Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 288

“Yes, I know. Filer, the chairman of the Youth Businessmen’s Association, was severely reprimanded for that. He probably won’t be returning to active duty, so please put in a good word with Vice Chairman Lewis.”

Angela’s preemptive assumption was met with a relaxed smile from Beom-seok.

“Why? Is it necessary to go that far? Filer is a victim if you think about it.”

“Filer is a victim?”

Beom-seok widened his eyes in an exaggerated manner.

“Didn’t you know? That incident wasn’t Filer’s intention. He was merely deceived by the manipulations of the Black Society.”

“T-The Black Society? Are you saying that incident was the work of the Black Society?”

“Of course, wasn’t it? Otherwise, would Vice Chairman Lewis have remained so quiet? Even though his precious daughter was ridiculed. All economic organizations know that this incident is not closely related, so they are not engaging in conflict.”

Teresa, who was beside her, wore an expression close to astonishment. She wondered how Beom-seok knew so much about the last incident. She had thoroughly concealed the relationship between Rubin and the Black Society from the outside.

In a different sense, Angela was equally surprised. The fact that the incident that troubled the economic organizations was the work of the Black Society, with whom they were currently in a hostile relationship, meant that they needed to grasp the exact facts. If it was true, they had been played by those bastards without even realizing it.

She urgently spat out a question.

“I-Is that really true?”

“Of course.”

“Beom-seok, can you explain what happened during that incident?”

Beom-seok glanced at Teresa. He was waiting for her to use her ability. He had been pressuring her this much, but she still hadn’t budged.

‘Your ability is impressive, but it won’t work on me easily. Now, move.’

‘Hera’s Mind Reading’ was a fearsome ability, but it had several weaknesses. One was the limitation of time and the restriction to only grasping specific issues, and another was that its direct impact on the player was extremely limited.

The game company knew the flow of the game system they created, so they could grant Teresa the future prediction ability called ‘Hera’s Mind Reading.’ However, applying this ability to Beom-seok, a player, would cause a big problem. No matter how great the game system was, it could not read his behavior patterns, a person from the real world, unless it had the power of God.

Moreover, in a direct meeting like today, he could induce the use of her ability by highlighting other matters. If he used this point well, he thought he could block her bizarre ability to some extent.

‘But she will be able to grasp what will happen after I finish my actions. So, I can’t be completely relieved.’

The reason Beom-seok thought so was simple. The game system could sufficiently grasp the changing flow through what he had done in the past.

For example, let’s say Beom-seok is enjoying fishing in a lake. From the moment a fish bites the bait, the game system cannot predict whether the fish will be caught and die or live. Beom-seok may see the movement of the float and catch it, or he may simply ignore it and stare at the distant sky. However, if he catches the fish and releases it back into the lake, the system can fully predict the fate of that fish.

That fish, released from Beom-seok’s hands, is dominated by the influence of the game system in the lake. In other words, the system determines whether that fish will bite another fisherman’s hook again or act cautiously and never be caught again.

“Well, I don’t know if I should say it.”

“Don’t do that and tell me for my sake. Yes. Please, I beg you.”

Beom-seok reluctantly smacked his knee.

“Well, I’ll tell you. If you say that to Angela, how can I pretend not to know? In fact, there is a spy from the Black Society among the members of the Youth Businessmen’s Association, and that person is the one who planned the last incident. Filer was probably deceived by that person.”

“R-Really? Who is that bastard!”

Angela’s voice rose. The members of the Youth Businessmen’s Association were made up of the children of economic organizations. She wanted to see what kind of face the traitor who dared to betray their parents and side with the enemy had.

Beom-seok continued to stare at Teresa and brought his mouth to Angela’s ear. And before he could even open his mouth, he chuckled. Teresa, trembling like an aspen, finally activated her ability.

“The truth is, it’s difficult to figure out. According to an anonymous informant, there is definitely one, but I don’t know who it is.”

“Ah. Is that so? Oh, dear……”

“Yes. Unfortunately, that’s the case.”

