"Gather every large cauldron inside the castle and bring them to the central plaza immediately! Get firewood from the forest outside the walls—oak, and make sure it's bone-dry!"
The central plaza of Camelot.
Just a few hours ago, this place had been the site of a brutal battle to stop Kay’s invasion, but it had since been transformed into a massive outdoor kitchen.
Kay, with his sleeves rolled up, stood in the center of the plaza, directing knights and soldiers with a booming voice.
By his side stood the ladies who had raced all the way from North Wales, waiting as the perfect culinary assistants.
"Jeanne! Get fires under the cauldrons! Don’t let the flames get too strong or the pots will melt—keep them at a steady simmer!"
"Ah, seriously! What am I, a kitchen stove? …Well, I guess it's still better than dealing with those garbage potatoes."
Jeanne d’Arc Alter grumbled, yet she skillfully sparked black flames beneath dozens of huge cauldrons.
"All right, Tamamo. Bring out the ingredients I prepared."
At Kay’s word, Tamamo, handling the backup, drew dozens of blue talismans from her sleeve and scattered them into the air.
"Leave it to me, milord! Your special ingredients, preserved perfectly with [Permanent Preservation Spell], are at your service!"
Fwah!!
As the talismans glowed, the space before them rippled open and an enormous amount of ingredients poured forth.
This wasn’t ordinary beef or pork from Camelot’s stores.
It was Kay’s own special homemade hams and sausages—hunted, processed, and aged during his time wandering the Abyssal Realm—and a deep emerald broth he had simmered for days and nights from the bones of some unidentifiable monstrous beast.
"Good. Pour the stock into the cauldrons first!"
Kay poured the boiling emerald-green stock, then chopped thick, crimson sausages and ham into hefty chunks and dropped them in.
Next went in leeks, onions, beans, and the key to the dish: the special seasoning paste. It was an ultimate sauce, a golden ratio of chili powder, garlic, and aged fermented paste.
Bubble, bubble, bubble~!!
As the paste dissolved and the broth turned a vivid blood-red, the plaza fell into a sudden, stunned silence.
The violently intense, spicy, and savory aroma struck the noses of the soldiers, who until now had lived on mealy potatoes that tasted of grit and chicken boiled in plain water.
Gulp...
A chorus of thousands of people swallowing in unison echoed through the square.
"Just the smell makes my tongue tingle... so why is my mouth watering like this?"
"T-this is on a whole different level from Sir Gawain's mashed potatoes! This scent shakes the very soul!"
"All right, it’s done! Line up and get your rations!!"
With Kay’s ringing call, the grandest and most ecstatic meal service in Camelot’s history began.
Knights, forgetting their dignity, used their helmets as bowls to scoop up the broth, while soldiers dunked bread deep into the red soup and shoved it into their mouths.
Chomp. Slurp.
And then—
"...K-Kuaaaaaah—!!"
"This taste...!! It’s spicy! It's so spicy, but I can't stop!! The harmony between these juicy sausages and this bold broth is...!!"
"Oh, gods! What on earth were those potatoes we've been eating all this time? This is food from the heavens!! Ah, the taste of a forgotten home!!"
Camelot’s plaza instantly turned into a scene of madness, with men sobbing and sniffing as they inhaled the army stew.
The spicy, salty red broth warmed the hardened insides of men exhausted by endless war with the Saxons and harsh military discipline, while the abundance of mysterious meat provided explosive energy to bodies suffering from malnutrition.
"O-oh, big brother...! *Sob*, it's so delicious...! I never want to look at a potato again...!"
Even Artoria, who moments before had been stupefied by drugs, flung aside any notion of regal dignity. She sat at the table Kay had specially prepared for her, tears of emotion streaming down her face.
It felt as if even the residue of Osekisan remaining in her stomach was being washed away by the spicy broth.
"Slow down. You'll get indigestion. Chew the meat properly."
Kay ladled out his own portion and gently stroked her head.
Artoria bit into a large piece of ham with a look of pure bliss, then suddenly tilted her head in curiosity.
"But big brother... this meat is incredibly chewy and brimming with mana. What kind of beast is this made from? It's impossible for wild boar or cattle in Britain to taste like this. And this rich broth—what kind of bones must be simmered to achieve such depth?"
"......"
For a moment, Kay’s hand froze.
He tapped the ladle lightly against the pot without answering. Instead, he wore a deep, enigmatic smile—one tinged with a certain darkness—and turned his gaze toward the distant mountains.
I can't tell her. No way. If she knew the meat for this ham came from an eight-legged demonic beast crawling in the depths of the Abyssal Realm, and the broth was made from the spine of a dead dragon I hunted there, she'd faint.
As Kay remained silent, offering only a benevolent smile, a sudden chill ran down Artoria’s spine.
"B-big brother? Why aren't you answering...? You didn't put something weird in here, did you...?"
