Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route-Chapter 154: I Want to Learn How to Give Birth (EC)

Chapter 154: Chapter 154: I Want to Learn How to Give Birth (EC)

After Logan agreed, the entire Bondweave Village threw itself into building the schoolhouse. They called it "building," but in practice it was more like this: the villagers chose a tree in advance, mobilized the whole village to transplant it into an open clearing, and then gathered around it to talk.

"Spirit of Ionia, please become... this shape."

"Could you grow that side a little more curved?"

"Please turn into a schoolhouse..."

The scene looked ridiculous. Like something that would make you question your sanity.

A skinny, white-bearded old man leading a bunch of middle-aged villagers in a circle around a tree, mumbling requests at it—any outsider would stare and think they’d lost their minds.

But in Ionia, it was normal.

Ionia’s land had a will of its own. Under its nurturing, even some plants on this soil could develop a kind of "awareness."

So if you wanted to build a house, you didn’t chop trees down—because that would trigger resistance. A riot of nature spirits could become a disaster, and every Ionian knew that.

Just like when Noxus invaded—what fought back first wasn’t the Ionian people, but Ionia’s plants and environment themselves.

So if you wanted a house, what you did was befriend the tree: water it, fertilize it, say a lot of pleasant things.

Make it like you. Make it willing to listen. Then it would grow into the shape you wanted.

By evening, the tree the villagers surrounded began to change, growing exactly as they’d asked.

Massive branches spread outward. The trunk formed step-like ridges, and the upper part of the tree began growing into the shape of a home.

By noon the next day, when Chief Babb brought people to check, the treehouse already looked like a real building—an actual house up in the tree.

"What’s a schoolhouse supposed to look like again?"

"Chief, I heard people say Piltover calls it a classroom. Inside there are lots of desks and chairs, enough to fit a bunch of students, and there’s a big board the teacher writes on."

"Right, and there’s a front platform—teacher stands up there, students sit."

"Sit? Doesn’t that look disrespectful?"

"Kids have to sit to write in their notebooks. You don’t get it."

Bondweave Village argued with enthusiasm, tossing out ideas one after another.

By evening, vines inside the treehouse had shaped themselves into chairs, and neat, square green desks formed in rows. At the very front, a platform rose up, covered in living green.

When Logan heard, he couldn’t help marveling at Ionia again.

If you were born here, no matter how rough your life got, you wouldn’t starve. If Noxus hadn’t invaded Ionia, this eastern archipelago really would’ve been the best environment humans could ask for.

Nature here didn’t grow wildly and violently like it did in Ixtal—it coexisted with people in harmony.

Want meat? Go to the shore and call out a couple times, and the sea would send fish onto the sand.

Want fruit? Call out in the woods, and different fruits would drop from the trees.

On land saturated with magic like this, Logan finally understood why Ionians were so... slow-burn and mild. Their lives truly had no pressure. Their calm came from the simple fact that their home was too good.

And as for becoming a teacher, Logan was honestly a little excited.

Teaching others was practically human nature, and besides—one of his students would be Sett.

Though calling him a "teacher" was generous. The number of kids he’d teach was tiny—barely over ten. Aside from Link’s little gang of boys, there were four village girls, plus Sett. Fourteen kids total.

The oldest was Link, fourteen years old.

The youngest was a girl named Romy—only six.

Different ages, same starting line.

It was... kind of interesting.

Two days later, the schoolhouse was finished. Chief Babb brought a crowd of villagers to the workshop to invite Logan, and the parents of every child came too.

Link’s gambler father was among them, carrying a basket filled with assorted fruit.

"Mr. Logan, the schoolhouse can be used today," Babb said warmly the moment he saw Logan, like he was terrified Logan might change his mind.

Logan paused and looked toward Sett.

Sett’s mother had come as well. She stood toward the outer edge with Sett, sleeves long and white, hiding her claws. In her hands, she held up a folded garment.

Just judging by her face, she was truly beautiful—though she always kept her eyes half-lidded.

When she noticed Logan looking, Sett’s eyes lit up and he rose on his toes, waving at Logan.

Sett’s mother simply nodded.

"Chief, you really don’t need to do all this," Logan said. "I’ll just take three things."

