Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 271

273

‘Those stats and traits for 400 million…’

Renka’s price of 400 million was a very cheap price due to her traits. If combined with the excellent traits of other subordinate Elves, she could be reborn as a top-notch gladiator. Moreover, she could learn the ‘Doppelganger Queen,’ which Beomseok considered a cheat-level trait, doubling her abilities, making her a great help.

The only problem was, of course, money. 400 million was cheap, but as he had decided to recruit Kazella, he was at a loss as to how to raise Renka’s price.

“Beomseok, is there something on my face?”

Renka stared at Beomseok and poked his side. His behavior was a bit strange. She didn’t know what he was thinking when he pressed the button, but four cans of cola had been dispensed from the vending machine.

Beomseok hurriedly closed the information window.

“Ah, no. It’s just that you’re pretty….”

Renka’s face flushed. Nothing could make her happier than receiving his praise. She was already imagining herself playing in the Gods Knights [Beomseok’s Gladiator team].

However, she couldn’t easily reveal her feelings. She had seen on TV that Beomseok never made an offer to a gladiator he was interested in first. And if such a thing happened due to unavoidable circumstances, causing harm to the opposing team, he would immediately withdraw. So, it was best to pretend not to notice now.

“Ah, okay. Thank you for the compliment.”

“Hehe. What’s there to be thankful for with something like that.”

Beomseok, who was taking out the drinks, looked embarrassed. He didn’t know what to do with the four cans of cola he had dispensed while looking at the information. The refrigerator was already overflowing with snacks that Diana and the subordinate Elves had bought.

He ended up throwing three cans of cola to Renka.

“Hey. You drink all of this.”

She looked at Beomseok, holding the cola cans in her arms.

“All of it right now?”

“Who said to drink it all now? I’m just saying you can take it if you have any left.”

Renka nodded, then opened a can. There was plenty of space in her hospital room’s refrigerator, and there were many mouths to feed. It would probably be empty in an instant by tomorrow.

Renka took a sip of cola and continued the conversation.

“By the way, how did you get hurt, Beomseok?”

“I got stabbed by a sword that was lying in the pearl [Gladiator arena]. In short, I was incredibly unlucky.”

“Really? Stabbed by a sword? Was the suit defective?”

“It’s not defective. It’s just that the sword happened to slip through the gap between the shoe and ankle cover and stab me.”

She made a dumbfounded expression. The ankle cover moved in conjunction with the shoe, so the possibility of a sword penetrating that gap was very low. Renka had been a gladiator for 15 years and had never seen such an injury.

“And what’s the manufacturer?”

“Hmm. Chaplin Sports.”

“Hahaha. That company must be in chaos right now.”

Beomseok looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Why would Chaplin Sports be in chaos?”

“Think about it for a moment. The injury you suffered is truly absurd. What would people think if they saw someone in a suit get injured by a sword lying on the floor? Wouldn’t they think there’s a serious defect in the suit? Actually, now that I mention it, I’ve never heard of a gladiator suffering such an injury.”

“That’s true, but it couldn’t be helped. According to the video footage, the sword fell into the pearl, and the opposing gladiator slipped on the handle, causing the tip of the sword to rise upwards. Then, the tip of the sword rode up the back of the shoe and got caught in the gap. In short, it was an accident.”

“But professional gladiator team officials don’t think so. They hate gladiator injuries, and they’ll be wary of a suit that gets injured in such a minor incident. Especially since the person involved is you, Beomseok. You’re a super-giant prospect that the World League team and the world are paying attention to.”

Beomseok pondered something, then nodded. Certainly, if he didn’t know the situation, he would have looked at it with the same uneasy eyes as other team officials. The suit wasn’t broken by a strong impact, but simply injured by a fallen sword; it was like getting a concussion from being hit by a falling leaf.

“I guess you could think of it that way. It’s an unusual injury.”

“Yes. Anyway, Chaplin Sports will have a hard time because of this.”

