My Ultimate Gacha System

Chapter 364 39: Preparation and Pressure I

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

The Lowry Hotel, Salford

8:00 AM

The final breakfast with the England squad happened in the same restaurant where lineups had been announced and victories had been processed, and now the atmosphere shifted to departure mode with players eating quietly while mentally transitioning from international duty back to club business or personal time.

Southgate entered at eight-fifteen and stood near the front of the room while conversations stopped and attention turned toward him, and when the room was silent he spoke with the same professional tone he'd used throughout the camp.

"Right," he said. "Thank you all for a professional camp and two excellent results. Malta and North Macedonia both handled correctly. We're top of the group with maximum points."

He pulled out a small notepad and read from it. "Players being released today: Walter, Eze, Mount, Wilson, Grealish. Your transport to the station is at nine-thirty. Thank you for your contributions."

He looked up from the notepad. "Players staying for recovery work: Rice, Henderson, Kane, Saka, Rashford, Maguire, Stones, Shaw, Walker, Pickford, Phillips. Recovery sessions begin at eleven. Physio will brief you after breakfast."

The division was clear and made sense—players who'd played significant minutes in both matches stayed for proper recovery protocol, while substitutes who'd only featured briefly were released early.

Southgate closed the notepad. "Those being released—safe travels. See you next camp. Those staying—recovery matters. Don't skip sessions."

He started to walk away and then stopped and turned back, and his eyes found Demien at a table near the window.

He walked over and his approach was casual rather than formal, and when he reached the table he addressed Demien directly while Rice sat across finishing his eggs.

"Well done Monday," Southgate said. "Solid performance. Adjusted well after the early touch, showed quality when it mattered. See you next camp."

Professional acknowledgment. Nothing excessive. No dramatic praise or special attention.

"Thank you," Demien said.

Southgate nodded once and moved on to speak briefly with Eze two tables over about something tactical, and the interaction lasted maybe thirty seconds total before he left the restaurant.

Rice looked up from his plate after Southgate was gone and his expression showed mild interest without excessive curiosity.

"Heading back to Italy?" Rice asked.

"London," Demien said. "Got some meetings."

Rice nodded but didn't ask what meetings or with whom because that wasn't his business, and the professional distance between teammates was maintained naturally.

"See you next time then," Rice said, and he went back to his breakfast while the conversation ended without awkwardness.

Demien returned to Room 412 after breakfast and found Phillips already in his physio kit preparing for the recovery work that would occupy his morning, and his bag was packed and positioned near the bathroom because the room would stay his for the next two days.

"Got everything?" Phillips asked while rolling up compression sleeves.

"Yeah," Demien said, and he did a final check of the wardrobe and bathroom to make sure nothing was left behind.

Phillips stood and extended his hand. "Good luck with whatever's happening in London."

They shook hands and the grip was firm and brief.

"Thanks," Demien said. "See you next camp."

"See you then," Phillips said, and that was the extent of it because teammates who barely knew each other didn't manufacture deeper connections just because they'd shared a room for four days.

Demien grabbed his bag and the two match balls from Malta and Old Trafford and walked out while Phillips stayed behind preparing for physio work.

Manchester Piccadilly Station

10:45 AM

The FA bus dropped the released players at Manchester Piccadilly Station at ten-thirty and they dispersed naturally with brief goodbyes and professional acknowledgments, and by ten-forty-five Demien was on the eleven AM train to London Euston with a window seat in a quiet coach.

The journey was two hours and ten minutes according to the departure board, and he settled into the seat with his phone face-up on the small table while the train pulled away from Manchester and accelerated south through the industrial outskirts before reaching the countryside that sat between major cities.

His phone buzzed forty minutes into the journey with a text from Marco that arrived without preamble.

Marco: Meeting at 3 PM. Rosewood Hotel, Holborn. Room 512. Both revised offers ready for review. See you there. - M

Brief. Professional. No unnecessary words.

Demien didn't reply because replying would start a conversation and Marco's text required only acknowledgment through attendance, and he locked the phone and watched England pass outside the window at one hundred forty miles per hour.

The train arrived at London Euston at one twenty-eight and he took a taxi to a hotel near Kings Cross that he'd booked yesterday because keeping the meeting location separate from where he slept made sense professionally, and by two PM he was checked into Room 804 with his bag unpacked and his body showered and his mind starting to shift from international football to transfer business.

He changed into dark jeans and a white shirt with no tie because this was preparation work rather than the actual meetings, and the balance between professional and casual needed to land somewhere that showed seriousness without trying too hard.

Two forty-five. He left the hotel and walked toward Holborn through London streets busy with afternoon traffic and tourists consulting maps and business people moving between meetings with the purposeful speed that came from tight schedules.

The Rosewood Hotel appeared after ten minutes of walking and the building was elegant without being ostentatious, and when he entered the lobby at two fifty-five the reception directed him to the fifth floor without needing his name because Marco had clearly arranged everything in advance.

Room 512. He knocked.

Marco opened the door and gestured him inside without greeting beyond a brief nod.

Rosewood Hotel — Room 512

3:00 PM

The hotel room had been converted into a temporary office with Marco's laptop open on the desk and two thick folders positioned on the table and water bottles at each seat and a notepad with a pen laid out where Demien would sit.