He accepted a breakfast sandwich from Babb, then looked through the offerings and chose a basket of fruit. After that, he stepped forward and accepted the cloth robe from Sett’s mother.

Then he said, "Everyone go home. This afternoon I’ll go to the schoolhouse. Class starts at one. Two classes a day. Students are dismissed at five."

Babb nodded excitedly, and the villagers were thrilled. One after another, they tried to pile food into the workshop, but Logan stopped them.

Most of it was perishable, and he and Jinx couldn’t possibly eat it all. Besides, in Ionia, food wasn’t scarce. When Logan told Babb to pay "tuition" in food, it was just a polite way to refuse money—but Babb had taken it seriously.

And Bondweave Village villagers were earnest. If Babb said "food," they went out and brought food.

But it was too much. Way too much.

Seeing how firm Logan was, Babb finally told the villagers to take their goods back. They listened, leading their children away with baskets in hand—though the heartfelt thanks they gave Logan didn’t stop.

The gratitude was real.

Ionians weren’t short on food, but they truly were short on upward paths. Knowledge was sacred and precious in Ionia.

Only major sects and holy places taught it. Ordinary people might never touch it in their entire lives.

Especially after Ionia’s veil was pulled back and the outside world rushed in, the survivors of war realized how far behind Ionia was—and they understood one thing clearly:

Their children couldn’t live the same way they had.

The times had changed. The way of life had to change too. In the past, Ionians could drift with the current—but the future wouldn’t allow it.

That was why Babb had been so enthusiastic when he learned Logan and Jinx were foreigners.

"You’re really going to be their teacher?"

After everyone left, Jinx finally came down from upstairs.

She hadn’t shown earlier because she hated turtles—and a whole herd of turtles had suddenly crowded into her space, so there was no chance she was coming down for that.

Ionian temperament was something Jinx couldn’t stand. She was rebellious by nature, the kind of little lunatic who exploded the moment she felt oppressed. Seeing a bunch of soft, compliant "turtles" who got pushed around and didn’t even seem to care made her itch with irritation.

If it annoyed her, she simply didn’t look.

That was Jinx.

Logan glanced at her, picked up the robe Sett’s mother had made, and held it up for Jinx to see. Smiling, he asked, "What do you think? Looks good?"

"Kind of weird," Jinx said after examining it, "but yeah, it’s pretty nice."

It really was.

It was made from white cloth. Jinx had no idea what style it was, but Logan did.

It felt like a long scholar’s tunic—something you might see in an old black-and-white movie about writers and professors, except the color was different. If it were navy or black, it would’ve leaned even harder into that vibe.

It still lacked some details, too—no stand collar, no side vents, things like that.

But Logan liked it a lot. He took off his shirt, bare-chested, and slipped into the long white tunic.

The fabric was smooth. The fit was perfect. The hem fell down to his ankles. Logan already gave off a gentle, refined feel, and the tunic added an old-fashioned, almost literary charm.

Looking at Jinx, Logan lifted his hand and pantomimed fanning himself like some smug old scholar.

Jinx’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Whoa, Logan—you look even better in it!"

"Is it me that looks good," Logan teased, "or the clothes?"

"It’s you," Jinx answered immediately.

"Logan, I want one too." She ran up, touched the fabric, and said with open envy.

She’d thought it was nothing—just clothes.

But once Logan wore it, she liked it. Because Jinx liked matching with him. Using the same things, wearing the same kinds of clothes.

"Then later we’ll ask Sett’s mom to make you one," Logan said. "And when I can’t handle teaching anymore, you’ll have to be their teacher."

"Ugh, I have to ask the big turtle," Jinx groaned, eyebrows knitting as she sagged dramatically.

Logan tapped her forehead with a finger and smiled. "Stop calling them turtles all the time. Ionians are just gentle. Kind. Simple-hearted. But if you push them too far, they can be terrifying." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Jinx nodded. If Logan said it, she’d believe it.

Still, she couldn’t picture these villagers "pushing back." They were soft to the point of being unreal.

Even when Zaun was at its poorest and worst, facing the Pilties, sure—Zaun couldn’t win. But people didn’t just sit there and take it. Plenty of Zaunites still ran their mouths at the Pilties on the Promenade.

