At that moment, a hurried set of footsteps came from the hallway outside.
Not long after, Fiora, Kahina, Quinn, Poppy, and the others all flooded into the room.
Looking at the complete mess inside, Fiora turned to Luke and Lux with a puzzled look. "What happened here?"
"He suddenly lost it!"
Lux decisively pointed a small hand at Luke, who was standing off to the side.
"Got it."
Fiora nodded, then turned around and walked right back out.
Luke: "?"
How did she get it that fast?
They had all come quickly, and left just as quickly. Once they saw that nothing serious was going on, they all went back to whatever they had been doing.
The only reason they had come at all was because loud noises like that were rare in Luke's yard.
Inside the room, Lux grinned at Luke.
"Anyway, just practice on your own," Luke said irritably, shooting her a look before heading outside himself.
Lux watched him leave, then raised a hand. With a single thought, a soft glow lit up in her palm again.
She stared at that light, lost in thought.
In all these years, this was the first time she had truly accepted this power and faced it head-on.
Unconsciously, she remembered something the colossus had told her six years ago.
"This is a gift you were born with. It has nothing to do with where you were born. You are who you are."
With a wave of Lux's hand, the radiance flew from her palm, then scattered in the air into tiny glowing motes that slowly drifted downward.
Looking at those points of light, Lux murmured to herself, "Light magic..."
She did not know what might be waiting for her on the road ahead.
But when she looked at the room she was standing in now, then at the doorway where that guy was already long gone from sight, a smile rose at the corner of her lips.
She thought that from this point on, she would not feel lost anymore.
The light and she were one and the same. There was no separating the two. She had to accept that.
Lux knew there was still so much left for her to uncover within this power.
She could use it to create all kinds of possibilities.
Letting out a long, deep breath, Lux clenched her fist and filled herself with determination.
That night, after dinner, the air had already turned a little cooler than it had been in the afternoon.
Soaking in the pleasantly warm pool, Luke could not help feeling utterly refreshed.
The colder the weather got, the better a hot spring felt.
Looking up at the bright moon hanging in the sky, he felt a little sentimental.
In the blink of an eye, it was almost October.
Autumn was already more than half gone.
Time really did fly.
Compared to the peaceful calm on the left side of the pool, the right side was a complete riot.
"Seriously, why do you get top three while I'm third from the bottom?!"
"Lux, stop... that tickles. Just relax and soak for a while~"
"No! This is the price you pay for betraying me!"
"I was wrong! Stop tickling me!"
Leaning against the edge of the hot spring, Luke listened to the commotion coming from the other side and slowly yawned.
White steam drifted through the air. Through the white curtain divider in the middle, he could vaguely make out two girlish figures constantly tussling around, one desperately taking revenge, the other desperately resisting.
As they played around, the sound of splashing water kept ringing out.
"Don't, don't come any closer, I really... don't have any strength left."
Backing away while catching her breath, Kahina looked pleadingly at Lux, who still had a face full of resentment.
"I don't care. I'm getting beaten when I go home tonight, so somebody has to go down with me!"
As she said that, Lux lunged at Kahina with all her might.
With a splash, both girls fell into the water together, sending spray everywhere.
When they came back up, one still ran while the other chased, the two of them tangled together in noisy play.
Whatever else could be said, Lux was very good at tickling. Her nimble fingers kept finding the most ticklish spots on Kahina's tender skin, making her laugh uncontrollably.
As the laughter kept coming, the two girls' bodies bobbed and swayed in the water.
Their swimsuits, one pink and one white, clung close to them. In terms of figure, Kahina, who was only a few months older than Lux, was already starting to show a bit of graceful shape, while Lux herself had begun to carry a tall, delicate elegance.
And as for why Luke could see all that so clearly, he was sitting there right now with a faint smile, watching the two girls roughhouse not far in front of him.
To Luke, there was hardly anything more entertaining than watching two pretty girls splashing around in a hot spring.
As a man, he felt like scenes like this could definitely happen more often.
But very soon, the two girls who had been fooling around suddenly froze.
Two pairs of eyes turned toward Luke in the distance, and both girls went blank for a second.
