Business

The football area was designed just like any sort of stadium you could find all over Europe, and around the world.

This was a relieving sight, there really was no telling what would be considered normal for football stadiums in other dimensions, nor that the door he had stepped through would lead him to a full-on stadium filled with a pretty sizeable crowd.

He walked down the stairs until he came to the row of seats right in front of the pitch with the best view in his opinion, although there wasn't a game on currently he still decided to sit down.

Noah just wanted to sit and stare into space for a while, taking in the sereness of the moment, the peace being more calming out here in the cold air than in the stuffy hotel or anywhere else, this had been his first bit of fresh air in a day, and he was going to savour the moment.

Upon closer observation, Noah noticed that the other people in the stadium were merely place-ins made of whatever, while he didn't know what they were made of to seem so lifelike he did know that they most certainly were not alive.

Well, it was a lie to call them all lifeless, there were some people who were moving around, but this was mainly focused in the food stands and other sorts of recreational places.

That was when Noah saw it, his holy grail, the house of the liquid of the gods, a pub was stationed directly across from the central seat that Noah was relaxing on, this was an opportunity that Noah could not let pass him by.

Although he really wanted to go and have himself a beer he just couldn't bring himself to stand up and break the spell of tranquility that he now found himself under.

It was the first truly calm moment that he had experienced in years, he didn't have any worries on his mind, nor did he have any deadlines to work towards or angry people to tell that they wouldn't be receiving a return on their investment.

Truth be told he could have fully fallen asleep on that chair and slept incredibly well, even with the very plasticky feeling that the chair was giving his backside.

It took him an extra twenty minutes of complete relaxation before he decided it would be for the best if he finally moved on, maybe later he would come back to rest again but for now he had somewhere to check out.

He slowly arose from his leather-covered plastic chair, possibly the comfiest thing that he had sat on in a very long time, and made his way towards the pub that he had seen, its sign containing a red lion holding a beer in its paw.

The outside was surprisingly big for something built on a football stadium, it came to be about the same height that a normal bungalow that you could find in the countryside would.

It was big enough that Noah didn't have to duck despite being roughly six feet in height, a big rarity in some parts of the country since the buildings that the pubs occupied could be several hundred years old.

This one seemed to be modern, with large glass windows allowing vision inside the establishment from the outside and allowing light to bask the entire interior.

There were also outside seats, some were benches while others were the kind that you would find outside of coffee shops, which was odd to see outside a pub where you were at risk of getting drunk all the time that you spent there.

Noah deliberated for a second on whether or not to enter, he could try and go sober, make himself a better man for it.

Or he could give in to his temptations and drink the day away like he always used to, win or lose he would always drink after a day of gambling to take his mind off the stress it had accumulated.

`That's the reason you lost your wife, Noah` he angrily reasoned with himself, trying to stop his entry to the devil's den, and after a few more seconds of waiting at the door he decided to be a better man and walked away.

As he made his way away from the pub he felt a hand come over his shoulder, it wasn't in a hostile manner, but wasn't friendly either.

Turning around to see what had just invaded his personal strength Noah came face to face with a giant lizard that looked to have direct ancestry with a crocodile and yet was standing on two feet.

It also towered over him, being both taller and broader than he could ever wish to be, a sign of the different evolutions that had taken place in his dimension compared to the.. thing in front of him.

"Sorry about that, I just wanted to get your attention and didn't mean to come as so rude"

Despite outward appearances, the lizard was surprisingly well-spoken and polite, a combination that Noah couldn't help but admire, that was how he had modeled himself after all.

"Its fine just gave me a bit of a startle, what with your stature and everything else"

The lizard nodded in agreement, he probably got that kind of reaction a lot.

"That is to be expected, I'm sure that it is quite a shock to see a lizard walking with two legs and talking to you in such a... what is the word for it?"

"Would it happen to be fashion?"

"In such a fashion, yes"

There was a newfound respect that formed between the two as they stared at each other with friendly intent.

"Well then would you perhaps like to hear me out"

"I am rather interested in why you came up to me and went so far as to touch my shoulder to get my attention, so I'll take you up on your offer for now"

He sounded exactly like a tsundere with that statement, but he had no concept of their existence nor how they worked, he just felt like leading the lizard on a bit.

"Very well then, please, follow me"

The lizard led Noah across the football pitch toward where he had been sat just moments before, striking Noah as a bit odd.

"Why didn't you just lead us into the pub that you came from?"

"It seemed that you were having a hard time keeping yourself from entering, and I am not one to entertain bad habits that people do not want"

The lizard's response was dignified as ever and highlighted to Noah that he was really bad at keeping to these decisions he made, he had been more than willing to enter that pub after having rejected it to become a better man.

"I thank you for that, I can't believe that it needed pointing out to me before I realised what I was about to do, hahaha" The laugh was to cover up his disappointment with himself.

"There is no need to thank me, it was custom that I help someone with their bad habits if they are willing to change"

"What a lovely custom that is"

Noah had a newfound respect for these reptilian people whose culture seemed to hold a kindness that had long been lost to the past.

"It is rare to see with the younger generation though, they care less for tradition"

He was surprised to hear something like that after only knowing the lizard for less than ten minutes, but could still feel some sort of empathy towards him.

"There is a reason I needed to tell you that"

"And what would that be"

"To fix it I need chips, and a lot of them, which means that I will likely need help, and for that purpose, I have been waiting for someone else to arrive here"

"Why in the sports section of all places?"

It took the lizard a few seconds to get the words, during which Noah could swear he saw the lizard become embarrassed in the way that they show it, scratching the back of his head for longer than an itch would require.

"It is because I" his voice went quiet, just barely audible, "I thought there would be more people here"

"That's what you were embarrassed about, talk about a let down"

The lizard looked a little dejected after hearing Noah's dismissal of his embarrassment as nothing special but took it better than most.

"*Ahem* Moving on from that, I would like to team up with you on a potentially incredibly lucrative sports bet"

"Before I accept you are going to have to tell me more"

Noah still wasn't completely ready to enter into another team contract just yet, he still needed to get Julie to some level of competence.

"It is only natural that you would want to know more about it, alas here are the details that I have come up with so far"

With that, he brought out a piece of yellow-white paper that had a plan written down in scribbly handwriting that seemed to come more from a primary schooler than a dignified man.