"Why?" The councilors looked over with interest.
"I originally intended to listen to everyone's opinions first before bringing up this issue today. But now, it seems I have no choice but to speak." Mel nodded politely to Madam Kiramman and smiled faintly to express her apology. "Madam Kiramman, I apologize."
"But the factory Miss Caitlyn mentioned to you, the one she invested in alongside Professor Viktor, is it called the 'Ivern Hextech Audio Workshop'?"
"Yes. How did you know?" Madam Kiramman frowned slightly.
Mel did not answer directly, but instead asked pointedly, "Then did she mention a certain person to you?"
"Who?"
"Levi," Mel said.
"Levi..." Everyone began to recall. "That Zaunite mage who clashed with the Iron Fist Gang and accidentally provoked this whole incident?"
Because of Caitlyn, the matter with the Iron Fist Gang had nearly turned the entire Piltover Council upside down.
Naturally, Levi's name had also reached the ears of these important figures.
However, none of them had paid much attention to it.
The story of an ordinary person suddenly becoming a mage sounded novel, but it was not at all uncommon in Runeterra.
With a population of millions in the Twin Cities, it was hardly a miracle for someone to occasionally awaken magical abilities or luckily be taken in as a disciple by a master.
While mages were worth noting, they were not enough to warrant the undivided attention of these elites.
"But the problem is," Mel interjected, "Levi is not just a mage."
"He is also..." She suddenly smiled and crooked her finger, signaling the handmaid behind her to step up to the table and distribute a small pamphlet to every councilor present. "...the author of these articles."
The councilors curiously picked up the pamphlets and looked at the cover, which read:
*A Brief Introduction to Janna Thought*
Compared to the initial version from a week ago, this booklet was significantly thicker. After all, Levi had nothing to do while sitting in prison every day, which gave him the perfect opportunity to calm his mind and perfect his theoretical writings.
"Janna?" one councilor asked upon seeing the cover. "Does this Janna refer to the legendary Goddess of the Wind?"
"Yes," Mel nodded. "But that is not the main point. The main point is the content inside."
"I must remind everyone that this is no ordinary religious text. The ideas expressed within are quite profound."
Her words piqued everyone's curiosity.
They opened the booklets in their hands and began to skim through them.
At first, the councilors were somewhat nonchalant. But as they read, their expressions grew subtle. The more they read, the more engrossed and serious they became.
For a long time, no one spoke at the conference table; the Council had seemingly turned into a book club.
Finally...
One councilor was the first to voice his opinion. "This... this is utter fabrication, a wanton smear campaign! The person who wrote these articles is nothing but a deranged, extreme wealth-hater!"
Several other councilors also put down their booklets, their faces looking rather unpleasant.
Even though this was the "moderate version" Levi had deliberately toned down to avoid drawing too much attention, it was still enough to make these great plutocrats and wealthy merchants fly into a humiliated rage.
They were angry, and within that anger, there was a hint of fear.
Even though Levi had constantly emphasized "nonviolent noncooperation," "moderation," and "peace" throughout the text, reading these sharp, coldly logical words still inexplicably sent shivers down their spines.
"This is nothing but a pile of fallacies and heresy! Ban it, it must be banned!" a councilor roared.
"Fallacies and heresy?" Mel, however, smiled and shook her head. "I think these articles are very well written and thoroughly insightful."
"Especially the section analyzing the history of Zaun. The author sees the origins and accumulation process of wealth very clearly indeed."
The articles ruthlessly exposed Piltover's bloody colonial history. And House Medarda, which Mel hailed from, was still following the Noxian Empire's invading legions to this day, engaging in that brutal and primitive business of colonial plunder.
Logically, Mel should have been angry.
But instead, she appreciated the author's attitude.
Because she herself despised the bloody atmosphere of Noxus. Moreover, rather than letting her biases dictate her words, she preferred to let her mind do a bit more work:
"The theories proposed by the author have already reached the realm of science and truth. You may dislike them, but you cannot simply open your mouths and declare them false or nonexistent."
"I don't think we need to be too resistant." Mel flipped through the booklet in her hand with great interest and smiled. "If we can understand these concepts and find a way to reverse-engineer them for our own use, they could provide excellent guidance for our businesses."
"This..." The councilors wore varying expressions, their moods mixed.
Heimerdinger, who rarely spoke during these times, also chimed in with a sigh of lamentation.
"Councilor Mel is correct. The analytical methods and theoretical tools the author uses to study history and society are entirely deserving of being called 'scientifically rigorous'."
