oil mingling with the abalone innards wafted through the air, intensely stimulating his salivary glands.
“Even that picky eater should go wild for this.”
Kay scooped a generous portion of the boiling congee into a large porcelain bowl, set it on a tray, and headed toward the lord’s chambers where Artoria Alter lay.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, he found Artoria Alter sleeping soundly on a wide, plush bed.
Her face and body, once drenched in blood, had been healed to a smooth, scarless finish by Tamamo-no-Mae’s magecraft. Even her soiled black dress had been cleaned and meticulously repaired.
She truly was the consummate paragon of a devoted wife.
“Oh my, husband, you’ve returned.”
Tamamo-no-Mae, who had been gently wiping Alter’s forehead with a damp cloth, perked up her fox ears and greeted Kay.
“Ah, Tamamo. How is she?”
“I’ve fully recovered her external and internal injuries with my magecraft! However…”
Tamamo-no-Mae wagged her tails and leaned in to whisper in Kay’s ear.
“Her physical exhaustion is extreme, and her mental stress runs deep. It would be impossible for her to wield a weapon or travel right now. It would be best for her to recuperate here in the castle for a few days.”
“I see. Thanks for the hard work, Tamamo. We would have been in real trouble without you.”
“Ufufu, your family is my family, after all! Now, I shall leave you two. It must be a long-awaited sibling reunion, and I would be a clueless fox to interrupt. I’ll go manage the castle’s finances… I mean, the situation!”
Tamamo-no-Mae planted a quick kiss on Kay’s cheek and slipped out of the room with light, airy steps.
Only Artoria Alter, breathing softly in her sleep, and Kay, standing with the tray, remained in the room.
Kay sat carefully in a chair beside the bed and gazed down at Alter’s sleeping face.
…She looks worn out.
Her cheeks were gaunter than the last time he had seen her. He could feel the sheer weight of the solitude and struggle she had shouldered alone over the past five years.
Kay decided to stay by her side until she woke.
He cast a faint layer of mana over the congee to keep it from cooling and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes.
About an hour later.
“…Mmm.”
A soft moan escaped from the bed.
Artoria Alter’s long lashes trembled, and her golden pupils slowly came into view.
Her vision was hazy and unfocused. Clutching her heavy head, she slowly pushed herself up.
…Where am I? This isn’t the dungeon.
As she blankly scanned her surroundings, her gaze stopped on the large man dozing in the chair beside the bed with his arms crossed.
“…”
Alter’s heart lurched.
The rugged build, the scarred jawline, and that uniquely comforting, faint scent of cooked rice.
…Kay?
In disbelief, she reached out and gently pressed her hand against Kay’s cheek. A rough but warm temperature traveled through her fingertips.
Her golden eyes wavered slightly, then filled with a mixture of deep resignation and longing.
Ah… I see. I’ve died after all. I couldn’t hold out in Taquin’s prison.
She became convinced that she was now in the afterlife, or perhaps witnessing a final flash of memories before death.
Otherwise, there was no way her brother, who had vanished five years ago, would so conveniently appear to save her.
If this is the afterlife… then I can finally be honest.
Alter’s gaze shifted.
The prickly persona of the tyrant vanished, leaving behind only a primal longing she had suppressed for far too long.
She carefully crawled off the bed and straddled Kay’s broad thighs as he slept.
“…Hm? Gah?!”
Startled by the sudden weight and soft sensation on his lap, Kay snapped awake.
“Ah, Alter? You’re awake—mmph?!”
The moment Kay opened his mouth in relief, Alter’s hands gripped his cheeks firmly, and she crashed her lips against his in a rough, sudden kiss.
“…?!?!”
Kay’s pupils shook violently.
It wasn’t a simple kiss. Alter wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and unleashed a hot, fierce deep kiss, leaving him no room to breathe.
Her soft tongue forced its way past his lips, intertwining with his in a frenzied dance.
“Mmph, mmmph! Hey, Alter! Are you crazy—mmph!”
Panic-stricken, Kay tried to push her slender shoulders away, but Alter clung to him like a leech, beginning to recklessly tear at his clothes.
“Wait, hey! Get off! What the hell are you doing?!”
Finally managing to shove Alter away, Kay retreated, panting heavily.
“Haah, haah… I asked what you’re doing!”
Alter sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at Kay with a dreamy yet provocative gaze.
Her dress had already slipped halfway off, leaving her shoulders and collarbones precariously exposed.
“Since we’ve met in the afterlife, I’ve simply decided to be honest about my feelings.”
“…What? Afterlife? Who died?”
“I did. I eventually died in Taquin’s prison, and that is why I’ve met my brother again here in the afterlife.”
Alter smiled bitterly.
“For a long time… I have admired you, not just as a brother, but as a man. The seat beside you at the dinner table was a larger world to me than the future of Britain. In the living world, I endured it because I cared about what those other damn people thought, but I have no intention of yielding even in the afterlife. Now, come here and—”
“You crazy girl!! This isn’t the afterlife!! Wake up!!”
Kay leaped up in horror and hurriedly splashed a cup of lukewarm water from the tray directly onto Alter’s face.
Splash!
“…Ah! Cold!”
Alter jumped, her eyes snapping wide open.
Wiping the water from her face with the back of her hand, she looked around the room.
The luxurious furniture, the plush bed, and the dazzling morning sunlight of Manchester streaming through the window.
