Newspaper

After that night, Kailolo and the other children were brought to the Black Dragon Empire by Arthas.

It was only then that she realized Lord Arthas, whom she had always regarded as her savior, actually belonged to the Black Dragon Empire.

That was an empire established by two black dragons in the God-Forsaken Land.

Back then, Kailolo couldn't help but wonder if the form beneath Lord Arthas's armor was a robust beastkin or half-beastkin.

But she could never bring herself to ask.

Just like the other children, when she first arrived and faced those hideous, ferocious-looking half-beastkin and green-skinned beastkin, Kailolo had been terrified.

She was deeply afraid of being persecuted and bullied again.

Fortunately, Arthas did not abandon them. Instead, he arranged a new job for them, one where they could support themselves.

Specifically, working at a newspaper office, selling newspapers.

Upon learning she had a new job, while Kailolo was excited, the thought of facing those terrifying beastkin and half-beastkin still left a trace of fear in her heart.

When she was in the human cities, the noble lords would preach about the terrors of beastkin and half-beastkin every single day.

However, after spending a long time with them, Kailolo gradually realized that real half-beastkin and beastkin were not as terrifying as the noble lords made them out to be.

They seemed no different from humans; they had their own joys, angers, sorrows, and delights, experiencing the same ups and downs of life.

If not for their highly distinctive faces, Kailolo would have thought she was still in a human city.

After that, she settled down in the Black Dragon Empire.

Although she had to wake up very early every day and shout for hours to sell all the newspapers—even going hoarse several times at the beginning—

compared to her life as a wanderer, Kailolo felt she was living a very happy and blessed life now.

Of course, there were even happier and more blessed moments.

Namely, when she received her monthly wages.

It was a whopping ten copper coins!

Though Kailolo could never bring herself to spend them.

She saved up every single copper coin she earned each month.

She had two grand goals.

The first was to save enough money to buy a precious gift for Lord Arthas.

To express her gratitude to him.

The second was to buy a house of her own!

Although the dormitory arranged for her by the newspaper office was very nice, and she got along wonderfully with her roommates—who were also children brought over from the human kingdoms—

Kailolo always felt that only by having her own house would she truly have a home.

She...

was simply too afraid of losing things.

For the sake of these two grand goals, Kailolo went to the church every day to worship the Goddess of Redemption.

Simply because she could receive a loaf of brown bread there.

If she ate sparingly, she wouldn't have to spend a single copper coin all day.

She believed that as long as she worked hard enough, she would surely achieve both goals.

With her heart full of dreams for the future, Kailolo's cries to sell the newspapers grew a little louder.

As a result, not paying attention for a split second, she bumped into a girl who had suddenly appeared in front of her with a loud thud. Losing her balance, she fell flat on her bottom.

The newspapers in her hands scattered all over the ground. With a gust of wind, several pages fluttered into the air, dancing as if they were about to fly away.

Witnessing this, Kailolo scrambled up from the ground, ignoring the dust on her clothes, and anxiously tried to catch the newspapers that were flying everywhere.

However, someone was faster than her.

Just as Kailolo picked up one page and reached out for another, she saw the paper fly off in a certain direction as if pulled by some invisible force.

Drawn along with it were the other scattered newspapers.

Like obedient kittens, they stacked themselves neatly in the air.

And landed right into an upturned palm.

Kailolo looked up in the direction the newspapers had flown, only to see a face that made her heart skip a beat.

It was an incredibly beautiful young girl.

If she were merely beautiful, Kailolo didn't think she would be so dazed.

But from that face, she felt an inexplicable sense of... deep intimacy.

It was a feeling she had only ever experienced from the faceless statue of the Goddess of Redemption during her daily worship.

Consequently, Kailolo stood there completely spellbound for a moment.

Until the girl in front of her leaned down slightly and handed her the newspapers.

“Here. Are you all right?”

Irene smiled gently. Originally, she had only wanted to buy a newspaper to read. She hadn't expected that just as she restored her presence, such an incident would occur, leaving her somewhat amused and helpless.

“Ah? N-No... I'm fine, thank you, big sister!” Kailolo finally snapped out of it and hurriedly took the newspapers.

Hesitating for a moment, she pulled one out from the stack and handed it to Irene.

“Big sister, this... this is for you...”

As she spoke, Kailolo lowered her head in embarrassment, not daring to look Irene in the eye.

In her eyes, a noble mage would surely look down on such a meager token of appreciation.

Yet, if not for this big sister's help, her newspapers would probably be flying all over the sky by now.

Since Kailolo believed she had nothing of value to offer as a thank-you gift, this was her only choice.

In her heart, she had already decided to pay for this newspaper herself later. It was only one copper thumb (ten copper thumbs equaled one copper coin), the price of a loaf of brown bread—she would treat it as a rare luxury.

“Hehe...” Irene chuckled, finding the little girl before her quite amusing, as she hadn't recognized who she was.

She didn't reject the girl's kindness, taking the newspaper from those slightly trembling little hands, unfolding it to read.

With just one glance, she froze.

Because written in the upper right corner of the newspaper was:

Year 13856 of the Divine Calendar.

Irene clearly remembered that when she fell asleep, it was still Year 13805 of the Divine Calendar.

In other words, this sleep of hers...

had lasted for a whopping fifty-one years!

This left Irene somewhat astounded.

Although she had spent a long time in her dreams,

the passage of time in reality and in dreams could not be equated after all.

She had thought she might have slept for a long time,

but she hadn't expected it to be this long.

No wonder her body felt almost stiff upon waking.

Now, it made perfect sense why she wasn't recognized.

Fifty-one years was already considered a long time for short-lived species like humans.

“Sigh... Before I knew it, I've gotten so old. Old, old, no longer young.”

Muttering softly, Irene put on a serious face like an elderly person and continued reading the newspaper.

Then, she was thoroughly bewildered by the headlines, her face twisting into the classic expression of an old man squinting at a smartphone on the subway, feeling as though she had completely fallen behind the times.

【Shocking! Former Saintess Her Highness Vina of the Holy Kingdom attacked the Laila City branch of the Church of Light again yesterday! Is this a distortion of humanity, or a moral degradation? Will the tragedy of a year ago repeat itself?!】

【Why do painful groans frequently echo from the mines of the Dwarven Empire? After a kind-hearted soul revealed the secret, the truth will give you third-degree burns on your back!】

【The Black Dragon Empire introduces its latest drink, the Water of Life! Even the Dwarven King says it's good! Buy now! The first one thousand customers to order will enjoy a free month of "HungryNow" home delivery service for wines and spirits!】

【Another massive scandal breaks in the Duchy of Neslicy! The Duchess actually... in private...】