Beomseok smacked his lips and looked at Renka’s right knee. Judging by the fact that it was only taped and not in a cast, it didn’t seem like a major injury.

“By the way, what’s wrong with your knee?”

“It’s nothing much. I moved too much, and my muscles cramped badly.”

“Really? With that kind of injury, you don’t need to be hospitalized, do you?”

Of course not. It wasn’t a major injury to the point where the doctor would only administer muscle relaxants and allow her to be discharged. However, she had learned that Beomseok was hospitalized and exaggerated her symptoms to stay in the hospital for a day.

“That’s true, but just in case.”

Beomseok, who had been gulping down cola, nodded.

“Well, if you’re injured, it’s better to be careful. If you go out to a game while you’re in pain, your performance will decline, and there’s a possibility of aftereffects. Especially in your case, since you’re worth quite a bit, you need to be even more careful.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

At that moment, two men and women rushed into the lounge. Both were dressed in neat suits, and they sighed in relief when they saw Renka next to Beomseok.

The man approached her, his face flushed.

“Renka! What are you doing here! I’ve been looking for you for a while!”

Beomseok stared at him and asked Renka a question.

“Who is this?”

Renka frowned and replied.

“Hmph~ They’re my managers. They always follow me around like stalkers.”

“Ah! Managers!”

Beomseok understood immediately. It was funny that she didn’t have a manager. Professional sports teams always assigned managers to ownerless Elves, who were the team’s assets, to monitor their behavior. This was to prevent various temptations such as gambling fraud and to ensure proper health management. Especially in the case of expensive Elves like Renka, they would assign six or more managers to maintain a 24-hour monitoring system. Naturally, they wouldn’t let her roam freely even in the hospital.

The male manager approached and glared at Beomseok. He was trying to carry out his mission. A human male approaching Renka was something that the manager had to watch out for with the utmost vigilance.

“Who are you? Why are you approaching Renka?”

Beomseok frowned. This was not a good situation. It would not be good for the Fire Hawks team to know that he had met Renka. If they suspected him, it would negatively affect her recruitment.

However, since he had seen his face, he couldn’t lie. Gladiator officials couldn’t not know his face.

“Oh, I’m Gladiator Beomseok. I happened to meet Renka in the lounge. What’s going on?”

The male manager sighed in relief when he saw his face. Beomseok was a very dangerous person, but he knew that he was hospitalized in this hospital due to an injury. Naturally, there was a high possibility that it was a coincidence, so he couldn’t see it as an approach with impure intentions. Moreover, according to TV and the reputation of many teams he had dealt with, he approached gladiators quite gentlemanly when recruiting them. Seeing this, he didn’t think he would approach Renka and try to do something.

“Ah. You’re Beomseok. I saw the news on TV that you were injured in an absurd accident. I offer my sincere condolences.”

“It’s nothing. It can’t be helped.”

The male manager ordered the female manager to take Renka out and then looked at Beomseok.

“Then. I’ll take Renka out now. I’d appreciate your understanding.”

“Yes. Please do.”

“Thank you. Then, goodbye….”

Beomseok called out to the male manager again as he was about to turn around.

“Ah. By the way, the Fire Hawks team is also participating in the promotion tournament, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Did you win today’s game?”

“Yes. Fortunately, we won.”

Beomseok smiled faintly. He thought that if he did well, he might be able to give the East Winds team, their opponent in the third game, a tough game. If the Fire Hawks team made it to the second game, they would definitely have a showdown with the East Winds team. These teams were not easy teams either, so they could put a lot of strain on the East Winds team. The Fire Hawks had nine Central League-level gladiators.

“Ah. Then you’ll meet the East Winds team next.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Beomseok nodded and shouted at Renka, who was walking away.

“Renka! Do well in the next game! Tell your teammates that I’ll be watching TV and cheering for them, and to fight hard. Let’s definitely meet in the semi-finals!”

She smiled brightly and immediately replied.

“Yes. I understand. I’ll definitely win!”

