The following morning, Kai woke up before the rest of the village, as had become his habit. Beside him, Lyla was fast asleep. She was curled up against him, her face tucked tightly against his neck and her hand resting on his chest, right over his heart. Her breathing was slow, almost inaudible.

  Kai didn't move immediately. He lay there staring at the ceiling, listening to the first sounds of the day, the early song of an unknown bird, the rhythmic thud of an axe splitting Wood all the sounds of a home under construction. He turned his head carefully to look at her and, with great gentleness, reached out to brush away a strand of hair covering her eyes. The touch was minimal, barely the back of two fingers, but Lyla murmured something unintelligible and instinctively drew closer, seeking his warmth.

  Kai smiled. It wasn't the first time he had woken up like this, nor the second, nor even the tenth. And the strangest part was that he no longer felt that clumsy embarrassment from the early days. Now, he only felt… calm. A dangerous calm, because it was starting to feel too much like belonging.

  He slid his free arm under her shoulders and settled her better against his chest. Lyla sighed contentedly, not quite fully waking.

  "Five more minutes…" she murmured in a sleep heavy voice.

  Kai’s laugh was barely a breath. "No, the sun is already coming up."

  "Mmm… please."

  "We have work to do in the village."

  Lyla opened one eye, which sparkled with sleepy mischief. "You’re the leader. You can declare a day off."

  "And you’re a terrible influence for suggesting it."

  She smiled against his neck, clearly remorseless. "Just a little longer… please."

  Kai sighed but didn't move. "Five minutes. And not a second more."

  "Mmm… deal."

  They stayed like that for five minutes that turned into twenty. When Kai finally sat up, Lyla protested with a theatrical groan and sat up as well, rubbing her eyes with her fists.

  "You’re cruel," she said.

  "And you’re a very dramatic goddess."

  She stuck her tongue out at him, but without warning, she leaned forward until her forehead rested against his. It wasn't a kiss, it was just a soft contact, forehead to forehead.

  "Thank you for letting me sleep like that," she whispered. "It makes me feel… at home."

  Kai swallowed hard. The knot in his throat was new, something he had never felt before. "I like it too," he replied in a low voice.

  Lyla looked up, genuinely surprised by the raw honesty of those words. For a moment, neither said anything more. They just looked at each other. There was something fragile and new floating between them something that didn't yet have a name, but that they both recognized. Then she smiled and slowly pulled away.

  "Pervert," she said, using the tone she usually took with him. "Come on, the village needs you, sweetheart."

  Leaving the hut, they saw that the pace of work was high but orderly. Thorne was leading a group of twelve people to begin laying more foundations for houses. Mira was reviewing the perimeter map with two new volunteer scouts. Roshia was teaching a group of children how to mix straw and mud in the correct proportions, and Allice was training several volunteers who had stepped up to be guards.

  Everything seemed to be going well until Kai approached the well sector. There he found Sylva, Grom, and four others huddled in a worried circle around the main well they had recently finished excavating. The water coming out was murky, with a slight metallic smell and a strange aftertaste that made people wrinkle their noses when tasting it.

  "What’s going on?" Kai asked as he arrived.

  Sylva turned with a tense expression. "The water isn't drinkable. It came out clean at first, but since yesterday afternoon, it started looking like this. If we don't fix it soon, we’ll have to rely on the stream again, which is almost a kilometer away and with the rains approaching, that’s going to be a problem."

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  Grom crossed his arms in frustration. "We dug it right, I swear. The well is deep. I don't understand why it changed suddenly."

  Kai knelt and observed the water in the bucket. He scooped some up in his hands, smelled it, and took a tiny sip. He frowned instantly.

  "Iron and something else… possibly sulfides," he murmured. "It’s not surface contamination. We drilled too deep and hit a mineral vein that is leaching into the water table."

  Sylva blinked. "So, we lost the well?"

  "Not necessarily," Kai replied. "We can isolate the bad part. We’re going to do a partial seal. We’ll lower a wooden pipe sealed with resin and clay to about two meters above the current bottom. We’ll secure it well with stones and more clay around it so the water can only rise through the pipe from the clean upper layer. The contaminated water at the bottom will stay isolated. We won't lose the depth we already have, we just prevent the bad vein from rising."