After all, every year Stillwater Hold took in a batch of Zaun prisoners. Want to guess why they were sent in?

Because they committed crimes in Zaun?

Ha. Of course not.

"I have to teach this afternoon," Logan said, checking the time. "So are you staying home to watch the shop, or coming with me?"

"Go," Jinx said immediately. "Obviously I’m going. I want to see how you teach a bunch of idiots."

"Then get ready," Logan said. "Eat something first."

Jinx bent down, grabbed the breakfast sandwich nearby, and shoved it into Logan’s mouth.

"Logan, Ionia’s great," she said. "This place seriously never runs out of good food."

In the afternoon, Logan brought Jinx into the village, and they saw the finished schoolhouse.

A treehouse perched above the ground, covering a few hundred square feet. A short flight of steps—about waist-high—led up to a door. Logan climbed, pushed it open, and saw the room where he’d be teaching.

The students weren’t here yet. For now it was only Logan and Jinx.

Jinx followed him inside and naturally picked a seat.

Back row, far left. Next to a tree hollow you could touch with an outstretched hand. A view of the outside through the natural opening.

A perfect "main character seat."

Then she turned to Logan and grinned. "Teacher, class is starting!"

Logan paused, narrowed his eyes, and saw the mischievous smirk on Jinx’s face. He put on a serious expression and walked up to the front platform.

Standing there, he said loudly, "Stand."

Jinx shot up to her feet instantly.

With total sincerity, she said, "Good afternoon, Teacher!"

Logan gestured. "Sit."

Jinx sat down, stared at Logan with exaggerated obedience, and raised her hand. "Teacher, Teacher, what are we learning today?"

"What do you want to learn?" Logan asked.

Jinx thought seriously for a moment, then said earnestly, "Teacher, I want to learn how to have a baby."

Logan, who had been enjoying the roleplay, went silent.

He stared at Jinx and said sternly, "No teasing the teacher."

"I really want to learn how to have a baby!" Jinx protested, raising her hand even higher until half her butt lifted off the chair. "Teacher, don’t tell me you don’t know how to have a baby either?"

"Yes," Logan said flatly. "Teacher doesn’t know. Teacher hasn’t experienced it."

Saying that out loud gave him a weird feeling.

With Jinx calling him "Teacher," and this environment—the front platform, the desks, the chairs, the living green "board" behind him—Logan really did feel like he and Jinx were in some kind of teacher-student dynamic.

And hearing Jinx say that...

Logan suddenly understood why some people liked roleplay.

This was... actually a kind of spice.

A strange mix of embarrassment and thrill hit him at once, and he had no idea how to respond.

Logan wanted to keep his dignity, felt awkward, and got shy.

But Jinx had no such weakness.

Seeing Logan choke on his own words, she stood up and declared, "It’s fine, Teacher! If you don’t know, I do! I can teach you!"

"Huh?" Logan said, stunned. "You do? Wait—where did you learn that?"

"Karina and the others kept trying to teach me," Jinx said matter-of-factly. "They even gave me books. They said you do this and that and then you get a baby."

She demonstrated a crude hand gesture at Logan like she was illustrating a diagram.

Logan stared, then laughed in disbelief, half furious. "Karina and the others forced you to learn that?"

"Jinx," he said, accusing, "I somehow... do not believe you."

Piltover’s rich kids would hand Jinx those books and force her to study them?

Who would buy that?

Would Silco believe it? Would Vander?

No.

Especially Silco—he loved Jinx to his bones, truly raised her like a daughter, and because of that he understood her better than anyone.

If Jinx didn’t want to do something, no amount of persuasion worked. You had to coax her into accepting it. If she refused, you could put eight oxen on her and still wouldn’t drag her an inch.

Never mind whether Karina would do something like that—the idea that she could force Jinx was impossible on its face.

Jinx rolled her eyes and muttered, "Fine. Are you learning or not?"

Logan hesitated. "Here?"

Jinx froze, slowly sat back down, and said with grave disappointment, "Here? That’s not okay. Logan, you’ve gotten worse."

Logan blinked. "?"

"I mean knowledge," he said stiffly. "What are you thinking?"

"Oh. Right." Jinx nodded rapidly, trying to look innocent, then immediately started grinning again.

