Opposition and Support

“This is truly amusing.”

After listening to Kailolo recount the development of the World Daily and some of the rather dramatic scandals that had erupted along the way, Irene was thoroughly amused, letting out a series of light, airy giggles.

Her melodious laughter naturally drew the attention of the other patrons in the tavern.

But before any of them could even harbor the thought of approaching her, they were struck by a sudden chill. A tiny trace of Dragon Fear, leaked unconsciously by Irene, sent a shiver down their spines, leaving them with an instinctive, overwhelming premonition that if they dared to strike up a conversation, they would meet a horrific end.

Naturally, there were always those who refused to believe in such premonitions.

For instance, right now, a seemingly wealthy human merchant, after making a bet with his two companions at his table, stood up. Swirling his glass of red wine, he stumbled drunkenly toward the two figures—one tall, one short—seated by the window.

As he drew closer, he felt his heart rate begin to accelerate.

Every step felt increasingly heavy.

This made him think to himself, “Could this be the feeling of love? Oh, Goddess of Love, have you finally heard my prayers!”

Under the dual buff of this inexplicable confidence and the alcohol, the human merchant actually managed to brave that faint trace of Dragon Fear. He made his way right behind Irene, his throat bobbing as his heart pounded furiously, feeling as though it were about to leap out of his chest.

Sitting opposite her, Kailolo naturally witnessed this entire display. The innocent girl wanted to warn Irene, but before she could speak, the merchant had already reached his broad hand—adorned with five gold-plated space rings—toward Irene's shoulder.

Calling out to her, he said, “Hey, babe...”

But before his hand could get halfway, Irene set her wine glass down. With a soft clink, the glass met the table. The liquid inside didn't even ripple, remaining eerily, unnaturally still.

At that exact moment, the merchant felt his body suddenly grow incredibly heavy, as if a mountain had dropped onto his back. Before he could even process what was happening, he slammed face-first onto the floor with a heavy thud.

The wine glass in his hand shattered into pieces with a sharp clatter.

Crimson wine spilled all over the floor.

The hard stone floor actually cracked under the impact of his face, forming a spiderweb pattern of fractures.

The tavern instantly fell dead silent.

Kailolo's eyes widened in shock.

After about two or three seconds.

Clatter!

Someone's hand slipped, and a glass dropped to the floor, the sound of breaking glass shattering the silence.

The tavern instantly buzzed back to life as if nothing had happened, though everyone carefully averted their eyes, looking anywhere but at the window.

Kailolo's gaze, however, remained fixed on the poor sod on the floor.

His two companions had just rushed over. Bowing and apologizing profusely, they quickly dragged the unconscious lump of a man out of the tavern's main doors like a dead dog.

Only when the three had completely vanished past the wooden doors did Kailolo instinctively shrink back, pulling her neck in.

During their conversation just now, she had almost stopped being afraid, even starting to think this older sister was a good person.

But then this had to happen.

Kailolo felt like a little white rabbit shivering before a big bad wolf, in constant danger of being devoured at any moment.

At that moment, a crisp tap on the table pulled her attention back.

Kailolo turned her head and saw Irene tapping the table with her knuckles. As if she hadn't minded the little interlude at all, she asked with a warm, gentle smile, “And then? What happened next?”

“Surely things couldn't have gone so smoothly all the way. Didn't the humans find out that the founder of the World Daily was a beastkin?”

Her face was full of curiosity, making her look exactly like an attentive listener engrossed in a story, as if she wasn't the one responsible for the violence just now.

“Uh...”

Kailolo darted out her moist little tongue to lick her dry lips, having no choice but to reluctantly continue, “No... the development of the World Daily was actually full of twists and turns along the way.”

Only this time, her voice was even softer than before.

Irene didn't mind. Through this, she learned about the events that followed...

As it turned out, not long after the World Daily became a massive hit, the nobles and merchants whose scandalous secrets and misdeeds had been exposed banded together. They established the Anti-Newspaper Faction and began openly raiding and vandalizing the various branches of the World Daily across the Eastern Kingdoms.

They demanded that the newspaper agency be dissolved.

But where there were opponents, there were also supporters.

A group of people who supported the newspaper's continued operation also gathered, forming the Pro-Newspaper Faction to clash with those who opposed it.

And the leader of this Pro-Newspaper Faction was none other than the old Count who had been cuckolded by his own wife and butler.

Along with his noble friend, who had also unwittingly been cuckolded at some point.

They firmly believed that the World Daily had to keep running; otherwise, they might be cuckolded one day without ever finding out.

Due to their conflicting beliefs, tensions quickly flared. The conflict escalated from verbal shouting matches to physical brawls.

Eventually, it even triggered long-brewing grudges between certain nobles, leading them to hire assassins to eliminate one another.

In contrast, the biggest beneficiaries of the World Daily—the commoners—

ended up being mere spectators in this newspaper war.

During that period, the World Daily sold even better than usual.

Every day, people would rush to buy a copy of the daily paper at the earliest opportunity just to see how the battle between the Anti-Newspaper Faction and the Pro-Newspaper Faction was unfolding.

Then, they would secretly cheer for the side they supported.

In the underground black markets, people even began placing bets on the open and secret struggles between the two factions.

For a time, the entire noble circle of the Eastern Kingdoms was thrown into utter chaos over a single, small sheet of newspaper.

“Now this is even more entertaining.” Hearing this, Irene couldn't help but narrow her eyes with a smile. Resting her chin on her hand, she thought to herself, ‘That little fellow Cezar sure knows how to stir up trouble. If I had known, I should have appointed him as the director of the Strategic Deception Bureau.’

Her gaze then drifted back to Kailolo. With a flash in her eyes, a glittering gold coin abruptly materialized in midair, landing on the table with a soft clink.