[Can I… can I talk to them?]
Jayce asked anxiously.
"Wait a moment, I'll ask them."
Cipher removed the communicator temporarily. "Professor, Viktor, Jayce wants to speak with you both."
Heimerdinger carefully set down his teacup, steam still rising from the porcelain. "Then let him talk. Jayce was once my student, and it's been far too long since we spoke."
"I won't talk to him. He's too stubborn and idealistic now, there's nothing productive left to say between us."
Viktor refused outright. He knew that talking to Jayce at this point would be completely pointless, neither of them could convince the other to abandon their chosen path.
Some bridges, once burned, couldn't be rebuilt with mere words.
"Hey, Jayce. It's been… what, five years since we last met?"
Heimerdinger counted on his furry fingers. Due to the extraordinarily long lifespan of his species, he often lost track of how quickly time moved for shorter-lived beings.
[Professor!]
Hearing Heimerdinger's familiar, warm voice, Jayce felt momentarily overwhelmed by a flood of memories and emotions.
[Please come back, Piltover desperately needs you. The Academy needs your guidance more than ever.]
He pleaded, his usual confidence cracking to reveal the exhausted young man beneath. He could feel the crushing weight on his shoulders, and he knew exactly how heavy the burden of leadership had become.
Without Heimerdinger's steady presence, the Piltover Academy had devolved into a chaotic mess. The elite families had openly extended their corrupting influence into the institution, turning scientific pursuit into political maneuvering.
And he couldn't fully take control of the Academy despite his position. He simply couldn't stop the institutional decay.
Scientists have their pride, he might be a leader in Hextech development, but in other specialized fields, he wasn't the undisputed authority, and thus couldn't command enough respect.
As for the Council? That political arena was even worse. He felt he was nowhere near as effective as Heimerdinger had been in navigating those treacherous waters.
At least when Heimerdinger was active, the Council members had given him respect earned through centuries of wisdom. But to Jayce, a young upstart by comparison... In short, GG.
"I spent over 200 years building Piltover into what it became. But even now, I've only spent five years helping to build Zaun."
"The two cities should have always been united as one. I owe Zaun too much, centuries of neglect and abandonment. I won't go back to Piltover. At least not for the time being."
Heimerdinger turned down Jayce's plea. He might be pure-hearted, but he was not naive.
Just by analyzing Piltover's economic output and resource allocation, it was obvious that the indentured labor system was an entirely man-made disaster, created and maintained purely for maximizing profit margins.
Even now, Zaun's total economic output remained far below Piltover's impressive numbers. Zaun's most profitable industry was advanced communications technology, but that still couldn't match the lucrative and largely unregulated trade flowing through Piltover's Hexgates.
Their secondary industry, arms trading, also fell behind Piltover's massive Sun Gate commercial revenues.
As for everything else? Zaun had never been enthusiastic about pure commerce for its own sake. They consistently preferred quiet, sustainable development over flashy displays of wealth. After all, the technology Zaun had acquired wasn't yet suitable for widespread public release.
Still, even with significantly lower economic output, Zaun's investment in essential public services like government infrastructure, education systems, healthcare access, was dramatically higher than Piltover's miserly spending.
There was no indentured labor system enslaving the desperate. Instead, Zaun actively sheltered refugees from other war-torn regions and gave them genuine opportunities.
And what Heimerdinger was most proud of was Zaun's revolutionary compulsory education system.
Zaun had established numerous public schools throughout the Undercity and mandated that all children must attend classes, with the government covering every expense without exception.
Parents who prevented their children from receiving education were breaking the law. Sheriffs would personally intervene, reasoning with families when possible, using enforcement when necessary.
And Piltover's approach to education?
No such thing as public schools, only outrageously expensive private institutions, with the finest educational resources entirely hoarded by wealthy elite families.
In direct comparison, Heimerdinger saw Zaun as the truly progressive society, full of genuine scientific spirit and social innovation. Piltover now seemed backward and stagnant by contrast.
[I'm no professor anymore. Since you left, the Academy has fundamentally changed. I can't control it, I've just had to watch it be corrupted.]
[And the Council? Aside from Mel, no one ever really valued my opinions or treated me as anything more than a useful tool. No one listened to my policy recommendations. I think I'm better suited for the lab, leadership is completely beyond me.]
