Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route-Chapter 145: A Bright, Beautiful Day—He Ran Off with Her

Chapter 145: Chapter 145: A Bright, Beautiful Day—He Ran Off with Her

Camille brought the news back on the sixth day after the Varju Mountains incident. In Piltover’s council building, she was wearing Clan Ferros’s agent uniform.

Over a white long-sleeved shirt, two black suspenders ran down to meet her trousers. She looked sharp and efficient, standing straight at the long table as she delivered the intelligence Clan Ferros had dug up.

"Externally, Noxus’s General Lincton has publicly declared that the legion has ’vanished.’ They’re claiming the one who attacked Piltover was Viscount Kiril—and Kiril disappearing with his entire force has been internally classified as a ’natural disaster.’

"Of course, Lincton can’t wash his hands clean with a story like that. Anyone can tell something’s off. But Noxus can barely keep itself from falling apart right now. Lincton holds military power, and nobody wants to pick a fight with him at a time like this."

"As for Boram Darkwill... he’s still hunting immortality. He’s completely lost his mind."

"So right now, we can try a show of force—let Noxus’s warlords understand the Twin Cities have weapons like this, so they’ll think twice. If we’re a hard bone to chew, they won’t keep staring at us like prey. What those warlords want right now is stability—time to quietly build their own strength."

Camille’s voice stayed low and firm.

Noxus had become a leaking sieve—everything was spilling outward. Clan Ferros’s agents didn’t even need to risk their lives to get information that should’ve been impossible to obtain.

Whether every detail was accurate was another matter. That’s how intelligence worked: better to believe it might be true than assume it isn’t. No nation’s spies would ever swear their reports were perfect.

But Camille was certain about the core of it. It was real—because when a country starts rotting from the top down, it’s already finished.

No one could save Noxus now. Darkwill had taken what used to be a united empire and ripped it into pieces. Once he died—no, even before he died—Noxus would already be a land of warlords, with battles igniting everywhere.

"Should we go have some fun too?" Salo was getting cocky, and what came out of his mouth was ridiculous even by his standards.

Hoskel, seated beside him, didn’t hold back. He slapped Salo square between the shoulder blades and barked, "Have some fun? What kind of ’fun’ are you talking about?"

"Are you planning to invade Noxus?"

"Piltover and Zaun are peaceful city-states. We’re not doing that. And even ignoring whether we’d win or lose—if we really invaded, what happens to our reputation? To everyone else, we’re the friendly, peaceful Twin Cities. If we start a war of aggression, what do you think that label turns into?"

Salo rubbed his back and finally shut up.

"Hoskel’s right," Mel added. "We’re a trade city-state. We have to be careful about how we look to the world. No matter how justified someone claims they are, a city-state that wages wars of invasion will never truly be accepted by other nations."

"As for Camille’s idea—showing force so Noxus hesitates... Councilor Silco, what do you think about running a military exercise?"

Silco tapped a finger against the tabletop, then nodded. "Fine. We use the Hextech airship’s mobility. Pick three days and rotate bombardments along Noxus’s border—let them see the Twin Cities’ weapons."

"Honestly, we should’ve let a few Noxians escape back then. If they’d carried the story home, we wouldn’t have to do the work ourselves now."

Marcus, standing off to the side, looked awkward. In hindsight, he remembered exactly who’d been shouting for a pursuit and issuing kill orders that day.

"Then it’s settled," Mel said with a smile, locking it in. "Clan Ferros provides the location. We pick the time. Marcus leads the team."

Marcus straightened instantly and saluted. "Yes, ma’am!"

Logan looked around, saw the problem had apparently been handled, and clapped his hands lightly on the table with a grin. "So... we’re done here?"

"Mm." The moment Mel’s voice fell—

Logan was already out of his chair, and in the next blink he’d vanished from the meeting room like a gust of wind.

"Councilor Logan has been... very busy lately?" Mel’s mouth twitched. She’d been about to adjourn, but he was already gone.

Jayce, seated beside her, said, "Not just him. Jinx has been busy too. She hasn’t been to the weapons workshop in a long time."

Then Jayce looked at Silco, curious. "Silco, do you know what those two have been up to?"

Silco shook his head. He genuinely didn’t know.

All he’d heard—through Enforcers—was that Logan and Jinx went shopping every day and came home with piles of stuff. But was that what "busy" meant? Silco wasn’t sure.

"Alright, everyone," Silco said. "Meeting adjourned."

As his words landed, the Twin Cities councilors rose from their seats.

Zaun.

Logan sprinted the entire way—cutting through Piltover’s towering structures, then reaching the Promenade and leaping straight down toward Zaun. He used the chem-pipes like stepping stones, running fast across the city’s upper ribs until he shot back into the Hope Community at full speed.

