Three days into their journey.
Inside the carriage racing down a forest road in Britain, a tension unlike any ordinary adventuring party hung in the air.
This wasn't caution against beasts or bandits.
It was a fierce game of cat-and-mouse—no, a full-blown territorial war—over who would sit next to Kay.
"It's cramped. Move over a bit," Artoria Alter shoved the person beside her with her backside. The clang of her black armor echoed.
"How rude. You're crushing my armor, you know. And this seat is mine," Artoria Lancer stood her ground gracefully but firmly.
The carriage had been summoned by Merlin's magecraft and was surprisingly spacious—large enough for ten grown men to ride comfortably.
Yet right now, it felt about to burst at the seams.
And for good reason.
All eight girls, one man, and a baby were vying to remain within a thirty-centimeter radius of Kay.
The population density had exploded.
"Ugh… would you girls mind sitting down a bit further? I'm roasting here."
Meanwhile, Kay himself was squeezed into a corner.
Strapped to his back in a sling was baby Gareth, and in his hands dangled a milk bottle, a diaper bag, and a pouch of snacks.
"Brother, are you hot? Shall I fan you?" Lily smiled like a flower and offered her hand.
"No, I'll cool you down with an ice spell…" Artoria Caster raised her staff, but Artoria X Alter cut in.
"[Force Wind]."
Whooooosh!
A localized gale blew through the carriage. Kay's hair whipped around like seaweed.
"Argh! It's freezing! You'll give the baby a cold! Knock it off!"
Kay yelped and wrapped his arms around Gareth.
While the girls glared at each other, competing over who could care for Kay best, his mind was on only one thing.
'Please… let Gareth stay asleep.'
Because if that kid started crying, soothing him would be all Kay's responsibility.
By around noon, the group decided to rest in a clearing in the forest.
Merlin, complaining he was tired, retreated under the shade of a tree.
The girls stepped down from the carriage to stretch their stiff limbs and inspect their weapons.
That was when it happened.
Crack! Thud!
Trees in the forest snapped like toothpicks, and a massive shadow appeared.
A composite monster with the head of a lion, the torso of a goat, and the tail of a snake.
A chimera.
Grrrrrr!
The chimera's roar shook the forest. Its presence alone would have terrified any ordinary knight into flight.
But to this childcare expedition? It was nothing but an uninvited guest.
"…Tch. So noisy." Artoria Alter pulled out her sword with an annoyed snap.
"Can't you see brother's trying to put the baby to sleep? Could you be any louder?"
"This creature has no sense. How dare it disturb brother's rest time." Artoria Lancer and Artoria Lancer Alter leveled their [Rhongomyniad]s. Their gazes were far more menacing than the monster's.
In an instant, all eight girls assumed combat stances.
Their eyes weren't those of cold warriors hunting prey but of teenage girls eager to show their big brother just how awesome they were.
'Now's our chance. Time to prove my strength to brother!'
"I'll handle this! Brother, watch me!" Artoria leapt forward first.
"No way. I'll let you taste [Excalibur]! Step aside!"
Artoria X dashed ahead, swinging two swords.
"Out of the way! You're about to be the offering for my magecraft!"
Artoria Caster began her incantation.
Braaam!
Eight devastating attacks erupted at once.
The chimera never had a chance to scream.
Slashed by holy swords, pierced by holy spears, hammered by magical bombardments, seared by beam swords, choked by force… in an instant, it was reduced to mincemeat.
As the dust settled, the girls turned around in unison.
Their eyes glittered with anticipation—eight pairs of sparkly eyes.
"Brother! Did you see that?"
"I got the finishing blow! Did you see?"
But Kay wasn't looking at them.
He was busy calming Gareth, who had roused at the noise, with soft cooing.
"There, there, our little Gareth. You didn't wake up, did you? Good boy… who's making all that racket, huh?"
Kay patted Gareth's back and then walked toward the fallen chimera carcass.
The girls puffed up, waiting for praise like puppies seeking approval.
But what came from Kay's mouth wasn't praise.
