44 -44- Silco and Powder

"Are you here to watch over Vander's place?" 

Standing outside, leaning against the wall, holding a glass and puffing on a cigar, Sevika was startled when she heard the voice. She looked at the person approaching and rolled her eyes dramatically.

Sevika spat out her cigarette on the ground and crushed it with her boot. She spoke, "Silco, you're here too early. Vander went to the mining district and hasn't returned yet. If you have business with him, come back tonight, or find another time."

"It's okay, I can wait until tonight."

Silco brushed past Sevika, pushing open the doors of the Last Drop Tavern. He walked in directly.

Then, he saw a girl with a hopeful expression on her face. But her expression immediately changed, as if she were disappointed.

"Little girl, I remember you. You're Vander's second daughter, right?"

Silco walked up to Powder and stared at her.

To his surprise, his disfigured and terrifying face didn't seem to frighten her. But then again, in a place like Zaun, where gruesome appearances were common, his unique looks might even pass as "handsome."

"I'm Powder."

"Powder."

"Hmm." Silco examined Powder from head to toe and formed a faint smile. "That's a very nice name."

He looked at her and asked, "Powder, would you be willing to pour a drink for your current guest? As the daughter of the bar owner, I assume you've done this before."

"Um..," Powder scratched her head and replied, "You guessed wrong. Vander has never let me pour drinks. He doesn't allow me to touch alcohol, not even a bit."

"Look, I can only drink juice." Powder lifted her cup to show Silco, and it still had some undrunk residue inside.

Silco moved closer to Powder's side and sat in the neighboring seat. He turned to look at her and said, "Well, you can try now. After all, Vander isn't here at the moment, and I won't report you to him."

"No, I promised Vander. He said it's a rule."

Powder sniffled, "Vander doesn't care about the other children in Zaun, but he insists that his own children follow his rules. If you're not old enough, you're not allowed to drink. Vi got a harsh scolding for sneaking some."

"Rules are meant to be broken, child."

Silco gave a faint smile, rose from his seat, and walked behind the bar, where Powder didn't attempt to stop him. Although she had seen him many times, this was the first time Powder had spoken to him because Vander wasn't present.

Bending down to search beneath the bar counter, Silco soon retrieved an unlabeled bottle of alcohol. 

He commented, "After all these years, he still clings to this habit, thinking that an unmarked bottle will go unnoticed, just like how he turns a blind eye and deaf ear to Piltover's oppression and insults towards us."

Silco placed the bottle on the table and, with his hand extended, gently pushed it toward Powder, who was now face to face with the bottle. In a calm tone, he continued, "One day, when you grow up, you'll realize how absurd Vander's rules for you are."

"Zaun's children can't go without alcohol, child. This is one of our few joys."

Hearing Silco's words, Powder shook her head and retorted, "You're lying. Isn't juice also a source of happiness?"

"You just like to drink alcohol, so you assume everyone should."

Emulating Vi's tone, Powder spoke like a little adult, saying, "But I like juice, so I won't listen to you."

Silco was taken aback.

'You just like to drink alcohol, so you assume everyone should.'

Silco squinted his eyes at Powder.

This is just a offhand comment of a ten year old child.

A ten year old child.

"If you want, you can try some juice," Powder suggested, pushing the bottle of alcohol away. She also slid her empty glass toward him, looking at Silco and saying loudly, "By the way, pour me another glass."

In Zaun, a loaf of bread with good appearance cost a family several days' wages. Similarly, high-quality juice was quite expensive in Zaun. 

Most of the time, juice was even more costly than alcohol. Therefore, Vander only occasionally let Powder have half a glass of juice. 

Today, she had already drunk a full glass, and it was Sevika who had poured it for her. If this uncle named Silco in front of her could pour her another glass, she would have had two glasses today.

Her little face beamed with a smile, and her big eyes narrowed slightly, which left Silco somewhat baffled. 

Suddenly, he felt like this little girl was setting a trap for him, a suspicion that turned out to be quite accurate.

Powder wanted to smoothly shift the blame for this situation onto him!

"Fruit juice?" Silco asked.

"Yeah, let's drink it together."

Silco fell silent for a moment, not entirely sure what he was thinking. Over the years of leaving the Undercity to build his own power and hiding in the shadows, he hadn't had a chance to relax, enjoy a quiet drink, or get a peaceful night's sleep. However, after meeting Vander that day with Linwin, Silco went back and had a very sound sleep.

The future of Zaun didn't solely depend on him anymore. He had considered Linwin a fool who only got in his way, but now he had become a valuable ally. 

As Linwin had said, for Zaun to rise, it needed military strength, wealth, and technology. The main reason Zaun was so far behind Piltover was due to a lack of productive capacity.

Now, Linwin was earning money in the Upper City, Vander was building Zaun's strength, and Silco's main focus was with Singed. While both Shimmer and Hextech were being researched, those Hextech crystals were yet to be studied properly by Singed.

His time had started to flow again, but he remained the same old Silco, entirely devoted to fighting for Zaun. However, he also realized that he needed some time to rest. At the very least, he deserved a moment to enjoy a drink.

With these thoughts in mind, Silco put the alcohol bottle aside, bent down to rummage through the bar counter, and found a bottle of juice, still half full. He uncapped it and poured a full glass for Powder. Then he closed the lid, reached for the bottle of alcohol.

"Aren't you going to drink with me?" Powder first held her juice happily, but when she saw Silco's next move, she immediately looked puzzled and asked him.

"Of course, I won't drink it," Silco said with a slight smile. "Just like you said, I like to drink alcohol, so I choose to drink it. And you like fruit juice, so you're enjoying your juice now. Soon, other people will also want different drinks, and I hope we can all have our own choices and do what we like, rather than having preferences forced upon us, just like how I tried to make you drink alcohol earlier."

Powder bit on her straw but didn't drink. She was just playing with it, looking at Silco in confusion. "I'm sorry; I don't understand what you're saying."

"That's normal, Powder. It doesn't matter. You'll understand when you're a bit older," Silco replied.

Silco poured himself a drink and opened a square box emitting a chill with many ice beads inside. He elegantly picked up two and placed them into his glass. Then he asked Powder, "Would you like some ice?"

"No way, it's winter now," Powder replied, shaking her head vigorously.

Silco enjoyed his drink and took a glance at Powder, who was propped up on the table, holding the glass with a long straw. She took a sip and then spat some of it back into the glass, making it somewhat unpleasant. But to Silco, it was interesting. These were things only children did, things that Piltover children did.

However, soon Powder lifted her head and looked at Silco, asking, "By the way, can you cook? I'm hungry."

Silco was taken aback and immediately shook his head. "I can't cook, and I can't cook for anyone."

Powder stared at Silco silently. 

Silco turned his head away from her. 

Then, Powder obediently propped herself down again.

Twenty minutes passed. Silco had consumed two glasses of alcohol and felt a bit tipsy. Powder had already finished her third glass of fruit juice.

She seemed to be trying to fill her stomach with fruit juice, but water was just water, and it couldn't satisfy her hunger.

Then, a faint rumble emerged from the little girl's belly.

Rumble....

Silco: ...

Rumble....

The child's stomach growled again.

Silco did his best not to meet Powder's gaze, but the space was small, and they were sitting face to face.

Silco reluctantly stood up, placing his hands on the table and looking at Powder. He asked with resignation, "Alright... Tell me."

Powder blinked her eyes and raised her small hand, pointing towards the basement...