Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 211

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“No. It’s because that team will be promoted and disappear after this season. Then, when our Blue Bird team gets promoted, there will be one more spot open. Hehehe.”

It was only then that Bumseok understood. Currently, the Dragon Knights were the only team within the Delroy Metropolitan Government belonging to the Highreen Central League. If this team were relegated and the Chaplin Whisper team were promoted, there would be a total of four vacancies in the Delroy Wide League. This is because the league would be left with only 16 teams due to the three relegated teams and one promoted team.

So, where would those spots be filled from? Four teams would be selected from the promotion tournament involving the top two teams from each of the eight leagues, including the Avand Area League, which is at the bottom. In other words, if Lexter’s Blue Bird team finished in the top two of their league this season, they could try for promotion in a more comfortable situation.

He gulped down the glass of wine next to him and grumbled.

“Tsk. You have it so good. We’re working our butts off, and you’re hoping for scraps.”

“Hehehe. It’s all luck. Honestly, if the Gods Knights hadn’t unfortunately fallen short in the last promotion tournament, they would have had the same opportunity as our team this year, right? Everything in life is a blessing in disguise.”

“But, it’s just that the Blue Bird team is too lucky. When they came up to the Avand Area League this time, there were four spots open because our team was promoted, wasn’t there?”

“Well, that’s true, but what does it matter how many spots there are when you’re playing against amateur teams? We came up undefeated this year.”

Since he wasn’t wrong, Bumseok nodded. In terms of power, Blue Bird was a mid-to-lower tier team in the Delroy Wide League. Even the current Gods Knights couldn’t confidently guarantee a victory, so there was no way amateur teams could be a match for them. Even if there was only one promotion spot, they would have eventually succeeded in entering the Avand Area League.

“I guess so. The Blue Bird team is good enough to play in the Wide League without any problems.”

Lexter, with a faint smile, took a spoonful of dessert and continued the conversation.

“By the way, how are the Gods Knights doing?”

“Hmm. We’re tied for 14th place with 1 win, 2 draws, and 2 losses.”

“Oh? That’s a pretty good record?”

“Well, that’s because we gave up on the FA Cup and League Cup and are focusing only on the season games.”

“But, aren’t all the other lower-ranked teams doing that too? The Delroy Wide League is so competitive this year that everyone is doing everything they can to survive.”

Bumseok made a bitter face.

“Yes, that’s true. But, they didn’t give up as blatantly as we did. We sent out our entire reserve team.”

“No, I think the other teams sent out their reserve teams too?”

“Hehehe. Well, it’s because our Gods Knights’ reserve team is a pretty strong team in a way.”

Lexter seemed to understand what he meant and laughed out loud. The Gods Knights, with their short history, had a significantly weak reserve team. Most of them were semi-professional players who had been with the team since their amateur league days, and amateur gladiators who were brought in when the reserve team was created last summer, so their quality was inevitably different from that of a typical Wide League reserve team. Sending these guys out to the game was no different from giving up on the game altogether.

“Hahaha. Well, your team’s reserve team is a bit weak. Then, why don’t you release them all and recruit some useful guys to form a new reserve team?”

“I’m a little hesitant to do that.”

“Why?”

Bumseok made an okay sign with his hand and said.

“If we recruit useful guys, we’ll have to pay them a lot of money, right? And many of the reserve team members are founding members of our team who helped us get promoted to professional status. But, as you know, they’re not good enough, so if they get released, they won’t have any teams to go to. Since I’m not in a position to develop the reserve team anyway, I’m thinking of keeping them for the time being and using them to meet the team’s maintenance requirements.”

“Hmm. That’s not a bad idea either. You can save the team’s money and show consideration for their past contributions.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But, putting aside the reserve team… why didn’t you recruit any more first-team players during the last transfer season? You made quite a bit of money from the Chaplin Whisper deal, didn’t you?”

Bumseok made a very annoyed face. At the time, he had pocketed a large sum of 150 million Krang [currency] from Amelie’s duel issue. So, he combined this money with his existing funds of 62 million Krang and was about to start recruiting gladiators in earnest when he faced an unexpected obstacle. The entity that had made him money was now holding him back.

“Isn’t that all because of Chaplin Whisper? Coach Vincent kept hitting on all the promising players around here to form a new reserve team, so their value became very expensive. When I offered what I thought was a fair price, the other teams complained that they couldn’t even buy shoelaces with it, so I was going crazy.”

