318 Chapter 318: Return to Southampton City (1/2)

”After checking this city out over the last couple of days, well…there really doesn't seem to be anything special about it…”

”Yeah, but it's definitely a lot more crowded and bustling than Jing Tian City.”

”Wait, wait, wait.” I was gaping at my friends, looking utterly confused. ”Did we just do a timeskip? Seriously? We transitioned from the train scene right to a few days later? Did you just skip our exploration and semi-vacation in Southampton City?”

”Who cares about that?” Craig Carlson replied flippantly. ”The readers want to proceed straight to the tournament already.”

”Ah, screw you guys. Is this the result of the web comic adaptation of Battle Frenzy? Why even have that entire plot point of having a couple of days off in Southampton if you were going to do a timeskip? Whatever. I'm going back in time. See you guys later.”

”Huh? What?” Theodore Hammond was gaping at me, but I didn't care. Instead, I waved my hand, ripped open a space-time portal, and stepped through it to return to an event that just took place yesterday.

”…did he just go back to the past?” Sheila Scarlet asked in disbelief, but I never got to hear the responses from the rest of my friends because the portal closed up. If this was a comic adaptation, I would kicked my way out of the panel to jump into another. As it was, I might as well leave that display to their imaginations. Long live Deadpool!

Ignoring the weird timeskip employed by the story that this story was based on, I acted naturally when speaking to Dong Fang Yue Chu in our hotel room. As the tournament event hadn't officially begun yet, we had to look for our own accommodations first, and our team captain Harrison Reed had booked several rooms in this hotel.

”What's going on? Did you just walk through a rip in the space-time fabric and travel back in time?” Yue Chu was gaping at me. Okay, so much for acting naturally and ignoring the timeskip. Fortunately, before I could explain anything, my smartphone rang, the ringtone being the opening song of an anime.

”Hello?”

”Ah, Richard?” A familiar face appeared on the holographic screen when I swiped the green icon of the video call. I was unable to conceal my surprise when I saw the other party. Cecilia, on the other hand, waved at me with a bright smile. ”It's been a while.”

”Yeah, indeed it has. What's up?”

”Oh, I heard that your team has just arrived in Southampton City. I was wondering if we could meet up today or tomorrow, before the tournament begins.”

”Huh? What for?”

Cecilia smiled mischievously. ”It's a secret. You'll find out when you get there.”

”…okay.” I honestly didn't want to play games, but there was no reason for me to reject her invitation. My friends had decided to split up and explore whatever places that interested them. The girls wanted to go shopping, the guys wanted to go to a gaming arcade or the hobby districts (think Akihibara) or visit the football stadium where Southampton Football Club was playing against Manchester United Football Club later in the evening. I planned to rush back to watch that, but honestly I couldn't care less. I was a Blackburn Rovers Football Club fan, and I would prefer to go to Ewood Park instead. Unfortunately, that was in another city.

”I'll send you the address through email. Let me know what's the most convenient time for you. See you then!”

”Roger that.” I waited for her to hang up, and then tapped the screen the moment I received a notification that I had just gotten an email from her. I planned to arrange it as soon as possible, so that I could return in time and join Craig and the others to watch the football game. For my own amusement, I was going to wear my favorite Blackburn Rovers jersey, which was blue and white and had a red rose adorned across the left breast (the club badge).

”Let me see, let me see!” Yue Chu was being a busybody as usual, and he was rushing to take a good look at my email, ignoring the rules of privacy. His mouth dropped when he saw the location specified in the email. ”The Royal Flower Garden Hotel?! She's inviting you to such a fancy place?!”

”No, it's the Stuart Hotel,” I corrected as I smacked the back of his head. ”You've been reading too much Battle Frenzy. It's the new hotel that her uncle, Stewart Stuart, opened a few months ago.”

Readers probably forgot about him, so I might as well remind them that he (and the hotel) first appeared in Chapter 52. Not that they would care or bother revisiting that chapter. Stewart Stuart wasn't a major character anyway.

”It's the same thing,” Yue Chu replied, waving my words away. No, it was not…but, there was no point arguing with him. ”You need to get dressed for the event, bro!”

Obviously I wasn't going to wear my Blackburn Rovers jersey to such a formal place, but there was no way in hell I was going to wear some formal, stiff suit to the place either.

”My uniform will suffice,” I replied dismissively.

”No, it wouldn't!” Yue Chu practically howled. ”You're meeting a lady in such a high-class location! You can't simply show up in your school uniform!”

”Watch me.”

”Are you an idiot?!” Yue Chu was actually weeping tears as he buried his face in his palm. ”Look, the both of you haven't seen each other in half a year. I'm sure she at last has some feelings for you if she took the initiative to reach out to you and arrange a date…”

”It's not a date.”

”Don't be dense!”

”You're the one over-thinking this. This is not some stupid harem story where every single girl falls for me just because I'm the protagonist, or because I walk on two legs.” Plus Anastasia would literally assassinate Cecilia if that was the case. ”Anyway, I'll see you later.”

I had already sent the email and noted Cecilia's insant reply. So we would be meeting in an hour.

”CHANGE YOUR ATTIRE! At least put on a suit and a tie! Don't wear your damned uniform there!”

”Fine, fine.” it took me less than ten minutes to change into a formal suit, and I didn't bother with a blazer, but at least I had the tacky penguin necktie. Yue Chu's jaw dropped when he saw the tie, but I didn't give him a chance to object. ”See you, bro.”

”Wait, wait! Make sure you know the rules! Remember to tip when they provide some service to you!”

”Yeah, gotcha.”

I quickly made my exit before Yue Chu could ramble on about proper social etiquette or whatever. Waving my farewell, I followed the directions that Google Map provided, and made my way toward Stuart Hotel. Since I had been there once before, it was easy for me to find it again. I might have a terrible sense of direction, but I tended to remember the route once I familiarized myself with the place.

The hotel attendant at the front of the hotel bowed his head slightly when he caught sight of me approaching.

”Good afternoon,” he greeted with a polite smile. ”Is there anything I can help you with?”

”I have an appointment with someone here,” I replied, returning the courtesy. ”I'm supposed to meet, uh, Miss Cecilia Stuart.”

”!!!”

Immediately, all the staff inside the hotel jolted up in shock, cold sweat pouring down their faces.

”It's a guest of the Stuart family! Go take care of him, hurry!”