Chapter 12: If They Approach Like That (5)

I laid out my grievances.

"Those three aren't even worth mentioning, and the coach is no good either. The other players and coaching staff who just stand by are the same. The board, which should be monitoring the whole club, isn't doing anything either. Even the agency is just sitting back and doing nothing. There's not a single group that I like."

And then I asked one more question.

"But you still want to continue? If I were in your shoes, I would have paid the termination fee and gone back home without hesitation."

Sebastian hung his head, so I couldn't see his expression. After a while, he wiped away a few dried tears and said quietly, "But there's still one thing left."

"What is it?"

Sebastian rummaged through his pocket and pulled out his phone. He turned on the screen and showed me his SNS from when he was browsing the web earlier.

The last video he had posted, along with comments that had been left up until just yesterday.

[I'm waiting!] [Please adapt quickly and help us get promoted

]

There were a lot of negative comments, but Sebastian smiled as if he treasured even those.

"With this kind of support, I really want to give back."

I was momentarily stunned, then shook my head to clear my mind and ruffled Sebastian's messy black hair.

"You want to play, right? Then?"

"…Yes. Even if I can't play in the end, I want to at least hold out until this season."

"Alright. I'll do my best, no, I'll make sure you can play somehow."

"Really?"

I left Sebastian's question behind and strode into his house. I needed to eat before I could work.

That day, I contacted the agency and quickly arranged a rental car (they could at least do that) and drove Sebastian to the training ground.

The mental harassment continued. While at the training ground, they seemed to be wary of the eyes of the staff, so they slyly provoked us, but the nighttime ruckus grew louder, preventing us from sleeping well.

Of course, Sebastian was moved to a different accommodation. The agency didn't provide any support for that, so I spent a little out of my own pocket. I figured I'd get reimbursed later once Sebastian was doing well. I was keeping all the receipts.

I stayed at my original house, making noises here and there to fool them. A smart vacuum cleaner, which could be controlled remotely, was taking over that role at Sebastian's place.

It was tough until the next day, but by the third day, it was quite fun. Sebastian's house had a lot of remotely controllable devices, so I could turn the lights on and off, allowing me to go back and forth between my house and his.

Solid evidence began to pile up.

With the recorder on, I purposely wandered near Liam Grant and his toxic trio.

I also pretended to text or call with my smartphone, taking short video clips. There were many failures, but occasionally I succeeded in capturing something.

Every time I recorded their racist actions—like squinting their eyes, mimicking monkeys, or pretending to smell something bad—I felt disgusted just recalling it. Half of it was directed at me, after all. Those bastards.

I thought it would be great if my helper could send me some video evidence, but that kind of luck didn't happen. I had to rely on my own efforts. Still, my hard work paid off.

[Liam Grant]

Has a jinx about having to have sex the night before a match.

This was the information I got today, the day before the match.

Sebastian wouldn't be on the roster for tomorrow's game. Naturally, he wasn't even on the substitute list. He probably hadn't been for a while, but his expression was still grim. After offering him some adequate consolation, I sent him back to the hotel and lay in wait in front of another hotel.

I held my camcorder and camera, watching like a paparazzi.

The name of the hotel was ***. It was the same hotel where Liam Grant had stayed all last Sunday.

The collaboration of three pieces of information: "engaging in ongoing sexual relations with minors," "regular guest at Hotel Sea Garden," and "has a jinx about needing to have sex the night before a match," meant it was worth checking out.

I started keeping watch outside the hotel, biting into a sandwich I had gotten from a vending machine, hoping he would show up quickly.

"When is he coming…"

It was currently 11:30 PM, and I had one sandwich left while Liam Grant had yet to show his face.

Just because it's a favorite doesn't mean he always goes to the same place. I sat there, half resigned, keeping an eye on the hotel entrance.

Then, a car pulled up in the hotel parking lot, and a couple got out.

It was Liam Grant and a woman.

I quickly turned on my camcorder and snapped pictures with my camera. With continuous shooting, I captured several hundred images during the brief moment they entered.

"Got it."

I opened my laptop and began sorting through the photos. After a while, I managed to get a few shots that clearly showed the woman's profile.

"Did I misjudge…?"

The problem was that the woman looked too mature.

Just looking at her, she seemed to be in her late twenties. Still, I wanted to finish what I had planned for today, so I stayed up all night, watching the hotel entrance.

