Chapter 153: They Never Cared.
Mundane.
That was the word two members of the Stahlkorp used to describe the red-haired youth. When he read their report, Makoto couldn’t help but crease his brows in a frown.
Was his uncle mistaken? He did say that it was just a feeling, and that the thug might have been wary because of his troubled past. As much as he didn’t want to doubt his uncle’s judgement, Makoto had a feeling that it might not be that simple.
Mundane people had no knowledge of the Tongue of truth, and even if they were able to resist it unconsciously, doing so would require a lot of mental fortitude. Anyone capable of such a feat couldn’t be a normal person, and that included the haired youth whom Makoto had dismissed as a thug.
Having misjudged him once, Makoto was reluctant to make the same mistake a second time. He didn’t outright dismiss the report sent back by his team members, but he wanted to wait a little more and see. One day was hardly enough time to expose someone’s true face, after all.
~[ ]~
As if reality weren’t clear enough, the news of the tax reforms had dispelled any uncertainties. Massive cuts for the rich, less funding for social welfare and public assistance programs, and a general ban on unions and worker rights movements. In a time when the divide between the rich and the poor couldn’t be more apparent, the government had made its stance clear, and it wasn’t siding with its people.
Frank Porter was one of the many who found themselves with no job or income. What little scraps he could gather barely kept him and his mother alive, and he relied on government assistance when it came to the medicine she needed. That was gone now, and he was left contemplating what needed to be done.
Though he attended the protest held right after the announcement, he had long since lost faith in the peaceful way of doing things. They say no one ever got their rights by appealing to the moral sense of their oppressors. Protests meant nothing if those they’re protesting never bother to listen, and strikes never mattered because there will always be fresh blood to replace those unwilling to work.