But before she could say anything else, the wooden door swung open.

Logan reacted fast and blurted, loud and cheerful, "Sett, why are you here early?"

"It’s because the chief keeps telling everyone you’re already in the schoolhouse," Sett said. "He went door to door rushing us, saying we shouldn’t make you wait."

It was Sett.

He saw Jinx inside and his pupils tightened for a moment, but when he realized Logan was here too, he relaxed.

"Pick a seat and sit," Logan told him.

Sett nodded and walked to a desk.

There were no books—just a pen. That was the sum total of Bondweave Village’s student supplies.

Sett chose the same row as Jinx: back row, last seat.

But he took the far right seat near the door—far away from Jinx.

Logan glanced at Jinx and thought: Thank goodness she hadn’t started explaining "knowledge" out loud.

Jinx blinked at Logan, eyes full of laughter.

Heh. This was exciting.

In a classroom like this, calling Logan "Teacher," then saying outrageous things to him... Jinx felt delighted.

It was a weird feeling.

If Logan had to name it, he’d call it the thrill of being improper.

Except... what was improper about it?

He and Jinx were legitimately married in Bondweave Village.

In Zaun, too, everyone recognized them as a couple.

There was nothing improper about it.

Not improper. Not improper at all.

After Sett arrived, the other students filed into the schoolhouse.

Some wore sour expressions. Some looked excited. But they all sat properly and looked toward Logan.

Especially Link’s group.

They didn’t want to study. They thought it was weird.

Every day, spending time reading meant losing daylight they could use to play. Of course they were unhappy.

Ionia had no lights at night. Once it got dark, you went home. Daytime was their only playtime. Link had planned to act up, annoy Logan, and get kicked out.

But the moment Link walked into the classroom, he saw the beautiful silhouette in the back-left seat, staring out through the tree hollow.

His pupils shrank, and he immediately went quiet.

A few of the boys behind him started trembling, teeth chattering. None of them dared look at Jinx.

Damn it—why didn’t Chief say the workshop owner’s wife would be here too?!

If they’d known she was here, they’d rather die than come to school.

With all the students present, Logan began his first official class since arriving in Runeterra.

He’d taught Isha before, so he had a little experience. And he’d been a student himself—he knew what a teacher should do, even if he’d never truly been one.

So his first class was about rules.

He told them class time, dismissal time, and classroom rules.

Each class would be 50 minutes. After class, they’d get time to play until a bell signaled the second class. Only two classes per day.

Altogether it was barely an hour and forty minutes.

During all this, Logan glanced toward Jinx, curious what she was doing.

As for Jinx, she was watching Logan, of course—actually listening to him with real attention.

And when she noticed Logan looking at her, she propped her chin on one hand and flashed a sly smile. Her lips moved silently, forming a sentence just for him.

Teacher.

When we get home, I’ll teach you "knowledge."

Logan: "..."

He swallowed and looked away.

That little demon.

Ever since Logan returned to Zaun, Jinx’s aggression had been getting worse and worse.

At first it was normal affection.

Then later, at night, she stopped pretending and just grabbed him openly.

After washing up and getting into bed, she’d sit there with her arms crossed, shamelessly shouting at him, "Let me see!"

Like a total thug.

She was already heading into her twenties. Her body still had a youthful softness, but her charm had taken on a new edge.

And the worst part was, she knew exactly what Logan liked—her legs, her feet—she knew, and she used it.

Did she think a person’s patience was infinite?

Jinx...

When I finally can’t hold back and I actually do something, don’t you dare cry and beg me to stop.

Logan thought viciously to himself.

Completely failing to notice that Jinx was quietly cackling at her own success.

To Jinx, coming today was absolutely the right decision.

If she hadn’t come, how would she ever have gotten to see Logan looking so flustered?

Her offense was increasing, sure, but Logan’s defenses were getting stronger too. It had been a while since she’d managed to break through him.

But today...

She’d done it again.

Snickering to herself, Jinx laughed and laughed—then suddenly felt her cheeks warm.

If Logan really had decided to "learn knowledge" with her in the classroom...

Would she have agreed?

Yeah.

Probably.

As long as it was Logan asking, she wouldn’t refuse.

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