After the two had shared a moment of reflection, Lina continued her introduction:
"My brother used to say his boss was a good man. That wasn't entirely wrong."
"According to the workers, Mr. Ervin not only privately gave additional allowances to 'Indentured Laborers,' but also treated those 'Registered Workers' nearly as well as formal apprentices."
"At other factories, most owners desperately tried to keep the wages of these Registered Workers down—"
"Because their official status was that of the employer's household servants. Their very existence was a loophole in the regulations."
"So they couldn't freely seek employment like ordinary apprentices, nor could they switch jobs or employers. They could only remain in Piltover by relying entirely on their employers' protection."
"So in truth, a de facto relationship of personal dependency had already formed between employers and Registered Workers."
"Then... didn't that make them their employers' slaves?" Viktor asked in astonishment.
"What kind of slavery is that?" Lina sighed helplessly. "If Registered Workers were exploited too badly, they could always run back to Zaun."
"But those 'Indentured Laborers' were the real slaves!"
"Their personal freedom was completely controlled by labor contractors. Oppressed by both their employers and the contractors, they not only received worse treatment than ordinary apprentices, but most of their wages were taken by the contractors."
"And if they wanted to run away? Heh heh."
"Professor Viktor, did you know—"
"Most of the labor-contracting businesses in Piltover were actually run by Zaunite Gangs like the Iron Fist Gang."
"And those Indentured Laborers were, in fact, debt slaves controlled through usury."
"If they ran away, then getting beaten to death would serve them right."
"The Piltover Enforcers wouldn't concern themselves with such matters."
"This..." Viktor was even more shocked.
Only now did he understand why Lina had said Erwin had a conscience and was a good man.
Those Registered Workers were workers in name, but household servants in reality.
Erwin could have exploited them twice as hard while paying them even less. But he had not done that.
Those Indentured Laborers were workers in name, but slaves in reality.
As their employer, Erwin only needed to pay "rent" to the labor contractors—that was, the slave owners. Yet he had avoided the contractors and secretly used his own money to subsidize those slaves.
Thinking about it that way—
Calling Erwin a good man really wasn't an exaggeration.
Yet this good man, this conscientious factory... they had investigated for less than one afternoon and already uncovered so many horrifying facts.
"What else?" Viktor instructed Lina to continue her report. Yet his tone was heavy, as though he were asking himself.
"Mm, I'll continue. There were 148 apprentices of all kinds in total: 52 male workers, 72 female workers, and 24 child workers under the age of fourteen."
There were fucking child laborers too?
Erwin, did you have any conscience at all?
Viktor had been about to curse inwardly.
But after briefly recalling the Zaun homeland he had left so long ago, he understood—
For Zaun's children, becoming child laborers in Piltover truly wasn't a bad thing. Not only was it not bad; it could even be said to be an enviable blessing.
At least in Piltover, the working conditions weren't too harsh, and food and clothing were guaranteed.
If those children had remained in Zaun... merely staying alive would have been difficult enough.
"Women and children find it hard to survive in Zaun."
"Mr. Ervin hiring so many female and child workers could be considered 'doing good deeds.'"
Viktor sighed with deep emotion.
But Lina immediately told him that Boss Erwin's goodwill was not so pure:
"No, Mr. Viktor."
"Boss Erwin generally paid male workers the market rate of 10 Silver Wheels per week, female workers 6 to 7 Silver Wheels per week, and child workers 3 to 4 Silver Wheels per week."
"But the difference in the value of male, female, and child labor existed because, in most positions that required physical strength, the three groups differed in efficiency."
"Yet according to our investigation, the circuit-board soldering work that employed the most people at this factory did not demand much physical strength. Therefore, male workers, female workers, and child workers actually had roughly the same efficiency."
"In other words—"
"Mr. Ervin hired more female and child workers most likely because... their efficiency was no worse than male workers', yet they were paid less. Hiring women and children saved more on labor costs."
"This..." Viktor completely abandoned his illusions.
Of course. Anyone capable of becoming a business owner and surviving fierce competition would not be a purely good person.
Sure enough, Lina continued:
"When these Zaunite Apprentices entered the factory, they all had to sign an 'insurance policy' with the factory."
"The general contents of this so-called policy were that whether an apprentice lived, died, fell ill, or suffered a workplace accident had nothing to do with the company. Anyone who harmed the factory's interests had to compensate it. In serious cases, they would be dismissed, stripped of apprentice status, and sent back to Zaun..."
"The contract protected the interests of business owners unilaterally and provided workers with no so-called protection at all..."
"..."
"After entering the factory, workers were in an extremely passive position. Not only were they monitored by foremen, but they were also bound by a series of unequal 'house rules.' Typical examples included body searches, dismissal, demerits, fines, forced unpaid work, and restrictions on toilet time."
"So-called body searches meant that after work, foremen and security personnel conducted unified searches to prevent apprentices from stealing valuable materials such as mithril, circuit boards, and Hextech Gems from the workshop."
"The searches made no distinction between men and women. If theft was discovered, the foreman would carry out private punishment. At best, offenders would be made to stand as public humiliation; at worst, they would be beaten with fists and kicks. There had even been cases of people being hung up and beaten."
"What?" Viktor could not bear to listen any longer. "Th-this is too outrageous!"
"How is it outrageous?" Lina could not help rolling her eyes. "The workers even had to thank Mr. Ervin for his lenient rules and for giving them a chance to turn over a new leaf—"
"At other factories, thieves were simply handed over to the police, and the Enforcers would kick them straight back to Zaun."
"Piltover factories never lacked workers anyway. If someone was kicked out, they could just hire someone new."
"Honestly, if it were my brother... I think he would rather let the foreman beat him than be driven back to Zaun by the Enforcers."
"So the apprentices' fear of, ingratiation toward, and even fawning over the factory foremen—those seemingly servile behaviors—weren't so hard to understand."
Viktor fell silent again.
In the end, all he could do was sigh. "Ah... ah..."
But what use was sighing?
They were the Wind Takers. They could not merely stand here wringing their hands in despair.
They had to make the workers raise their voices and muster their strength with them, to change this world together!
"We must begin our propaganda work as soon as possible and unite these workers."
"Unite?" Lina shook her head helplessly. "Professor Viktor, this is exactly what we wanted to tell you..."
"Only after our investigation did we discover that these workers were not united at all."
Everyone lived hard lives. They were all brothers in hardship. Shouldn't they naturally have united?
Not at all.
"Due to differences in age, gender, place of origin, blood relations, status, and education, the apprentices themselves were divided into several mutually hostile factions."
"Male and female workers were hostile toward each other. The women believed the men were paid far more for the same work; the men constantly cursed the women as slutty and cheap, saying they loved climbing into Piltovans' beds and throwing themselves at old Piltovan men."
"Furthermore, adult workers often bullied child workers;"
"Those close to the foremen often bullied those who were not;"
"The few with relatives and blood ties also formed cliques to bully those without brothers to back them up."
"Even among formal apprentices, Registered Workers, and Indentured Laborers, there was a hierarchy of contempt. Those with legal status looked down on those without it, while those without status looked down on slaves."
"And the most absurd part was this:"
"They were all from Zaun, yet those from the Border Market District looked down on those from the underground Black Alley, and those from the underground Black Alley looked down on those from the Underground Trench District..."
"Everyone naturally split into gangs and factions, hostile to and tearing at one another."
"Unity? How were they supposed to unite?"
"Ugh..." Lina said with a headache, "Professor Viktor, how exactly are we supposed to carry out our propaganda work?"
Before you continue