"However, the 'ultimate goal' mentioned in the article is perhaps a bit too unrealistic."
Heimerdinger was a Yordle. The homeland of the Yordles was in the Spirit Realm.
The inhabitants there naturally possessed long lifespans and were not bound by material constraints, so everyone was free to pursue the life they desired.
Those who wanted to be scientists could be scientists; those who wanted to be generals could be generals. Those who wanted to adventure could travel the world, those who wanted to plant mushrooms could plant mushrooms everywhere, and those who wanted to slack off could slack off...
Everyone contributed what they could and took what they needed; everyone possessed true freedom in every sense of the word.
This was actually somewhat similar to the ultimate ideal described in the article.
But Heimerdinger, conversely, could not agree with the article's ultimate ideal. "The Spirit Realm has the laws of the Spirit Realm, and the Material Realm has the laws of the Material Realm."
"Humans are creatures of the Material Realm; they must rely on material resources to survive. To build a second 'Bandle City' in the Material Realm... I can only say that it is a grand delusion."
Heimerdinger sighed from the bottom of his heart.
The other councilors, disregarding the specifics of what he actually said, eagerly agreed. "Exactly! Since even Professor Heimerdinger believes these theories are wrong—"
"Eh? I didn't say the theories were wrong..."
"Then we must take decisive action!" The councilors completely ignored Heimerdinger. "We must strangle this dangerous ideology in the cradle!"
Although Levi had written about "nonviolent noncooperation" in the booklet, in the eyes of these great plutocrats:
What? You dare to not cooperate?
Just try not cooperating and see what happens!
"Councilor Mel, where exactly did these booklets come from?" Someone was already impatient to get to the bottom of this and arrest everyone involved. "Hasn't Levi been in Stillwater Hold for a while now? Who is helping him print these booklets?"
"These booklets..." Mel paused slightly and cast an apologetic glance at Madam Kiramman. "...came from the very place Miss Caitlyn invested in, the 'Ivern Hextech Audio Workshop'."
Piltover was neither small nor large. The hounds and eyes of the plutocrats were everywhere; avoiding them was impossible.
The fact that the Windguides' public propaganda campaign had lasted a full week before being discovered was already a sign of the enemy's sluggish response.
Furthermore...
"Over the past two days, local Piltovan workers have privately approached the City Hall to report their boss, Ivern. The whistleblowers claim that Ivern has not only illegally raised the wages and benefits of the Zaunite apprentices, but is also secretly organizing mysterious propaganda activities targeting Zaunites..."
"It was they who handed over these booklets while making their reports."
Not only were the plutocrats' hounds and eyes everywhere outside, but even within the Windguides' headquarters—the audio factory itself—there were many dissidents: the local Piltovan workers.
Although the increased benefits for the Zaunite apprentices seemingly had little impact on these local Piltovan workers...
Just seeing their "poor relatives" suddenly prospering, seeing that they could no longer ride on the heads of these Zaunites, and realizing they could no longer keep Zaunite factory girls as mistresses for just a few Silver Wheels a week...
...was enough to make these local Piltovans extremely disgruntled.
Not to mention that Ivern and Viktor were also reforming the factory internally, attempting to promote Zaunite apprentices to management positions that were previously reserved exclusively for Piltovans...
This struck even deeper at the interests of the local Piltovans, making them thoroughly uncomfortable.
"In short, according to these whistleblowers:"
"The person distributing these booklets to the Zaunite apprentices and propagating this so-called Janna Thought is none other than Professor Viktor, along with a group of University of Piltover students who follow him."
Mel looked thoughtfully at Heimerdinger again.
Seeing that Heimerdinger was indeed just as confused, she slowly continued,
"These people call themselves the 'Windguides,' and their organization is known as the Windguide Association. The president is the author of these articles, the mage Mr. Levi."
"Madam Kiramman, I'm afraid your daughter is no business prodigy—she is merely a collaborator with this organization."
All the clues connected.
No wonder Caitlyn was able to pull together a team and start a project in just a single week. It turned out the project and the team were already pre-made!
And this team that called themselves the Windguides...
"It is very dangerous!" a councilor judged by intuition. "I believe it is necessary for us to eradicate them!"
"Is that really necessary?" Some spoke out of respect for House Kiramman, while others genuinely believed it. "Didn't they also state in the articles? They absolutely must not resort to bloodshed, and must strive for reform through nonviolent noncooperation."
"I don't see anything dangerous about this theory."
"If the Zaunites all end up believing in this 'nonviolent noncooperation,' then that would be absolutely perfect! Hahahaha!"