"Hey, you girls… didn't you overdo it a bit?"
"…Huh?"
Artoria blinked in confusion.
Kay clicked his tongue at the gruesome remains of the chimera.
"Look at this. The tail part is snake meat, nice and chewy, and the lion ribs would be perfect as steaks. But you pulverized the whole thing into ground meat."
He truly sounded disappointed.
"And who burned it with a beam sword? All the juices are gone."
"…."
The girls slumped in dejection.
They'd brandished holy swords to save Britain, and the reward was criticism over butchering technique.
Yet even their obliviousness to it was endearing.
'That's my brother—he thinks of everything as food. So dependable, so domestic.'
The rose-colored glasses were on tight.
"Next time, be gentler. I want you to break it down into parts. Got it?"
"Y-yes…."
They looked crestfallen but said nothing. After all, it was all to make a delicious meal for them.
That evening, Kay prepared dinner as promised, using the chimera meat.
Since it was already ground, his options were limited.
The menu: chimera meatball soup and sautéed tail meat.
He seasoned the meatballs with the pea sauce he'd made last time, and soon the forest filled with an irresistible aroma.
"Dinner's ready!"
When it was mealtime, another war broke out.
Not a food war, but a seating war.
"Brother, please sit here."
Lancer laid her cloak on the ground and tapped the seat beside her.
"This is my cloak. It's nice and soft."
"Don't be ridiculous! Kay sits next to me!"
Artoria Alter yanked Kay's arm.
"Um, I-I'll wipe the food off your mouth, brother!"
Lily, her face flushed, approached with a handkerchief.
Amidst their clamoring, Kay nonchalantly picked up a spoon.
Instead of feeding himself, he scooped up potato porridge made as baby food and fed it to Gareth in his arms.
"Here you go—say ahh, Gareth. Oh, you're such a good eater."
"…."
The girls' gazes fixed on Gareth.
It was jealousy.
They felt pathetic for being jealous of a newborn, but they envied the nephew monopolizing their brother's loving gaze and touch.
"That's dirty… I want to be a baby too."
Artoria Alter muttered.
"Pull yourself together."
Artoria scolded her, though her own eyes were full of longing at Gareth.
At that moment, Artoria X Alter quietly came up behind Kay.
Seizing Kay's distraction, she used chopsticks to pick up a meatball and popped it into his mouth.
"…Mmph?"
Kay turned in surprise, and Artoria X Alter feigned innocence as she adjusted her glasses.
"I was just checking for poison. As the court lady, you know."
"Hey, it's something I made—where would poison even come from?"
Kay grumbled but chewed the meatball.
"Not bad."
At those words, the other sisters' eyes lit up.
'She got in before us?!'
This time Artoria mustered her courage.
"Br-brother. M-may I… feed you too?"
"No hands? Then you eat."
Kay was firm.
"…My hand's injured. From earlier, when we were fighting the chimera."
It was a blatant lie. She didn't have a single scratch. Blessed by the holy sword, there was no way she'd be injured by a chimera.
Yet Kay clicked his tongue, either humoring her or genuinely not knowing.
"Tch, be careful next time. You say you'll be king…"
He picked up a meatball and fed it to Artoria.
"Here you go."
Artoria's face flamed scarlet.
Whether it was the taste of meat or the taste of love, no one could tell. She chewed with a blissful expression as if she held the world in her hands.
The other sisters couldn't stand by and watch.
"Me too! My heart is wounded! Feed me quickly!"
Artoria X opened her mouth and darted forward.
"My arm won't lift… brother!"
Lily pouted, putting on a show.
"My magic is drained, so my hands are shaking… I can't hold a spoon."
Artoria Caster dropped her staff and wobbled.
"Me, too! I have a backlash of force…!"
Artoria X Alter clutched her chest.
In the end, Kay, with Gareth on his back, had to feed each of his eight younger sisters in turn.
"What sin did I commit in my past life…? No, what kind of king's table is this? This is a preschool! How old are you girls, eating like this?"
