The bulbs gave off both light and heat, and their glow made the entire council hall as bright as day.
Roy rose from his seat and stepped closer to one of the bulbs. The light shining from it was so intense that he could not look at it for long.
"You're saying... this runs on electricity?"
He shifted his gaze away and looked at Wenward as he asked.
No one present was unfamiliar with electricity.
Whether from thunderstorms, magical beasts, or even certain mages, everyone had at least some understanding of it.
But in people's minds, anything related to electricity was dangerous, untouchable, something to be feared.
People had a natural instinct to avoid that kind of power.
The last time the Research Institute had tried to harness the power of lightning, they had made a long metal rod meant to attract bolts from the sky.
Two people had died because of it.
That incident was not all that far in the past, and many of the people in the room still remembered it clearly.
Back then, had not research into lightning been banned at the Research Institute?
That was also the question the ministers were discussing most right now.
Faced with all the murmuring, Wenward's expression did not change. He answered Roy, "That's right. This is called an electric light bulb. It's a lighting tool, far more convenient than torches or candles. All it takes is the flick of a switch."
As he spoke, Wenward walked over to the doorway and reached for a thin cord that had been lowered there at some point.
The room heard a faint click.
In an instant, the lights went out.
Then came another click, and the bulbs lit up again.
Seeing that, quite a few people in the room found it remarkable.
Pull once and it turned on. Pull again and it turned off. If that was all it took, then it really was much more convenient than torches or lanterns.
At that moment, another person at the octagonal table stood up. His attention was not on the bulbs themselves as he looked at Wenward and asked, "Why did the Research Institute resume research into electricity without authorization?"
The one who spoke was another noble representative, Josie.
There was clear doubt in his eyes.
Then Jarvan III, seated at the head of the table, said, "I authorized it."
The moment those words fell, Josie asked nothing further.
In truth, everyone present had more or less guessed as much.
The fact that Wenward had dared bring the bulbs into the council hall for display already said a great deal on its own.
At that moment, Tourt frowned and said, "While I do not know why Your Majesty chose to lift the restriction on the Research Institute, I still object. If the Institute continues this research, have you all forgotten the tragedy from two years ago?"
Wenward replied, "If that is the attitude, then when will Demacia's scientific progress ever advance?"
Tourt continued, "As I see it, there are many different directions for research. Why focus specifically on electricity? It is a dangerously volatile force. The slightest mistake in handling it could lead to disaster."
"The study of electricity is a road science must walk. This is not a question of whether accidents might happen. If no one is ever willing to touch it, then Demacia's science will never improve."
Wenward spoke with certainty, then added, "And beyond that, why should we abandon research that genuinely benefits the people? The development and refinement of electrical science will bring tremendous convenience to Demacia's future!"
The ministers began murmuring among themselves again.
Their views were essentially split into two camps.
One camp supported the Research Institute. They believed that if the Institute truly managed to master the use of electricity, then it would indeed be a breakthrough of real significance.
The other camp was conservative.
In their firmly held view, electricity was an extremely dangerous thing. Rather than taking on that danger, it would be better to avoid it altogether.
Demacia had stood tall in Runeterra for hundreds of years without developing electricity, had it not?
Things had been fine the way they were.
As the debate continued to rise, Wenward spoke again. "I know everyone still has doubts. Next, I'll give a simple example. Once you hear it, perhaps some of your opinions will change."
As his voice carried through the room, the council hall quieted again.
"Take this light bulb, for example. Right now, every household in Demacia still relies on lanterns, oil lamps, candles, and similar tools for lighting. The burn time of lanterns and candles is only a single night, roughly ten hours. Oil lamps last around twenty hours."
"But a light bulb can continue providing illumination for at least one hundred hours, while the cost of the two batteries supplying it is only double that of an oil lamp."
The comparison was simple enough.
Even two oil lamps could only provide forty hours of light.
Under the same conditions, however, two batteries could provide one hundred hours.
