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

Louis stood by the window watching Becky Sharp with her skirt lifted and umbrella open, disappearing around the bustling street corner By the time he regained his senses, he turned around to see Arthur bent over a desk, drawing and writing something.


Louis leaned in to have a look and saw that the manuscript was neither the latest issue of the "Hastings Case Files" nor a paper on electrics that Faraday had been urging Arthur to submit, but a swordsmanship manual complete with diagrams and descriptive text.


Louis chuckled and joked from the wall, "Look at this, Arthur, an encyclopedic scholar, a modern-day Aristotle! Are you now not only content with leaving a mark in the literary and scientific world but also planning to conquer the field of swordsmanship? Aren't you a bit too knowledgeable?"


Louis's jest did not stop Arthur from continuing his writing. His explanation even came forth with ease.


Chapter 268: The King's Power (4K6)