At Forgen Tavern, Logan sat across from Silco, tasting the fine liquor Silco had smuggled in from Bilgewater and swallowing it down in one burning gulp.
Finn was dead. His men found the body the next morning—head separated from the torso, the skull rolling beside the wall. A brutal death.
Logan looked at the man in front of him, whose gaze hadn't been on Logan at all, and smiled as he spoke.
"You knew from the start that Finn would run, didn't you?"
Silco drew his attention back, looking at Logan with a faint smile. "I understand him better than you do, Logan. I worked with him for years."
"Even back in the mines, he was like that—looking down on everyone, arrogant, convinced he was the smartest person in the room. But in reality, he only had a bit of petty cleverness… and he never used it where it mattered."
Sevika stood silently behind Silco. Killing Finn with her own hands hadn't left a ripple on her face.
Even though, back in those mining days Silco mentioned, her relationship with Finn hadn't been bad.
But Finn crossed the line. Silco had given him chances—more than once—and he still made the same mistake.
Replacing Silco?
What was he even thinking?
If it hadn't been for Silco and Vander back then, they'd still be down in the mines digging coal. How would they ever have ended up with their current situation and status?
Sevika might have "betrayed" Vander, but it was never about power or position. She walked away because Vander made her feel like there was no hope. When a hunting dog pulls in its claws and teeth, it becomes a house dog—and that wasn't the kind of leader Sevika wanted.
And it wasn't even betrayal. She split from Vander outright, then joined Silco.
"So he's dead… and you really don't feel anything?" Logan asked.
Silco placed both hands neatly on the table and looked at Logan with calm eyes, staring straight into his gaze. "How should I put it?"
"He made a mistake, Logan."
"Everyone makes mistakes. That alone isn't a big deal. No matter how serious the mistake is, if someone truly regrets it, they can be forgiven. No one is perfect."
"But we can't keep making the same mistake again and again. Right?"
Logan narrowed his eyes. "Sounds like you're hinting at me."
Silco's gaze drifted to the girl sprawled on the sofa, snoring softly. The corner of his mouth lifted, his eyes turning gentle.
"What do you think?"
Logan exhaled. "Then yeah. You're hinting at me."
"If she doesn't want to come back to me, I won't force her." Silco spoke suddenly. "With you, she really does seem happier. She's put on a little weight. Her complexion looks better too."
Then he continued.
"And like you said, Logan—whether I succeed or you succeed, Zaun is the one that benefits in the end. There's no need for us to truly fight to the death."
"Our goal is the same. Our methods are different. And one thing you said was absolutely right—during Piltover's crackdown, Zaun really did get too chaotic."
Silco tapped his index finger against the tabletop, a steady rhythm. "But it won't be like that anymore."
Following Silco's gaze, Logan looked over at Jinx.
She was asleep on the sofa, mouth slightly open, a thread of drool sliding from the corner of her lips. One foot was hooked over the backrest, one arm dangling off the couch, the other resting on her belly—sleeping like she didn't have a single worry in the world.
Suddenly, Jinx shifted her head.
Both men looked over.
Her head tipped to the side, resting entirely off the edge of the sofa. If she kept sleeping like that, she'd definitely wake up with a stiff neck.
Silco started to rise to fix her position.
But Logan stood first.
He'd been sitting closer to the sofa, and he moved quicker. Silco paused, then narrowed his eyes.
Then he stood as well, slipped out of his suit jacket—pressed and spotless, not a wrinkle anywhere—folded it with his hands, and handed it to Logan.
"Use this," he said.
Behind Silco, Sevika couldn't help rolling her eyes.
Seriously.
Back then, it was only Silco spoiling this crazy girl.
Now it was Silco, Logan, and her sister too.
The people who indulged her, protected her… it felt like the number was only getting bigger.
Sevika couldn't help wondering what kind of charm this girl had, that these people would give so much for her.
Silco and Logan aside—one was Zaun's godfather, the other was, in Sevika's view, the strongest individual fighter in Zaun right now. And as for Vi… she was a woman Sevika had acknowledged.
When Vi was still young, Sevika already felt there was something different about her. Now that she'd grown up, that fight proved Sevika's instincts right.
