Luke and the others returned to Piltover.
Not much time had passed, three or four hours at most. When they checked the clock tower, it was only just past five.
Far off on the horizon, the sky was already beginning to dim, showing every sign of dusk's approach.
But that did nothing to affect the bustle of Piltover's streets.
It was still a little too early to head back, so Luke said to the three councilors, "This is far enough. I'm planning to wander around the streets for a while. There's no need for such a large escort. Caitlyn can show us around."
"Of course."
Councilor Harken nodded. "Then we'll take our leave."
Soon, the councilors and the group of Enforcers all departed.
Caitlyn then asked, "Where would Your Highness like to go?"
Luke said casually, "Anywhere is fine. Let's find somewhere lively."
"Piltover has plenty of lively places. We can start from here and go to Sidereal Avenue first."
After thinking for a moment, Caitlyn led the way.
Sidereal Avenue was a major street located in Piltover's upper-middle district. Because it sat in such a central location, it connected in all directions, and one could set out for almost anywhere from Sidereal Avenue.
Once they arrived, the place was surprisingly spacious, lined with many tall buildings.
On the street, people came and went in all manner of clothing. Some hurried along as if they could not afford to stop for even a second, while others sat leisurely on benches to rest. There were vendors calling out to customers, merchants leading horses past, and performers showing off their skills on the roadside.
All these scenes seemed to form a miniature portrait of Piltover.
Caitlyn said, "If you go straight from here, you'll reach Piltover's treasury, the Ecliptic Vaults. It's the safest bank in Piltover."
"And if you turn left, that road leads to the Horological Institute."
"Institute?"
Lux caught the key word and could not help asking, "Is it a school?"
"Not entirely. You can think of it as a base for researchers. Anyone with academic ability is welcome to pursue further study there, and they can also use the Horological Institute's workshops to work on inventions. If they're talented enough, they may attract investment from important people."
Caitlyn explained, then gave an example. "For instance, Jayce once studied at the Horological Institute before all this. Piltover has other schools for general education."
After hearing her explanation, Navis's eyes immediately lit up.
Luke glanced at her and said, "Then let's go take a look there first."
So the group headed toward the Horological Institute.
The Horological Institute had contributed many famous inventors to Piltover, and its founder was Heimerdinger.
He had founded the institute himself, welcoming any inventor with ideals to join, no matter where they had come from before.
Viktor was one of the people whose talent had been recognized because of that.
What appeared before everyone was a grand and impressive institute building. A statue of Heimerdinger stood in the most prominent position at the entrance.
His small figure looked especially towering here.
Most of the people inside the institute walked in a hurry, and quite a few carried thick stacks of books, looking extremely busy.
But this atmosphere immediately struck Navis right in the heart.
It made her feel as if she would never want to leave once she arrived.
Lux was the complete opposite. The moment she came here, she felt the urge to yawn, and her whole body seemed to lose its energy.
"Maybe another day, we can have the councilors give you some kind of qualification to study here."
Seeing Navis's reaction, Luke thought for a moment and spoke to her.
The Horological Institute gathered Piltover's top-tier talents and a great deal of knowledge. It was indeed the kind of place Navis dreamed of.
It seemed he could let her study here for a while.
Navis was full of anticipation, though she was not especially impatient.
After a brief tour, she realized where Demacia's Research Institute differed from Piltover's Horological Institute.
Perhaps she could absorb some of the Horological Institute's strengths and bring them back to the Research Institute later.
Before long, the group left the Horological Institute.
Caitlyn thought of something and said, "This place is actually quite close to Jindaro. Would you like to take a look?"
Lux asked in confusion, "Jindaro? What's that?"
Caitlyn explained, "It's the name of a street. It counts as one of Piltover's more famous sightseeing spots."
Everyone was curious about it, so they immediately decided to go.
On the way, Caitlyn added more explanation. "Before this, Jindaro was actually the name of a famous traveler and explorer from Piltover. He spent his life exploring Runeterra. He went to many places across Runeterra, and he must have visited Demacia as well. He brought what he had seen and heard back to Piltover, described the size of Runeterra, and let people know that Runeterra was spherical."
Everyone listened with sudden understanding.