In the end, Beom-seok didn’t even mention Teresa. There were only uncertain circumstances, with no evidence or witnesses, so it wasn’t time to strike her yet.

According to the information, Teresa and Angela were very close. If he told Angela the truth without any basis and she got angry, saying that he was alienating her relationship with her family, it would be a big problem.

Right now, making Angela an ally was more important than catching Teresa.

She asked again, as if she had lingering feelings.

“Is there anyone you suspect?”

“No. The informant only managed to find out that they were a member of the Youth Businessmen’s Association because they overheard a phone conversation by chance.”

Angela clicked her tongue. The spy within the organization that he mentioned was trying to cause a conflict between the Lewis faction, a large force, and the economic organizations. He was a very dangerous person, and she didn’t know what he would do next to put the organization in danger. She had to catch him, but she was disappointed that Beom-seok didn’t know his identity.

At that time, Teresa hurriedly joined the conversation.

“Beom-seok. Can you tell us who the anonymous informant is? Our economic organization will meet them directly and investigate.”

Beom-seok chuckled, expecting this question to come up. Such a person didn’t even exist, and even if they did, he couldn’t tell her. But since it was a fictional person anyway, he thought it would be okay to use them as a card to retaliate against this situation and shake the Black Society.

“Well, the informant is extremely cautious, so it’s difficult to tell you. If the economic organization approaches them, I won’t be able to get any more information. Just know that they are close to a key member of the Black Society.”

“Ah. Is that so? Okay, I understand. If that’s the case, I won’t ask anymore.”

Teresa was readily backing down. That information alone narrowed down the suspects to a few.

Lucas was the only one who knew that she, a member of the Youth Businessmen’s Association, was involved in the Shyla incident. And only a very small number of close aides could get close enough to eavesdrop on their cautious phone conversations. With this in mind, she thought she could identify the informant with a little investigation.

However, this was something that Beom-seok could also fully deduce. Before he knew it, his face was full of triumph. Now, Chairman Lucas would make the mistake of cutting off his loyal aides with his own hands.

Beom-seok decided to get to the point. Now that he had blocked Teresa’s ability, he could proceed with his work with peace of mind.

“Angela, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Have you heard that the Cooper faction has submitted a proposal to add corporate requirements to the promotion conditions for the fighting teams entering the Area League?”

Angela nodded immediately. She had heard about it from an employee of the United Fighting Association a little while ago.

“Yes, I know.”

“I see. I’m just curious, but what are you going to do about that proposal? Will you support it? Will you oppose it?”

“Well, I’m thinking of supporting it.”

Beom-seok’s eyes flashed sharply.

“Why?”

“Well, it seems like the members of our faction want it.”

“Angela, don’t you know that the proposal is putting a knife to my throat?”

Angela looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“What do you mean? As far as I know, it doesn’t harm existing professional teams at all.”

Beom-seok blinked his eyes in disbelief. He couldn’t understand how she could have such a comfortable thought when she could know everything if she thought a little deeper. He couldn’t tell if she was stupid or just pretending.

“Sigh~ Angela. Right now, it’s only limited to Area League teams, but if they change this phrase to ‘all’ in the future, my God Knights will also be included. And it will definitely happen.”

“W-Why is that?”

“This proposal was put on the agenda at today’s banquet by the Black Society through the Cooper faction to get back at me. I revealed the innocence of the economic organizations during the Shyla incident, and I’ve interfered with the Black Society’s affairs several times before, so I’m like a thorn in their side.”

Angela was restless. She didn’t know if Beom-seok’s words were true or false, but she could feel what would happen if she supported this proposal. It was that the gap between him and her would be irreparably widened.

At that time, Teresa hurriedly stepped forward. She had sensed the signs of conflict in her mother’s expression.

“Mother! Now is not the time to be emotional. The members of the faction all want that proposal. They will express their dissatisfaction if you tell them to vote against it. Please keep this in mind.”

