"Ah, um... just don't get into a conflict, I'll leave it to you, Mr. Goki."
Goki's sudden interruption surprised Margaret a little, but she quickly adjusted her mindset, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered softly into Goki's ear.
"Just persuade him to leave. I'm really not very good at talking."
For a freshly graduated young military cadet, having Margaret write an essay analyzing the causes of victory and defeat in the Blood Peak Battle was no problem, but asking her to drive away an aggressive persuader was truly beyond her scope.
"Don't worry, I won't use force on a weak chicken with no combat ability; that would make me look bad."
Goki patted Margaret's shoulder, made a Face at her, pulled out his phone, and turned to look at the somewhat stiff-faced Chiarne.
"If the 'good era' you're talking about refers to everyone telling me to 'grab my bucket and run' after I posted 'I'm going to work at Allens Choice, any advice bros?' on the forum, criticizing the factories there for having Hellish high-speed assembly lines, forcing 'voluntary' overtime without pay, having timed bathroom breaks, and not even mentioning high-temperature subsidies in summer..."
As an old netizen from his previous life, Goki was exceptionally skilled at this method of information gathering. Although the official media controlled by Rose Press only showed colorful advertisements and effusive praise for various companies, the wisdom of netizens was infinite, always finding endless ways to expose the dark side.
Looking at Chiarne, Goki's expression was exceptionally benevolent.
Chiarne frowned. He knew that this tall man before him was not simple.
[This kid...]
Although he cursed inwardly, he continued to maintain his smile.
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"I don't know where you saw such information, but please believe that Allens Choice's commercial enemies always like to smear us. A defamatory remark might only cost a penny, and our internet platform has always been open and harmonious..."
"Oh, oh, oh, so it's always TX's water army at work, right? Okay, I'll edit one now: 'Allens Choice is a black-hearted company, bros run fast'—Look, instantly deleted. Wow, that's efficient. I'm already banned."
Goki shrugged, showing Margaret the ban message on his phone screen.
"Since Mr. Chiarne has shared his insights, let me tell you what I've seen in Kazimierz—every worker is pushing themselves mentally, exchanging excessive work for meager pay, buying cramped, narrow rooms while countless merchants and wealthy individuals live in city-center villas and artificial river yachts. This is what the Knight Tournament brings."
"The income from the Knight Tournament has increased year after year, and the Knight casualty rate has also continuously risen. Legal casinos are popping up everywhere, and more and more prohibited drugs with clear bodily harm are being legally allowed—let me see, one-third of Knights suffer from asthma and ADHD. Are Tournament Knights' bodies really that weak? This is also what the Knight Tournament brings."
"Oh, and what's actually rising is the average income of the Grand Knight Territory law firms. They are hired by companies to sign contracts with each Knight and are responsible for minimizing compensation after a Knight withdraws from the competition... The most famous case is the Whipblade Knight's hand injury compensation case, where only about one-tenth of the contractually stated compensation was eventually paid. All of this is what the Knight Tournament brings."
The "evidence" Goki found was all something he had casually searched for when he had nothing to do after arriving in the Grand Knight Territory—these facts were not even hidden. Kazimierz was truly that transparent.
When the last sentence was spoken, Margaret's expression darkened somewhat—she, of course, knew who the victim of that compensation case was.
And Chiarne's expression also became somewhat awkward and unsightly—he knew that these were all facts he usually tried hard to forget and conceal.
"No, sir, what you're saying are all isolated cases. Only the mediocre and lazy use this as an excuse. Kazimierz offers an opportunity for all strivers to climb upwards..."
"Stop sugarcoating it, Chiarne. I know there isn't a single good bird in any country on Terra, and company-controlled Kazimierz has developed a lot compared to a century ago—but this isn't a good era, nor is it a healthy society."
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