After leaving the Research Institute, Luke sat in the carriage on the way home, lifted the curtain, and looked at the street scenery. His eyes flickered slightly as he thought.
The current Research Institute was flourishing, and there was basically nothing there for him to worry about.
As for the next plan, it had already been laid out. They only needed to proceed step by step.
However, this land of Runeterra was simply too vast. Progress in technology alone was not enough.
The power that truly dominated this land had always been vigorous magic.
His gaze shifted from outside the window to the little black dog lying by the carriage window and looking out.
There were countless beings stronger than a demon like Nocturne.
So the words he had said to Vayne and Frey that day truly had come from the heart.
Studying demonic power was not only for the sake of better fighting demons.
In reality, it was also to grasp an entirely new kind of power, so they could respond to other existences.
And the other key point was magic.
Using magic correctly, as Piltover did, was like boarding a train headed toward rapid progress.
If others could do it, why could mighty Demacia not?
Only, right now was still not the right time.
By evening, the sky had turned dusky. One crimson cloud after another spread across the heavens, casting soft color down toward the ground.
Opening the courtyard gate and returning to the familiar yard, Luke could not help stretching.
After entering the main house, he sat on the sofa. The fireplace no longer needed to be lit. The capital's temperature had warmed back up to normal, and they basically would not feel cold anymore.
Luke liked days like this most of all, neither cold nor hot, with just the right temperature.
Katarina naturally went to pour tea at this moment.
By now, she had already grown somewhat used to her current life.
Although she had never forgotten why she had come to Demacia from Noxus.
But now, so much time had passed, and there had been no movement from that side. No matter how anxious she became, it would be useless.
After pouring Luke a cup of hot tea, Katarina, who had nothing else to do, sat by the window and looked at the sunset glow in the sky.
Noxus also had the same beautiful evening clouds. Only, compared to looking at them now, her state of mind was completely different.
Back then, she had only taken one hurried glance, then had no more heart to pay attention to the scenery.
But now, sitting here, she could look again and again. Even if she watched quietly, no one disturbed her.
Time passed.
Under the quiet sunset glow, there was always a kind of magic that made people drowsy.
Luke's sleepiness was interrupted by a burst of footsteps outside. He yawned and looked toward the living room entrance, then saw Quinn walking in.
"Your Highness."
"Sit."
Luke smiled at her. It had been nearly a month since they last met. Quinn was still the same as ever, giving off a calm and capable impression.
There were only the two of them in the living room at the moment. Lux and the others had not arrived yet. Katarina and Yurna had probably gone to the backyard to spar.
After Quinn sat down, Luke poured her a cup of water and asked, "Have there been any new discoveries recently?"
"Yes." Quinn accepted the cup and nodded. "Eldred, the commander of the Mageseekers, seems to have been secretly conducting some kind of experiment this entire time. As for the materials used in the experiments, I suspect they come from the prisoners locked in the dungeon."
Luke listened, his eyes flickering slightly. He did not speak and quietly thought it over.
In reality, the Mageseekers did research some things related to magic, such as certain magical beasts, certain minerals, certain forms of dark magic, and some materials that came from the prisoners in the dungeon.
After all, just as Luke thought, only by understanding magic better could they better fight against magic.
So this matter had always been tacitly permitted by the kings of past generations.
It was just that very few people paid attention to the contents and methods of the experiments. Everything had always been fully handed over to the Mageseekers.
As for anything more, even if Quinn wanted to investigate, she probably would not be able to uncover it.
After thinking it over, Luke said, "Tell me about something else."
Quinn nodded and said, "Aside from that, there is another important matter. I have observed that recently, there seem to be more mages coming to the capital."
This caught Luke's attention.
He pondered for a second, then said, "You mean many mages have come to the capital on their own initiative?"
Quinn replied, "I don't know the exact number, but compared to before, there are definitely more of them. Only, at present, I don't know their purpose either. Since I didn't want to alert them, I didn't make too much contact."
"Is that so? You did the right thing. For now, don't worry about this matter."