Beomseok looked at the entrance of the lounge where Renka had disappeared and smiled faintly. If Renka and the Fire Hawks team members fought the East Winds with all their might as he had asked, it was obvious that whoever came up in the next game would be very tired. Then the Gods Knights would play the third game under easier conditions.

He soon moved his wheelchair to his room. He needed to go to sleep early for a quick wound healing.

“Patient Beomseok. It’s time for your shot.”

Around morning the next day. As always, the nurse came and told him to drop his pants. Beomseok, who peeked out of the blanket, checked her appearance and squinted his eyes. She was a fairly beautiful human woman in her early 30s. Her slightly older age was a flaw, but her glossy black hair, the tight nurse’s uniform that revealed her lean figure, and her intellectual beauty were not a common sight.

He looked at the name tag attached to the nurse’s chest. Izella. Her name was also very pretty.

“Ah, the shot? I’m scared. Can’t I not get it?”

Izella smiled at Beomseok’s cute whining. In her 12 years as a nurse, this was the first time a male patient had joked with her like this. Most shots in this era were painless except in special cases, so there was no way he would feel pain.

“You have to get it. That’s how your injury will heal quickly.”

“I don’t need to heal quickly.”

“Hmph~ If you keep doing this, I’ll give you a shot with a needle. That’s quite painful.”

He quietly pulled back the blanket and dropped his pants in a prone position. To be honest, he was a little scared of shots with needles. The memory of going to the hospital with his mother when he was young remained as a trauma. Of course, he could get it if he tried, but there was no need to volunteer.

Izella shook her head and held a gun-shaped syringe to Beomseok’s butt, pausing for a moment. It was quite firm, and the flesh was not ordinary. Indeed, he was a world-renowned gladiator who spread his fame far and wide. She swallowed hard, pulled the trigger to inject the injection, and then pulled up his patient gown.

“It’s done.”

Beomseok lay back down and looked at Izella.

“By the way, how old are you?”

At that, Izella hesitated, embarrassed. She still thought she was young, but it wasn’t an age to be proud of.

“It’s rude to ask a woman’s age. Don’t talk nonsense and tell me if you have any other inconveniences.”

“Do you have any children? I’m a little uncomfortable not knowing that.”

“Patient Beomseok! What are you talking about! Why is my child’s story coming out here!”

Beomseok rolled his eyes. Judging by the way she spoke, it seemed that she had about one child.

“Then is it one? Or two?”

“What are you going to do knowing that!”

“No, I’m just curious. Can’t you tell me?”

Izella, with a bubbling face, held out one finger. This hospital was very expensive, and its motto was kindness, service, and sincerity. It was a useless question, but she thought it would be good to tell him to follow the hospital policy and end this annoying conversation. Moreover, she was the head nurse in charge of the third floor. There was no need to cause trouble with the patient.

“It’s one. Is that okay now? Then tell me if you have any other inconveniences.”

“Really? Do you have any plans to have a second child? As a thank you, I’ll give you an injection to have a child.”

Izella, who was thinking about something for a moment, soon turned red and slapped his face hard with the tray she was holding. Even though it was an era where men and women were different, there was no way she couldn’t understand what he meant.

She puffed out her nose and immediately left the hospital room.

‘This is not easy. Her temper is not ordinary.’

Beomseok removed the tray with his face shape clearly imprinted on it and made a troubled expression. He thought she might be a single married woman, but she was not easy to deal with. It seemed that he would have to give up on something happening in the hospital.

Squeak.

The sound of the door opening again. Beomseok, who turned his head thinking it was Izella, made a puzzled expression. Quite an unexpected woman was coming in with a fruit basket for a hospital visit. It was Rebecca from the Chaplin Whisper team [Chaplin Sports’ Gladiator Team].

============================ Author’s words ============================

It’s late every Sunday. I think I’ll have to write and reserve the Sunday portion in advance from next week.

Then, have a nice day, everyone. I’ll see you again next time.