Chapter 1021: Graycastle Weekly
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
The moment she sat on the couch, the padding immediately creaked and bent.
"It seems that I have to remind the tavern to reinforce the couch," thought Victor, "Though the bed is right in the corner of the room, sometimes it more interesting to not do it in bed. A new place brings unexpected feelings. Compared with the king's city in the Kingdom of Dawn, the tavern here obviously lacks a profound background."
Before long, Tinkle cleaned the drinks and food on the table and spread the newspapers out in front of him.
"This is..." Victor couldn't help raising his eyebrows. He saw small, dense words on the paper, just like the classics which his family treasured.
He used to think that he had seen the most precious of things in the world and even played with them with his hands. Usually, when a commodity was placed in front of him, he could immediately determine its price. However, it was the first time that he was hesitated to make a judgment about something.
Such neat and delicate words were unlikely to be hand-written. In other words, they were probably printed. Considering the cost of printing, it was generally only used for important and rarely modified archives and classics, for example, the Royal Code.
That was where the problem lied. In order to achieve the best printing effect, the best possible materials would be used for printing such great quality books. The lambskin, which had never been shaved, would be considered as the basic material, and it was not unusual to decorate the page with golden lines and jewelry so as to emphasize extraordinary luxury and to ensure adequate durability.
But the newspaper was different. It was obviously made of rough papyrus, which would melt in water. It had neither a cover nor any protective measures at its corners. Even if he read it carefully, it would start to fall apart after a few reads. In his eyes, it was like putting a precious gemstone in an iron ingot.
Victor recalled what the maid said before. The king intended to use this thing to replace the public announcement board. Did that mean that it would be printed with new content in the future?
He got a positive answer from her.
"Yeah, the announcement said the newspaper would be issued every two weeks, and the amount would increase to ensure most people could read it."
It only costs ten bronze royals for each.
He began to wonder how much wealth had been plundered by King Roland from Hermes. Why would he continue doing this stuff which was doomed to lose money?
The jewelry trader, who previously believed that there might be a business opportunity, gave up his idea immediately.
"Who cares", Victor whispered secretly. "It's not my money anyway, and it's none of my business whether the king earns or loses. I'll focus on the newspaper."
Thinking of that, he moved his eyes to the first page.
On the top was an enlarged, bold title: "Graycastle Weekly".
Below it, a full-page was about the king's enthronement, as well as the news that the Kingdom of Dawn and Graycastle signed a pact against the demons.
He had heard of them before, but he did not know the details.
After reading a few lines, Victor was completely immersed himself in it.
He held his breath while reading it.
For the first time, he read the details of these two events from the perspective of the high officials. It was different from the rumors that spread among the public populace, the reports on the newspapers included accurate times, places, reasoning, process and results. It even demonstrated their causes, especially for the pact with the Kingdom of Dawn. The treachery of the Moya family, the rebellion of the nobles, and the letter for help which came from 1000 kilometers away. All of these factors led to the expedition of the Graycastle army. Then it was a matter, of course, that the new King of Dawn was willing to restore the kingdom's order with the help of Roland Wimbledon.
He knew these descriptions were definitely not authentic, but he still subconsciously wanted to believe them. The content was so complete and logically sound that it was difficult not to believe.
In fact, since they dared to put such things on the table directly, it was already convincing enough.
Victor ignored the presence of Tinkle for a time and could not wait to keep reading.
The second page was related to the demons. The writer wrote a detailed daily record of a battle which narrated the expedition of the First Army to the western wilds and its attack on the demons.
This was the first time he had heard of it.
When Victor last came to Neverwinter, he heard that the Devilbeasts had attacked the border. He had never expected the king to initiate revenge for it. Not only did the First Army march into the forbidden land, which was full of danger, it gave its opponents a heavy blow. This made them no longer dare to show up in the Western Region. If what was reported was true, it could almost be described as a legendary event!
"How did they do it?" was the fist thing to pop into Victor's mind.
Whether it was the half-a-month raids over 1,000 kilometers away or the life-and-death confrontation that was merely 10 kilometers away, it was breath-taking.
When reading the army gathering in formation and resisting waves of enemies falling from the sky, he even felt chills down his spine.
As he had been exposed to "Black Money" since he was a child, he was more informed than most that the world was not as simple as people imagined. In the invisible darkness, there were many powers that did not tire. Therefore, he was not surprised by the emergence of the demons when he heard it in the Kingdom of Dawn. He guessed that the leaders of those Chambers of Commerce were probably of the same mind.
But nothing more.
The nobles and businessmen of the Kingdom of Dawn still focused on their own interests, and not care about the Battle of Divine Will, which was a mere term in their eyes.
Victor never expected that Graycastle had already had a direct confrontation with the demons and had won. This aroused an indescribable feeling in his heart.
He couldn't explain what it was, but it made him feel safe and happy.
This should have nothing to do with him.
After thinking about it, he was probably affected by the word "human" the most, which had appeared many times in the newspaper.
For a moment, Victor felt as if he was standing with the First Army of Graycastle. In front of powerful and terrible enemies, the gap between family and blood seemed to have faded away.
He took a deep breath and licked his slightly dry lips before reading the third page.
The content on this page was much more casual. It was about the trivial things that happened in Neverwinter with quite novel titles such as "Shock! What's Behind the Explosion in the City Last Night? Detective Group Reveals the Secret!", "Water Pipe Cracked, Roads Become Skating Tracks!", "Bird Beak Mushrooms Recipe Every Neverwinteror Should Know", etc...
Victor glanced through the page, and when he turned it over, he was stunned.
A black and white picture occupied half of the page. It was so vivid that it was difficult for him to turn his eyes away.
Two girls, holding hands, stood together peacefully on a snow-covered land. White snow flew in the air, forming a gorgeous scenery. Below the picture was a beautiful line of words.
"An art beyond the times, the gift of His Majesty's enthronement! 'The Wolf Princess', performed by the Star Flower Troupe and the Witches, and written by His Majesty will be staged at the end of this month! Book your tickets now!"