It was getting pretty late, and the councilors rose one after another, each lost in their own thoughts.
Compared to every meeting Caleb had attended before leaving, this one had been far more intense.
The councilors now had to urgently take stock of the strength their families still possessed, as well as how much liquid capital they could pour into military preparations.
It was hard to imagine that Caleb, fresh off his return, had managed to drop such a massive surprise on so many people.
"That was quite impressive, my boy."
Heimerdinger walked up to Caleb with the poro at his side, making no effort to hide the admiration in his voice.
He had feared magic. He had feared the wars brought on by runes.
Yet after learning what the people of the Undercity had suffered, he no longer feared the dangers brought by a double-edged sword.
The sage had walked among ordinary people, and after returning, the development of Hextech had flourished even more.
"You flatter me." Caleb gave a slight bow, then introduced Kai'Sa beside him. "The father of Piltover, Heimerdinger."
"Hello, sir, hello." Kai'Sa hurriedly bowed as well, looking a little flustered.
"Relax, the professor is very kind."
Caleb rubbed his brow and looked at Heimerdinger, whose face clearly said, Good, this one's teachable.
He did not need to think about it to know the professor had gotten the wrong idea.
"Ah, looks like these old bones of mine are going to have to get busy again." Heimerdinger clasped his hands behind his back and walked out of the chamber, with the one-horned poro following after him.
"Oh, come on..."
When Heimerdinger built something, his efficiency was absurdly fast.
It was enough to make people wonder who the real magic user was.
Seeing the awkward looks on Ekko and Jinx's faces, Caleb let out a cold laugh and walked over.
Then he gave each of them a sharp knock on the head.
"How long were you two hiding there?"
Unlike the councilors, who spent every day in meetings and were used to this place, Caleb still remembered the feeling from when he had first stepped into the council chamber.
As a strong fighter, his spatial awareness was naturally sharper than theirs.
After having crawled back from the brink of death several times, Caleb had developed an almost frightening instinct.
"Don't do that again."
His tone turned serious.
There was a reason some council meetings were held behind closed doors, the information was confidential and could not be spread around carelessly.
Ekko at least understood what mattered. He knew which things could be said and which absolutely could not.
Jinx, on the other hand... yeah, no.
She... heh.
"It was only because Jinx was curious about the one you brought back..."
Ekko had not even finished speaking before a kick sent him flying.
Kai'Sa and Yuumi stared blankly at the innocent-looking girl.
Jinx even raised both hands in surrender, as if to prove she had done nothing wrong.
Ekko did not need to finish. Caleb already knew exactly why Jinx had been snooping around.
"Enough. We'll talk tomorrow. I'm tired too."
Caleb waved a hand.
Jinx took off running, and within seconds she was out of sight.
Ekko was still clutching his stomach. He could have dodged that kick, but there was no point.
After all, nobody knew what Jinx would do if she missed and got mad from embarrassment.
"Today we learned another lesson, never expose a woman's little secret."
Caleb sighed and walked past Ekko.
Every single day was exhausting.
As they walked through Piltover's wide, empty streets, Kai'Sa and Yuumi followed behind Caleb.
"So where are you two planning to stay?"
He still had to do the bare minimum as a host. He could not very well let them sleep on a Piltover lawn the way he had last time.
"If you're not used to inns, I can arrange for you to stay in one of the guest rooms at the Kiramman estate."
After all, Cupcake was basically an old acquaintance of Caleb's by now.
"Aren't you the Governor of Zaun?" Kai'Sa asked, puzzled.
"Hm?" Caleb turned around, momentarily caught off guard.
"So shouldn't we be staying in Zaun instead?" Kai'Sa asked, sounding a little shy.
"Ah..." Caleb nodded. "That works too. So where do you two want to stay?"
"I really like that office. I can stay there."
Yuumi tilted her head up and stared at Caleb with all her might.
"You really are easy to take care of." Caleb silently nodded and accepted that answer.
Maybe this independent little cat just liked places full of paper.
"Then I'll stay there too." Kai'Sa's face heated up slightly as she spoke in a low voice.
"That works. If we clean up a bit, we should be able to clear out a guest room."
In truth, there were plenty of rooms beneath Caleb's office.
It was just that he usually stayed in the deluxe single room next to the second-floor office, so he rarely paid attention to the rest.
"Let's go buy you a few more outfits too." Caleb glanced at the spikes covering Kai'Sa's Void skin and waved a hand.
"Help me pick them out." The moment Kai'Sa heard the word shopping, she immediately grabbed Caleb and dragged him toward the night market.
Unlike the vendors who packed up around dusk, the night market was obviously far livelier.
"Have mercy on me."
Even as he said that, Caleb was smiling.
"I want to stock up on dried fish too!"
Yuumi raised a paw in protest.
Piltover was a coastal city, so naturally it had all kinds of fish.
Yuumi absolutely adored these processed remains of sea creatures.
Her dream was to pile them into a castle of dried fish, then roll around on top of it forever.
...
Ten minutes later.
Caleb was carrying a mountain of shopping bags, while Kai'Sa and Yuumi walked ahead of him, both still staring with sparkling eyes.
"Terrifying."
No matter how strong Caleb's will was, even he felt worn out now.
"Hi, Governor."
A sweet voice sounded from beside him, and Caleb turned his head with a dull sort of exhaustion.
Pink hair. Bright smile.
Yep, the superstar Seraphine.
"Hello." Caleb gave a slight nod in greeting.
"It feels like more and more people are gathering around us."
Seraphine smiled apologetically.
The night market was already crowded, and now that pop star Seraphine had run into Caleb, the Governor of Zaun, the area had become even more packed.
"That's true."
Caleb was not afraid of getting squeezed by a crowd, but he still should not shove too hard.
"We've got a band performance backstage." Seraphine struggled to pass him several tickets with her slender hand. "Would you honor us by coming?"
"Sure. See you."
Caleb took the tickets, then slowly turned and made his way after Kai'Sa and Yuumi up ahead.
This was not Zaun, where he could just throw his weight around and shoulder his way through.
Piltover people were more delicate, so he had to put in a little more effort.
By the time Caleb got back to his office, it was already deep into the night.
"Whew..." Caleb let out a long breath and dumped everything he had bought onto the couch.
"Good night." He waved a hand, and one of the cleaning staff immediately came over to lead Kai'Sa and Yuumi to their rooms.
Caleb leaned all the way back and let the stress of the day drain out of him.
In one single day, he had returned to the city, surveyed the current situation, attended a council meeting, and gone shopping.
His body could take it just fine.
Mentally, though, he was exhausted.
Just as he was about to wash up and finally get some real sleep, a voice dropped soundlessly from above onto his desk.
"Who exactly is she? And what have you even been doing these past few days?"
Jinx's tone was serious, each word deliberate and distinct.
"I went south and dealt with a Void problem. Kai'Sa's someone who survived in the Void for a long time and fought against it."
"And after that, I met Shurima's emperor and killed a sorcerer."
Caleb sighed and grabbed her head with both hands, giving it a shake.
"What are you doing?" Jinx still looked annoyed.
"Trying to shake the water out of your brain," Caleb said irritably.
"Get some rest."
Caleb stood up and slowly walked away.
Jinx vanished into the darkened room after the lights went out, like a nimble cat.
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