Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
The team dispatched from Piltover arrived at the port town and met up with Luke.
It was decided that Ionia's first Hexgate station would be built here.
After communicating with the newly established local government, construction of the Hexgate began without a hitch.
Irelia hadn't been idle after returning to the Placidium. With Kusho dead, she reorganized the members of the Navori Brotherhood who were willing to follow her and brought numerous friendly factions into the fold.
A formal government was established, and preparations began to form a defense force belonging to Ionia itself.
Everything could be said to be progressing remarkably smoothly.
Meanwhile, construction at the port was expected to take no more than ten days before the station was operational.
Over the past few nights, Luke had also spent every night exchanging cultivation insights with Ahri, mutually refining their techniques, and the results had been quite impressive.
However, Ahri had already reached a bottleneck. She could feel the spiritual power throughout her body showing signs of a breakthrough, which meant she needed to seclude herself and cultivate seriously for a while.
Luke also felt that the time was about right for him to leave.
After leaving them communication Secret Keys, Luke said a simple goodbye to the two girls before heading to Fae'lor.
Syndra was carefully tending to the ghost-willow. It had already grown as tall as a person, an astonishing rate of growth.
Syndra didn't show much emotion when Luke told her he was preparing to leave. In her eyes, once the Hexgate was complete, they would be able to see each other whenever they wanted.
Naturally, things between her and Luke weren't going to simply end here.
The world outside was enormous, and she still wanted to see it, just not alone.
At the very least, she had no intention of leaving until the ghost-willow matured.
So Luke didn't draw out the farewell either. After reaching an unoccupied area, he directly activated Teleport.
In an instant, familiar scenes appeared before him, all places he had visited before.
It was like uncovering a map. As long as he'd visited somewhere once, that location would be unlocked.
Luke quickly selected his destination and activated the skill.
Purple magical energy suddenly surged into the sky. Luke felt a strange power envelop him, making his body as light as a feather. A blinding beam of light erupted, forcing him to close his eyes.
When he opened them again, his surroundings had completely changed.
Magnificent white walls stretched across the landscape. A massive city sprawled through the mountains in interlocking layers like a vast web, while a towering stone colossus stood like its guardian deity.
Demacia!
Luke's teleportation had placed him squarely atop the city walls, giving him a perfect view of the entire Great City of Demacia.
After a year of change, the capital looked noticeably different.
The development of train lines had triggered a chain reaction of renovations throughout numerous streets. Buildings that needed to come down had been demolished, new ones had risen in their place, and tall structures were already appearing throughout the city.
After forming an alliance with Piltover, Demacia's technological development had also advanced by leaps and bounds. An aeronautics facility had already been constructed, and research into airships was underway.
Luke admired the changes to Demacia as he made his way toward his courtyard.
Before long, he reached the entrance.
The front gate was open. No one could be seen in the courtyard, but everything had been kept exceptionally clean.
The door to the house was open as well.
Luke stepped inside, turned a corner, and entered the living room, where he spotted Miss Crownguard sitting at the table.
Her right arm rested on the tabletop while her hand propped up her head.
Her pretty brows were slightly furrowed, and a pencil rested horizontally across her pursed lips. She looked troubled, as though she'd encountered some difficult problem. Only her eyes remained as bright as starlight, just as they always were.
Because her head was turned to the side, she hadn't noticed Luke standing at the entrance.
Curious, Luke asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"My speech. It's so hard to write."
Lux answered instinctively, clearly about to start complaining. Then she suddenly froze and looked up.
She blinked, as though making sure she wasn't seeing things, before delight flashed through her eyes.
"When did you get back?"
"Just a little while ago."
Luke smiled, walked into the living room, and sat down.
At just the right moment, Yurna emerged from the kitchen carrying a cup of hot tea.
She had returned to Demacia some time ago because Piltover's Hexgate had already been completed.
Lux's eyes lit up. "Perfect timing. Hurry up and help me with my speech."
"What speech?" Luke asked.
"A speech is a speech." Lux thought for a moment, then placed one hand over her chest and raised the other. Clearing her throat, she declared, "Beautiful ladies and handsome gentlemen, there are many things I wish to say to all of you today... Something like that."
Luke thought for a moment. "You could at least tell me who the speech is for. If it's for your fans, haven't you already gotten plenty of practice with that?"
"Saying the same thing a thousand times doesn't feel sincere anymore. Besides, I've retired, so obviously it isn't for fans."
