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

Agares, upon hearing this, immediately burst into rage, as though someone had stepped on his tail: "Arthur! We are discussing philosophical issues right now!"


Arthur, seeing his demeanor, also had a rough idea, he comforted him by saying, "However, your existence is not entirely useless, at the very least you have proven one thing—the Bible isn't just nonsense. On that note, worshiping Hegel's national church isn't as good as worshiping you—the stories in the Bible are quite interesting, but that's about it."


The Red Devil glared with wide eyes, his nostrils spewed sparks for quite a while before he calmed his anger and raised another issue: "Arthur, I'll explain the matters of Heaven and Hell to you some other time. But first you have to tell me, is there something you dislike about what the Deutsch prefer to worship? In Britain, you are no more than a king, but over there, you could be God!"


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