The perpetual storm of Unlimited Blade Works was still present while the first inhabitants began to stir.
In the fields, the farmers had already started their day. Some had been working for several hours, taking advantage of the cool morning air to tend to the crops before the heat became too intense.
The cultivated land had expanded considerably over the past two years. As more communities arrived, their needs increased, but the agricultural techniques brought by the different peoples had also made it possible to improve yields.
By now, it was no longer unusual to see people of different races working on the same plot of land.
That morning, a group of farmers was just finishing filling several crates with vegetables.
Most of the baskets were destined for the market when one of the men stopped in front of a particularly successful harvest.
He picked up a handful of carrots, examined them, then put them back into their crate.
"These ones go to the side."
Another farmer, who was carrying a basket, glanced at him.
"For the communal kitchen?"
"No. For His Majesty."
The second man remained silent for a moment before smiling.
"Again?"
"He spends most of his time 'outside.' When he comes back, we might as well give him something."
"But he never asked for all this, as far as I know."
"So what?"
The tone was so matter-of-fact that the other man had nothing to say.
A third man, who had been listening from a few meters away, finally joined in.
"Put some fruit aside too. The first ones of the season are good."
"If we keep doing this, he's going to end up with more food than we have."
"He doesn't eat that much."
"How do you know?"
"I've seen him eat before."
The two men looked at each other.
Then the first shrugged.
"Fine. Put the fruit in."
The second complied, though not without adding a comment.
"I still think he'd be happier if we sent this to the communal kitchen or the general orphanage."
Another crate was added to the small pile intended for Emrys.
───
At the same time, the market was beginning to come alive.
The merchants were setting up their goods while the first customers were already moving between the stalls. Products from the different communities had gradually found their place.
Vegetables from the human farmers stood beside those grown using druid techniques. Some fabrics were made from materials brought by the beastmen. The blacksmiths' tools circulated among all the communities.
Even the merchants had developed their own habits.
A human merchant had barely opened his stall when a woman stopped in front of his fruit.
She picked up two, examined them carefully, then put them back.
"How much?"
The merchant told her the price.
She frowned.
"That's more expensive than yesterday."
"The harvests are smaller these days."
"Yesterday's was small too."
"Yesterday's was less small."
The woman stared at him without expression.
The merchant held out for a few seconds before laughing.
"All right. Yesterday's price for you."
"And if I take six?"
"Are you trying to bankrupt me first thing in the morning?"
"I'm helping you empty your stall."
"His Majesty might have to hire you as an advisor."
The woman burst out laughing.
"His Majesty would especially need an advisor to remind him to eat something other than the gifts people give him."
She eventually bought her fruit.
The merchant watched her leave before shaking his head with amusement.
This kind of conversation had become commonplace.
A little farther away, another negotiation was already turning into a debate.
A beastman was haggling with a human craftsman over a set of tools.
"They're too expensive."
"They're handmade."
"Exactly."
The craftsman raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not sure that's the argument you think it is."
"I can buy two for that price."
"Two of poor quality."
"They'll still work."
"For three weeks, and I'm being optimistic saying that."
The beastman put the tools down.
"One month."
"Three weeks."
"One month."
"You know how to negotiate."
"I had a good teacher."
The craftsman sighed before giving him his final price.
The deal was made.
In a nearby street, the atmosphere was quite different.
The steady sound of hammers echoed from a forge that had been open since dawn.
The craftsmen had been working together for a long time. At first, their different methods had led to plenty of disagreements.
Now, they still argued.
But their arguments were mostly about their trade.
A human blacksmith insisted that a particular tempering technique was superior. His demon colleague—one of the eleven higher demons brought back by Emrys—disagreed.
"Your metal becomes too brittle."
"It's lighter."
"That's not a quality if the blade breaks."
"It doesn't break."
The demon placed a blade on the anvil.
"That one, then."
The human blacksmith picked up the weapon and examined it.
"It didn't break."
"It was supposed to break."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to test something."
The human stared at him.
"So you just proved me right."
The demon remained silent.
Then he picked up his hammer again.
"Get back to work."
The other blacksmiths burst out laughing.
In one corner, a young apprentice watched their exchange carefully.
It's like this every day. Aren't those two tired of bickering?
"Hey, don't use Hellblaze for the furnace! We won't be able to put it out afterward!" the human blacksmith shouted.
"Shut the hell up! I know what I'm doing!" the demon shot back.
Watching them argue yet again, the apprentice could only shake his head with a sigh.
Deep down, I'm sure they actually like each other.
"Hey! You done daydreaming? Get back to work!" one of the blacksmiths shouted at him.
"S-Sorry! I'm getting back to it right away."
───
A few streets away, children were playing near a house.
They were almost all human.
A little farther away, several young beastmen simply watched the scene. Their appearance still occasionally attracted the children's attention, but it was more curiosity than anything else.
One of the red demons had become particularly popular with the younger children.
His imposing size made him something of a living playground.
One child ran toward him.
"Can you carry me?"
The demon looked down.
"@€uha##"
"Yes!"
The red demon couldn't speak the human language, but the child seemed to understand him perfectly.
"@€#i€ €€g@€€ €€@o# -&@r€."
"Yeah, but I still want to climb."
The demon sighed before crouching down.
His first sentence meant Again, while the second meant You've already climbed on me yesterday, the day before, and the day before that.
The child climbed onto his back with obvious enthusiasm.
Several others waited for their turn.
The demon eventually looked at the adults watching the scene.
"@&€g &&@&h _@-(€+&@g &@&-g?"
It meant: Doesn't anyone want to come get them?
