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Chapter 120 An Encounter with Tony Stark
TL: Kyous
The following day, the sun was shining and the sky was clear. Gentle breezes were blowing. It was nice weather that was suitable for an outing. However, Leo and Ol’ Tom had stayed in their hotel room for an entire morning and didn’t go out until it was afternoon.
There was a reason for them to leave this late and it was simple. There is a time difference between New York and London. Leo with his extraordinary physique could ignore the effects brought by the jet lag, but not Ol’ Tom.
London’s morning is exactly New York’s midnight. It was the time when Ol’ Tom was too tired.
Until noon when Ol’ Tom was refreshed, only the duo drove to the British Museum located at New Oxford Street. Before arriving, Leo had searched for some information beforehand, and knew the British Museum was huge, had a long history, and a rich collection. On Earth in Marvel’s Universe, it was very famous.
The museum opened at 10 in the morning and closed at 5:30 in the afternoon daily. When Leo and Ol’ Tom reached the museum, it was two in the afternoon. Since it was neither weekends nor public holidays, the traffic in the museum wasn’t congested. Entry fees were free and Leo and Ol’ Tom entered the museum after a simple security check.
There were many divisions within the museum, but Leo wasn’t here to observe the exhibits from various countries. After he entered the museum, he went straight to the African primitive tribes’ exhibition, the place where the Vibranium was.
When he was passing by the Renaissance exhibit, a figure attracted his attention and he involuntarily halted his footsteps. The number of people in the Renaissance section could be counted with just one hand.
In front of a painting that Leo couldn’t appreciate, two men were pointing at the painting. The guide next to them was also introducing the painting’s history to them. “This painting is another oil painting of a woman of the era that Leonardo da Vinci, the master artist of the Italian Renaissance, created shortly after painting his masterpiece Mona Lisa’s Smile. Our museum has always regretted not being able to store the famous painting. But this painting more or less makes up for the regret.”
The guide was a lady with a youthful and gorgeous appearance. Even a professional outfit worn by her seemed to be a high-class dress.
After she finished explaining the painting, her face hung with a sweet smile, and amiably gazed at the two important guests visiting the museum today.
These two important guests were a boss and a bodyguard. The boss was handsome and had a pair of gleaming eyes and a sprightly appearance. He looked like a prodigal son of a rich family.
Leo was attracted to this extravagant gentry because his name was Tony Stark.
Tony’s eyes were occasionally scanning the beautiful guide while chatting with his bodyguard, Happy Hogan. “Happy, what do you think about the painting?”
Happy was a professional bodyguard. This could be seen from his bear-like body. Yet, as a bodyguard, how would Happy appreciate the prestigious masterpiece? “Sir, I can’t see anything special about this painting. But, the woman inside is beautiful, especially her smile.”
The guide was amused by Happy’s answer and hurriedly covered her mouth to hide her indecency.
Tony’s eyes instantly gleamed and laughed, “Happy, your eyes are bad. How can the lady inside the painting have a better smile than this lady?”
“Mr. Stark, thank you for your compliment.”
The gorgeous guide felt the conversation between the two men was interesting. But, she didn’t know Tony’s title as “Lady Killer” in America, which would serve things more interesting later on.
As expected, Tony, as per usual, reached out his hand. With a beaming smile, he said, “This beautiful lady, you don’t have to call me Mr. Stark. This name usually is for my father, you can call me Tony instead. May I know your name?”
“Lila Crestfall,” Lila replied with a light smile and felt the man in front of her have a charming smile.
“That’s a great name, like a Queen of Ice. It sounds soothing to the ears. May I know, if I have the pleasure to invite you for a cold drink? Your name goes very well with cold drinks.”
“Now?” Lila was tempted. “But I’m still working now, I’m afraid…”
“It will be alright. Didn’t the manager say this afternoon your job is to accompany me on a tour of the museum? Let’s have a drink downstairs, we can have a discussion about art while we’re at it.”
Tony convinced Lila. The two of them were talking happily and prepared to head toward a cafe.
Just as Tony was leaving, Happy pulled him aside and whispered in his ear, “Sir, what about this painting?”
“Buy it. You know I’m here today just for her.” Tony answered meaningfully before leaving.
Happy stood in front of the painting with a sullen expression. He shrugged and headed towards a corridor with a ‘Workers Only’ sign.
Leo, who was observing the collections in pretense, was eavesdropping on their conversation and was even more sullen than Happy.
‘I, Leo, somehow cross over to this world, should logically be the protagonist, right?! But why is Tony more eye-catching than I am…’
Ol’ Tom, who had been following along, wondered, “Boss, what are you doing here? Didn’t you say you wanted to look at the African tribal era’s exhibit?”
“There’s no hurry.” Leo waved his hand, “Ol’ Tom, go have a walk yourself. I have some other things to look into.”
After chasing Ol’ Tom away, Leo silently followed Happy into the worker’s passage. Entering the worker’s passage didn’t require any identification and no one was guarding the passage as well. Apparently, it depended on the tourists’ self-conscience to maintain order.
Happy walked along the corridor and made a turn at the end of the corridor, entering an office. Leo pretended to rest against the wall at the corner of the corridor while quietly eavesdropping on the conversation between Happy and the people inside the office.
“My Boss has taken a fancy to that painting and wishes to buy it. Name a price.”
Just listening to Happy’s voice, Leo could imagine the image of having uncountable money.
“Erm, my apologies Mr. Hogan. All of the exhibitions are not for sale! Mr. Stark and you only said you’re here to tour the museum, not to purchase something!” The museum staff continued, “I really can’t sell that painting.”
“Megan, your exhibition hall has at least eight million pieces of the precious stuff. Yet, 99% of them aren’t for public display and are gathering dust. Mr. Stark just wants to buy one. Not only can you make a ton of money, but the museum will also receive a generous amount of donation.” Happy began persuading, “I believe you should carefully consider it.”
“Mr. Hogan, I really can’t.” The man named Megan sounded rather upright since he wasn’t blinded by profit. “Everything here has been registered. Even if I want to sell it, I can’t do it. If this matter is discovered, the jail is waiting for me.”
Happy was continuously persuading yet Megan didn’t relent. Without a choice, Happy could only bid his farewell and return to report back to Tony. Before Happy left the office, Leo had already left, returning to the exhibition hall.
Watching Happy heading towards the cafe, Leo pondered and decided not to follow.
Tony is the smartest mechanic in the Marvel Universe and even Thanos said Tony is someone who’s cursed by knowledge. But the current Tony didn’t want to work hard and Leo had no way to convince him to be a better man. Therefore, the current Tony was useless for Leo.
If everything is still moving according to the timeline, then Tony at this period is constantly diving into skirts in various locations. His appearance at any place isn’t a surprise.
If that was the case, Leo wasn’t going to dig into why Tony was here in England. After all, he already had a rough guess, it was just for beautiful ladies.
With this thought, Leo headed to the African tribal era’s exhibits with the guidance of signs in the exhibition hall.