Time flowed like a river, and before he knew it, four years had passed.
In the barren land of Britain, at the outskirts of Tintagel forest, a not-quite-legendary legend was being born.
A boy acting as the head of the household, who killed bears with his bare hands and hoisted wild boars onto his shoulder, lived there.
Ten-year-old Kay.
He was no longer just a kid.
He bore rippling muscles that no ten-year-old should possess and fine scars scattered across his body from brutal battles with wild monsters.
He was pure wilderness incarnate—a rugged, all-man brute.
His face, inherited from his mother, was handsome—more bishounen than the rough, dwarfish looks of Ector. Yet his body, by contrast, was solid and manly, the very spitting image of Ector.
However, he was the lean-and-ragged sort, so to cover his scars and prevent cooking splatter, he wore long sleeves even in summer.
Still, whenever the sturdy muscle of his arms or the veins on his hands peeked out, he was the idol of every boy in town.
And now, in the village market of Tintagel.
Kay appeared carrying a hunk of meat the size of a rice sack slung over his shoulder: the hind leg of the wyvern he'd taken down at dawn.
"Ma'am, please buy this. The meat's absolutely superb."
"Oh my, Kay! You're here again?"
The butcher's wife rushed out in delight—but she wasn't the only one thrilled.
The village girls around his age began murmuring as they looked him over.
"Look, it's Kay."
"Wow… look at his arm muscles."
"He's handsome too—though those eyes are kinda sharp."
Their eyes were glued to his broad shoulders and sturdy biceps.
Kay pretended not to notice and wiped the sweat from his brow, but a smile tugged at his lips.
'Am I finally Mr. Popular? Well, at this point, I'm probably in Britain's top one percent physique for my age.'
Honestly, Kay wanted to have a love life, too.
Neighbor Tom is already wandering down by the river hand in hand with his girlfriend—what's stopping me?
Anne, the bakery daughter, was blushing as she looked at me. I thought about going over to talk to her, but then...
Something came to mind, and he rifled through his pocket.
In his pocket was a crumpled scrap of cloth.
[Today's dinner menu is Hamburg steak (bring nothing, and die)]
It was the demand Alter had scrawled.
"…Sigh."
Kay let out a deep sigh and hung his head.
Dating? A date? What a joke. Eight little baby tigers back home were waiting open-mouthed, starving.
I'd better go grind that meat immediately, or else face the kids' tantrums.
Leaving the girls' disappointed gazes behind, Kay stashed his purse in his belt and practically ran home.
A solitary breeze blew across his back.
"I'm home."
As soon as he opened the cabin door, the usual sight greeted him.
His five-year-old little sisters.
Now fully looking like proper kids, they poured out toward him.
"Big brother! You're late!"
Starting with Artoria, the children rushed up to Kay.
"I'm starving to death. Hurry up and feed us, Kay."
"Welcome home, brother."
Alter barked orders at Kay as if he were some kind of servant, while Lily greeted him with proper politeness.
Though they were technically siblings, their real role was more like butlers to the king's children, so it wasn't entirely false.
"Alter, what kind of tone is that to use with your brother?"
"It's not wrong. Your stomach's growling too."
"Ha ha, I am hungry too, after all."
Lancer teased Alter's tone, but Lancer Alter waved it off like it was no big deal. Caster also chimed in, admitting she was hungry too.
Meanwhile, Artoria X and Artoria X Alter were sword-fighting each other with sticks.
Kay nonchalantly set down the meat bag.
Then he pointed to a massive creature in the corner of the yard.
A monstrous wild boar the size of a truck.
It was the one he'd casually caught this morning as a warm-up; on its forehead was a clear dent from Kay's fist—the mark of a one-hit kill.
"All right, today it's this guy. But this one's packed with so much muscle it's tough."
Large boars have hides like armor and muscles tough as tires. If you just grilled it, you'd break your jaw. The kids' jaws are strong, sure, but it'd still taste awful.
"So today… special Hamburg steaks!"
"Yaaay!"
"Hamburg steak! Hamburg steak!"
The kids let out a roar of excitement.
Kay cleaned a massive wood-splitting axe, grabbed it, and began his boar dismantling show.
Thud! Crash!
He stripped the bones clean and separated the lean meat. Then, wielding a kitchen knife in each hand, he began mincing the meat.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
In a blur of motion, the meat was finely minced in no time.
He mashed farm-grown potatoes into the mix, folded in a portion of the meat, and whipped up a sauce with a little milk and wild boar bone broth.
Milk was scarce, so it was the best he could manage.
Sizzle sizzle.
On a large iron griddle, head-sized Hamburg steaks sizzled. The savory scent of meat and the sweet aroma of sauce filled the cabin.
"All right, dig in!"
Eight plates were wiped clean in an instant.
The kids even licked every drop of sauce off. Kay watched their satisfied faces with pride.
Even though they knew he wasn't their real brother by blood, he worked every day to feed these siblings bound by no blood.
