One morning, an anxious Ector was tending to his horses.

'It's already been a month since those three disappeared... I've asked the townspeople to inform him if they saw a glimpse of them but they are still missing. Just where did they go...'

"Eto, do you really think Artoria will be alright with those two? You know how Kay can be reckless and impulsive sometimes, and I don't need to talk about the Great Magus. I can only hope that the worst has not happened yet." Ector said as he brushed his trusted steed who nodded in response, understanding his owner's words.

And then, with her developed sense of smell, Eto turned her head in a certain direction where she smelled the scent of her owner's child and the supernatural woman.

"Eto?" Ector muttered under his breath in confusion when he saw his horse suddenly getting a bit excited before he widened his eyes when he heard a familiar voice calling out for him.

"Ector, we are back!"

Without wasting any time, Ector left the stable and ran outside with Eto, following him close behind.

"Artoria, my lord! Are you alright...?!" He started to shout but stopped once he saw the sight displayed before him.

ゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴゴ

"Good grief. We're finally home."

"Artoria… what happened to you during this past month?" Ector could only ask as he looked at Artoria whose body looked like that of a bodybuilder, her bulking muscles showing veins among others.

Then, he glanced at Kay and Merlin who were next to her and he almost had a heart attack when he saw Merlin's bloated belly, who was relaxing comfortably in Kay's arms.

"Ah, Ector. It's been a while. As you can see, we are all back, all three of us... No, I should say all four of us now."

"Please let's get along, Ector... No, Father-in-law."

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Ector screamed in terror before he blinked when he saw his room's ceiling.

'A dream… No, that was a nightmare…' He thought as he closed his eyes, trying to calm his mind, before he noticed that his old body was covered in sweat.

Letting out a sigh, he got out of his bed before he went to the well near his home to clean himself, taking a towel with him. And once he was done, he went to the stable to tend to his horses, but the moment he entered he felt a shiver run down his spine.

'What is this eerie feeling?' He thought as he fed the horses and when he started to brush his beloved horse, Eto, he widened his eyes when she suddenly looked in a certain direction outside the stable.

'Don't tell me...?!'

Fearing the worst, he immediately walked out of the stable and at a distance, he saw a group of three people walking in the home's direction, one of them waving at him with a smile on her face.

"Ector, we're back!"

Looking at them, he could only let out a sigh of relief before he fell on his knees, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Thank goodness..."

"Are you alright, Ector?" Artoria asked him once she was at his side, having run when she saw him fall to the ground.

"I'm fine but... what is this attire, my lord? Have you forgotten you were supposed to live like a man?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. I... may have forgotten about that."

"It's fine... as long as nobody sees you like this. But may I ask, where were you during this past month? What were you doing with Kay and the Great Magus?" Ector asked as he glanced at his son and Merlin who were walking in their direction at their own pace.

"What have we done? Well, for starters, we overthrew an empire." Artoria simply said, as if she stated the current weather, which made Ector blink in utter confusion.

"What?"

"Also, we flew in the sky on an airship and visited a lot of places. A casino, a beach resort, a hot spring resort too and... ah, we went to a lot of festivals too."

And as Artoria began to enthusiastically recount her adventures, Ector could only stare at his adopted daughter with dead eyes, his mind completely blank as he couldn't comprehend a single word coming out of her mouth.

'They corrupted her.'

After resting for a while, Ector took Artoria behind their house, wielding a wooden sword in his hand, Kay and Merlin watching them from the sidelines.

"I do not know what you three have been doing this past month but I want to see if you haven't slacked on your training, so come at me with everything you've got, Artoria." He said as he brandished his sword at the girl who blinked before she glanced at Kay and Merlin, her brother shrugging his shoulder while the succubus just giggled.

"Understood, then here I come."

Then, in a matter of seconds, Ector was then on his back, facing the blue sky, with his sword being knocked away a few feet from him.

"What...?" He could only say in confusion before he looked at Artoria who stood next to him, a bright smile on her face.

