21 Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Elegance and Beauty, Yet Voracious

The light screen reappeared, displaying some information about the girl:

Name: Artoria Pendragon

Aliases: King Arthur, King of Knights, Bedivere

Introduction: Hailing from the TYPE-MOON world, Artoria Pendragon, the legendary hero King Arthur of Britain, feels regret for attributing Britain's downfall to herself.

"If I were to return to the past and choose a different king, would Britain have avoided its downfall?" With this thought in mind, Artoria made a contract with the World Consciousness: she would obtain the Holy Grail and use it while alive. In exchange for fulfilling her wish, she would become a Heroic Spirit after death.

However, during the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, as the Master, Emiya Kiritsugu, commanded Artoria to destroy the tainted Holy Grail with a Command Spell, Artoria was sent back to the battlefield of Camlan.

Within seconds, a pop-up window suddenly appeared:

[Energy level below 3%, shutting down in 30 seconds. Please recharge in time.]

Even death has a 30-second countdown – this is definitely my crappy phone!

So, summoning a person directly consumes 90% of my energy? No wonder it takes over 90% to start the summoning!

Currently, Adrian couldn't be bothered with such thoughts. Faced with Artoria's inquiry, he was unsure how to respond. Deception probably wouldn't work, but he also didn't know if she had made a contract like Tom had.

Considering Artoria's personality, honesty might be the best policy. Even if she wasn't facing a Master, she wouldn't casually harm ordinary people, right? After a moment's hesitation, Adrian finally said, "I did indeed summon you here, but there is no Holy Grail War here, and I don't possess Command Spells. I can't really be considered a Master, can I?"

Artoria noticed the shattered light screen in front of Adrian, though she couldn't read the writing on it from her angle. It should be the power that brought her to this world, the power of the contract she had made?

"Indeed, I haven't sensed any binding similar to Command Spells. Is this a more lenient form of contract?"

Artoria pondered her state. She had descended in her original form, or rather, her entire being had been transferred from her original world. The contract she had forged with the world couldn't be sensed now. There was nothing that could forcefully command her, and all her actions could be aligned with her will...

"According to the agreement, for a period of time, I will serve as your protector and offer assistance within my capabilities – in the capacity of Artoria."

Saying so, she smiled, her emerald eyes locking onto Adrian's gaze.

A protector? Adrian couldn't discern much from her expression; he wasn't a psychology expert, after all. In the end, he settled for a self-introduction, "My name is Adrian Hart, well, you can call me Adrian."

This reply seemed a bit lame, he thought. Seeing Artoria nod, indicating that she had remembered, he immediately turned and said, "Tom, come over, we have a new... companion!"

Tom waved his paw in greeting to Artoria. As for him, it didn't matter who Adrian summoned; as long as it wasn't another cat, it was fine. Of course, if it were a cat, it better be a pretty little female one.

Seeing Tom, Artoria tilted her head in confusion, "Beast?"

Adrian quickly explained, "No, no, Tom is like you, summoned from another world, not a beast. He's just an ordinary house cat."

Tom crossed his paws, nodding in agreement. Yes, just an ordinary house cat.

Although he was proficient in multiple languages, excelled in various sports, played multiple musical instruments, could conduct and sing tenor, and had held various occupations like cowboy, sailor, and guard, he truly believed he was just an ordinary house cat.

Artoria glanced between Tom and Adrian, her eyebrows quirked. "Ordinary?"

"Uh... maybe not entirely ordinary..."

...

The three of them gathered around a table. Artoria had put away her armor and Excalibur, leaving her in a blue dress that was more akin to formal wear. She exuded the aura of an aristocratic young lady.

The table was neatly arranged with eight dishes and a soup – most of which were prepared by Tom.

Adrian had initially intended to cook himself. After all, cooking was just about following the recipe step by step. It was mostly about lacking finesse in knife skills, not quite understanding phrases like "a pinch of salt" or "a moderate amount of oil," and having some issues with controlling the heat.

At least the dishes he made were edible, and if he got the seasoning proportions roughly right, the taste was okay too. It was essentially at the average level of home cooking.

However, after the first dish was served, Tom tasted it and then disdainfully pushed Adrian aside. He found a small apron from somewhere and tied it around his waist. Patting his chest, he indicated that he would take over the cooking.

Adrian had only seen Tom prepare sashimi, so he didn't know how skilled Tom was at cooking other dishes. But seeing Tom's confident demeanor, he decided to let him have a go.

Tom rapidly skimmed through the recipe, accurately selected various ingredients, and then chopped vegetables and meat into thin slices or neat blocks. It was as if he had measured everything with a vernier caliper, so precise were his cuts.

At the end, he even made a decorative knife pattern when he put the knife away.

Next came the steps of lighting the stove, pouring oil, adding ingredients, stir-frying, sprinkling seasonings, and serving the dishes – all done smoothly.

After tasting Tom's creation, Adrian finally realized that everything the recipe described – tender, juicy, not greasy – wasn't an exaggeration.

If there was any false statement in the recipe, it was probably the line "images are for reference only." Tom's dishes were exactly like the pictures!

In the end, Adrian had to pat Tom's shoulder to indicate that he would be in charge of the kitchen from now on. Adrian's last hope was in plating the dishes.

If there was anything Tom wasn't good at, it was using chopsticks proficiently. Previously, in the Goodman family, though Tom appeared intelligent, he simply buried his head in his food bowl to eat. However, now that he had his own home, Tom ate his meals like a human, sitting on a chair and using utensils. This also gave Adrian a bit of a chance to impress him – he would help Tom pick out things he wanted to eat. With Tom's learning ability, he would probably master chopsticks soon enough.

Artoria, on the other hand, had no such worries. She handled the chopsticks with practiced ease.

Her movements were swift and elegant. Despite continuously delivering various foods to her mouth, her cheeks never puffed out in an exaggerated manner. When she ate dishes made by Tom, her expression revealed enjoyment, and even when she ate Adrian's rather mediocre creations, she didn't show any distaste.

Before drinking the soup, she wiped her mouth with a napkin, ensuring no food residue was left on the rim of the bowl. When she set down her utensils, there was no clinking sound.

In contrast, Adrian's eating manner was much more unrestrained. Despite the continuous feasting, he could only describe himself with two words – hearty and bold.

After the meal, Adrian asked about the contract, "Tom had conditions before accepting the summons. Even though they were overly generous for me, what about you, Artoria? Is there something you need my help with?"

CN AN:

Artoria's backstory was quite long, so let's just cover the necessary parts. If you're interested, you can look it up. They're asking which Saber this is from, I'll just say it's from "The Emiya Household's Daily Meals" – is that okay? (laughs)