But what did it matter? Give 'em food and you're big bro; give 'em meat and you're dad.
A few days later.
Kay geared up for another hunt. Today, he intended to venture deep into the forest, right into the black bear's territory.
But just as he was about to step out, someone tugged on his sleeve from behind the door.
"…Hey."
It was Artoria X Alter.
The usually quiet girl, who spent her days wearing glasses and reading books, always with a red-checkered muffler around her neck.
"What is it? Hungry?"
"No… I want to come too."
"Where?"
"On the hunt. I'm curious about your work, big brother."
Kay paused to consider. Since Artoria X Alter had a strong case of laziness, he figured it'd be good to get a bit of exercise.
"Fine. Follow me. But if it gets dangerous, hide behind me, no excuses."
"Okay."
The forest was quiet.
Kay led the way, parting through thickets, and Artoria X Alter scurried behind him. She stared intently at the broad expanse of ten-year-old Kay's back.
The scent of sweat mixed with blood clung to him constantly, yet it somehow felt reassuring. To five-year-old Artoria X Alter, Kay's back was the largest, safest fortress in the world.
Grrroar~
A massive black bear appeared. Far larger and more ferocious than the brown bear from before—almost the size of a small house.
"Stay back."
Kay positioned Artoria X Alter behind him and clenched his fist. He didn't need any weapon.
The bear roared and charged. But to ten-year-old Kay, it was no longer something to fear; it was just a sandbag.
"Here we gooo!"
Wham!
His fist smashed into the bear's jaw. With a dull crunch, the bear's head snapped back ninety degrees.
Smack! Smack! Crack!
It was a one-sided beatdown. Kay dove into the bear's flank and pounded its abdomen. The bear howled and stumbled back.
"Is that all you've got? The whining of my kids demanding dinner is scarier than you!"
It was just as Kay was about to deliver the final blow.
Rustle.
At that moment, a gray shadow leapt out from the bushes opposite.
It was a pack of wolves—starving wolves drawn by the sounds of his fight with the bear.
One of them singled out the lone Artoria X Alter.
"Eek!"
Artoria X Alter let out a scream as a wolf bared its fangs and leapt toward her slender neck.
"No!!"
Without a second thought, Kay spun around.
Seizing the chance, the bear slashed Kay's back with its claws.
Shrieeek!
Blood spurted from his back—a flesh-tearing pain—but Kay didn't utter a sound; he propelled himself off the ground and took flight.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!"
His body shot forward like a bullet.
Just before the wolf's fangs reached Artoria X Alter's throat, Kay's fist arrived first.
KRAAAANG!!
It wasn't just a strike—it was an explosion of force.
His fist hammered into the wolf's skull from the side with pinpoint precision.
CRACK!
With a sickening crunch of bone, the wolf was sent flying into a dead tree without so much as a whimper—instantly killed.
"Phew…."
Kay stepped in front of Artoria X Alter, shielding her.
Blood dripped from his back onto the ground, but he didn't look back; he glared at the remaining wolves.
A murderous glint filled his eyes.
Those weren't human eyes; more ferocious than a mother bear defending her cub or a dragon guarding its hoard—it was the look of a big brother.
"If any of you even dare touch my sister… I'll kill every last one of you."
Yelps!
The wolves tucked their tails and fled—instinctively recognizing that this was not prey, but a predator.
With the threat over, Kay finally relaxed and dropped to one knee.
"Hah… You okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Artoria X Alter stared up at him, dazed.
His blood-soaked back, his ragged breathing, sweat rolling down his forehead.
A boy who'd rushed headlong into danger, even turning his back to a bear, just to save her.
"…Big brother."
"Yeah?"
"Blood… you're bleeding… a lot…"
"Ah, this? It's nothing. I'll heal up once we get home."
Kay gave a small grin, wiped his bloody hand on his sleeve, and ruffled her hair.
"Scared you, huh? Sorry about that. I should've watched better."
In that moment…
Her heart skipped a beat.
Then it went thump… thump… thump… racing madly.
It wasn't hunger. It wasn't the dizzy spell of a sugar crash.
Her chest fluttered, her cheeks burned, and the boy before her seemed to move in slow motion.
'He's so cool….'
A stronger thrill than any sweet treat.
The scent of his sweat mixed with the metallic tang of blood felt like the sweetest chocolate fragrance in the world.
"…Big brother…"
Artoria X Alter silently wrapped her arms tightly around Kay's waist and buried her small face in his chest.
"Huh? Hey, hey, what's wrong? Did you get hurt?"
Kay asked in surprise, but Artoria X Alter didn't answer—instead, she hugged him even tighter.
This sturdy embrace—rough but warm.
She realized that, even though they weren't blood-related—or perhaps because of that—she would never let this man go.
On the way home,
Kay dragged the bear's leg with one hand and held Artoria X Alter's small hand tightly with the other as they walked.
The sunlight of the setting sun painted her cheeks redder than her muffler.