Chasing Time

“Next, we have the most noble recipient of the Order of the Garter, the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Grand Cross of the Bath, the Victoria Cross and the lower grades of Knighthood, the leader of the anti-colonial movement, the bell-ringer of the East India Company, the hero of the Crimean War, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifelong dear friend of literary giants such as Dickens and Great Dumas, a steadfast supporter of scientific luminaries like Faraday and Darwin, having served as assistant under-secretary, deputy under-secretary, and permanent under-secretary in departments of the Home Office and the Navy Department of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the inaugural Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, the first graduate and most distinguished alumnus of our school. Please welcome Sir Arthur Hastings to deliver a speech on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of London.”
Arthur's gaze swept across the crowd before him, looking at the young faces and murmured, “Agares, what do you think I should say?”
The Red Devil's wraith hovered behind him, saliva almost dribbling from the corner of his mouth, “Look at these ignorant souls; they still worship you as a hero. Why not say something they'd like to hear?”
Arthur took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar, “Oxford is a bunch of whores' bastards!”
“Oh!!!!”
The audience erupted into thunderous applause.
“Cambridge is the same!” he added immediately.
The applause grew even more fervent...
(The protagonist, possessed by a devil, travels through 19th-century Britain in a world without magic)

The Shadow of Great Britain

Eld asked casually, "By the way, John, what do you do for work? How can it be meaningless?"


Mil forced a smile and said, "I'm a clerk for the East India Company."


Arthur, who had been drinking coffee, nearly couldn't help but spit it out across the table at Robuck sitting opposite him.


While wiping his mouth with a napkin nearby, he said, "I think I understand now why you're so melancholic. The East India Company's London office is a place where even Oxford and Cambridge students would break their heads to get in."


Eld cried out in agony, "Damn! How did you get in there? Why don't I have such luck? Are they still hiring? If they are, I'd immediately resign from the Royal Navy."


Robuck, also holding a cup of coffee, nodded and said, "John, I've told you, you're already doing quite well. Don't spend all day daydreaming about what-ifs, relax a bit. If you spent your days lugging sacks on the docks, you wouldn't have the time to feel so empty."


Chapter 152 The East India Company's Trade Secrets (4K7)_2