Angela was also worried about that, so she couldn’t handle it as she pleased. No matter how much she was the leader, it was difficult to ignore the opinions of the faction members. If they were disappointed and left, Angela’s faction might collapse.

“That’s…… That’s true, but……”

Beom-seok glared at Teresa and pressed Angela.

“So, are you going to help the Black Society and hit me? Angela, aren’t you affiliated with the economic organizations that are hostile to those guys?”

At those words, Angela’s conflict subsided. She belonged to the economic organizations, and the faction members she led were following her because of that.

The support of the economic organizations played a part in the growth of Angela’s faction. If they joined, the companies affiliated with the economic organizations would provide huge sponsorship funds, so the fighting teams couldn’t help but covet them.

If she made an excuse that it was an unavoidable situation because of the economic organizations and persuaded them to wait and see, there was a high possibility that the faction members would follow. The damage caused by the withdrawal of support from the economic organizations was greater than the damage caused by Beom-seok.

“Beom-seok. Will this incident harm the economic organizations in any way?”

“Of course, it will. Right now, the vice chairman harbors deep animosity towards the Black Society.

It’s because of his daughter, Shyla. So, even though he knows that this proposal will benefit the Lewis faction, he is desperately trying to interfere for revenge. But what would you think if the economic organizations helped the Black Society pass this proposal? They have the same enemy and feel a sense of camaraderie, but if they join hands with the Black Society for a little profit and stab Vice Chairman Lewis in the back, how would they view the economic organizations?”

“They would probably see them with distrust.”

“That’s right. With Angela’s wrong decision today, the economic organizations are losing the opportunity to gain a strong ally in the war against the Black Society. For your information, among his close friends are Chairman Wilkins, Chairman Valvar, and Chairman Chaplin. From a grand perspective, the Angela faction should give strength to Vice Chairman Lewis.”

Angela took a deep breath and nodded. She wanted to oppose the proposal for Beom-seok’s sake, but since he was providing her with an excuse, there was no reason to hesitate.

“Beom-seok is right. I almost made a big mistake.”

Then, Teresa hurriedly got up and shouted, trying to change Angela’s mind.

“Mother! Absolutely not!”

Angela looked at her with a cold gaze.

“What’s not right? You heard Beom-seok’s words, didn’t you? Are you telling me to help the Black Society and do something that will harm the economic organizations?”

“N-No, but…… I mean, please consider the feelings of the faction members.”

“Don’t worry. It’s a matter for the economic organizations, so they will understand.”

Teresa trembled and sat back down. Now that Angela had made up her mind, nothing she could do would work. It was better for her to watch quietly. After all, the Lewis faction and the Angela faction could not overturn today’s proposal.

“I guess so……”

As Teresa sat quietly, Beom-seok tilted his head in confusion. The two mothers and daughters were known to have a close relationship, but today, when he looked closely, there was a strange atmosphere flowing. This was more like a rigid relationship between a lord and his vassal in the Middle Ages than a family relationship.

But now he didn’t have the luxury of paying attention to other things. It was important to somehow block the Cooper faction’s second proposal.

Beom-seok grabbed Angela’s wrist and said.

“Then, Angela, let’s go see Vice Chairman Lewis.”

“Vice Chairman Lewis? Why?”

“I would like you to persuade Chairman Ibrahim together.”

Angela readily jumped up from her seat. Since she was going to help anyway, it was better to take the initiative. Moreover, she thought it wouldn’t be bad for the economic organizations to build a relationship with Vice Chairman Lewis.

Soon, Beom-seok took her to Vice Chairman Lewis and discussed persuading Chairman Ibrahim.

============================ Author’s Afterword ============================

Ah, I forgot to mention it. I have uploaded this year’s growth chart in the settings section. But the settings section is a bit like that. Readers can’t leave comments, so there are no typo corrections coming in. I, the typo king, must have put in a wrongly entered phrase somewhere. Sigh~.

Have a nice day everyone. I’ll see you again tomorrow.