"I trained a lot with Brother while we were away and I can say I got a lot of experience when it comes to real fights now."

"Is that so..."

That was the only thing he said before he simply laid his head on the ground and stared at the sky, completely lost in his thoughts.

'I give up. She became as strong as Kay. I swear, anything that involve those two will never end up unscathed. I fear for the future of this country...'

Already full of anxiety because of spending the entire last month worrying, Ector could only whimper in distress when, the following day, Merlin announced something that turned the country upside down.

"The sword stabbed in this rock is the holy sword that calls for victory, the proof of the king that is more certain than blood. That sword will only recognize those who have authority, those who can defend Britain. The man who draws the sword stuck in this rock is the King of all Britain!"

And while the whole kingdom was overjoyed by the news with famous knights who wanted to revive Britain and who wanted the throne as their greatest wish, Ector only worried about how his hair was slowly losing color.

The day after tomorrow, the following day after Merlin's sudden announcement, many Knights from all across the country came to Londinium where the sword of selection was located.

Ector spent a few moments in the ruins of the Imperial-style fortress being his former lord Uther's castle where he and several of his comrades died, losing their lives to Vortigern.

And after he mourned for them, giving them his prayers, he made his way to the town which was quite ordinary in comparison. However, the town's atmosphere was certainly different as all the townspeople were buzzing with anticipation as they made their way to the knights' training grounds on the outskirts of town where the sword of selection was placed by the Magus.

And once he arrived in the area, he joined his children who were watching with the townspeople the scene of many knights who, one by one, were rejected by the sword that was stuck in the pedestal, unable to pull it out.

There were knights who, with solemn expressions on their faces, placed their hands on the sword's hilt, dropped them, and walked away with disappointment. Some refused to give up as they attempted again and again. Some knights grumbled, and yelled that something was wrong with it after they bragged of their power and claimed to be able to move mountains, let alone that pedestal. However, the sword didn't budge at all, no matter who it was that put their hands on the hilt.

"Brother, you aren't going to try?" Ector heard Artoria speak, glancing at the foster siblings who were in their own little world, speaking with each other.

"There's no need. I'm sure Merlin used some kind of Magecraft to ensure the sword won't be pulled out unless a specific person touches the sword's hilt."

"But what if that person was you?"

"If that's the case, I'm going to slap her. After all, I don't want to be king..." Kay said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, closing his eyes. But after a few seconds, he let out a little smile which reminded the old knight of the kind of smile the Magus would wear on her face.

"Actually, I'll give it a try. If Merlin truly chose me to become king, then my first act as one would be to give her an appropriate punishment for this prank."

And as he said that, Kay walked to the pedestal with many knights stepping aside when they saw him with the townspeople murmuring to each other.

"Hey, isn't he 'the Bandit-Killer'?"

"Why is he called like that?"

"Rumors said that he exterminated all bandits who settled themselves near South Wales. Because of that, they don't even dare to approach the region. But I heard he went missing during the past month, perhaps he went hunting bandits in other provinces."

Once Kay stood before the sword of selection, he placed his hand on the hilt and gave a smirk, the kind he would see him wear when he would get his hands on a new sword.

Then, he, along with all the people in area looked at Kay who took a deep breath before he started to pull the sword and, to their surprise, they all felt the ground tremble with a loud sound.

"What's going on?!"

"Is he... Is this because the sword is being pulled out?!" Some villagers cried out as they all stared in stupefaction at Kay who gritted his teeth, an aura suddenly engulfing his whole body.

And then, just as Kay used all of his strength in one final pull, they all widened their eyes in shock when they witnessed his arm raising to the sky with the sword of selection in his hand... along with the pedestal, the blade still stuck in it.

"So this is the legendary holy hammer of selection... Not bad."

[No matter how we see it, that's not it!!]

Ector along with all the knights and villagers shouted in unison as they all watched Kay smile at his new "weapon".