Chapter 12: The Translator
At the front desk, one of the officials presented the official team identification card to the receptionist on duty. The receptionist offered a smile and a bow of welcome but said nothing, knowing fully well that she would not be understood. She wasn't fazed. Instead, she quickly placed a phone call.
Due to the differences in languages, each country had three translators assigned to them. These translators were placed under the welcoming committee. It was the welcoming committee that the receptionist was currently contacting.
"Yes, Team China." She said in Swiss German. "How many minutes? ...No problem. Thank you."
She turned to the team and directed them to the waiting area. It would be some minutes before the translator is here. On their way to the waiting area, the receptionist assessed the team critically.
Were this really the Gods of a sport? She asked internally.
That's the question she kept asking herself as every country appeared before her. Some of them were really handsome and beautiful like one of the female players she just saw in Team China.
But they all look so…so normal. Most of them looked like college students heading for a class with a few even looking like high schoolers. She had no interest in esports, much less in Glory. When she heard that the hotel would be used to house players and officials of an international esports tournament, she was a little excited. She wondered what the players from all over the world would look like. She had no idea they would look like this. Were they really the professional players?
The receptionist shook her head and returned to her post. This was no time to get distracted. There were still two more countries to welcome. As she arrived at the desk, she saw the translator dash in through the revolving door. She waved him over and pointed to where the team was currently waiting. The translator hurried over, thanking the receptionist.
Seeing someone hurry towards them, the pro players immediately tensed up; Su Mucheng's attack was still fresh in their mind. One of the officials immediately stood up and blocked the translator's path. The translator realized he was acting suspicious and immediately introduced himself.
"My name is Pili Baniti. I am one of the translators assigned to work with you. It's nice to meet you."
Everyone's jaw dropped. What was this? The person in front of them did not have a Chinese name, did not have a Chinese appearance but was speaking fluent, unaccented Chinese. They were all astounded.
Seeing the dazed looks everyone gave him, he laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. He quickly explained that he was an Egyptian who received a scholarship to study in China. After spending four years there, he had totally grasped the language and was now a fluent speaker.
"I can also speak German so I'll will be in charge of any German-Chinese translations. Thank you for having me." With that he gave a deep bow as was customary in China. The team also gave their greetings.
Pili began to describe the environment and some of the things put in place for the players.
"There are 20 floors in the hotel. Starting from the fifth floor, each floor is to be occupied exclusively by the players and officials of one country. Team China is on floor nine. All the other non-country specific officials are on floors one to four. Excuse me for a bit. I will collect the key cards for the rooms." He walked off in the direction of the receptionist desk. One of the officials followed him to assist.
They returned holding a bunch of key cards in their hands.
"Let's go." Pili said and they all headed towards the elevators. They split into two groups, taking two of the elevators available. When they arrived at the floor, the first thing they noticed was a banner that said "CHINA" hung in the hallway. The next thing they noticed was that all the rooms were labelled with their names.
There were six unnamed rooms. These rooms, of course, belonged to the officials
Pili handed the key cards to the officials who in turn handed them over to the players. "The fixtures ceremony is set for tomorrow evening. If you would like, I can take you for a tour around the place before then."
That was fine by all of them. So he continued, "I am available in the building so if you need directions anywhere I will be ready to assist."
He bowed again and left towards the elevator.
"Nice guy, isn't he?" Zhang Jiale said. Pili's easygoing attitude had made an impression on him.
"He is."
"Yeah."
"Very nice."
They all agreed on the translator's attitude.
"Yeah, but I'm still shocked at his Chinese. It's really good." Fang Rui said. "I'm not sure I'll be able to learn a new language in such an amount of time."
"That's you. He's a student who received a scholarship. Is he on your level?" Jiale mocked.
"What do you take me for? Are you smarter than me?" With that the conversation devolved into trash talking and insulting. The rest of the players turned and entered their rooms. They had nothing to add to this kind of conversation.
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