The next morning, sunlight spilled over autumnal Backlund, gilding the city perpetually shrouded in smog with a faint golden sheen.
Unlike Trier, which reveled in life's pleasures and indulged its desires, Backlund seemed civilized and elegant-provided one overlooked the billowing smoke, the dark gray skies, and the savage exploitation concealed beneath its veneer of civilization.
Having returned to the "Mysteries Timeline," Nimrod sat in a spacious, brightly lit office belonging to the Fried Foundation. Although it shared the company's name, the Fried Company was not its sole administrator. It belonged jointly to the Fried Company, the Hall Family, and the Church of Evernight.
Nimrod was now one of the principal administrators of this charitable foundation, responsible for handling and drafting its affairs. After all, Baron Fried had proposed its establishment, and since neither the church nor the Hall Family had objected, he had naturally become the person in charge.
In the office, Nimrod read the proposal that professionals had prepared and submitted to him, then nodded slightly. "Your ideas are good, and you've taken my suggestions into account. You hope to work with some factories to help people find jobs. You also want to give those who've lost their jobs a chance to start over by providing financial subsidies?"
The clerk seated opposite Nimrod was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Mr. Fried abruptly changed tack. "But have you considered that what unemployed people need isn't simply a job or a chance to start over, but some security?"
Seeing the confusion in the clerk's eyes, Nimrod shook his head gently and asked, "Do you know what sort of people make up most of Backlund's workers?"
"Most of them moved to Backlund from elsewhere, coming here for higher wages and better pay. Their parents might have shared their status