“In the year 1033 of the Post-Magic Era, the Holy State of Syard used the pretext of seizing the world’s most delicious cheese.”
“They launched a surprise attack on the border regions of the Cold Claw League, thus beginning the war.”
“However, the true purpose of the war was not as trivial as the Holy State of Syard claimed.”
“In reality, the King of Syard had completely lost his patience with the neighboring demi-human races.”
“At the same time, the citizens under the King’s rule were filled with resentment and loathing toward these demi-humans, who possessed strange appearances and acted like savages.”
“Driven by this unprecedented war fever, the Holy State of Syard initiated this bloody conflict.”
“Their true goal was to erase the nation established by the non-human races: the Cold Claw League!”
“Because the army of the Holy State of Syard brandished bright red flags, while the army of the Cold Claw League mostly carried white flags, this conflict became known as the ‘Red and White War.'”
Inside a small wooden cabin next to the church ruins.
Derek, dressed in a pure white priest’s robe with gold trim, stood behind a podium.
Holding a worn-out history textbook, he spoke incessantly about the history of this world.
Derek’s lecturing voice suddenly paused, and his sharp gaze swept across the students below like a hunting eagle.
At that moment, he saw it.
In the shadows of the back corner of the classroom, a vampire girl with pitch-black hair was slumped over her desk, fast asleep.
Derek was instantly incensed.
‘That girl, Vivian! Every time she comes to class, she looks like she hasn’t slept a wink. Today is even better; she just went straight to sleep! Her drowsiness has even infected the good children around her who actually want to listen. She’s making everyone else listless and spiritless just like her. This is simply… a black sheep! She must be weeded out!’
“Vivian! Stand up right now!”
Derek shouted sharply from the podium, causing the children sitting near him to jump in fright.
“What’s going on…”
Startled by the shout, Vivian snapped to attention, her eyes darting around in a daze.
Only then did she realize she was in a classroom.
“I am asking you, when did the Red and White War end?” Derek asked, casting a stern gaze her way.
‘Oh no, it’s the dreaded classroom questioning session.’
Moreover, she didn’t even have a desk mate who could help her.
“Uh…”
Vivian’s little head spun for a long time, but not a single word came out.
The Red and White War?
It sounded like some New Year’s program from an Eastern country in her past life.
‘Wait, I think I heard that name today…’
A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed through her mind, and like the Big Bang, an answer was born.
“It… it ended today!” Vivian responded, puffing out her chest with confidence.
“I see your news is quite up to date,” Derek said blandly.
Vivian breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Good thing I went to the market this morning.’
Immediately after, Derek’s tone shifted.
“Unfortunately, you are wrong. The Red and White War ended the day before yesterday. Specifically, on October 29, 1453, of the Post-Magic Era. This war, which lasted for over four hundred years, finally concluded with a mutual compromise. It’s just that the news of the war’s end only reached Ma’en City today.”
“It seems you weren’t paying very close attention when you heard the Lord’s announcement, Vivian.”
“Therefore…”
Derek stopped abruptly and pointed toward the back wall.
“Therefore, Vivian, go stand in the back of the classroom! Don’t distract the other students from their studies!”
“No~!”
Vivian let out a wail, her head drooping like a defeated rooster.
She dejectedly walked to the corner.
However, after a short while, the sound of steady breathing drifted from the corner once more.
Seeing this, Derek couldn’t help but cover his forehead and sigh.
‘This child is a lost cause…’
***
“Class dismissed. Everyone line up and come to me to collect today’s lunch.”
Derek placed the textbook back under the podium and turned to enter a small compartment to get the meals.
“Woohoo! It’s time to eat!”
The children below had long been unable to suppress the hunger in their bellies.
The moment Derek finished speaking, they immediately began to cheer.
Fourteen human cubs, all slightly shorter than Vivian, lined up in an orderly fashion before the podium.
Vivian also skipped over to the end of the line.
Standing in front of Vivian was a little girl with braided hair wearing coarse burlap clothes.
Most of the children in this group were as dusty and disheveled as this girl.
Everyone wore rough clothes that were more or less covered in patches.
Some were unwanted orphans from the city, while others were the children of peasant women from nearby villages.
Vivian, with her neat clothes and clean face, was actually the outlier among them.
This was because families with enough assets to maintain a decent appearance would usually pay for private tutors to teach their children at home.
If they had a private kitchen at home, why would they come out to eat from a communal pot?
The line of restless children hadn’t been quiet for even half a minute before a few troublemakers sought out their companions and began to whisper.
The girl with braids in front of Vivian turned around and asked in a worried tone, “Big Sister Vivian, why didn’t you come to class last week? I thought you had been snatched away by human traffickers.”
“My mom said that there have been strange people wandering around outside the village lately.”
Vivian scratched her head sheepishly. “Sorry about that, little Shana. I was so busy with wedding matters last week that I forgot all about class.”
“Ah! Big Sister Vivian, you’re getting married!”
Shana gasped and covered her mouth, her face full of disbelief.
In Shana’s eyes, Vivian, who was only one year older than her, was actually getting married!
This was a massive shock to her young heart. Wasn’t marriage something only adults did?
“Yes, the wedding was finished a few days ago.”
Vivian nodded calmly, as if it were as mundane as drinking a glass of water.
“Then, Big Sister Vivian, are you going to have a baby soon?” Shana asked curiously, her gaze shifting toward Vivian’s flat belly.
“H-Have… have a baby?! What are you saying! Silly Shana!”
‘You have to do *that* kind of thing to have a baby!’
Vivian’s cheeks instantly flushed red, the heat spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.
Her entire face became bright red, like a ripe apple hanging from a branch.
‘This brat really has no filter. She’ll say anything…’
“But that’s what my mom said. My mom and my old man had me after they got married. Not long ago, my dad suddenly left for some reason, and then my mom married another person I didn’t know, and then…”
“Then her belly got really, really big! It swelled up like a ball. I thought my mom had just gotten fat from sneaking extra food. So I went to ask her, and she said that girls’ bellies get big after they get married, and then they produce a baby. Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen when you get married?”
Shana’s eyes were wide as she looked at Vivian with an innocent expression.
“Uh… it’s something like that.”
Vivian was left speechless by Shana’s logic and could only offer a perfunctory response.
She couldn’t exactly explain adult concepts to a child.
“So when is Big Sister Vivian having a baby?” Shana looked expectantly at Vivian’s stomach.
‘Oh my god, this kid is relentless!’
Under this kind of interrogation, Vivian’s walnut-sized brain was beginning to malfunction.
“Soon, soon… I’ll have a baby tomorrow…”
Her dark red pupils literally spun into two dizzying swirls.
At this point, Vivian was completely delirious and had no idea what she was saying anymore.
“Yay! Big Sister Vivian, can you bring your baby to class next week? I haven’t seen what a newborn baby looks like yet,” Shana said happily.
“Okay, I’ll definitely bring my baby…”
Vivian no longer had the energy to argue about strange things with Shana. She just wanted to agree and end the topic quickly.
‘Why hasn’t that old geezer Derek come out yet? I can’t take this anymore!’