Tao Yu ate breakfast while reading the newspaper that had arrived that morning, feeling a little amused.
Smartphones had long since become commonplace, and even short-video platforms had appeared. All kinds of independent media had sprung up like mushrooms after rain, yet newspapers were still quite popular in this world.
There were newspaper kiosks, and families still held on to the habit of subscribing to newspapers.
But to Tao Yu, it was just like that record shop that had already closed down. When the worlds first merged, old habits might have kept it going, but once the current subscriptions ran out, renewals would probably plummet...
Then Tao Yu saw a tabby cat with markings a little like an orange cat's appear at the inn entrance.
Mrs. Jocelyn, the innkeeper, had a British Shorthair that seemed to feel its territory was under threat. It hid by Tao Yu's feet, its fur bristling as it let out a low growl.
The tabby cat merely glanced at it, then swaggered inside, seemingly studying Tao Yu closely.
Tao Yu smiled and poured a little milk onto the floor, apparently trying to feed it.
But the tabby cat had no interest in the milk. Instead, the British Shorthair started lapping it up greedily, keeping a wary eye on the intruder as if staking its claim.
Tao Yu knew this was Professor Minerva McGonagall's Animagus form. She had probably come to observe him because of his unusual circumstances.
Perhaps the teacher sent to welcome him would be her in person.
Sure enough, the tabby cat soon hurried out of the inn. A little while later, an elderly woman wearing square glasses, with black hair curled up into a high bun and dressed in a dark green robe, entered.
Minerva McGonagall had wrinkles on her face, but