Indeed, everyone in this area knew about Chaplin Whisper’s spending spree. Lexter had heard it so much that he was sick of it, so he could fully understand his feelings.

“Hehehe. Well, that’s how the world is. So, what are you going to do?”

“So, I’m looking into promising players in other central governments. It’s hopeless here now.”

Gloria, who had been listening quietly, joined the conversation.

“Bumseok, do you not have enough funds in the team?”

“Sigh~ I have some funds, but I’m having difficulties because the surrounding environment is not good.”

“Then, can I support you a little? My company’s situation has improved recently, so I can give it to you in the name of a sponsor.”

Bumseok waved his hand as if it were out of the question. He already felt indebted for the money he had received from Gloria so far. And although the Rainbow Group has stabilized now, there was no telling when another crisis might come. With a lot of debt, it was easy to be attacked, so it was necessary to reduce the debt ratio.

“It’s okay. We have enough funds to run the team. The problem is the gladiator recruitment funds, but I can solve it by selling my feet and traveling around [a self-deprecating way of saying he’ll scout players personally]. And although the Rainbow Group has stabilized now, it still has a lot of debt, so it’s still dangerous. Therefore, it is a top priority to secure financial soundness enough to cope with external attacks on our own.”

“But, our Rainbow Group has a better financial condition than other real estate companies.”

“Yes, that’s true, but if someone pulls a trick like last time, it could become dangerous, right? They will definitely attack again, so we must be thoroughly prepared for this.”

“But, it’s different this time. Chairman Wilkins of Wilkins Financial Holdings is helping us.”

Bumseok sighed deeply. Chairman Wilkins was a very reasonable, ethical, and personable man, but he was still someone else. Even if he was helping them now, he could turn his back on them in the future, and it wouldn’t be strange at all. After being severely backstabbed by the Black Society, there was no way he could place absolute trust in Wilkins Bank.

“That’s true, but you never know what will happen tomorrow. For example, in the last incident, the Rainbow Group was hit hard by its main bank, Unique Bank, wasn’t it? You should think that Wilkins Bank is no different, so that the same problem will not occur in the future.”

Gloria nodded silently. The betrayal of Unique Bank at the time was a shocking blow. Even though they knew that the Rainbow Group’s financial soundness was good, they turned their backs on them so coldly.

“Then, what should we do?”

“First of all, as I just said, it’s better to reduce the debt ratio.”

“But, real estate companies have low income compared to capital, so it’s difficult to reduce debt in a short period of time. Perhaps we won’t be able to get out of the current situation for the time being.”

“Really? What is the current debt status of the Rainbow Group?”

Gloria answered immediately to Bumseok’s question.

The total debt of the Rainbow Group was still 21.9 billion Krang. It was 1.1 billion less than before, all because they bought back the bonds that were requesting refunds during the last incident. And the debt distribution rate was 16% for LHN, with a total of 3.54 billion Krang in bonds, and 17% for Wilkins Bank, with 3.723 billion Krang allocated. And Unique Bank, the main bank, was 30% with 5.913 billion Krang, and the market bonds were 10% with 2.19 billion Krang.

“And the current holdings are a total of 1.3 billion Krang.”

Bumseok made a very serious face. This was because it showed almost no difference compared to the last time. Well, the amount of bonds held by Wilkins Bank increased, and the amount of debt held by LHN Bank and Unique Bank decreased slightly, but it was barely noticeable. If the same thing happened again in the near future, the same difficulties would overwhelm the Rainbow Group.

“Is the deposit-related debt still 7.3 billion?”

“No. There was money returned to keep the tenants during the last incident, so it’s 7.1 billion Krang now.”

Although it was reduced by 200 million Krang, there was still a high possibility of problems occurring in the deposit area. However, this fund is a cost that inevitably occurs when running a real estate rental business, so it would only increase and could not be reduced any further.

‘What should I do? There’s no way to reduce the Rainbow Group’s debt. But I can’t tell them to sell their assets to cover it in the current stabilized situation.’

The total debt to be repaid is 21.9 billion Krang. However, if it is at a level that Ilsimhoe [Bumseok’s organization] can handle, there will be no problems, so there was no need to repay all of it. The biggest advantage of a real estate company is its high asset ratio. In a crisis, they can sell buildings to raise funds, so they only needed to lower it to the level where they could buy time.