Not long after, they arrived at Jindaro.
It looked like a plaza. Quite a few people were gathered there, but the most eye-catching thing was a huge steel sphere standing in the center of the plaza.
It looked as if it had been pieced together block by block like a Rubik's Cube. The left and right sides were symmetrical, while a gap like a zipper ran through the middle.
Its surface was carved with line after line of patterns. In short, it looked rather complicated.
"What is that supposed to be?"
Lux blinked blankly.
"This is the miniature Runeterra that Jindaro built with his own hands. It means this iron sphere is a smaller version of Runeterra. It leans more toward art, honestly. I don't understand it either. But he also had another famous saying. Let me think…"
Caitlyn pondered for a moment, then said, "He said, the world turns like gears."
Lux waited for a long while. Seeing that there was nothing more, she could not help asking, "That's it?"
"That's it," Caitlyn nodded, then added, "If we're talking about a real miniature Runeterra, though, there's one in the exhibition hall next door. It's also Jindaro's work."
So the group immediately headed for the exhibition hall.
Once they arrived, they saw a smaller sphere. Its overall appearance was dark blue, but compared to the one outside, this one was much easier to understand.
"This is a miniature version of the Runeterra we live on."
Caitlyn looked at the dark-blue sphere and said, "Jindaro once set sail from Piltover. It took him eighteen years to travel around the world, and in the end, he returned from the opposite side. He personally concluded that Runeterra must be spherical. If we could fly to a place more than ten thousand meters high, we would be able to witness all of this with our own eyes."
"Of course, there were all kinds of other theories too. But in the end, they all tended toward Jindaro's conclusion."
Everyone listened and nodded slightly.
As for the concept that Runeterra was spherical, many scholars in Demacia had actually expressed similar views.
However, most people did not seem to care whether Runeterra was flat or round.
Piltover, however, clearly intended to continue exploring this field.
Because next, the Hexgates developed by Jayce would have to make use of Jindaro's theory.
If they could not understand the full shape of Runeterra, his Hexgates would naturally be unable to transport people precisely.
At this moment, Lux and the others curiously gathered around the miniature Runeterra and examined it.
"I found it! This is Demacia!"
After a while, she excitedly discovered it and pointed out Demacia's approximate location on the western side of Valoran.
Luke glanced at it. She was right.
In truth, Runeterra was much smaller than the Earth in his memory. Altogether, it was divided into only three continents. What was similar was that it was also occupied by vast seas, with all kinds of islands scattered across those waters.
Jindaro had set out from the eastern side of Piltover and finally returned from the western side. The reason it had taken him eighteen years was that he had also explored many other places during that time.
In the end, he had even reached the conclusion that "the world turns like gears."
In any case, he was an extraordinary man, and Luke had some respect for him.
"Looking at it this way, Piltover and Demacia really are pretty far apart."
Lux spoke again.
After traveling such a long distance, she had not felt it that strongly. Instead, it was the miniature Runeterra before her that made her perceive the distance.
After all, they were not even on the same plane anymore.
Everyone searched this small Runeterra for the places they were interested in.
They had never left Demacia before, so this was also a good chance to properly understand the Runeterra beneath their feet.
By the time they left the exhibition hall, dusk had already arrived. The sky was gradually darkening, and the streetlamps lit up one after another.
"I remember there's a zoo if we go right. It has many animals from all across Runeterra. Let's go take a look."
Caitlyn was gradually experiencing the fun of being a guide. Still immersed in it, she enthusiastically planned to set out for the next stop.
Naturally, no one objected, so they continued onward.
By the time they reached the zoo, it was already almost time for the park to close and clear out visitors.
However, when the keeper learned Luke's identity, he still allowed everyone to enter and tour the place.
Piltover's zoo had indeed collected many animals that Luke and the others had never seen before. There were white penguins from the Freljord, three-tailed sparrows from Ionia, and spiked-shell turtles from Shurima.
Everyone fed the animals from time to time, and they remained quite interested throughout the visit.
After leaving the zoo, the sky had already turned dark.
For their final stop, everyone went to a nearby street. Most of the storefronts there were shops, restaurants, repair stores, clothing stores, beauty salons, all kinds of businesses. They made this district rather lively.