Luke quieted down and began thinking. After a while, he asked, "Did you handle the matter I assigned you?"
Quinn immediately nodded. "At present, we have already recruited thirteen."
"Good." Luke nodded slightly. "Take me to see them tomorrow. Also, about the mysterious person I asked you to keep an eye on last time, have there been any new discoveries?"
Quinn shook her head. "No."
Luke nodded again and took a sip of tea.
It seemed Katarina's old father was quite a patient person. So much time had passed, yet not a single hint had come out.
Or was he actually not in the capital?
It was hard to judge.
However, even if he was not there, Luke had to respond as if he were.
After chatting with Quinn for a while, another burst of footsteps came from outside. This time, one listen was enough to tell there were several people.
Before long, Sona and Kahina walked in with Poppy, followed by Lux.
"Your Highness! Long time no see!"
After seeing Luke, Kahina's eyes filled with joy, and she jogged over.
Luke smiled. "Long time no see. Did you pass the palace exam?"
"I passed!" Kahina's eyes sparkled with excitement. "And I passed the palace exam with first place. From now on, I'm a proper knight!"
"Is that so? Looks like you're one step closer to achieving your dream."
Luke was sincerely happy for Kahina. Then he said, "But your days from now on will be even harder than before."
"I'm not afraid!" Kahina raised her fist and said seriously, "Next, I'm going to become an even stronger knight!"
"Good!" Luke stood up and clapped his hands. "In that case, to celebrate Kahina passing the palace exam, tonight we'll have something good to eat!"
It was already dark outside, so it was about time to prepare dinner.
It had been a long time since Luke personally cooked.
"Yay!"
Kahina grew even happier, her little face flushing red with excitement.
As soon as they heard that they would eat something good, even Lux, who had been somewhat quiet, instantly had her eyes light up, as if she were looking forward to it immensely.
And so, Luke walked toward the kitchen and began preparing today's dinner.
Time passed minute by minute, and before long, waves of fragrance came from the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen, Luke was currently deep-frying meatballs.
When it came to Luke's recipes, if one asked which dish the girls liked most, it had to be the meatballs.
Fragrant but not greasy, one bite each, and impossible to get tired of no matter how many they ate.
A faint little movement came from behind him. Even without turning around, Luke knew who had come. "Let's make this clear first. There's nothing in the kitchen for you to sneak a taste of today."
"I'm not here to sneak food!"
Lux pouted in dissatisfaction and huffed. "I came to talk to you about something."
Luke glanced sideways at her. "Then your timing for talking about something is really quite excellent."
Lux's little face flushed. Then she grew serious and got to the point. "I came to talk to you about Fossbarrow."
Luke placed more meatballs into the oil and asked, "What about it?"
"After that time, once I went back, and even on the road back here, I thought about it for a long time."
Lux's eyes flickered as she lowered her head slightly. "I feel like we should do something, or at least do something."
On this trip to Fossbarrow, she had seen many things that could not be seen in the capital.
Among them, what she cared about most was Giselle and Luca.
Not specifically the two of them as individuals, but Luca's identity as a mage.
Because of Luca's identity as a mage, Giselle had spent every day uneasy, distracted, and frightened.
From one small family, it reflected the larger environment. How many examples like this existed?
Every time Lux saw something like this, her heart felt as if it were being clenched, and she would also feel uneasy.
She was not only worried for people like herself who were also mages, but also for herself.
She relied on House Crownguard's status, so most of the time, she could hide it from others.
But no matter how high one's status was, there would eventually be a day when the truth was exposed, a day when one could no longer keep pretending.
When that time came, what should she do?
So now, she wanted to do something. Not only for all the mages living under this greater environment, but also for herself.
Her eyes flickering, Lux spoke the thought in her heart. "I think we can gather those mages who are hiding."
Luke laughed. "What? Miss Crownguard, are you trying to start a rebellion?"
Lux glared at him. "What nonsense are you saying? I just feel like maybe we can do something."
"You mean build a sanctuary for mages, so kind mages like Luca don't have to keep living these anxious, frightened, hiding lives, right?"
Luke briefly summarized the girl's meaning.