Therefore, Bumseok’s job was to grow Ilsimhoe so that there would be more support funds in an emergency.

“For now, there’s nothing we can do. The risky debts are LHN and Unique Bank, and the privately owned bonds circulating in the market, so reduce the proportion of these first, and increase the bonds of the trustworthy Wilkins Bank and local banks. Also, break through other large banks and diversify the debt as much as possible.”

“Yes, I’m doing that anyway.”

“And when income comes in, focus on paying off debt rather than growing the company’s size.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then our Ilsimhoe too……”

Bumseok paused for a moment and glanced at Margaret, who was sitting quietly next to Lexter. Her IT-related skills were better than anyone else’s, so if he supported her with some funds to run a related business, he could create a plausible company. Then Ilsimhoe would also grow, so they could respond more actively to attacks from external forces.

So, he cautiously spoke to Margaret.

“By the way, Margaret. I have something to suggest, can you listen for a moment?”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Do you have any business ideas in mind? If you do, why don’t we support you and give it a try?”

Then Lexter suddenly stepped in.

“Hahaha. Anyway, you have an amazing sense of awareness. But how did you know that we were planning a business?”

Bumseok looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“What are you talking about? Are you and Margaret starting a business?”

“Yes. We’re going to start a plausible company this time.”

“What kind of company?”

“It’s a company that provides an all-weather system that integrates security and system security. You know the security system of the LHN Group, right? We’re going to create a new system that oversees computer and security systems and security work, just like that place. How about it? Sounds good, right?”

Bumseok slowly nodded. When he infiltrated the LHN headquarters building, he had some difficulties infiltrating the president’s office because the elevator system, automatic door system, and security system were integrated to create a defense wall. If there was such a system, he would want to install it in the Gods Knights as well.

And security and system security are important, even though they seem trivial. If that system is breached, valuable team financial data could be hacked, or expensive gladiators could be injured. Of course, they are defending themselves by making deals with external security and computer service companies, but if someone buys them off and attacks, they would be backstabbed with their eyes open. He could trust Lexter and Margaret, so he was definitely more relieved than with outside companies.

“It’s not bad, but is it possible? We can provide the funds, but the necessary manpower and systems cannot be easily procured, can they?”

“Don’t worry. We don’t have money, but everything else is perfectly prepared. You know the law that was created as a result of the TNB Bank incident, which caused a large number of elves working with owners in public institutions to be cut off, right?”

Bumseok was also well aware of the law. There was an incident where Lexter tried to put his lover elf, Hera, in the police riot squad, but it was canceled, and he heard about it briefly at that time.

“Yes, I know.”

“It’s the same with our police. Because of that, the riot squad members who have police officers as their owners are also constantly being pressured to resign.”

“Ah~ so you’re going to use those elves as security guards?”

“That’s right. You may not know it well, but there are many advantages to using them. Their experience and skills are quite useful, and since all of their owners are police officers, we can closely cooperate with the police organization.”

Bumseok cast a suspicious gaze at him.

“And Lexter’s connections will also become wider?”

“That’s right. Hahaha.”

“Hahaha. If this goes well, I’ll see Lexter wearing the National Police Agency Commissioner badge in a few years.”

“Hahaha. Maybe, but I’m not attached to positions. Money is the best. Money to become a cyborg and live a life of luxury forever. Hahaha.”

Since it wasn’t a bad wish, Bumseok nodded. Probably most salarymen were dreaming of such a thing.

“Good. Then how did you prepare the security system?”

Lexter patted Margaret on the back and said.

“Our president has already prepared everything. It turns out that she’s not only good at hacking, but also has great security skills, and she’s also working as a freelancer in this field, so she has a wide network.”

“Really? That’s great. Then what’s the point of delaying? Let’s invest the funds right away.”

With that, Bumseok began a simple funding operation.

The company’s name was MR Security. Margaret, who would become the president, would have a 30% stake, and Lexter, who would perform sales and support work, would pay 5 million Krang and hold 20%. And Bumseok, Gloria, and Natalie each paid 10 million Krang and were allocated 15% each, and unexpectedly, Karen paid 3.35 million Krang, which she had earned recently, and owned a 5% stake.

But the interesting fact is that even though it was a company that had not yet been created, it was already expected to generate sales. This was because Bumseok, Natalie, and Gloria had verbally agreed to gradually entrust security and computer work to them.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

Everyone have a nice day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.