Vi was a combat genius—a born brawler. If it weren't for Shimmer and chem-enhanced limbs, Sevika didn't think she could beat Vi.
Logan looked at the jacket Silco offered, then nodded and took it.
He pressed it flat with his hand, walked to Jinx, and crouched beside the sofa. Carefully, gently, he lifted her head—slow, soft movements—then tucked Silco's jacket beneath her head as a cushion.
He studied her for a moment. Seeing how she slept without a care, Logan couldn't resist reaching out and pinching the tip of her nose.
"Mmm…" Jinx frowned, swatting at the air in front of her as she muttered under her breath.
"Stupid snot-slug… blocking my nose… you wanna fight?!"
"I'm telling my dad."
"Silco, hurry up and beat it up for me!"
Hearing her sleep-talk, Logan felt a little jealous.
Damn it—if she'd said my name, that would've been so much better.
Then I could've rubbed it in Silco's face.
But he shouldn't get greedy.
When Logan first met Jinx, the name she mumbled most in her sleep was Vi's. After that came Silco, then Vander, and lastly… Logan.
But these past days, the number of times she called Logan's name in her sleep kept going up—and that alone was enough to make him happy.
It meant Logan's place in Jinx's heart was growing heavier, more important.
Logan stood up and went back to his seat across from Silco.
Jinx's little moment was only a brief interruption, but because of her, two men who should've been enemies—two men on different roads—could sit together and actually talk.
When Logan settled back in, he saw Silco—Zaun's godfather, infamous for cruelty and ruthlessness—looking at Jinx with an embarrassingly syrupy gaze.
Honestly, it was like you could squeeze water out of Silco's eyes.
This was a Silco no one else ever got to see.
"You were right," Silco said, looking at Logan. "She really does call my name in her sleep."
Then he asked, "Did you hear what she just called me?"
"…"
"Silco, if you want to laugh, then laugh. I won't make fun of you," Logan sighed.
Silco smiled—maybe the first genuine smile he'd shown Logan. Right in front of Sevika, he said to Logan, "You guessed correctly. She's my weakness."
Damn it—this old bastard really got to show off.
Logan looked at Silco, remembered what Silco had just said, and spoke.
"You said our methods are different, but our goal is the same. Silco… if you'd understood that back when Vander was alive… how much better would things have been?"
Logan was completely sincere.
After taking over the Spirit Blossom Gang, he finally understood what Vander had been doing all along—how hard it was, how great he truly was.
If Vander and Silco could've joined hands against Piltover, if they could've united and worked together, then Zaun would never have ended up like this.
Zaun needed Silco.
But Zaun also needed Vander.
Silco fell silent. After a moment, he said, "I can understand him now… but I still don't believe his path was right. Your road resembles his, but it isn't the same."
"You're more capable than him. More decisive. Like him, you're gentle toward Zaun's ordinary people."
"But he groveled to Piltover—became a house dog." Silco's voice stayed calm. "You're different. I can tell. You have no intention of becoming Piltover's dog."
"If he were still alive, I would apologize to him sincerely. I'd tell him that having a daughter really is exhausting—I understand what he was thinking back then."
"But if you can't stand on your own, then everything is just empty talk. His weakness would only bring bigger trouble to his daughters. His compromises couldn't put Jinx and Vi under the sun."
"I won't be chained by the past, because I only want the present."
"The dead live in memories. The living have to keep moving forward."
"What I want… is for Jinx to stand in the sunlight, and live the kind of normal life she deserves."
The air turned colder.
But just as Logan and Silco sat in silence, meeting each other's eyes, a drowsy, muddled voice suddenly sounded.
"That's not food, Logan… you grabbed the wrong thing… that's my foot."
"It doesn't stink! If you say my foot stinks again, I'll beat you to death!"
"I washed my feet!"
"My shoes are super breathable!"
"Don't touch my foot… it tickles!"
"Mmm… Gromp is so tasty… snrk—"
The atmosphere snapped from cold to scorching.
Silco's gaze on Logan turned dangerous, little by little.
And Logan was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear.
He even noticed Sevika looking at him… weird.
"S-Silco, I—I only washed Jinx's feet. I didn't do anything. Do you believe me?"
Silco sneered. "Take a guess."