"I really didn't expect you to still remember me! It's been weeks since I last visited the bar for a drink! Oh, heavens, you have no idea how those wealthy bastards who deserve to be hung from street lamps have been behaving. They actually demanded we work sixteen hours a day without a single penny's raise..."
Bardelot began to pour out his grievances incessantly, as if unloading days of suppressed frustration all at once. In the factory district, everyone was in the same boat; complaining to them was utterly pointless.
Having loitered in the East District for a long time, Xio understood that this would go on forever if she didn't intervene. She quickly interrupted, "Stop! Enough! We can talk about those things later. First, take me to see Mr. Lavis!"
"Oh, right! Lavis! Follow me!" Bardelot slapped his forehead as if just remembering his purpose. As they walked, he continued, "I really didn't expect the 'Arbiter' Lavis mentioned to be you. Honestly, when I heard he found an arbiter to negotiate with the rich, I thought he'd been bought off like those union bastards! But since it's you, there's definitely no problem! You're so just and wealthy! You certainly won't be as greedy as those union scoundrels!"
"I am not wealthy at all." Xio seriously corrected Bardelot's description but didn't attempt further conversation. She actually wanted to gather intelligence on this Lavis, but considering she was nominally hired by him, it felt awkward to ask. She simply followed Bardelot to the rest area beside the factory. In a bitter twist of irony, the "rest area" was usually only occupied by people resting during a strike.
"We strike for our own interests, not to inflict our pain on others!"
"We must strike rationally. We must use proper methods and means. We cannot harm others,not even the lackeys of the capitalists! Because that would provide the capitalists with an excuse!"
"We are strikers, not criminals! If we harm even one person or damage even a single piece of property, those capitalists will have a reason to contact the police and throw us into prison!"
"When that happens, they can call us criminals, burden us with dishonorable debts, and describe all strikes in the newspapers as criminal conspiracies, making all our efforts go to waste!"
"We must be self-disciplined. Anyone who acts irrationally during the strike can be considered as having been bought off by the wealthy to betray all of us for a tiny bit of profit!"
"We share the same interests and the same demands; therefore, we should monitor and help each other. We cannot let the wealthy break us from within!"
...
Listening to the voice coming from behind the door of the breakroom, Xio felt a slight sense of surprise. The person currently giving the speech was quite young.
Well, twenty-six or twenty-seven wasn't exactly young, but combined with his words, he gave off a sense of maturity that didn't match his age.
"Lavis! Miss Xio is here!" Bardelot seemingly didn't realize the importance of Lavis's speech and pushed the door open loudly. Hearing this, Lavis paused his talk, nodded, and walked toward Xio at the door.
"You must be the 'Arbiter' introduced by Mr. [Crown]. I am Lavis; thank you for coming."
Despite it being their first meeting, Lavis wasn't worried about misidentifying her. He had already received notice from Mr. [Crown] that a female arbiter who was short in stature but possessed an authoritative aura would arrive today. Authoritative aura aside, the characteristic of "short stature" was truly easy to pinpoint.
"Mmm. I am Xio. Xio Derecha. I am responsible for your safety and will also fulfill the duties of an arbiter. Of course, you'll need to tell me the specific objectives first." Xio nodded in greeting and went straight to the point.
"Alright. It's like this: we plan to continue the strike today, but considering..."
...
While Xio and Lavis discussed the details of the work, Fors also secretly slipped into the factory district. She had paid a fee four times higher than a public carriage,much to her physical pain,and arrived at the breakroom.
Although she couldn't rashly barge in, a Beyonder naturally had her own ways of solving things.
After confirming the room Xio had entered, Fors leaned against the wall and activated the [Apprentice] ability, opening a small "door."
However, she didn't pass through this door. Instead, she maintained the open state and listened intently to the sounds coming from behind it.
"What? So it's just this kind of work? Looks like I worried for nothing!" Fors breathed a slight sigh of relief and terminated her supernatural ability before walking out of the factory district.
Her current attire today didn't look like that of a woman who should appear in a factory district. While the mist was still thick, she needed to leave as quickly as possible.
But...
'Speaking of which, when did Xio find a new channel for commissions? Since it's nothing dangerous, asking about it should... mmm, should be fine, right?'
...
While the roommates protected each other, Snow was in Mr. A's study, reading.
At that moment, his left eye wore a monocle. Despite the early September weather, white steam was rising from his head. Glass after glass of sugar-salt water was brought in by the maid and downed by him, yet throughout the process, his gaze never left the book in his hand.
The negative effect of the mystical item Mr. A gave him wasn't actually negative for Snow. Relying on its effect of forcibly accelerating brain function, Snow was reading Mr. A's collection at incredible speed.
This collection wasn't just basic mysticism textbooks; it also included volumes on medicine, literature, mathematics, and law. As for the heat generated by the high-speed brain function, it was offset by a "water-cooling system" he constructed by continuously drinking water. With the help of "White Horse is Not a Horse," as long as he didn't stop drinking, he could maintain this "overclocked" state until the external supply of sugar couldn't keep up with the brain's consumption.
The ability of [Respondent] only applied to "conditioned reflexes",commonly known as muscle memory,and didn't help with learning languages or knowledge. The [Reader] item undoubtedly compensated for this shortcoming. As long as he put in some effort, he was confident that his "divine spell library" would soon include auxiliary spells like "Understand Language," "Understand Law," or "Understand Medicine."
Of course, his current knowledge was still limited; at most, he could only manage something like "Understand Law (Criminal Law)" for now.
However, this didn't dampen his enthusiasm. "Universal Nature" couldn't consist solely of brutes. He couldn't expect paupers who might not even recognize many words to quickly master a field of knowledge. Therefore, he had to learn it himself and then bestow it upon those in need.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
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A/N: "Reader" (阅读者) - The monocle mentioned in Ch 67. Snow uses its "brain-burning" side effect to his advantage by creating a literal "water-cooling" system.
A/N: "Crown" (王冠) - Notice how Lavis refers to Snow's persona with reverence, showing the influence "Universal Nature" is building among the working class.
T/N: "Roommates' Mutual Protection" - The chapter title refers to the bond between Xio and Fors, where both are secretly looking out for each other.