Located in Miyama Town, Fuyuki City, Japan, stood a Western-style mansion.
The morning at the Mato family's home began energetically, not with the gloomy aura of a mage's workshop, but with the savory aroma of miso soup and the sweet scent of rolled omelet wafting from the kitchen.
"Hm, the bonito broth has been steeped just right. And the grilled salmon is perfect—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside."
A boy donning an apron deftly prepared breakfast.
With neatly swept-back, bluish curly hair and a tall, sturdy build, he was the de facto head of this household: Mato Shinji.
It had already been well over a decade since he'd been reborn under the name Shinji.
For some reason, Kay's soul—who in his previous life in Britain had fed people and rolled through the Magic Realm like a beast—had settled in the body of the eldest son of a mage family without even a Magecraft circuit.
"Bro~♡ It smells so good this morning, doesn't it?"
At that moment, a girl with violet hair tied back suddenly poked her head in and came inside.
It was Shinji's younger sister, Mato Sakura.
She hummed a tune as she approached, subtly pressing her ample chest—filling her school shirt—to Shinji's arm.
"…Sakura. Step away while I'm cooking. And wash your hands before you eat."
"Eee~ Such a cold brother. Here I am, your pretty and lovely little sister, greeting you with all my love and a little affectionate touch. Can't that make your heart race just a bit? Your indifference is really… cute, you know? Hehe."
Sakura whispered in Shinji's ear, wearing a charming yet dangerous, devilish smile.
Perhaps thanks to the branching point that altered her original fate, she'd grown up under Shinji's care with a personality akin to an AI.
"Stop rubbing your chest against my arm and go eat your meal. I even prepared your favorite dessert today."
"Yeees~ I will eat well, bro♡"
Shinji let out a light sigh and untied his apron.
Though he occupied the body of a mundane man with no Magecraft circuit, he'd applied the hellish training from his previous life to this body—breathing techniques, walking techniques, controlling muscle contractions and relaxations to the extreme.
As a result, Shinji's physique had become, without any magic, capable of punching through a concrete wall and leaping three stories in a single bound—a so-called superhuman strength.
Later, at Homurahara Academy during morning arrival time.
As Shinji walked to school, the gazes of the female students focused on him: his bluish curly hair, sculpted features, plus a mind that never missed being top of the class and his overwhelming position as the ace of the archery club.
Shinji was literally the school's most popular guy and the perfect child epitome.
"Kyaa! Good morning, Shinji-senpai!"
"Your face is glowing again today…!"
Shinji responded to the girls' greetings with a gentle smile and headed to the classroom.
For him, whose mind had been shredded by the emotionally unstable sisters of the Knights of the Round Table in his past life, this peaceful, sweet youth spent at school was pure tranquility.
"Hey, Mato. You're just as popular as ever this morning."
When he opened the classroom door, the black-haired twin-tailed girl sitting by the window crossed her arms and scowled at him brusquely. It was Rin Tōsaka, head of the Tōsaka family and the school's idol.
"Tōsaka, why are you sulking this morning? Did you sleep in and miss breakfast?"
"Wh-who says I missed it! It's just… your carefree face annoys me."
Rin turned her head with a sniff, but the tips of her ears were slightly red.
She knew very well that Shinji had no Magecraft circuit, yet she was the only one who'd witnessed how the ball he'd casually thrown during P.E. had sailed over the school fence and buried itself in a tree on the hill behind.
An extraordinary man who, without Magecraft, had physical abilities rivaling a Heroic Spirit.
Though she too was entrenched in the world of Magecraft, Rin felt intense curiosity—and even fondness—for Shinji, who was perfectly enjoying a mundane youth.
"You look hungry. If you don't mind, want to have lunch together later?"
"Heh…"
"Not interested? Fine if not."
"I'm not saying I don't want to. Your bento does taste good."
"Oh? So you liked what you had last time?"
"Unlike your seaweed hair, your cooking skills are pretty good."
"My hair is a complex of mine, you know? That really hurts my feelings?"
"Hehe, what's that all about?"
"Senpai~♡ Let's eat lunch together on the rooftop today!"
At that moment, Sakura, who had followed Shinji into the classroom, clung tightly to his arm—calling him senpai—and turned to Rin with a provocative, triumphant smile.
"Oh my. You're here too, Tōsaka-senpai? You always just buy bread at the school store—how pitiful. I'll take full responsibility for my brother's lunch today, so please don't be too jealous, senpai. Hehe."
"…What? Sakura, have you finished speaking?"
A vein bulged on Rin's forehead.
"Who do you think you're calling jealous? You two, without a drop of shared blood, clinging together like that even at school—isn't that just gross?"
"Oh my, oh my~ Since there's no blood relation, doesn't that mean you can develop a stickier relationship in another sense? Tōsaka-senpai, you're such a goody-two-shoes, maybe you just don't know about the adult world~?"