Their cheeks were already flushed from the hot spring, but now they looked even redder.
Their movements immediately turned much more restrained. Realizing they had wandered onto the wrong side, the two of them hurried back to the right side in embarrassment.
Then they both dunked their heads into the water and stayed completely still.
Luke casually picked up his wineglass and drained it in one gulp, then lifted his head again to admire the moon.
The next day, Luke woke up early in the morning.
Lately, all the time he had spent resting had not made him any sleepier than usual. If anything, it had given him a very healthy body clock.
He slept a steady six to eight hours a day. If he went to bed early, he woke up early.
If he went to bed late, he woke up late.
Even so, compared to everyone else, getting up at this hour still counted as lazy for him.
Because the moment he came downstairs, the yard was already lively that early in the morning.
After washing up, Luke started preparing breakfast.
After breakfast, Lux and Kahina headed off to the academy in great spirits.
In another two days, they would be starting their super long vacation. They had already survived the academy exams, so both of them seemed to be in a very good mood.
Quinn, meanwhile, went to the royal guard camp as usual.
Fiora, as always, started her daily morning training.
Poppy chose to keep lying around.
Luke had noticed that the little shorty was the sort who did whatever popped into her head.
If she felt like training, she would grab her hammer and run off to find Fiora.
And if she felt like loafing around, she would flop right down without hesitation.
There was no pattern to it at all.
Unlike Fiora and the others, who stuck to their morning training every single day with remarkable consistency.
And yet even so, Poppy kept getting stronger.
That was the kind of favoritism the yordles got from the heavens.
Luke changed clothes, got into a carriage, and headed out.
The carriage rolled along in a clear direction.
About an hour later, at eight in the morning, it slowly came to a stop in front of the palace entrance.
After getting out, Luke went straight inside the palace. Before long, he arrived at Jarvan III's hall.
Jarvan III was up just as early. By the time Luke entered, he was already reviewing state affairs.
Quite a few pages and documents were spread across the desk in two separate stacks.
It was obvious he had started quite a while ago.
"Good morning, Father."
After entering, Luke offered a simple greeting, then sat down on the sofa nearby without saying another word to disturb Jarvan III.
When he got bored, he occasionally reached over and plucked a flower petal from the potted plant beside him, tearing them up one by one for fun.
About half an hour later, the two stacks of documents had become one.
Jarvan III rose to his feet and looked at Luke with gentle eyes. "Come on."
Once he started walking ahead, Luke got up and followed him.
On the way to the council chamber, father and son chatted casually.
"The medicine you sent over last time worked very well. My back doesn't ache nearly as much anymore."
Walking in front, Jarvan III spoke with a smile.
Luke replied, "As long as it helps. If there's anywhere you feel uncomfortable, just come to me."
"It's not as though I have that many aches to begin with. I've also been sleeping quite well lately."
Jarvan III rolled his shoulders, feeling almost as if he had returned to his younger days.
He was already fifty-five now, and his body was aging day by day. He no longer had the vigor and strength he did in his youth. Sitting in a chair every day often left him with an aching back and sore waist.
One day, Luke had noticed it while visiting the palace and chatting with him.
So he had sent over some medicine to ease the aches, and after taking it, Jarvan III found that the effect was unexpectedly good.
As for how Luke explained his medical skill, he said that ever since childhood he had studied medicine under Melli, and as he grew older, he had continued learning on his own. In order to treat Melli's illness, he had spent all his money and savings and learned many kinds of medicine.
But in the end, he still had not found a cure.
In truth, that was exactly how it had been.
In fragments of memory, Luke really did know medicine. To treat Melli's coughing illness, he had once left the town for a while, traveling to nearby villages and small cities to visit many doctors.
But in the end, he still had not found a way to cure Melli.
Thinking about it carefully, Luke had also started to feel that something about it was strange.
His mother had been a healer, so why had she failed to notice the cough illness ahead of time?
But the whole matter had seemed suspicious from the very beginning.
Now she had already been laid to rest, but Luke did not want the truth of that year to be buried with her.
Someday, when the opportunity came, he might try to uncover it.