An hour passed, then two, and time continued to flow until around six in the morning.

Finally, the woman from earlier appeared at the hotel entrance. Before making any moves, I checked to see if Liam Grant was following her out.

Fortunately, Liam Grant did not come out.

I started my car and followed the woman, slowing down and trailing her from a distance. As I approached, I pulled up next to her and slowly got out to avoid startling her.

"Excuse me, could you give me your phone number?"

"Huh?"

I felt embarrassed, but I had no choice. I was a bit worried about being reported for harassment, but it was for Sebastian.

I stepped closer to the hesitant woman and grabbed her hand. My subconscious, afraid of being reported, couldn't firmly hold her hand and only grasped it loosely. It was more like my fingers brushed against hers.

"I fell in love at first sight. I didn't know such a beautiful woman existed in England."

Even though those words were coming out of my mouth, I found them incredibly annoying.

"Can't you see that I just came out of the hotel?"

"What does that matter?"

The woman frowned and pushed my hand away, placing her hands on her hips.

"If you want to sleep with me, pay up."

"Huh?"

What was she saying? Amused by my surprise, she approached me with a sly smile.

"Money, you know, money. I'm quite an expensive date, so it's not the usual price you give to common prostitutes… it's a lot of money. Do you still need my number?"

"…Yes."

The woman, smiling like a salesperson at a department store, rummaged through her pocket and pulled out something that looked like a business card.

It was a price tag with the name [Emma Lloyd] written on it. It had prices for two hours, for a day, and so on, with her number written there as well.

"The prices are written right there. Call me if you want."

She waved goodbye and disappeared.

I stood there, dazed for a moment, then snapped back to reality and ran back to my car. I needed to find out where she lived.

I drove around looking for the woman, slowing down to trail her.

As I did, I glanced at the information my helper had on her. Fortunately, she was interested in football.

[Melissa Cant]

Born December 17, 2002

Fan of Brighton

Dislikes raw carrots

Of course, the name on the business card wasn't her real name.

The woman named Melissa Cant was a minor who engaged in prostitution for money. So, Liam Grant had committed statutory rape.

It all makes sense now, it all falls into place.

Yet, I still didn't feel good about it. Maybe the fact that she was born in 2002 weighed on my mind. But I didn't want to delve into unnecessary sympathy or overreach. I didn't know what circumstances she might be facing, nor was I curious about it.

I was just moving for Sebastian. That's all there was to it. That woman would have to deal with the law in the UK somehow.

After confirming the address of Melissa Cant, I headed to the hotel where Sebastian had just woken up. I wanted to make breakfast with the ingredients I had bought yesterday.

I borrowed the hotel's cooking facilities to whip up a simple meal and knocked on Sebastian's door. When he came out, he looked at me with worried eyes.

"What were you doing? Did you stay up all night again?"

"I was working, working. I did stay up late."

"What kind of work would keep you up until dawn..."

"Things have been tough lately, right?"

At my sudden remark, Sebastian fell silent.

"…"

"Just hold on a little longer. It feels like we're almost there."

"I'm grateful just to hear that."

Sebastian replied as he took the meal I had brought.

"I'm going to get some sleep; I need to go watch the game today."

"Okay. I'll wake you up when it's time."

Sebastian sat at the table and began eating. I quickly showered and flopped down on the bed.

I had enough evidence now.

Katie Cubitt, who wanted solid proof, would have no choice but to act with this level of evidence. If she didn't, I could always report this to the media or post it online, which would certainly lead to significant consequences for her. If she had any sense, she would act.

Based on the case of Adam Johnson, a former Premier League player, it was clear that Liam Grant's crime involving a minor would likely lead to contract termination and imprisonment. The other two pieces of trash in that toxic trio would naturally face contract termination for their racism. They were nothing but low-level thugs.

I was concerned about Liam Grant's connections, particularly his gang ties, but I figured that the power of EW Agency, which had built numerous connections in the UK, would be enough to protect him. They likely had many high-level connections.

At the very least, it was better than me reporting it to the media alone.

Although it was frustrating not being able to finish this by myself after gathering all the evidence, I understood that it couldn't be helped.

I was just a contract interpreter, and a foreigner at that. I had to see my reality clearly.

Yeah, I did well.

For now, it was time to sleep.