The sixty-hour gap between them was instantly obvious.
The moment people in the room heard those numbers, they began discussing it again.
No matter what the matter was, economics always came first. If two batteries could power a light for one hundred hours but cost five or ten times as much as an oil lamp, then what would be the point of developing it?
So many other areas needed funding. Why spend money researching something like that?
But now, this electric bulb, which gave off such a strong light, was actually far cheaper than oil lamps by comparison.
That was something else entirely.
Wenward continued, "And furthermore, the batteries can be recycled and reused. As for the filament inside the bulb, it is called tungsten wire, a special material that can last at least three hundred hours under bright light before it fails."
One bulb could stay lit for fifteen days, and during that time all that was needed was changing the batteries three times, equal to the cost of six oil lamps.
And yet six oil lamps could only provide one hundred twenty hours of light.
On top of that, the batteries could be reused.
That kind of clear and visible difference immediately lit up the eyes of many of the ministers.
Especially Roy, the treasury representative.
He was the fastest at doing the math, and he instantly saw how much money this could save.
Even Tianna, who had known about it in advance, was a little surprised after hearing the detailed figures.
If it was really like that, then this was not just a small amount of savings.
Most importantly, the Research Institute's work on electric lights was still only in its early stages.
If they continued developing it, there would surely be further improvements, longer lighting duration, lower production costs...
Even Tourt, who had initially opposed it, fell silent after hearing the full explanation.
He had not expected the bulb lighting up the entire room so brightly to cost so little.
Seen that way, the appearance of the bulb really was a highly profitable, people-friendly invention.
It was convenient, economical, and useful. All of a sudden, the ministers found themselves with no real reason to oppose it.
Looking at the expressions around the room, Wenward continued, "And this is only the beginning. Within the next six months, I am confident I can reduce the cost of the light bulb by another third."
Once he finished speaking, the matter went through another round of discussion.
In the end, it was settled.
Electric light bulbs could be brought into general use.
Luke watched the whole process and, now that the matter was finally resolved, did not feel particularly surprised.
This was Demacia, after all. Without explaining electricity clearly, there would definitely have been a mountain of trouble.
In any other place, the bulbs would probably have already hit the market and gone on sale by now.
After the meeting ended, Luke left the palace.
This meeting also marked the moment the Research Institute officially stepped onto the path of scientific development.
There was still a very long road ahead.
But Luke already knew where that road could lead them.
What he looked forward to even more was seeing what interesting things might grow from that path in a place like Runeterra, a world filled with endless possibilities.
Sitting in the carriage, he lifted the curtain in a good mood and looked out at the streets.
It was still morning. Bicycles rolled past from time to time, occasionally giving off a crisp ring-ring from their bells.
But recently, the capital had become much more crowded.
The streets were packed with people, bustling with traffic and noise.
And today, Luke noticed some people in different styles of dress walking through the streets.
Their clothing was clearly unlike that of Demacians. At a glance, it was obvious they were from elsewhere.
And Luke could tell who they were.
They had come from some of Demacia's allied nations.
Beyond Demacia's territory lay a vast stretch of land, and scattered across it were countries big and small.
Some of them were allied with Demacia and maintained close ties.
Now that people from those lands were appearing in the capital's streets, the reason was simple enough.
Three days from now would be Demacia's National Day, a grand celebration that had existed for many, many years.
It was essentially Demacia's birthday.
They had traveled great distances to come offer congratulations.
Given how far away some of those allied lands were, some of their delegations had begun their journey one or even two months ago.
Now they were arriving right on time.
The Lightshield carriage also drew quite a bit of attention from foreign visitors. Curious eyes turned toward the face of Luke, who had lifted the curtain.
Once he felt the number of gazes on him increasing, Luke let the curtain fall again and leaned back against the carriage wall.
Some time later, the carriage slowly stopped outside the gate to the yard.
After stepping down, Luke had barely gotten both feet on the ground when he immediately saw a familiar figure.