Lux sighed before continuing, "A while ago, I agreed to give a speech for the Illuminators in Goldweald. There's a lot I need to cover..."
She explained the requirements one by one.
Luke quietly listened.
Incidentally, Lux had already retired from the band.
Although she enjoyed occasionally getting onstage and happily singing, staying in a band forever wasn't what she wanted to do.
So she retired, and the band disbanded as a result, leaving behind only its legacy as a legend and pinnacle of musical history.
After the band broke up, Seraphine formed a new musical group focused on training new performers while occasionally putting on solo shows herself.
Orianna was preparing to open a doll shop. In that field, she possessed talents few could ever hope to match.
Jinx returned to Zaun. She still preferred researching things that exploded. The booms looked great and sounded even better.
Sona returned to the way she'd lived before, never caring about the venue or audience, occasionally giving spontaneous performances whenever the mood struck her.
Once Ionia's Hexgate was finished, she was also planning to return and visit the monastery where she'd once lived.
When that happened, Luke planned to accompany her.
With Luke's help, Miss Crownguard's speech gradually took shape.
Luke contributed most of it, while Lux made a tiny contribution of her own.
When she finally wrote the last word, she let out a long breath as though she'd completed some exhausting ordeal. Then she happily lifted the pages and declared with considerable pride, "Finally finished! A masterpiece for the ages. We're amazing!"
"Amazing, amazing."
Luke yawned, stood up, and headed for the kitchen to start preparing lunch.
He planned to spend a few days in Demacia before setting out again.
Although it seemed like he'd been separated from Lux and the others for quite a while, they actually communicated frequently through their Secret Keys.
They had even created one enormous group chat by now. People from basically every region had joined, so it was lively every day.
Luke had also given Akali and the others Secret Keys before leaving. Fortunately, he'd brought plenty with him on this trip.
After thinking for a moment, Luke took out his Secret Key and sent a message to the smaller Demacia group telling them he'd returned.
Before long, Fiora, Sona, Poppy, and Quinn, who were still in Demacia, arrived.
Naturally, Luke prepared a lavish lunch.
After the meal, Miss Crownguard contentedly wiped her mouth with a napkin and gave her assessment like some seasoned food critic.
"Not bad. After conducting my inspection, I can confirm that your cooking skills haven't deteriorated."
"Whoever ate the most gets to wash the dishes."
Luke chuckled, stood up, and lazily walked outside.
As he reclined in the familiar rocking chair, his entire body relaxed.
The sun in Demacia seemed hotter. It was only June, yet the sunlight already felt intense, while Ionia was comparatively mild.
Maybe that was just the difference between the north and south?
Although Luke could absorb sunlight with the Sun-Moon Meditation Arts, he still brought over a patio umbrella and lounged beneath it as though he were on vacation.
Before long, Fiora and the others came outside too.
Only the little blonde was missing.
There was no need to ask who had eaten the most.
Everyone sat around the courtyard chatting.
They already knew quite a bit about Luke's journey through the Secret Keys, but hearing him tell the stories himself was still far more entertaining.
Time slipped by unnoticed, and before they knew it, night had fallen.
The hot spring in the backyard hadn't been neglected. Luke enjoyed a long soak and emerged feeling thoroughly refreshed.
The night air was much cooler, making it the perfect weather to lie back with a drink.
Lux looked at Luke lounging comfortably and blinked.
"I'm leaving for Goldweald first thing tomorrow morning."
"Oh? Really?"
Luke answered casually, failing to notice the girl's cheeks puffing up.
Lux cleared her throat and tried again.
"Do you have anything to do tomorrow?"
"Nope."
Lux drew in a breath.
This guy seemed determined to pretend he couldn't understand her hints. She couldn't possibly have made it more obvious.
Did she seriously have to say it outright?
She snorted and declared, "Then I'm announcing that your job tomorrow is to accompany me to Goldweald!"
"Can I refuse? I just want to lie around."
"No!"
Lux bared her white teeth, revealing a vicious expression.
It had been a long time since this guy had experienced the might of her sharp teeth. Apparently, it was time to bring that move out of retirement.
Luke smiled helplessly.
"Fine."
Only then was Lux satisfied. She raised her pale chin and said, "Before sunrise tomorrow. No sleeping in. I'm coming here personally to wake you up!"
"Okay."
Luke nodded.
Miss Crownguard then left with cheerful steps and headed back to the Crownguard estate.
