"Me? I'll pass."
Ekko gently shook his head, turning down Caleb's invitation.
"I thought so. You're still so young, after all."
As the leader of the Firelights, Ekko was several years younger than Caleb.
In many matters, he was still too reckless, and his lack of experience made him suffer for it.
There were plenty of candidates for councilor on the other side. After all, there was no shortage of politicians willing to work themselves to death for Clan Ferros.
Even if Clan Ferros transferred two of their own agents out into the open, it would not put much pressure on them.
Let alone Lucia, the public head of the family, who had already been fully trained.
Unlike in the past, when they hid their strength and waited for the right time, in the days to come, with no one to restrain them, Clan Ferros would likely develop at soaring speed.
They were cunning and experienced, and even Caleb had no way to break this situation.
Fortunately, when Caleb had first risen to power, that bald idiot had been representing Clan Ferros. Their family's agents had been nowhere near as active as they were now.
After thinking for a moment, Caleb thought of someone.
Shyvana.
Ever since he had saved her from her Ruination-corrupted state, Caleb had let her live between the twin cities.
"Governor, do you need me to go call her?"
The Firelights member in front of him, who looked like a child, was eager to try. Long before Caleb rose to power, this kid had already been with the Firelights, practicing on a hoverboard.
"No need. Just take me there."
Caleb still politely refused the little guy's suggestion.
Instead, he chose to meet that person in person.
If she had been behaving herself, then everything could be discussed.
Naturally, Caleb still had an opportunity to offer her.
But if she had not been behaving...
There was not much Caleb could do about that either.
He could only keep her politely provided for, and if she caused any trouble at all, Zaun's Firelights would immediately remove that problem.
He knocked on a plain, unadorned door, and Shyvana was sitting quietly inside.
Her every move had been under surveillance recently, but she knew she had chosen the wrong side during the Ruination. Being allowed to keep her life was already no easy thing.
So Shyvana had not complained about anything.
After all, for a half-dragon, half-human being like her, it was only natural that some people would see her as an outsider.
However, the first words from the young man before her changed her thoughts.
"Want to go for a walk?"
Caleb was not aggressive, nor did he immediately demand her submission.
He simply gave her a choice.
Walking down the street with Caleb was actually somewhat new to Shyvana.
After all, before this, even when she looked around, she had not dared interact too much with the city.
But with Caleb here, things were different. Shyvana had personally witnessed Caleb's strength.
She also did not need to worry about suddenly transforming and harming the people around her.
"I came to find you today, first, to ask how you've felt living in the city recently."
Caleb spoke as he walked, and Shyvana hurriedly followed.
"It's... been pretty good."
Shyvana hesitated for a moment, then decided to answer honestly.
"It's very lively. I like the warmth of everyday life here."
As she said this, a faint light appeared in Shyvana's eyes, but she quickly lowered her gaze again.
It was true that this place was full of life, but what did that have to do with her?
She was guilty. Having a place that could shelter her was already almost impossible. In Demacia, she had nearly died beneath crossbow bolts dipped in sanctified silver.
But Caleb's next words made Shyvana quickly raise her head.
"If you want to become part of this place, you need to do something for it first."
"Governor, do you mean...?"
Shyvana forced back the glimmer in her eyes, asking in a trembling voice.
"Second," Caleb said. Before she realized it, he had already walked into Piltover, into the laboratory where the Mecha Kha'Zix suit had once been created.
"Help me ask these two whether their new organs are working well."
Of the two dragons Caleb had brought back from the Freljord, some of their organs had long since been infected by the Void. It was only a matter of time before those organs failed completely and vanished.
Caleb had no choice but to ask Soraka to keep them alive first, then bring them to Zaun for slow treatment.
Fortunately, Mecha Kha'Zix could evolve to heal itself, and Mecha Malphite's shell was sturdy enough.
As for the final fragment of the Monolith, Malphite, he had originally been born to fight the Void, so he naturally had resistance to it.
Since they had survived, Caleb had no intention of letting these two wait here for death.
Heimerdinger and Jayce, Viktor and Singed, were each responsible for one dragon, using the technology of the twin cities to reconstruct their organs.
From the look of things, these two dragons' strength was probably only so-so.
After all, Ixtal had already shown what they considered their greatest sincerity. Even Malphite had been sent out. Two older, weaker dragons could only be considered an extra gift.
Looking at the two giant dragons surrounded by Hextech and chemtech agents, Shyvana swayed twice where she stood.
She had thought she was the loneliest person in the world, accepted by no one and without any companions.
But after seeing these two dragons covered in scars, Shyvana could no longer hold back the tears welling in her eyes.
Caleb watched as Shyvana transformed into a dragon and chatted quite well with the two of them, then called Jayce and the others over.
"Not too much pressure, right?"
Caleb's expression was very gentle. After all, they were relying entirely on these people to save the two dragons.
Judging from how fast the progress was, it seemed that while building the Mecha Malphite and Mecha Kha'Zix suits, their technology had improved quite a bit.
"Indeed. Compared to manufacturing Mecha Malphite and the computer before this, the workload here really isn't that great."
Jayce gave a bitter smile as he spoke.
He also knew that Mel had been removed from her council seat, but after thinking about it again and again, he ultimately decided to remain silent on the matter.
Caleb had already done more than enough for the entire twin cities.
So Jayce would focus on doing his job as a scientist.
As for maintaining peace between the twin cities, he would leave that entirely to Caleb.
After Shyvana returned to Caleb's side and confirmed that both dragons currently felt fine, Caleb continued.
"So, what I mean is, I want to ask whether you're willing to serve the twin cities."
Caleb continued from Shyvana's earlier words.
With the guess in her heart confirmed, Shyvana could no longer suppress her tears. They slid down her face in large drops.
"There are many drakes living in Ixtal's jungle. When the time comes, we'll need someone dedicated to communicating with them."
"And war is coming. The Black Mist of the Shadow Isles has not gone far. I need more combat strength."
Caleb's words were calm, but precisely because they carried such normality, they gave Shyvana what she had always longed for, being looked at as an equal.
"I am willing to give my life for you, Governor."
Shyvana knelt on one knee without the slightest hesitation. Over her long life, she had seen many hypocrites.
But someone like Caleb, someone who truly gave her this kind of respect, this was the first time.
"However, this process will be even more painful."
Caleb looked at the four people in the distance, who were already studying even larger blueprints, and his tone carried a hint of warning.
"Have you made up your mind?"
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