Even after Caleb walked out the door, Jinx was still a little dazed. Since when had Caleb gotten so friendly? Only once he had completely left the room did Jinx hum softly under her breath and sit back down in her chair.
Out of everyone Caleb knew, she was the only one who had never received anything from him. If anything, maybe all she had gotten was being spared a prison sentence. Caleb had given Ekko the position of leader of the top gang, and he had given Vi her gauntlets and the title of Enforcer. He had given Zac and Warwick a place to belong, and he had given Viktor a second life. Even Silco had seen his wish fulfilled, with both sides tacitly placing their pieces inside and outside the prison. Silco had taken out his money, enough to spend the rest of his life in peace. Singed could continue his research too, only now the object of his loyalty had changed to Zaun as a whole. After Caleb completely cut off the business that should have cost Silco his head, he no longer bothered with him. Only Jinx was left empty-handed.
It was hard not to feel a little disappointed. But Jinx still could not bring herself to hate that man. Under his leadership, Zaun really was moving in a better direction. And Jinx had no choice but to admit that, when it came to making the whole city look up and take notice, Caleb had succeeded more than either she or Vi ever had.
"My lord."
Talon's expression could still be called calm, but the trembling at the corner of his mouth and the pupils he could not keep under control both exposed the truth that he was actually extremely nervous.
"Get up."
A red arm rested on Talon's shoulder, as if a demon might burst out of this man's body at any moment.
"My lord is occupied with the affairs of the empire every day. This subordinate was incompetent and troubled the Grand General into coming here personally."
Talon knelt on one knee, cold sweat pouring down his body.
"Please forgive me, my lord!"
"Being less skilled than someone else is not a crime."
Talon's letter was still on the table, and the ink had not even fully dried. Yet Swain had already arrived here.
"This trip used up the stored magic in several mages' staffs."
Swain looked out the window at the prosperous city streets, his gaze deep and unreadable.
"But for that man, it was worth it."
The corners of his cold mouth lifted slightly, and there was a smile in his eyes, like ravens that had spotted prey.
"You are very clever. You asked me to forgive you, rather than saying something like, 'This subordinate deserves death.'"
Swain slowly turned his head and looked at his subordinate.
"Du Couteau taught you well. You are a useful blade."
The approval in his voice was unmistakable.
"This subordinate is ashamed."
Talon stared at the floor, not daring to raise his head. He was afraid he would see that demonic eye that could peer into people's hearts.
"Stand," Swain said lightly.
Only after confirming that the Grand General had no intention of killing him did Talon finally rise to his feet.
"It is perfectly normal to be weaker than someone else."
A faint shadow passed through Swain's eyes as he looked toward the distant sky.
"Work hard to become stronger. Win next time."
"This subordinate will remember your words!"
For a moment, Talon felt as if even his breathing had become much smoother.
So this was the man who stood at the very top of the empire.
Compared to General Du Couteau, the Grand General before him was even more suffocating. Now that the throne sat empty, Noxus could still operate steadily, and was even in the midst of expansion. The Grand General's iron-fisted methods were indispensable to that. At this moment, Talon felt that, just like that woman from the Medarda family, he had managed to pick up his life from the ground.
"Perfect timing. There is no rush to go back. Take a proper look around this 'World's Throat.'"
Swain stepped out of the room, leaving Talon standing there, unsure what to do.
"So are we settling down here?"
Yuumi's casual question left Caleb stunned for a moment, while Kai'Sa blushed beside him.
"Why are you blushing like that?"
Caleb landed the follow-up blow.
Kai'Sa silently turned her face away.
Then he looked back at Yuumi and said thoughtfully, "There are still some things to settle here. Once they're settled, I'll probably have to travel again."
"Then you can take me sightseeing!" Yuumi excitedly rolled in place.
Yuumi had gone to many places before, but because of her own strength, she had never gone very deep into them. After all, she was a passenger by nature. She was great for making something good even better, but asking her to carry was out of the question.
"Though I still haven't decided where exactly."
Caleb kept it vague.
If possible, he also wanted to develop a full set of mechs in Zaun, from Mecha suits to Dark Star, from PROJECT to Full Metal. He even wanted to launch satellites into space.
But Piltover's current strength was still far from enough. Public welfare facilities without strength to protect them were like a gold coin dropped on the ground, just waiting for someone to pick it up. If you stockpile grain while someone else stockpiles guns, then you are just someone else's granary. That was also why Caleb was currently advancing on two fronts, running all over the world while following the system's missions.
In Caleb's eyes, establishing diplomatic relations with a resurgent Shurima was definitely more important than creating first-stage technological constructs. After all, the tech tree could be delayed by a few months, but if they missed the timing and made both sides think the Twin Cities were fence-sitters, then forget winning either side over. Both sides might even come to a tacit understanding and turn the Twin Cities' territory into their battlefield.
Whether it was mechs or high-tech weapons equipped on a person, if they could not bring happiness to humanity, Caleb did not feel there was any sense of accomplishment in creating them. After all, his system could only provide some blueprints and information. The remaining technology and wealth had to come from the Twin Cities themselves. Wouldn't it be better to distribute that wealth to Zaun? Once Renata began absorbing wealth from the entire continent, it would not be too late to start this massive project.
That was what Caleb thought, but he was also afraid there might be something wrong with his thinking. So he simply handed over all the Mecha Malphite blueprints and let the scientists decide how to work with them on their own. If an emergency came up, and some of the partial technology could be put to use, that was what Caleb hoped to see.
Mechs or satellites, either way, the ultimate purpose of technology was to benefit humanity. Even its byproducts had to be useful. Caleb could not neglect the fundamentals for the sake of pursuing the secondary goal, exhausting endless wealth just for the existence of a single mech. That would not only be irresponsible toward the city, it would also be irresponsible toward the people.
Caleb still wanted to be a good Governor.
"Hey!"
Caleb's forehead was flicked lightly.
He looked up in confusion and saw Kai'Sa, whose cheeks were still flushed.
"Did you hear me?"
"What?"
Caleb was a little lost.
Apparently, he could space out too.
"I said you're not allowed to leave without saying goodbye."
Looking at Kai'Sa's puffed-up cheeks, Caleb suddenly understood why K/DA fans would nickname her Chipmunk Cheeks. She looked exactly like she had stuffed something into both sides of her cheeks.
"Pfft, hahahahaha!"
Seeing Caleb suddenly burst into laughter, both Kai'Sa and Yuumi looked at him like he was an idiot.
"You didn't even hit him on the head. How did he go stupid?"
Yuumi sounded regretful. This human had been pretty interesting before. Now he had turned into a big idiot all at once.
"I don't know either."
Kai'Sa took two deep breaths with effort, finally calming herself down.
"All right. I'll tell you before I leave."
Caleb stopped laughing and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
"I want to go with you."
Kai'Sa's gaze was firm as she stretched out her slender finger, its skin now fair and almost translucent.
"Pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear!"
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810