[Please come back, Professor!]
Jayce was nearly begging now. Back when Heimerdinger was leading from the front, he had never felt this crushing pressure of leadership. But now that he had to stand tall and face all the chaos alone, it was completely overwhelming his capabilities.
"Sorry, Jayce. Professor Heimerdinger isn't coming back to Piltover. You'd better think very carefully about how to deal with the indentured labor system."
"I wrote a book for Viktor and arranged for someone to deliver copies to both you and Caitlyn."
"If there's anything you don't understand while fighting for justice, read it more carefully. All the answers you need are contained within those pages."
"And if you're ever persecuted and can no longer safely remain in Piltover, you're always welcome in Zaun. Farewell, Jayce."
Cipher jumped in at the right moment, not wanting Jayce to keep pushing the emotional angle. After delivering his message, he cut the communication feed directly.
---
The communicator could only receive signals from Zaun; it couldn't initiate contact in the reverse direction.
"Cipher! Cipher!"
"He severed the connection!"
Jayce's face turned grim.
"Professor Heimerdinger and Viktor are actually living in Zaun now?" Caitlyn asked in surprise. She had never imagined those two scientists would willingly associate with someone like Cipher.
"Yeah, five years ago, when Camille launched her assassination raid on Zaun, the two of them were visiting there."
"That assassination attempt by the Clan Ferros completely pushed both the Professor and Viktor toward Zaun's cause."
Jayce punched the wall fiercely. If Camille hadn't stirred up trouble, how would his mentor and closest friend have thrown themselves so completely into Zaun's arms?
"I can see them! Over here, move quickly!"
Suddenly, an enforcer's urgent voice interrupted Jayce and Caitlyn's conversation.
The two exchanged a glance. Jayce stepped forward to handle negotiations with his authority, while Caitlyn took direct responsibility for protecting the siblings.
Jayce was a sitting councilor, a high-ranking and politically respected figure, so he possessed the legal authority to override enforcer operations if absolutely necessary.
Caitlyn, while socially influential through her family name, had not yet inherited the House Kiramman's council seat. She remained technically just an enforcer herself, so her official authority was more limited in scope.
"Please let us go. If those people catch us, we'll die."
Aria suddenly spoke up.
Levi's communicator had been confiscated during the arrest, but her remained hidden. Cipher had contacted her through it and taught her what to say.
"Don't worry, we'll keep you both safe."
Caitlyn spoke firmly, but her tone was gentle and comforting.
After understanding the true situation, the siblings were no longer viewed as dangerous suspects, but as victims coerced by criminal circumstances, legally guilty of minor infractions, perhaps, but morally innocent of major crimes.
"Then may I ask, Miss Caitlyn and Councilor Talis, in what capacity are you speaking when you make this promise?"
"As law enforcers bound by duty, as heirs of the House Kiramman? As scientists pursuing truth, or as members of Piltover Council?"
Aria shot back with surprising sharpness.
Different identities carried very different legal implications and enforcement capabilities.
"I promise you as Councilor Talis, we will protect you."
"Professor, Viktor, please watch carefully, I'll prove that Piltover still has a bright future ahead!"
Jayce gripped his massive hammer tightly, feeling a moment of crystal clarity about his path forward.
Since Cipher had orchestrated this entire incident as some kind of test, that meant Zaun, along with Heimerdinger and Viktor, would be watching his response very closely.
Whether he could possibly win back their respect and trust would depend entirely on how this incident was handled.
"I also promise, on behalf of the House Kiramman, that we will protect you!"
Caitlyn crouched down directly in front of Aria, meeting her eyes at the same level.
She immediately realized that Aria's words weren't something an uneducated indentured laborer could come up with on her own, someone had clearly coached her with phrasing.
Scanning left and right, she quickly located the tiny communicator hidden in Aria's right ear and pulled it out.
"Cipher, I'll prove it to you as well!"
"The laws of Piltover exist to protect justice and innocent people. Just wait and see, your next permanent address will be Stillwater Hold."
Yet faced with Caitlyn's stern and unshakable declaration of justice, Cipher simply responded with a laugh:
[Well then, good luck! Hahaha!]