Before long, two men covered in dirt, with whips hanging from their waists, walked through the thick fog.
"Wolfe, where the hell have you been slacking off again?"
The voice was so loud it shook dust loose from the dilapidated shed.
Dragon and Swore quietly moved further inside.
There was no helping it—the dust here accumulated too quickly, forming thick layers if left untouched for just a few days.
The leader's loud shout sent layers of black dust flying down from the tarpaulin.
"Shut the hell up! I'll kill you, you bastard!"
Wolfe, who had just fallen asleep on the chair, hadn't even had time to continue his romantic dream with the girl before being awakened by the loud voice.
Being interrupted at the most critical moments repeatedly made Wolfe extremely angry.
The fierce muscles on his face twitched.
"The boss just said we're short on miners at the pit, no idea where they've gone. Are these two new workers you recruited?"
The lead man sized up Dragon and Swore.
He nodded approvingly at Dragon's tall frame, but shook his head when he saw Swore's seemingly frail build.
"Wolf, what's going on here? How many sacks of coal can someone like this carry at the mine? I need workers who can actually do the job!"
He voiced his dissatisfaction loudly.
Wolf didn't indulge him either, propping his feet up on the table with an indifferent attitude.
"If you're so capable, you handle the recruiting."
"You should be grateful anyone's even signing up to be miners in this godforsaken place, yet you're still picking and choosing. If you don't want them, I'll assign these two to Joseph. Don't push your luck."
Wolf showed no concern that his words might anger the burly man before him.
Being part of the same system, he knew exactly how high the miner desertion rate was at the pits.
These weren't the old days when you could be selective about miners.
Most people living in this kingdom had already learned about the darkness of the mines and were unwilling to become miners.
Only those with limited information or no other options would choose to work as miners.
"Having anyone at all is good enough - there's nowhere else to get replacements."
After hearing Wolf's words, the burly man's face flushed red.
He was naturally hot-tempered too, but sometimes you have to bow to circumstances.
If he wanted workers, he really had to butter up this guy in front of him.
After all, this man's sister was married to a squad leader in the King's Guard.
He couldn't hit him, couldn't bypass him - all he could do was put on an ingratiating smile and say:
"Ah, Wolf, look at what you're saying. I just came from the mines and was in a bad mood, that's all."
"I'll take these two. I'll buy you a drink later."
Only then did Wolf nod lazily and say:
"I've already signed their contracts. Just take them with you. One more thing - once they leave this shed, they've got nothing to do with me anymore."
It wasn't that Wolf was being petty.
This kind of thing had happened before.
A worker who was perfectly fine during recruitment ended up dead on the way to the mines.
Normally, dead was dead - nobody to blame.
But that overseer, relying on his father's influence, started arguing with the person who assigned the miners.
In the end, the King's Guard captain had to mediate, giving both sides equal blame, and the matter was settled.
Since then, they'd had an unspoken rule.
Once someone signed the contract and left the recruitment office, they were no longer the recruitment office's responsibility.
When overseers came to collect workers, they sometimes offered benefits to the recruitment staff to pick better workers for their teams.
These were all underground, unwritten rules.
Dragon and Swore were experiencing firsthand what it meant that every move was part of human relationships and social conventions.
They had either been exposed to levels that were too high or too low before.
While they'd heard about such things, this was the first time they saw it clearly displayed before their eyes.
"See, I told you working in the mines would be useful. We haven't even entered the mines yet and we've already learned our first lesson."
Dragon felt his theoretical knowledge had increased considerably.
To achieve justice and lead the people's uprising, they had to understand their way of life.
They needed to understand what exactly was oppressing them the most.
The two burly men seemed to pay no attention to Dragon and Swore behind them, chatting casually as they walked ahead.
Dragon felt they had walked a long distance before finally arriving at a place resembling a train station.
"What is this thing? It's so huge, like a monster spitting fire."
It was Swore's first time seeing a large steam locomotive (an old-fashioned train that spews sparks with a clattering sound).
His eyes lit up, and he couldn't resist the urge to step forward and touch it.
Coming from an agrarian kingdom, he had never encountered anything like this before.
Dragon was also quite surprised.
Although he had seen steam locomotives before, they were typically concentrated along the Grand Line.
Encountering one in the Four Seas was truly unusual.
"Hahaha, look at these two fools. I told you this thing would scare them."
"Country bumpkins, they got no experience at all."
The two burly men had observed Dragon and Swore's earlier expressions and were laughing so hard tears nearly flew from their eyes.
Swore could only force a smile and ask.
"Boss, what is this thing? I've never seen it back in my hometown."
The lead burly man patted the body of the steam locomotive and said:
"It's normal you haven't seen it. This was developed by scientists from the World Government at great cost, specifically for transporting coal, ore, and other materials. People can ride them too."
"Alright, hurry up and get inside. Once we arrive, get to work properly."
The four of them boarded the steam locomotive and sat facing each other on the benches.
The two overseers were completely at ease; they made this journey countless times a year.
Dragon was deeply moved inside, while Swore was brimming with excitement.
Choo~ Choo~ Choo~
The steam locomotive stopped at a checkpoint, behind which stood an extremely tall city wall.
Squads of patrol soldiers, clad in protective suits and gas masks and armed with flintlock rifles, were continuously patrolling the area.
The two overseers caught a whiff of the even stronger odor here, and their expressions changed.
"You two, get the hell inside and start working."
The overseers handed the contract to the sentry and received two iron tags in return.
Seeing Dragon and Swore standing there foolishly, they kicked each of them and cursed irritably:
"Damn it, no sense at all. No wonder you're fit for mining work."
At this point, the two overseers no longer bothered to maintain their facade.
They reverted to their true selves, pushing Dragon and Swore forward while cursing.
A sentry wearing a gas mask stopped Dragon and said in a muffled voice.
"Kid, let me tell you the rules here in advance. Work hard—that's what matters. Even if you can't handle it, you have to. Don't even think about causing trouble, or else..."
He pressed the barrel of his rifle against Dragon's chin and let out a cold snort.
"Sir, I'll definitely work hard."
Dragon pretended to be frightened and timid as he spoke to the patrol soldier.
"Mm, go on in."