"Janna," he said as he dropped from a pipe above the Sump, "Jinx and I are heading out right now. I need you to pass messages between me and Silco’s side when necessary. Can you do that?"

A blue bird perched on his shoulder gave a small nod. "I understand."

As faith continued to gather, Janna’s strength was returning. Against a Darkin like Styraatu, she still couldn’t win—but she could resist for a while.

And yes—she could carry messages.

Logan bore her mark. Once it was activated, the wind itself would deliver his words to her. As long as he was still on Runeterra, Janna could hear his voice.

So... after being forced into the role of scapegoat, Janna had now become a living loudspeaker too?

Logan smiled and nodded to himself, then went to find Singed and explained everything.

"Doctor, I’m heading to Ionia first to scout things out. Don’t rush. The moment I learn anything, Janna will tell you. Then you can bring Orianna—and have a few Enforcers escort you—take the Hextech airship to Ionia. I’ll prepare everything in advance and wait for you there."

Singed accepted the plan without hesitation.

Three months—he could wait.

After that, Logan ran home.

"Jinx!"

"Jinx!"

He shouted at the door.

"What?!" came the girl’s voice from inside—then a hat-topped head poked out the window. She looked like she was sneaking around, absurdly cute even while doing it.

"Time to go," Logan said with a grin. "We’re heading out."

"Heading out?" The little face froze for a second—then Jinx broke into a huge smile, mouth parting with excitement as she nodded hard. "Coming! I’m coming right now!"

Her head vanished. Logan heard the frantic rustling of packing from inside.

He stepped in and started packing with her.

"Didn’t you say we were staying in Zaun a while longer to observe things?" she asked. "Why so fast?"

"Camille said we’re clear. Noxus is a mess right now—they don’t have the time to worry about us."

"Nice!" Jinx brightened, then remembered something. "Hey, Logan—should we tell Silco and Vander?"

"Better not. If they know, they’ll lecture us forever. They won’t want me taking you out of Zaun at all." Logan waved it off. "Leave a note. You write it now—later I’ll put it on Silco’s desk."

"Okay—then I’m writing one for Vi too!" Jinx said, stuffing pairs of socks into a backpack—some hers, some Logan’s.

Then she grabbed a pen and started writing and doodling at the table.

Not long after, someone slipped out of the house and headed toward the Forgen Tavern.

A short while later, that figure returned.

Logan took the massive pack from the blue-haired girl with the ponytail, accepted the hat she handed him, and pulled it on. Then the two of them dodged Zaun’s Enforcers and hurried for the docks.

Silco returned to the Forgen Tavern in the afternoon. There wasn’t much work today, so he planned to rest early.

The Noxus problem that had been hanging over the Twin Cities—big or small—didn’t look like trouble anymore.

He walked in, took off his collar, and hung it on the rack. Then he loosened his buttons and dropped into his chair, pulling a bottle from the desk drawer. He was about to pour himself a couple of drinks.

Vander had come down from Piltover and gone back already. These days he had no less on his plate than Silco—especially with Zaun’s army. He worried about it constantly.

What kind of father leads troops worse than his daughter?

Watching Vi swagger around issuing orders every day, it was impossible not to feel jealous... but Zaun truly didn’t have the population Vander needed to recruit and drill the way he wanted.

Sevika wasn’t at the Forgen Tavern today either. When she left Piltover, she brought a team to inspect cargo at the docks—the shared dock used by both Zaun and Piltover.

Silco stretched, raised his glass, and took a sip. His eyes narrowed slightly.

It really did feel good.

Ever since meeting Logan, Silco hadn’t had to worry about Zaun’s future the way he used to. The guy was basically a "nominal ruler" who didn’t handle anything, but... everything kept getting better anyway.

He set the glass down and tapped the desk out of habit—then noticed something in the compartment where he kept his documents.

A note?

It was half-covered by a file, only one corner peeking out—but that flash of blue was unmistakable. Silco sat up, lifted the file, and pulled out the note.

With just one glance, warmth filled his eyes.

A simple smiling face, scribbled in blue crayon.

Jinx’s style.

"Why is she writing me a note out of nowhere..." Silco muttered, flipping it over—

And his expression immediately hardened.

"Lo... gan." The sound came up from his throat, squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Anger flared in Silco’s eyes. He slapped the note down onto the desk, surged to his feet, and the pleasant haze from the drink vanished in an instant. In two or three strides, he was out the door.

"Everyone! Find Jinx—and Logan!"

He shouted down at the people gathered below the Forgen Tavern.

Among them were Undercity Enforcers and Zaun’s civil staff—Silco’s old people, who’d followed him into Zaun’s council system once he entered politics.

Now they moved at once, still confused.

"Yes!"

