February 12, 1919.
It was an ordinary morning, but in the capitals of European countries such as London, Paris, and Berlin, a newspaper article from overseas began spreading across Europe and even farther afield.
Although the fighting at the front remained fierce, with tens of millions of troops locked in slaughter, many areas of the belligerent nations—especially their capitals in the rear—remained relatively safe overall. Aside from Paris, which lay rather close to the front, London, Berlin, and Vienna had scarcely been affected by the war.
London.
"Green, what's the news today?" As usual, London resident Belton came to the city newsstand to order the day's papers.
The newsstand owner, Green, held up a newspaper and said, "Mr. Belton, would you like a copy of today's Rhine News Agency paper? This ought to count as one of today's more important stories."
"Rhine News Agency?" Belton asked in confusion. "Is that a German newspaper?"
It was no wonder Belton thought so. The word Rhine was generally associated with Germany. Although a Rhine Empire had emerged in Africa at the start of this century, Germany also had the Rhine River and the Rhine region.
Green shook his head and denied it. "Of course not. If it were a German newspaper, the police would probably come looking for trouble with me. Germany is our enemy now, after all. I wouldn't dare get charged with illegal propaganda."
"As for this Rhine News Agency, you should have been able to guess. It is an official East African newspaper. It does not have much circulation in Europe and its influence is rather limited, so it is perfectly normal that you had never heard of it before."
After learning that the newspaper came from East Africa, Belton seemed to think of something. His breathing grew hurried as