And most importantly, the fact that the water on her cheek felt vividly, sharply cold.
“…Eh?”
Alter froze.
“Is this… really the living world? I’m alive? And Kay is alive too?”
“Yes! I pulled you out of that dungeon while you were unconscious!”
As the situation finally sank in, the provocative allure on Alter’s face vanished, replaced by a flush of crimson that burned from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.
“T-then, the things I said and did just now…”
“I heard everything, and I suffered through all of it. My lips were nearly swollen shut.”
Kay grumbled, rubbing his lips in disbelief.
Alter looked as if she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, but she quickly recovered her characteristic brazenness, putting on a facade of indifference.
“…Hmph. If I’m alive, then all the better. Anyway, how did you get here? And if you saved me, does that mean you defeated that disgusting Taquin?”
“Yeah. I ran into him in the dungeon, gave him one good punch, and he died.”
At Kay’s nonchalant answer, Alter’s golden eyes narrowed.
“…One punch? Against a man with that monstrous speed?”
“He was fast, sure, but his attack power was like a mosquito. He was nothing.”
Alter’s brow furrowed.
“…Are you saying I’m such a weakling that I got beaten and chained up by a trivial mosquito? Are you insulting me indirectly?”
“No, no, that’s not what I meant! It’s just that you had a disadvantageous matchup…”
As Kay waved his hands frantically, breaking into a cold sweat, Alter let out a short, dry laugh.
She stepped off the bed and approached Kay, gently tracing the lines of his broadened chest and shoulders, which were far more sturdy than before.
“…When did you become this strong, you idiot brother?”
Her voice didn’t hold reproach; instead, it was thick with tenderness and sorrow.
“What kind of horrific place did you have to roll through… for a mediocre body with such weak mana to radiate such an overwhelming presence? Did you push yourself this far just to protect me, just to find me…?”
Alter’s eyes began to redden again.
Kay scratched his head awkwardly and pressed the bowl of congee into her hands.
“Enough of that. Stop talking nonsense and just eat. It’s congee with plenty of abalone.”
Alter took the steaming bowl and smiled faintly.
“About that confession I made.”
“Huh?”
“I only said it because I thought I was dead, but I have no intention of taking it back. I truly desire you as a man.”
Alter declared this boldly as she scooped a spoonful of congee into her mouth.
“Until now, I forced myself to endure it because I had to worry about Artoria and the other stupid sisters. But there’s no need for that anymore. Now that my rivals are scattered, you will be entirely mine.”
“Rivals… who on earth likes me?”
Kay looked genuinely bewildered.
He had always viewed the strange power struggles between the eight sisters as nothing more than childish tantrums to monopolize their brother’s attention.
“…Sigh. Your obliviousness is as stubborn as a brick wall, even after five years. Regardless, the spot beside you is now mine—”
Slam!!
Just as Alter was about to flash a victorious smile, the door to the lord’s chambers swung open.
“Husband~! The interior of the castle is mostly sorted! Has our cute sister-in-law woken up yet?”
Tamamo-no-Mae entered the room with a swish of her tail.
She naturally approached Kay from behind, wrapping her arms around him in a back hug and nuzzling her face into the nape of his neck.
“…”
In an instant, the air in the room froze.
Alter’s golden pupils slit vertically, and a terrifying murderous intent began to saturate the room.
Veins bulged on the back of the hand gripping the congee bowl.
“…Kay.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Who is this seductive, tailed bitch clinging to you?”
At Alter’s low, chilling question, Kay felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine.
Ignoring the murderous aura, Tamamo-no-Mae deliberately planted a kiss on Kay’s cheek and answered leisurely.
“Oh my, my apologies for the late introduction, sister-in-law! I am the husband’s first wife and the perfect spouse responsible for his nightly vigor, Tamamo-no-Mae! Mikon~☆”
“…What?”
Alter’s jaw practically dropped. Her gaze slowly shifted toward Kay.
“…For five years.”
“Ah, look, Alter, listen to me—”
“While I was shedding tears of blood and crawling through a hellish battlefield for five years, you were playing house and rolling around with this seductive beast?!”
Alter’s rage exploded.
She looked ready to summon Excalibur Morgan and blow the entire room to smithereens.
Kay turned pale, waving his hands frantically.
“No! It wasn’t like that! I spent my time in the Abyssal Realm training until my bones ached! She’s just…!”
“Husband! How can you say that! After you left your wicked marks all over my body!”
Tamamo-no-Mae’s words were like gasoline on a fire; sparks practically flew from Alter’s eyes.
“Tell me everything. Now.”
“Ahem, if I must…”
Deciding it was better to take the blow all at once since he was already caught, Kay wiped his sweat and confessed in a voice that barely rose above a whisper.
“…Actually, I left a child behind in the Abyssal Realm.”
“…What?”
Alter’s pupils completely dilated.
“I mean… I have a teacher named Scáthach, and with her… well, I’m about to become a father.”
“…”
Crash!!
The bowl of abalone congee slipped from Alter’s hand and shattered into pieces on the floor.
It seemed as though her brain circuits had completely shorted out from the bombshell declaration; she simply stood there, mouth agape, staring blankly into the void.
More than any torture or humiliation she had endured in the dungeon, the shock that her beloved brother had returned as a father was what finally, perfectly, destroyed her sanity.
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