"What happened? Why are we suddenly searching for Miss Jinx and Councilor Logan?"

"Don’t ask—move! Didn’t you see the boss’s face?!"

Silco pushed into the crowd and issued orders fast. "Split off a group—go check Piltover’s Hextech airship. Everyone else goes to the docks!"

He stormed out of the Forgen Tavern.

Logan—damn you.

If you were going to do this, you could’ve at least told me first!

Up in the second-floor office, the note lay pinned beneath a stack of files. In crooked handwriting, it read:

Logan and I went on a trip, hehe~~~

The Undercity Enforcers mobilizing—and Silco racing for the docks—reached Vi almost immediately. As the Undercity’s Chief Enforcer, she had broad authority. Of course she’d hear about something like this first.

Vander arrived in the same breath, rushing to join Silco and Vi.

"Logan took Jinx and ran off?" Vander’s first sentence nearly made Silco laugh in pure disbelief.

"It’s not ’ran off,’" Silco snapped, glaring at him. "Zaun is their home. How do you ’run away’ from your own home? Logan took her out. Jinx said she wanted to travel."

"Travel?" Vander blinked.

Vi muttered, "They’re just going out to have fun. She’s grown up. Logan’s with her. What—she’s going to get lost?"

Vander turned on her, furious. "Going out is fine—but they should’ve told us! How long will she be gone? When is she coming back? Did she bring money? Where are they even going? How can she leave without saying anything?"

Vi dug at her ear, irritated. "This is exactly why Logan took her and left without telling you. You never stop nagging."

"If you two knew ahead of time, there’s no way she’d ever get to go!"

Then Vi threw her hands up, glaring at both of them. "Two dads who are obsessed with their daughters—both of you!"

"And you’re only talking about Jinx. You only care when she’s coming back." Vi scoffed. "Did either of you even think about when Logan is coming back?"

This made no sense to her.

Zaun’s so-called ruler just left!

Was Logan actually Zaun’s ruler or not?

Vander and Silco answered at the exact same time:

"Who cares about him?"

Vi froze—then let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh.

At 4:13 p.m., a squad of Enforcers found Silco.

"Councilor Silco—residents reported that the docks have people who look like Miss Jinx and Councilor Logan."

"Go!" Vander barked instantly.

At 4:25 p.m., Silco rode on Vander’s back, while Vi swept overhead on a Hextech hoverboard. In just ten minutes, they made it from the Hope Community to Zaun’s docks.

Between two tight, shadowed chasms, ships funneled from Zaun out to the open sea.

When they arrived, a small boat—something that looked like a little fishing vessel—was already pulling away from the dock. But don’t let the size fool you: the interior ran on Hextech, with Shimmer as its energy source. The little boat had just cleared the harbor mouth.

"Vander," Silco said, pointing at it, "is that Jinx?"

Vander narrowed his eyes. His vision was better than Silco’s—and there she was: a girl in a hat, laughing as she bounced on the bow with her arms spread wide, waving back at Zaun.

From her silhouette she looked slim but well-proportioned, with especially long legs. And that black denim jacket and shorts—her vibe alone made it obvious.

That was Jinx.

Behind her stood a young man, one arm locked around her waist to keep her from toppling into the water, the other arm waving toward the shore.

The boat began to accelerate. The sea wind tore both hats away, revealing brilliant blue hair—and a sweep of dark hair beside it.

Sunlight glittered across the water.

Jinx was smiling so hard it looked like it might split her face.

"Silco! Vander! I’m going out to have fun!"

"Don’t come looking for us!"

Vander took two steps back, ready to launch himself onto the boat—if he couldn’t, then he’d swim.

But the moment he shifted, Silco snapped out a hand and yanked Vander’s facial hair hard.

"Silco, what are you doing?!" Vander winced, staring at him.

"Forget it," Silco said quietly. "Let her go, Vander. She wants to see the world—then let her. Zaun’s fine right now. Honestly... it doesn’t even matter whether Logan is here or not."

He kept watching the shrinking boat.

"She looks so happy. Back then, she used to ask me all the time—could she go out to sea with Sevika? Could she go somewhere else, just to see it? And I always stopped her. I wouldn’t let her leave me."

"She acts wild, but she’s fragile. She’s afraid. Without my permission—without someone familiar beside her—she wouldn’t dare step out of Zaun alone."

"So even when she wanted it, she stayed with me anyway." Silco’s voice softened. "But... that was before."

"Logan, that bastard—he gave her courage. He gave her hope. He made it so she’s not afraid of being alone... not afraid of strangers..."

Silco spoke until he was smiling again. He finally released Vander, then lifted both hands and waved at the distant boat.

On a sunny, breezy day in Zaun—

He took her, and ran right out of Zaun—

Saying he wanted to go see the world beyond it.

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