“Go on. What happened next?”
Kailolo looked up at Irene, who was clearly in high spirits. The fear in her heart faded slightly. Instead of picking up the gold coin, she continued:
“Later, during an accident, one of Lord Cezar's paparazzi was caught by the Anti-Newspaper Faction, exposing their non-human identity.”
“As a result, the fact that the World Daily was founded by people from the Black Dragon Empire was also exposed.”
“Using this as blackmail, they ordered everyone from the World Daily to get out of the Eastern Kingdoms immediately.”
“Seeing that it had escalated into a diplomatic issue, the Pro-Newspaper Faction also fell silent.”
As she said this, Kailolo's voice strained slightly, whether because she was saddened by that period of history or because her throat was getting sore from talking for so long.
“Squeak—”
Irene reached out and pushed the glass in front of the girl closer. “Drink some water first. Take your time, there's no rush.”
The warm smile and gentle tone dazed Kailolo for a moment.
Facing this warmth, the simple-minded girl finally lowered some of her guard.
She picked up the glass and took a sip, finding it incredibly sweet.
Clack.
Setting down the glass, her small eyes seemed to shine. She licked her lips, her voice rising in volume as she said loudly:
“Of course, Lord Cezar wouldn't give up so easily! When he was forced to leave, he resolutely published the final issue of the World Daily. That issue was completely free, and anyone could go to the newspaper agency to get a copy.”
“That issue of the World Daily was different from before. It didn't contain any dirt on the nobles, but rather a heartfelt article written by Lord Cezar himself.”
“The article was titled... 'I Have a Dream.' A dream that one day, we can all live under the same blue sky...”
Hearing this, Irene felt a strange sense of déjà vu, leaving her with a sudden, inexplicable urge to complain, though she didn't even know where to start.
But Kailolo's narration continued, “Because of that article, many people in the Eastern Kingdoms stopped being so hostile toward beastkin and half-beastkin. Actually, I can understand them. Before coming to the Black Dragon Empire, I was also terrified of beastkin and half-beastkin. It was really just a misunderstanding.”
Her eyes cast downward.
“However, the Anti-Newspaper Faction still wanted to kick them out. But influenced by that article, some people began to support the World Daily, believing that ten thousand years of atonement was already enough to wash away their sins.”
“To completely expel Lord Cezar and his people from the Eastern Kingdoms, the members of the Anti-Newspaper Faction publicly proposed praying to the gods, letting the gods judge the matter.”
“But everyone knew they wanted the gods to punish the sinful beastkin and half-beastkin, banishing them back to the God-Forsaken Land once again.”
When she mentioned “the gods,” Kailolo's tone noticeably sharpened, and her head drooped, as if she had recalled some unpleasant memory.
Irene keenly noticed this.
So she asked, “Do you not like those high-and-mighty deities?”
“I don't,” Kailolo replied quite bluntly, looking up. Her small foot hidden under the table twitched instinctively.
Above her ankle, there was a prominent scar left by a burn.
After a brief hesitation, she added, “Except for the Goddess of Redemption.”
“Oh... is that so?”
When Kailolo uttered the name of the Goddess of Redemption, Irene felt the power of faith within her tremble slightly.
Yet she remained calm on the surface, saying in a low voice, “What a coincidence. I don't like those high-and-mighty fellows either.”
Saying this, she reached out and wiped a trace of water from the corner of Kailolo's mouth. “Hmm... let me guess. In the end, those high-and-mighty gods didn't give any response.”
“Eh?” Caught off guard by Irene's sudden gesture, Kailolo blinked and nodded blankly.
“Their prayers to the gods received no response, so they went to the Pope of the Holy Kingdom. His Grace's reply was that, as God's representative on earth, he had inquired with the Supreme Lord... and His reply was...”
“‘God has long forgiven the beastkin and half-beastkin.’”
“Only because of this was no divine punishment handed down to expel these sinful races.”
“Oh... now that's even more interesting.” Irene withdrew her hand, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze turning deep.
Based on the information she currently possessed, this so-called archbishop was probably also talking nonsense.
But in an instant, she returned to her usual demeanor and stared at Kailolo, asking:
“So the World Daily permanently settled in the Eastern Kingdoms just like that?”
“Yes, big sister.” Kailolo nodded vigorously. Feeling that the older sister before her really harbored no ill intent, she let down her last shred of defense.
“After establishing a series of treaties with those nobles, such as prohibiting the Paparazzi from entering noble castles without permission, the World Daily finally got on track.”
“After that, although the upper echelons of the Eastern Kingdoms still didn't allow large numbers of beastkin and half-beastkin into the cities, it was at least not as strict as before.”
“Lord Cezar also began to gradually expand into other businesses after that, such as HungryNow's home delivery service for alcohol, steam locomotive rentals, shared alchemical bicycle services, convenient courier services, daily advertising rentals, and so on.”
Having said all this in one breath, Kailolo's small eyes were practically shining with stars, and she bit her lip with an expression of pure admiration.
“Anyway, Lord Cezar is super amazing!”
“In the future, I want to become someone as amazing as Lord Cezar!”
This behavior perfectly displayed the demeanor of a devoted fangirl.
“That's a nice dream.” Irene clapped her hands in cooperation. She then stood up, walked over to Kailolo, patted her little head, and whispered, “Well... do your best.” With that, she walked straight out of the tavern.
The wooden door of the tavern creaked open, then creaked shut once more.
Behind the bar, the tavern owner, who was wiping a glass while keeping an eye on Irene's departure, suddenly noticed that a glittering gold coin had somehow appeared in the glass he had been wiping for ages.
He poured the gold coin out of the glass with a hint of helplessness.
Pinching it between two fingers, he held it up against the candlelight on the wall and examined it closely for a moment.
A warm, gentle smile appeared on his face.
He then pulled open the drawer under the counter and carefully placed the gold coin inside.
Inside the drawer lay another gold coin of the exact same design.
It was the one Irene had slapped onto the table upon leaving fifty-one years ago, when she had first stepped into this tavern...
By the table near the window, Kailolo pulled her gaze away from the closed wooden door in a daze. She first looked at the gold coin reflecting brilliant light on the table, then looked down at the coin in her hand, which had grown slightly warm from being held so tightly.
She seemed to have made a certain decision.
Rate on N.U.