Lux nodded with shining eyes. "Yes, exactly."
Luke smiled. "And then wait to have them all rounded up in one sweep?"
As soon as he said that, the smile on Lux's face instantly disappeared.
Thinking about it carefully, although many things had seemed smooth when she imagined them, imagination was only imagination.
When she thought through it in more detail, she discovered that there really did seem to be quite a few difficulties.
For example, if they were going to build a mage sanctuary, where would be suitable?
If they chose the wrong location, it was even more likely that the Mageseekers would round everyone up at once.
Wouldn't that make her the sinner instead?
Looking at the face she made while lowering her head and frowning in thought, Luke picked up a meatball that was just about done and stuffed it into her mouth. "Don't overthink things blindly."
Lux instinctively opened her mouth and ate the meatball. The fragrant flavor instantly made her forget her worries for a brief moment.
Then she heard Luke say, "I understand what you mean. You want to create an environment where mages can unite as one and face hardship together. But you also have to think about what you'll face after doing that and be prepared for every possible situation. You can't just rely on a sudden idea and rush forward full of passion."
Lux listened to his words and obediently nodded. Then she lowered her head again, thinking about something unknown.
It was true that there were many things she had not thought through, so before making a decision, she had come to ask Luke first.
She truly hoped that Demacia, this country she genuinely loved, could become more tolerant of mages and change its attitude toward them.
So in order to achieve this goal faster, she knew she had to do something.
By now, Lux was no longer like she had been before meeting Luke, filled with confusion and not knowing how to walk the road ahead.
Now, she had already decided on her path.
Seeing her like this, Luke picked up another meatball and stuffed it over. "Stop thinking about it. Tomorrow, I'll take you somewhere."
Hearing this, Lux raised her head, her eyes full of curiosity as she asked, "Where?"
She was still chewing the hot meatball in her mouth, so her question came out indistinctly.
"You'll know when we go tomorrow."
Luke deliberately kept it mysterious and did not reveal the answer ahead of time. Then he issued an order to drive her away. "The kitchen is an important place. Please leave now."
Although dinner had not officially started yet, Lux had already gotten two free meatballs, so she was thoroughly satisfied.
Carrying her curiosity about where they would go tomorrow, she left the kitchen.
The meatballs were the final dish. After all, meatballs were best when they had just come out of the pot, steaming hot, scalding, and fragrant.
Once dish after dish was brought to the table, sending out rich aromas, the girls had already sat down together.
The fragrant scent even made the little black dog lying in the courtyard look over from afar.
Today was to celebrate Kahina, so everyone was in a good mood.
Thus, Luke graciously bestowed two meatballs upon the little black dog outside the courtyard.
The little black dog had just bitten into one meatball when, after chewing, he instantly froze in place and revealed an expression like he had never seen the world.
What the hell, was this really human food?
It was way too damn delicious!
It was not as if Nocturne had never been to a great human city before. Not to mention, driven by curiosity, he had also tasted some human delicacies.
However, after eating those foods, Nocturne had been greatly disappointed.
Food that could make every human praise it seemed extremely mediocre to him, ordinary and nothing special. Where was the deliciousness?
It could not compare to even one-tenth of the fear in nightmares!
But now, he changed his mind.
At first, when he smelled those aromas, Nocturne had already felt something was off.
Now, after tasting a bite, he was instantly stunned by it.
Without exaggeration, this might be the most delicious food from the mortal world he had ever eaten.
This flavor, this mouthful of meaty fragrance, this crispy shell, this bursting meat juice, even compared to his beloved nightmares, it was not inferior at all!
After eating the two meatballs, the little black dog could no longer forget this taste.
He felt it was possible that because he and this body were now one, his sense of taste was also shared.
Otherwise, how could it be this fragrant?
But he really wanted to eat a little more.
Unfortunately, Luke and the others, who were celebrating, no longer paid attention to the little black dog and ignored him outside.
The pitiful little black dog could only cling to the window and gaze at them from afar, not daring to enter the house.
Because Luke would beat him fiercely with a slipper.
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