  Grom scratched his beard, not fully understanding the method. "And how do we seal the pipe so nothing leaks through the sides?"

  "We use the resin we brought from the northern forest," Kai said. "Roshia can help by freezing the wet clay around the pipe so it hardens quickly and forms a solid barrier. Then we let it dry naturally. In two or three days, it should be stable."

  Roshia, who had just arrived drawn by the conversation, tilted her head. "You want me to freeze clay… to make a seal?"

  Kai smiled slightly. "Exactly. Your ice isn't just for fighting."

  Thorne, who had approached, let out a deep laugh. "This man is pure gold."

  Sylva let out a relieved sigh. "So, we try it?"

  Kai nodded. "Prepare the longest pipe we have. In the meantime, Roshia and I will prepare the resin and clay mixture. We have to work fast before the sun gets too high and dries everything out."

  The rest of the morning passed between explanations, tests, and adjustments. Kai and Roshia worked side by side by the well. They measured the depth, cut the wooden pipe into precise sections, and mixed the resin with clay until they had a thick but moldable paste.

  Lyla stayed close, sitting on a log and watching in silence with an expression of pride she didn't try to hide. When the sun reached its peak, Kai wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around. The pipe was already being lowered slowly, guided by ropes and expert hands. Roshia froze portions of the mixture around the pipe to create successive layers that hardened instantly.

  The people worked with renewed spirit. Children ran among the piles of drying clay. Elara chased butterflies with a slightly crooked crown of flowers on her head.

  And Lyla… was still watching him. Kai walked over to her with a calm pace.

  "What?" he asked with a half smile. "Do I have something on my face?"

  "You have wet clay on your left cheek," she replied, reaching out to wipe it off with her thumb. The gesture was slow, too slow. Their eyes met, and for an instant, the noise of the village seemed to fade away.

  "It’s not fair," Lyla murmured in a low voice.

  "What isn't?"

  "That you solve problems like this… with that calmness. That you make everyone trust you without even realizing it. And on top of that, you look at me as if you have no idea of the effect you have."

  Kai looked down for a second, feeling heat rise up his neck. "I’m not trying to cause any effect."

  "Well, you’re succeeding," she replied softly. She left her hand on his cheek a moment longer than necessary before slowly lowering it. "I’m proud of you," she finally said. "Not of the hero you were. Of the man you are now."

  Kai swallowed hard. The words weighed on his chest in a strange way. "I still feel lost half the time."

  "And yet you keep going," she replied. "That’s what matters."

  "Thank you… for staying by my side while I figure it out."

  "There’s nowhere else I’d rather be."

  The moment was broken when Elara came running and threw herself against Kai's legs. "Kai! Look! I made a clay flower!"

  Kai knelt and took the small, crooked figure between his fingers. "It’s beautiful," he said with absolute sincerity. "We’re going to put it on the wall of the main building, okay?"

  Elara nodded with exaggerated enthusiasm and ran off again, shouting with joy. Lyla and Kai looked at each other and laughed at the same time, like accomplices.

  In the afternoon, a messenger on horseback arrived from Athelgard. He brought a scroll sealed with King Gabell's emblem and a small escort of two royal guards who remained discreet at the edge of the clearing.

  Kai received the scroll with some caution. Once the messenger handed him the letter and several other items, he opened it in front of Lyla, Allice, and Thorne, who had gathered when they saw him arrive.

  “By the grace of the Goddess Lyla and in the name of the Kingdom of Athelgard, the village under reconstruction is officially recognized as a protected settlement under the temporary sovereignty of the crown. A period of three years is granted to achieve full self sufficiency before negotiating independent status.”

  In addition to the letter, there was an updated map of the borders and a first shipment of sedes, hardy wheat, hybrid corn, and short cycle legumes.

  Allice let out a low whistle. "See? I told you there wouldn't be any problems."

  Thorne crossed his arms, smirking. "And seeds. With this, we can plant in less than a month and have a harvest before the hard winter."

  "We’re going to need more cleared land for planting," Kai said. "And a basic irrigation system."

  Lyla took a step closer and rested her head on his shoulder, looking at the same horizon as him. "Step by step."

  Kai wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her a little closer. It was a calm, natural, almost unconscious gesture.

  "Step by step," he repeated.