"Y-you impudent little vixen…!!"
From Rin's fingertips, sparks of magical energy crackled, and in Sakura's violet eyes flashed the dangerous gleam of a little demon. The air in the classroom turned into a battlefield on the brink of eruption.
"Ahh, I'm already hungry. Sakura, what side dishes did you pack for today?"
Shinji completely ignored the two girls' fierce catfight and sat at his desk with a calm expression, resting his chin on his hand.
When the bell rang for lunchtime, the rooftop had become the invisible battlefield between the two girls.
"Senpai! Here you go~♡ It's a heart-shaped rolled omelet I specially made for you!"
Sakura picked up the yellow omelet with chopsticks and pushed it up close to Shinji's mouth. Her chest was dangerously close to brushing his shoulder.
"Hey, Mato! Eat this before that!"
On the other side, Rin suddenly appeared with fierce momentum and thrust her bento toward him.
"Tōsaka? You did bring a bento, huh?"
"It's not like I never make one. You nag at me all the time."
Saying the typical tsundere line, Rin blushed.
Sakura shot a murderous look at Rin yet smiled sweetly.
"Tōsaka-senpai? My senpai likes Japanese food I make so much more, you see?"
"What?! My cooking is a hundred times better than your meager vegetable side dishes?!"
Shinji let out a deep sigh as he watched the two girls' battle of nerves. Memories from his past life flashed before his eyes.
Even back in Britain, the sisters had fought to the death daily over who would claim him.
But here on the school rooftop in peaceful Fuyuki City, instead of slashing blades, it was bento boxes flying, and this wholesome massacre was almost cute by comparison.
"Alright, thanks. nom"
Shinji alternately ate Sakura's rolled omelet and Rin's Chinese-style pork stir-fry.
"Hoh. Sakura, you put a little less kelp stock and a pinch more sugar, didn't you? It's sweet—nice. And Tōsaka, this meat is cooked to perfection. The spice blend isn't bad either."
"Uh...? Oh, really?"
"Hehe, I'm glad it suits your taste, senpai!"
The two heroines' faces instantly flushed as they beamed at Shinji's sharp yet praise-filled gourmet critique.
"But… with just this amount, it's far from enough to fill my stomach."
Shinji took something huge out of his bag.
thud!
Sitting on the rooftop bench was an enormous five-tier Chinese-style lunchbox, the sort you might use for a military company dinner.
"Here, give this a try too. It's Mapo tofu over rice and special fried chicken I made this morning when I found some time. You need a hearty meal to truly enjoy youth, don't you think?"
"Eh?! Sen-, senpai? When did you make something like this…!"
"Mato… what on earth are you? When did you have time to make all this?"
Shinji shoved a piece of fried chicken into each girl's mouth. Perfect temperature, crispy batter, and the fantastic harmony of juices and sauce bursting in the mouth.
Sakura and Rin widened their eyes and chewed the fried chicken with rapturous expressions.
The cooking completely passed into Shinji's hands. The two heroines completely forgot the bentos they had brought and, like baby birds, eagerly ate the food he gave them, fully tamed.
Once again, the sisters' weight only increased.
After school, Shinji flawlessly completed archery club activities, then walked home as the street was dyed crimson by the setting sun.
Of course, his right arm was firmly held by Sakura, and on his left Rin walked, claiming serendipity even though their destinations just happened to coincide, glancing this way and that at Shinji.
"Senpai, what are you planning for dinner tonight? Although the Chinese food we had for lunch was good, somehow I feel like eating a well-simmered stew today♡"
"Sa-, Sakura! Don't you have any shame? Begging your brother for a meal every time! But Mato, if you want, I might help out, though."
"Today let's do some grocery shopping and make omelet rice. Tōsaka, you want to come eat too?"
"Wh-, what?! To your, your house?! Mato, are you… pulling on me?!"
Rin's face reddened like a tomato. Meanwhile, Sakura's eyes grew cold.
"Senpai? As a sister, I'd have a hard time allowing an outsider into our sweet little nest for just the two of us."
"What do you mean just the two of you? Ah, and we should make some bar snacks for Father, too—potatoes were on sale…"
Listening to the two girls' banter start up again as background music, Shinji thoroughly examined the grocery store flyers while walking.
Later, they arrived at the Mato family home and went inside.
"You're back? You're a bit late today."
"S-Scáthach-sensei…"
"Aunt Scáthach…"
"You finished early today? No dinner party?"
She was the guardian of the Mato family and the one who had changed Shinji's fate.
It was Scáthach.
"There was one, but I came straight home. I wanted to drink at home tonight."
"I need to prepare more snacks. Tōsaka, come inside."
"E-Excuse me."
"Ugh, I couldn't monopolize my brother again tonight…"
Kay, now living his third life as Mato Shinji, continued his peaceful daily life.