"Now, now, I'll give you a second helping, so eat up and don't leave a drop! Look at how much weight you've lost, goodness."
Kay quickly ladled a generous portion of stew onto Artoria's tray, deftly changing the subject.
Despite her lingering suspicion, she couldn't resist the addictive, drug-like umami and resumed eating vigorously.
Watching this heartwarming sibling meal from a distance were two other people.
"Here, you two eat as well."
It was Gawain and Gareth. The siblings found it difficult to process the sudden change in the situation.
"...We were certainly enemies until a moment ago. Besides, didn't you say you hated me?"
"I did. But on a good day, even enemies embrace and enjoy the moment. That was proven during the World Wars."
"?"
"I definitely still hate you. You're a fool who couldn't even take care of Gareth as a brother and turned potatoes into trash."
"Then why...?"
"Even a foolish nephew—or niece—I can love. Eat. You can't do anything on an empty stomach, right? Since you're so obsessed with potatoes, I figured you like vegetables, so I put in extra tofu."
"Tofu?"
"It's made from beans. Try it, and let me know if you want more."
Kay handed over the bowls nonchalantly, glancing at Gareth.
Gareth flinched and stepped back, avoiding his gaze. In her mind, since she had acted as a close aide to Merlin, she assumed that Kay, who loathed Merlin, would never look upon her kindly.
However,
Kay reached out, stroked her head, and held out the bowl.
"...?"
"Eat plenty."
"........."
"Let me make up for everything I couldn't do for you until now."
"...Yes."
Gareth didn't fully understand the meaning of those words, but for some reason... his touch felt missed.
Once the distribution was mostly finished and the soldiers lay scattered across the plaza, intoxicated by satiety,
"...Artoria, big sister."
A cautious voice called out from behind Artoria as she was tidying up her tray in a corner of the plaza.
Turning around, she saw Lily standing there in pure white armor, her eyes brimming with tears.
Beside her were Artoria X Alter chewing on a hot dog, Artoria Alter standing askew with her arms crossed, Artoria Lancer, Artoria Lancer Alter, Artoria X, and Artoria Caster.
The Pendragon sisters, who had been scattered far and wide, were finally gathered in one place.
"Lily. You..."
Artoria's green eyes wavered.
This was the sister who had betrayed her and deserted the army—a criminal who, if judged by the responsibilities of a king, deserved immediate execution.
But the Artoria of today was no longer the machine-like king she had been a few days ago.
"...You foolish girl. What would I have done if you had died alone while wandering the wilderness?"
Tears fell from Artoria's eyes as she opened her arms wide toward Lily.
"I'm... I'm sorry. I made things far too hard for you."
"Waaaaah! Big sister!!"
Lily dove into Artoria's arms and began to sob loudly. The two sisters clung to each other, washing away their accumulated emotions with tears.
"Hmph. How irritatingly melodramatic."
Artoria Alter snorted and turned away, while Artoria Lancer watched the scene with a faint smile.
And as Kay watched this touching reunion while scrubbing a pot, a clingy shadow slid toward him.
"Big brother."
Artoria X approached quietly, subtly wrapping her arm around Kay's waist and whispering,
"Let the sisters have their tearful reunion... how about tonight?"
"Hey, hey! Get off me!"
"Oh my! Who do you think you are, trying to cut in line?!"
Artoria Caster, who had sniffed out the opportunity with ghostly precision, suddenly grabbed Artoria X by the hair.
"Let go! I heard you slept in the same bed as big brother in the Fairy Kingdom yesterday! Have you no shame?!"
"M-milord!! Quickly, seek refuge within the fluffy tail of your primary wife...!"
Tamamo leaped in, her blue talismans flashing.
"My master! I shall demonstrate the naked dogeza I performed in the Fairy Kingdom right here before the people of Camelot, so please, tonight, choose me...!"
Even Bagest joined the fray, her face flushed red.
In an instant, the central plaza of Camelot became a surreal chaotic scene: the tearful reunion of Artoria and Lily on one side, and a ferocious catfight for Kay's affection on the other.
"...Sigh. Well, I guess this is fine in its own way."
Kay looked at the empty cauldrons, gazed up at the sky, and let out a deep sigh.
There were many annoying things, but this kind of peace wasn't so bad.
"...Artoria. Since the family is all together, how about we visit Tintagel when you have some time?"
"Yes?"
"I want to see Father's face after all this time. We should have some breathing room now."
"Ah... Lancer. Have you still not told big brother?"
"...I figured since the sisters are already in a fragile state, telling him now might only make things worse..."
"? What are you talking about?"
Kay was puzzled by their words, but the answer that followed was another pain left behind by the nightmare.
"Big brother. Black Knight Ector... passed away two years ago."
The fact that his father had died while he was banished to the Abyssal Realm.
The reality that, as the only son, he had been unable to keep watch by his father's deathbed, nor even hold a funeral for him.
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