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

Having said that, the Red Devil snapped his fingers and vanished into thin air.


Arthur put down the newspaper in his hand and turned his head to look at the spot where Agares had just been sitting by the train window. "Hume?"


He was pondering what Agares meant, when suddenly someone patted him on the shoulder.


Arthur turned around to see that it was the excited Great Dumas, who had been pacing back and forth in the train carriage.


"I had long heard that the train was a remarkable new invention, but it wasn't until today, when I boarded it myself, that I realized just how amazing this thing really is! From London to Liverpool, 200 miles, it only takes five and a half hours to reach our destination. Arthur, do you realize what this means? It means that if I organized Rebels in Marseille, I would only need half a day to get to Paris! Then it would only take me half an hour to grab Louis Philippe by the neck and toss him from his throne in the Tuileries Palace into the Seine River."


Chapter 282: Anti-smuggling Inspector_2