A few minutes later, the two of them arrived at the entrance to the council chamber.
When they pushed the door open and entered, quite a few ministers were already inside waiting. Around the octagonal table, seven people were already seated.
Jarvan IV had arrived too. He had come even earlier than Luke. Seeing that Jarvan III was busy, he had come ahead to wait here.
At the moment, he was talking with Tianna, wearing an awkward grin.
Luke gave the room a quick glance. The only person not there yet was the Mageseeker leader.
But shortly after Jarvan III took his seat at the head of the table, a figure hurried in.
Lord Eldred lowered his head in salute. "Your Majesty, I was delayed on the road."
Jarvan III looked at him, then nodded. "It's fine. Take your seat."
Lord Eldred straightened and slowly walked over to his chair before sitting down.
With all eight ministers now present around the octagonal table, the room fell quiet in perfect unspoken agreement. No one made another sound.
"This meeting will mainly cover National Day in three days."
Jarvan III spoke calmly, beginning the morning meeting.
Standing in the back, Luke listened with some boredom. It was not much different from the few meetings he had attended before.
It was the usual mountain of empty political talk, one sentence stretched into three, dozens of words spent to say almost nothing useful.
By the time it dragged on a bit, Luke, who had still been fairly energetic before entering, started getting sleepy.
He glanced to the side and saw that Jarvan IV was yawning too. He was clearly not very interested in this kind of political business either.
He did not dare make it obvious, though, so he could only forcefully keep his mouth from opening too wide.
The stiff, strangled look on his face almost made Luke laugh.
Meetings like these were not held every single day. When one was going to happen, notice was always given in advance.
If anyone at the octagonal table wanted to call a meeting, they would also enter the palace ahead of time and report it to Jarvan III first.
Unlike Jarvan IV, who as the eldest son had to come and listen in person every time.
Luke, on the other hand, was free to come or not. If he wanted to stay home and lie around, nobody cared.
Soon enough, the meeting reached the part Luke actually cared about.
"Does anyone have anything else to raise at this meeting?"
As the discussion neared its end, Jarvan III looked around the room and asked.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say."
As soon as the words fell, Wenward raised a hand.
Jarvan III nodded, signaling for him to continue.
Wenward stood and said, "The Research Institute has recently made progress on one of its projects. After repeated testing, we have now confirmed its stability."
The moment he said that, many people in the room showed interested looks.
The fireworks the Research Institute had produced last time had already caused quite a stir.
And now, after only a few days, the Research Institute had created something new again?
Lately, they really had been busy.
Minister Roy, who was hearing about this for the first time, asked with interest, "And what new invention might this be?"
"Yes, and this invention will have a major impact on Demacia's future scientific development." Wenward was not speaking to Jarvan III now, but to the ministers present.
That bold claim sharpened everyone's attention even further.
Wenward did not pause. He continued, "After a great deal of research, the Research Institute has now successfully achieved an initial mastery of electricity."
The moment those words fell, the entire room went silent.
"Electricity?"
Roy froze for a moment.
"That's right."
Wenward raised a hand, and several Research Institute staff members immediately stepped forward and drew all the curtains in the council chamber shut.
Everyone's vision darkened. Cut off from the sunlight, the chamber instantly became dim.
Before any of the ministers had even fully processed what was happening—
Click.
The next second, along with the sound of a machine switching on, light suddenly spread through the room from every direction.
In an instant, the entire council chamber was brilliantly illuminated.
The ministers were startled and looked all around them, only to see bright electric bulbs blazing with dazzling light.
The room erupted all at once.
"Electric lights?"
"Th-This is electricity?"
"Wait, didn't the Research Institute get banned from studying electricity two years ago?"
"Then what are these electric lights?"
"Honestly... they're pretty bright."
Voices of discussion rang out one after another. Around the octagonal table, the expressions of the various ministers all differed.
Tianna wore a faint smile. Since she had already known about it, she was not surprised at all.
The others, however, all had flickers in their eyes.
Amid the chatter, one bolder person walked up to one of the glowing bulbs and reached out to touch its smooth surface directly.
He jerked his hand back at once, burned by the heat.
"This..."
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