After hearing that Luke would be setting out before sunrise, Fiora and Sona decided not to stay overnight either.
Lux had never been the type to sleep in. Her schedule had always been regular.
When the first light of dawn appeared the next morning, she was already fully dressed and ready in Luke's courtyard.
Despite the early hour, she looked completely energized, practically radiating youthful vitality.
Luke looked half-dead by comparison, creating a stark contrast.
He planned to bring Yurna along.
After leaving her in Bilgewater for a while, he'd realized just how unaccustomed he'd become to traveling without her taking care of him.
People were often like that. Only after losing something did they realize how good they'd had it.
Fortunately, Luke hadn't truly lost Yurna.
He'd only left her there temporarily to serve as Sarah's bodyguard.
Now that she was back, there was no way Luke was leaving Yurna behind again.
A maid this good was impossible to replace. If he actually lost her by accident, there wouldn't even be anywhere for him to go cry about it.
And so, while the sky was still dim, the three of them mounted their horses and departed.
Goldweald wasn't far from the capital. As long as they weren't delayed along the way and rode hard, they could reach it in six or seven hours at most.
By afternoon, the three arrived beneath Goldweald's walls.
Given its proximity to the capital, the settlement had already grown considerably in size, and the streets inside looked quite impressive.
Lux had come here in her capacity as a high-ranking priestess of the Illuminators to promote their ideals and collect charitable donations.
Upon learning of her arrival, the mayor immediately came out to welcome her. When he saw Luke accompanying her, he was even more overwhelmed by the honor.
"Your Highness, I apologize for not being here to welcome you sooner."
The mayor's name was Julius, an amiable middle-aged man who behaved neither arrogantly nor obsequiously toward Luke and Lux.
He quickly summoned the people of the entire town and began making preparations for Miss Crownguard's speech.
When the townspeople heard that Miss Crownguard herself had come, they enthusiastically turned out to support her. Before long, practically everyone had gathered.
Standing on the platform and looking out over the dense crowd below, Lux showed no sign of stage fright. She spoke eloquently, shining as brightly as she once had while singing onstage.
Something like this was nothing to her anymore.
When her speech concluded, applause erupted from the crowd in unison.
Lux gave an elegant bow before stepping down.
She winked at Luke as though telling him the mission had been completed perfectly.
Luke smiled back at her, but once she looked away, his expression subtly darkened.
For some reason, ever since arriving in this town, he'd felt a strange sense of unease.
He rarely experienced such inexplicable feelings, nor was he prone to imagining things.
Usually, when something like this happened, there was a very good chance that something was about to occur.
But what could possibly happen in this town?
After chatting with the mayor for a while, Lux returned and said, "The mayor insists on keeping us here so he can properly host us. It would've been rude to turn down such hospitality, so I agreed. Worst case, we can head back tomorrow. How does that sound?"
There was a hint of anticipation in her eyes as she spoke.
She could have refused.
She simply wanted to spend a little more time alone with Luke like this.
Communicating through the Secret Keys hadn't done anything to ease how much she missed him.
For some reason, after being apart from this guy for long enough, Lux had started thinking about him frequently.
While eating, while going to sleep...
That annoyingly smug face seemed permanently engraved in her mind.
And every time she thought about him, an indescribable feeling surfaced in her heart, only making her miss him even more.
Luke nodded.
"Sure. We'll stay another day."
That worked perfectly for him. He wanted to figure out what was wrong with this town.
Delight immediately appeared in Lux's eyes.
But at that exact moment, an inexplicable sense of unease suddenly surged through her heart, and a chill ran down her spine.
She instinctively looked around, sensing something strange.
Although she'd noticed it later than Luke, she could now feel that something was wrong as well.
The two looked at each other.
As though sharing the same thought, each immediately understood what the other was thinking.
"I just felt something really strange," Lux told him.
Luke nodded slightly.
"Same here. Something's wrong with this town. What about you, Yurna?"
Yurna stood nearby, her breathtaking face expressionless. Hearing the question, she merely shook her head slightly, though there seemed to be the faintest furrow between her brows.
Luke looked away and fell into thought.
He still didn't know the cause.
But if even Lux had sensed it, then the feeling definitely wasn't imaginary.
Their eyes swept across their surroundings.
The crowd had already dispersed after the speech, yet the town remained lively, filled with conversation and laughter.
Looking at the perfectly ordinary scene around them, neither of them could figure out where the problem lay.
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