Regrettably, there was no champagne.
At first, Huai Shi had only planned to find three or five acquaintances for a small celebration. Somehow, though, word got out.
In the middle of the night, news that the Heavenly Kingdom Lineage was treating everyone spread across London as though it had grown wings.
Kuafu, that thoughtless idiot, deserved much of the credit. His mouth was like a loudspeaker; one whistle, and who knew how many single muscle bros he had dragged over for free food and drink.
First came comrades who had fought side by side in the War of All Realms, then acquaintances from the various lineages. East Xia, Rome, the Russian Federation, India, the Americas, and so on...
When Titus heard there was such fun to be had, he even changed clothes, disguising himself as a commoner and dragging along the High Priest of Thoth to sample some commoner cuisine.
Then, when acquaintances from the Unified Bureau came knocking—including friends from the Abyss Development Bureau, the Current Realm Defense Bureau, and other agencies—the scale could no longer be controlled.
In the end, even Nakajima, specially dispatched by the Continuance Institute, silently slipped into the crowd with a beer in hand, throwing his arms around old friends from the Unified Bureau's Technical Department as they exchanged tips on blowing things up...
In the blink of an eye, what had started as a barbecue stand with beer had become a high-end gathering for the Present Realm.
It had grown so large that even the hotel restaurant was nearly unable to hold everyone.
Fortunately, Russell's assistant had made capable arrangements, and Huai Shi had enough clout to summon culinary demons from half of London. Otherwise, everyone would have had to make do with instant noodles and sausage. It would have been downright embarrassing