On the ashen earth of the Shadow Realm, an alien and intense storm of mana swept across for the first time in hundreds of years.
Scáthach's massive summoning circle, woven with blood-red mana, glowed like the sun beneath Kay's feet. The geometric runes shone with blinding brilliance.
"Focus, Kay. The gate is open. Let the resonance of your soul reach the Throne of Heroic Spirits."
Scáthach pressed her hands near Kay's heart from behind as she shouted.
The overwhelming mana poured through her hands, threatening to burst Kay's blood vessels, but he gritted his teeth and endured.
There were no grand ideals of becoming king or saving the world—only a humble, desperate devotion that his younger siblings and nephew could eat a warm meal and sleep safely.
That pure, weighty love for family—or that sense of responsibility—flowed through the circuit of rune magic and reached out to the Throne of Heroic Spirits.
"I decree: Your body beneath my command, my fate in your blade. According to the will of the demonic realm, if you follow this intent, this principle, answer my call here. I am the eternal fulfiller of all good, I am the eternal suppressor of all evil."
Kay's rough incantation rent the sky of the demonic realm.
"You who wear the banisher's Word of Command over the seven heavens. Run, act, and judge. O Guardian of the Scales...!"
Paaaah!!
A blinding flash, too bright to open one's eyes, split into three pillars of light and shot up over the summoning circle.
With a deafening roar as the boundary of dimensions shattered, thick dust and earth churned around the summoning circle.
The ground's heat in the demonic realm surged, and three distinctly different colors of mana swirled.
Before the dust even had a chance to settle, a calm yet heavy mana flowed out from the first pillar of light.
A purple afterimage trembled, and the silhouette of a woman with long, silky hair fluttering appeared.
"...May I ask, are you the Master who called me?"
Her voice was composed and chilling, yet somehow laced with an irresistible allure.
As the dust cleared, her form was revealed.
She wore black full-body tights that clung to every curve, a uniquely shaped blindfold covering her eyes, and held a long, slender kusaridagger.
Class Rider, Medusa.
Despite the blindfold, she turned her head exactly toward Kay. The tip of her nose twitched ever so slightly.
'...This Master smells strangely familiar to me.'
Medusa thought to herself.
She was the being who loved her two older sisters dearly and willingly sacrificed herself to become a monster for their sake.
That essential nature of hers resonated perfectly with Kay's guardian-like tendency, giving up his youth for his younger siblings.
Perhaps that was why Medusa felt as if the Kay standing before her was someone of the same kind.
"Servant Rider. I have answered the call and arrived. ...Henceforth, let me bear your burdens alongside you."
Medusa bowed her head with composed courtesy.
"Miko~ong! I've kept you waiting for so long, Master!"
From the second pillar of light came an entirely different atmosphere: a cheerful, adorable voice bursting forth.
Amid a flutter of cherry blossom petals, a woman wearing a gorgeous blue kimono sprang out.
Golden fox ears glowed in the light, and behind her, a lush, soft fox tail swayed.
Class Caster, Tamamo-no-Mae.
She was the incarnation of the sun and one of the Three Great Demon Lords, yet her true dream was simply to be a wonderful wife to the person she loved.
She excelled at cooking and household chores and found happiness in caring for someone with all her heart.
But in her previous life, she had never been able to fulfill that dream and had been cast aside—a sad past she bore.
'Oh my? This Master's soul form is quite handsome, isn't it? A top-tier handsome Heroic Spirit!'
Tamamo peered into Kay's soul right after summoning.
Despite his rough and coarse outward appearance, the warm, noble glow of his soul—someone who would blindly care for and take responsibility for others—hit Tamamo's radar as the perfect candidate for her dream of an ideal husband.
"Ah, Master! You already smell absolutely wonderful!?"
With her fox tail flicking, she seemed ready to throw herself into Kay's arms.
And finally.
The third pillar of light was different from the first two. Pitch-black darkness and malignant flames mixed and roared as if burning even the air of the demonic realm.
"...Hmph. So you're the one who called me?"
From the flames walked out a girl whose voice dripped with hatred and cynicism.
She wore black armor, a tattered cloak, held a jet-black standard in her hand, and had ash-pale skin and silver hair.
The most astonishing thing was her face.
"Uh...? Alter?"
Kay flinched in surprise the moment he saw the third Servant's face.
Her features were chillingly similar to Kay's sister, Alter. The stern eyes and the slight upturn of her mouth were perfect matches.
Class Avenger, Jeanne d'Arc Alter.
An irregular Servant, the antithesis of Saint Jeanne d'Arc.
She spat out anger and cutting words at the world, but deep inside, she wanted more than anything to be acknowledged and had an oddly human tsundere quality.
The same stubborn streak that drove Kay to cook and stand firm against the malice of the world, and the deep ties he shared with Alter, pulled her toward him.
"Alter? Well, technically..."
Jeanne Alter slammed her flag into the ground and stared Kay up and down.
"Well, so it is. I nearly got startled and flustered for a moment. What do they call that... Fate's causality? Whatever. Who cares."
Pouting, she grumbled to herself. But soon her gaze drifted behind Kay to the fortress where Scáthach, in all her overwhelming majesty, stood.
"Uh... Oh. That castle is quite something. Those pointed spires and the eerie atmosphere—totally my style, you know?"
Suddenly her eyes sparkled as she began admiring the castle's architecture. Kay was already off her radar.
As the echo of the summoning faded, the giant rune circle dissipated.
Kay looked around at the three stunning female Servants before him with a dumbfounded expression.
Silent big-sister Medusa with the blindfold.
Tamamo the shrine maiden, high on energy and tail wagging.
And the delinquent youth Jeanne Alter, a spitting image of his sister.
"Uh... I guess I should introduce myself first. I'm Kay. I'm not a mage... just a knight who cooks. I look forward to working with you."
Kay scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he spoke.
"Is that so? A warrior skilled in cooking is quite rare."
"No, no! The kitchen is Tamamo's domain! Master, just rest your head on my fluffy tail and I'll serve you a feast every day, mew!"
"Ah, sure. Cooking, right. You'll cook well, yeah."
The three were certainly unique personalities. Still, compared to having his own sisters around, it seemed like fewer headaches.
Just then, Scáthach, who had been watching with her arms crossed, let out a soft chuckle and stepped forward.
"Not bad. Quite a successful summoning. Your soul really attracted some unique women."
As Scáthach's overwhelming presence radiated out, the three Servants abruptly stiffened and looked at her.
She had the aura of the absolute—more of a master than their master.
"Kay. As my husband, I permit you to take concubines, but you must properly control them."
"Wh-Who said you're my husband or that they're concubines! What nonsense! Well, I'll acknowledge you as a lover, at least."
Kay shouted back in protest, but the Servants' reactions were all different.
"Oh my... So there is a principal wife, is there? Well, that's no problem. During the day you cook, at night you get seduced by your mistress... how thrilling, the scandal of adultery... hehe! That's actually more my kind of fun."
"...Master has rather interesting tastes, it seems. At least there won't be a case of any of my sisters falling in love with him."
"Wh-Who says anyone's interested! Don't jump to conclusions! Ugh, who'd like such a rotten bastard! Really... this is hilarious."
Scáthach watched them and thought to herself:
Before Kay returned to Britain in about two years, there would likely be a great war of love and conflict.