Luke noticed a closed shop with a "For Sale / For Rent" sign hanging on the door.
It was at the end of the street. Judging by the shop's name, it had probably been a tavern before. He had no idea what business had been like.
But Luke fell into thought.
He had nothing to do for the next while anyway. He might as well take over this tavern and renovate it into a bar of his own.
The wine he had brought from Demacia was almost gone by now, so this was a perfect chance to replenish his supply.
If there were brewing machines inside, that would be even better.
"I'll go take a look at that tavern. You all keep walking around. I'll catch up in a bit."
So Luke said that and walked toward the tavern.
Seeing this, everyone continued strolling ahead.
He pushed open the tavern door. Inside, everything was dim and dark. He could vaguely see a bar counter, but behind it was only an empty wine cabinet, with nothing on the shelves.
"Anyone here?"
Luke called out, and his voice echoed through the empty tavern as if it had fallen into an abyss.
Clearly, there should have been someone here, otherwise the door would not have been open.
Luke found the light switch on the wall and pressed it. The electric lights finally illuminated the space before him.
The place was not small, but there was nothing inside. It also looked as if it had not been maintained in a long time. Only a few surface areas still remained clean.
He could see another door on the right, and there was obviously quite a bit of space behind it.
Just then, the sound of footsteps rang out. A middle-aged man pushed open the back door and walked out. Judging from his clothes, he did not look like a commoner.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Those machines had some problems just now, and I was repairing them."
He gave Luke an apologetic look, then studied him carefully. His pupils shrank, and he quickly bowed. "Your Highness, welcome. Perhaps you don't remember, but I greeted you at yesterday's banquet."
Once he said that, Luke did have a slight impression of him, but he really had forgotten his name.
If he could remember the name of every person who greeted him, then Luke felt that just thinking about such things would take up quite a lot of his time.
The man took the initiative to say, "My name is Lymere. I'm a professor at the University of Piltover."
"Hello, Lymere."
A faint smile appeared on Luke's face as he asked, "Are you planning to sell this tavern?"
"Yes."
Lymere nodded and slowly said, "Because I have more and more matters to busy myself with. I originally wanted to hand this tavern over to my useless nephew to manage, but when I turned back, he had abandoned the tavern and vanished to who knows where. Since neither he nor I have any intention of managing it, I can only rent it out or sell it."
"I see." Luke nodded slightly and said, "Since this is a tavern, do you have brewing machines?"
"Of course. They're in the back. Please follow me and take a look."
Lymere turned and walked toward the back area as he said, "The machines I was repairing just now are these brewing machines. They're no longer the newest models in Piltover, but they aren't exactly outdated either."
Luke followed him into the back area and found that it was like a brewery. All kinds of machines were there, and he was already somewhat satisfied.
When he had been in Demacia, he had done everything by hand.
Now that he had machines, they could at least save him seventy percent of the effort.
Luke did not beat around the bush and asked directly, "Including these machines and this shop, how much do you plan to sell everything for?"
Naturally, Lymere did not question Luke's financial means. He thought for a moment, then said, "When I purchased these machines, I spent around four thousand gold in total. They haven't been used for long, so I'll sell them to you at half price, two thousand gold. As for this shop, the land deed is in my hands. If you want it, sixty thousand gold, and I'll go to the Piltover courthouse to transfer the deed to you."
Luke agreed without hesitation. "I'll bring the money tomorrow. When are you free?"
Sixty thousand gold was not much to Luke. After all, he had even seen amounts exceeding a million gold coins.
And considering this shop's location, that sum could be considered quite a bargain.
It was clear that Lymere had no intention of overcharging him.
It seemed that sixty thousand gold was also not an especially large amount to him.
In reality, sixty thousand gold would be enough for an ordinary family to live without worrying about food or clothing for at least fifty years.
Even in Piltover, for a lower-class commoner family of three, the expenses for a week would be twenty gold at most.
It came back to the same point. It was not that Luke was outrageously rich, but that his starting point was simply too high.
"These next few days are my vacation. You may come by at any time tomorrow. I'll be here."
Lymere said.
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