A woman answered from her doorway:
"They'll be coming back soon."
The demon looked at the children.
Then at the woman.
Then back at the children.
"&-@-fj&&@ -@--&&va -@&&€gq"
You've been saying that for an hour.
Laughter erupted around him.
Despite his complaints, he didn't push them away.
The inhabitants had adapted so well to the demons' presence that even when they couldn't understand their words, they could understand the intentions behind them.
───
The construction work had progressed considerably as well.
The giants were an invaluable help.
Their strength and connection to the earth allowed them to accomplish in minutes tasks that would have taken humans several hours. But they had also learned to work alongside them rather than simply assisting them.
On one construction site, a giant was in the middle of placing an enormous beam while several workers watched.
"A little to the left!"
The giant moved the beam.
"More!"
He shifted it another few centimeters.
"That's good!"
He set it down.
One of the workers gave him a thumbs-up.
"Perfect."
The giant wiped his forehead.
"You're much more complicated than you look."
"And you take up way too much space."
"I can leave."
"No, stay. We still need you."
The giant smiled.
They went back to work.
Another house had just gained another floor.
At this rate, the neighborhood would be finished before the end of the month.
───
The druids had also found their place in this new organization.
In addition to becoming the best healers present in UBW, some cultivated particular plants, while others made fabrics or worked in fields related to their knowledge.
Their presence had brought several changes to everyday life.
A human herbalist regularly visited them to buy certain plants.
She now knew several of the druids by name.
That morning, she was talking to one of them in front of a small shop.
"Did you receive the seeds?"
"Last night."
"Do they come from far away?"
"Very far."
The woman looked at the bags.
"And you're certain they'll grow here?"
"If you plant them properly."
"So if they don't grow, it'll be my fault."
"Yes."
The woman narrowed her eyes.
The druidess smiled.
A few minutes later, they were already discussing the best way to prepare the soil.
───
Around noon, the crates prepared that morning were finally carried toward the central part of the settlement.
Those intended for Emrys were separated from the others.
A young man tasked with moving them looked at their contents.
"More vegetables? And fruit on top of that? He's never going to manage to eat all of this."
"He can share it."
"With whom?"
"With the members of the assault division. Besides, why is it even called the assault division? They never assault anything."
The young man smiled.
"His Majesty says it's because he likes the name. Besides, you could simply sell all of this at the market."
"We know."
The two looked at each other before the young man sighed and shrugged.
"Suit yourselves."
───
The afternoon passed in much the same way.
The streets were lively.
The merchants talked.
The craftsmen worked.
The farmers returned from the fields.
The inhabitants visited one another.
Some days were busier than others, but there was nothing particularly special about this one.
And yet, that very ordinariness was what made the scene remarkable.
Two years earlier, the inhabitants would have found it difficult to imagine seeing some of these people sharing the same market, the same workshops, or the same streets.
Now, they simply argued over who had taken the last pastry.
In a small shop, a human merchant was accusing a demon of buying too much bread.
"You've left me with no stock again."
The demon placed the coins on the counter.
"It's not my fault human bread is good."
"You could warn me before buying everything."
"The last time I warned you, three people got here before me."
"So you admit you're responsible."
"I don't see the connection."
The merchant shook his head.
"I'm raising the price."
The demon stared at him.
"His Majesty wouldn't approve."
The merchant burst out laughing.
"Don't drag the King into my business!"
Someone outside who had overheard the conversation called out:
"You're the one who brought him up!"
"That's different!"
The remark drew a few laughs.
───
When Emrys finally returned that evening, if you can call it that, several inhabitants noticed him.
He walked through the streets without paying much attention to the looks.
A woman simply handed him a small basket.
"This is for you. Here you go, Your Majesty."
He looked inside.
Fruit.
He remained silent for a moment.
"Again?"
"The farmers insisted."
Emrys sighed.
"All right. Thank you."
He continued on his way.
A few meters farther on, a child recognized him despite his mask.
"Majesty!"
Emrys raised a hand in greeting.
The child immediately ran off.
An old woman who had witnessed the scene smiled.
"He's finally given up."
Her neighbor replied:
"Looks like it."
He found Rou a little later.
The young man was waiting for him near a quieter street.
"Have you been back long?" Emrys asked.
"A few minutes."
Rou looked at the crates several inhabitants had just brought over.
"More gifts?"
"Apparently."
"You're going to end up needing a whole house just to store everything people give you."
"That's not funny."
"I think it's pretty funny."
Emrys gave him a look.
Rou smiled.
They began walking side by side.
They had barely gone a few steps when an inhabitant spotted them.
"Good evening, Your Majesty!"
Emrys automatically raised his hand.
Rou waited until they were a little farther away.
"Oh, surprising?"
"What?"
"You didn't deny it this time."
Emrys sighed.
"I've already tried."
Emrys looked at the streets around him.
The lights were gradually coming on in the houses. The markets were almost completely packed away. A few people were still talking in front of the shops while the last workers headed home.
A little farther away, he heard someone calling out to another inhabitant.
Then laughter.
Then a door closing.
An ordinary evening.
Emrys finally shrugged.
"I've told them several times that I'm not their king and that they should stop calling me that. They don't want to listen, and I'm tired of correcting them all the time, so they can call me whatever they want. It's not like I'm a real king anyway."
Rou had a small smirk on his lips.
That's what you think.
"Very well, Your Majesty."
Emrys stopped.
Rou burst out laughing before Emrys could even respond.
Emrys remained still for a few seconds, then simply continued walking.
"I already regret giving up."
Rou followed him, still laughing.
And behind them, in the streets now illuminated by the first lights of night, life simply continued on.