Kay's complaints echoed through the forest.
But unlike his grumbling, his hands were meticulous and his eyes warm.
"Here—eat up. Grow big fast and then move out."
The girls received each spoonful with the happiest expressions in the world.
Move out? No way.
They'd spend their lives mooching off this man, stuck to his side.
From a tree above, Merlin watched the scene and shook his head.
"Heh… Britain's future is bright indeed. A group of kings collectively regressing to infancy."
That night, the campfire in the forest was louder and sweeter than any royal banquet.
After dinner, when everyone else went out into the woods to gather supplies, Kay and Artoria Lancer Alter stayed behind to care for the children.
It was decided by rock-paper-scissors that one of them had to stay by Kay's side.
"Um, there's something I want to talk to you about."
"What's, uh, what is it?"
Kay spoke with a serious look, causing Artoria Lancer Alter to tense up unknowingly. Could he be confessing love?
"Earlier, I saw you using your strength. I've been thinking… the way you use your strength, you learned from Merlin, right?"
It was as she expected. Artoria Lancer Alter hid her disappointment.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Hmm. So because you're all geniuses, he figured there was no need to teach you? Or maybe Merlin himself doesn't know?"
"What do you mean?"
"From where I stand watching you fight, there seems to be too much unnecessary movement when you use your power."
"Unnecessary movements…?"
The girls, taught by none other than Merlin, were indisputably the strongest in Britain. But to the so-called 'average talent' Kay, their flaws were visible.
"Your strength is excessive. From what I've seen of your battles, your techniques are so amazing I could never replicate them. But the problem lies in how you apply that power. Even in an optimal stance, you still can't wield it efficiently."
"How do you know that, brother?"
"Because I can do it. After countless brushes with death, I've learned."
"Ah…"
Kay had faced countless near-death experiences since he was five.
Unlike the geniuses, his lows were lower and his highs lower too.
But that meant monsters that were already monstrous to him littered the forest of Tintagel. And those experiences made him strong.
"Even with the same punch and the same stance, the impact can vary wildly depending on how you control your strength. Which muscles you engage, how much finger pressure you use. How you employ your senses, and whether your breathing is correct."
"Breathing too…?"
"Breathing is extremely important. From lung capacity onward, humans can't function without oxygen. The size of the power you can unleash changes with minimal versus maximal breath. You don't know how to derive maximal power with minimal effort. Maybe it's because you're geniuses, no need to teach you. Or perhaps Merlin doesn't know either. Or…"
"Or?"
"Maybe he hoped you'd encounter equal or stronger foes and learn through trials."
"That's the worst. Why couldn't he just teach us?"
"Right? He's not without teachers like me. Learning through battle would etch it into your bones, but it's reckless and painful. In that regard, he's the worst teacher. Maybe because he's not human."
Even an 'average talent' like Kay noticing this would have escaped Merlin's attention. That was his thought.
But in truth, Merlin didn't know either.
He was a genius too. Efficiency? Why bother when you can just slice everything with magecraft or swordsmanship?
It took someone like average Kay to realize it.
Geniuses don't struggle at fighting.
These principles were originally meant to be learned through tremendous trials.
Even the invincible Hercules grew through the Twelve Labors and countless journeys. Such lessons come from real combat.
A sorcerer who preferred swordsmanship because it was easier than incantations, or a genius who wielded a sword—none would think of this knowledge.
"What's this breathing technique?"
"It's proper breathing that activates vitality throughout your body. In the East, there's the concept of 'ki.' For us, it means circulating mana for maximum efficiency. You can temporarily increase muscle volume through breath. Some might call it adrenaline or testosterone release."
"What the heck is that?"
"It's a thing. It's hard to explain. Anyway, my point is this: you're strong enough now, but if you practice using your strength efficiently, you'll become twice as powerful. You could learn it in battle, but I want you to learn it before that. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Hearing Kay's concern, Artoria Lancer Alter smiled faintly. Even with Gareth in the mix, he still thought of them just the same. He was, after all, their brother.