Seated there was a slim girl in simple white clothes, with black hair.
Across from her sat Fiora, her expression calm as she steadily placed one chess piece after another.
As Fiora set down her latest move, the black-haired girl's brows knitted together.
Beside them sat little Poppy, her eyes wide as she intently observed Fiora's play.
"Miss Fiora is amazing. I lost again."
As Fiora placed another piece, Cithria spoke with open admiration.
"You've improved quickly too."
Fiora smiled in response.
At that moment, all three of them noticed Luke walking into the yard.
Cithria immediately stood and bowed. "Good morning, Your Highness."
Luke was a little surprised to see her. "What brings you here?"
"I actually got a day off today, which is rare. And I realized that ever since coming back to the capital, I still haven't visited you, Your Highness, so I came by."
"It really has been a while."
Luke smiled. "Congratulations on officially becoming a member of the Dauntless Vanguard... You two already know each other?"
As he said that, he glanced at Fiora.
Fiora nodded lightly.
"Yes," Cithria answered too. "When I arrived just now, no one was in the yard, so I thought you weren't home, Your Highness. Miss Fiora was the one who came out to receive me."
"I see."
Luke really had not seen Cithria again since returning to the capital.
As one of the most outstanding members of the vanguard reserves, she had successfully entered the Dauntless Vanguard.
Still, since she had managed to tie Garen's old record, joining the Dauntless Vanguard had only been a matter of time.
Luke chatted with Cithria for a while.
By the time it was almost noon, Quinn came back as well.
She was equally surprised when she saw Cithria.
The women chatted in the sitting room while Luke got up and headed into the kitchen to start preparing lunch.
Before long, the aroma of food drifted out from the kitchen.
It tugged hard at Cithria's senses, making her unexpectedly nostalgic.
When she finally sat down in the dining room and saw the rich spread of dishes laid out before her, it stirred up her appetite all over again.
The first bite of the delicious food immediately filled her with emotion.
His Highness's cooking really was just as incredible as ever.
That long-awaited free meal left Cithria absolutely satisfied.
After lunch, she did not stay long before taking her leave. "Your Highness, I'm going to visit some relatives in the capital this afternoon, so I should head out now."
Hearing that, Luke nodded and smiled. "See you next time."
"Next holiday, I'll come see you again, Your Highness."
Before leaving, Cithria gave Luke a slight bow, then soon departed.
Her visit was like a splash of water in Luke's calm life, stirring a little ripple before quickly settling down again.
Lying in his chair and feeling the gentle afternoon sunlight, Luke let time drift by as it pleased.
A cool breeze moved through the air, enough to drive away any drowsiness, leaving behind only a quiet sense of ease.
At four in the afternoon, a figure came riding into the yard on a bicycle, full of excitement.
After hopping off, Miss Crownguard wore a thoroughly delighted expression, clearly having run into something good.
"Great news, the academy started vacation early!"
She looked so happy she was one breath away from breaking into song.
For her, early vacation really was tremendous news.
It directly saved her from two more days of suffering.
Luke, meanwhile, had not gone near that place in ages, so hearing it gave him no emotional reaction at all.
He was entirely unable to share Lux's joy.
About half an hour later, Kahina came into the yard as well.
The physical academy had also begun vacation early, though she was not nearly as excited about it.
Seeing that they had finally gathered four people, Luke stood up from his chair and said directly, "Mahjong?"
"I'm in!"
Lux and Kahina answered at exactly the same time.
Luke immediately said, "Go get one more."
The two girls, whose hands were already itching to play, quickly ran to the back yard and called Fiora over as well.
The four of them sat down at the mahjong table.
As usual, Poppy dragged over a little stool and sat beside Luke to watch.
This time, Luke looked across the table at the innocent, pure-faced Lux and studied her for a few seconds, already laughing to himself inside.
Her face had finally returned to normal.
Blondie, your lucky streak pass had finally expired.
And next came his personal showtime.
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