Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 433

435.

“Well, I wouldn’t expect any local factions to support us in the first vote. So, what about our chances of passing the first vote? It seems we definitely need the cooperation of at least a few association members.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’re gaining sympathy because it’s our first time competing, and we’ve already secured some key figures, so passing the first vote shouldn’t be a problem. What I’m worried about is what comes after. To overcome the full support of the Lewis faction, we absolutely need the cooperation of the teams that get eliminated in the first vote.”

“I suppose so.”

Simon looked at Beom-seok, drawing deep wrinkles around his eyes. The real reason he had asked him to ride together was because he had a specific favor to ask.

“So, actually, there’s something I want to ask of you.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Help persuade the local factions after the first vote is over.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’ve built up a wide network of contacts. Is there anything you can do?”

He began to ponder deeply. He thought he would just read a statement and be done with it, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. What Simon wanted now wasn’t his recognition as a gladiator, but his active participation in the bidding war, using his connections.

‘Well, it’s not like I have none….’

There were quite a few people Beom-seok could try to influence. He couldn’t persuade Vice Chairman Lewis because he was a competitor, but he could try to persuade the Mayron regional government through Julian, and Henry, the current chairman of the Hyena Group and a member of the Federal Pro Gladiator Association. Also, he could gain the support of Angela, another member, as well as the Myraia regional government under her influence.

However, persuasion involved providing benefits as a side effect. He didn’t want to empty his own pockets for this World Cup bid that he didn’t even want that much.

“That might be difficult.”

“Why? If we host the World Cup finals, the gladiator craze will sweep through the region, increasing the God Knights’ admission revenue, and the media will keep mentioning the God Knights as the home team, so your fame will rise significantly. It will definitely be a great benefit to you.”

“That’s true. But as you know, Minister, persuasion requires various sweeteners. We can’t afford such losses.”

Simon shook his head. He wasn’t trying to force Beom-seok to sacrifice that much. What he wanted from him now was lobbying using his connections.

“Don’t worry about that. The Avand government will provide all the funds needed for lobbying.”

“It’s not just about the funds. When I start negotiating, the other party often wants something other than money.

For example, they might want concessions when recruiting gladiators later, or they might want to rent a specific gladiator. And in the worst case, the regional World League team might want match-fixing to avoid relegation. I can’t make these sacrifices.”

Simon looked troubled. He couldn’t figure out how the Avand government should compensate for such proposals.

“This is a difficult situation….”

“Just let me read the speech at the meeting and be done with it. That’s the best I can do.”

That was unacceptable. He was trying his best to catch up with the lobbying power of the Arkan regional government, and he couldn’t afford to let go of Beom-seok, such a useful pawn. This World Cup bid was an important event that would greatly influence the general election next year. That’s why he, as a regional minister, was putting everything aside to follow along.

He glanced at Beom-seok and said,

“This has become troublesome. Is there no other way?”

“If there was, I wouldn’t be saying this. I sincerely want to help you, Minister, but I can’t because the conditions aren’t right.”

“Hmm. If that’s the case, I can’t help it, but can I ask how many people you could bring in if you were to step up?”

Beom-seok held up four fingers. He chose the smallest possible unit. There was no point in showing off and naming a large number, as he would only lose out. Simon might cling to him even more.

“About four.”

But contrary to Beom-seok’s intentions, Simon’s expression was anxious. Four votes out of 55 was almost one-tenth. In a fierce battle, it could be said to be the amount that could determine the outcome.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, it’s not so much that I’m sure, but that’s roughly the idea. I’m not certain.”

“Good. Then what can I do to persuade them?”

Beom-seok waved his hands wildly. Simon just didn’t understand. He was in trouble because he had suddenly jumped at the number he had just said.

“How many times do I have to tell you? I’m….”

Before he could finish speaking, Simon replied.

“Then how about this? If the World Cup finals are held in our Avand region, I’ll give you 200 million krang [currency] per person as sponsorship money. That’s the amount before taxes. Wouldn’t that recover some of the losses your team would incur?”

Beom-seok’s eyes widened. If he got 200 million krang per person, that meant a total of 800 million krang for just four people.

“200 million krang per person? Is that even possible?”

“It’s possible. We expect the direct economic ripple effect of hosting the World Cup finals to be 230 billion krang. And the indirect effects are unimaginable. Also, when such a large sports event is held, regional governments often provide huge sponsorships to the corresponding World League professional teams. It’s not entirely impossible.”

Beom-seok entered a period of contemplation. He was already leaning towards the idea of 200 million krang per person, but there was no need to be hasty and jump at it.

‘Wow~ 200 million krang per person… If I get all 55 votes, that’s 11 billion krang.’

It was almost impossible to earn 11 billion krang. The Arkan regional government and Vice Chairman Lewis’s faction had no reason to support him unless they were crazy. Still, if he worked hard for the next few days, he could get a considerable amount of money in his hands.

Beom-seok, managing his expression, looked at Simon.

“But does the sponsorship money only come in if the World Cup finals are held?”

“I can’t help that. To give out that much sponsorship money, there has to be a good reason, and hosting the World Cup finals is the only one.”

“Well, I guess that’s true. Well, then I’ll do it. But you have to give it per person even if it goes far beyond four votes. You can’t limit it to a certain amount just because a lot of money is going out.”

Simon laughed at his generous remarks. He was willing to give as much as he brought in. In fact, he hoped he would. The difference in votes between Avand and Arkan was very large.

“Of course. Even if you bring in all 55 votes, I’ll pay you per person.”

“Hehe. Then the contract is established. Please look forward to it.”

After finishing the conversation, Beom-seok leaned back comfortably in his seat. He had been worried about the cost of recruiting Prisika, but he saw a place where money would come out unexpectedly.

If he persuaded about a dozen people, he could roughly solve the shortage.

Soon after, he set up a base camp at a hotel in Senoside and began to visit related people.

‘Hehe. 400 million krang, wait for me.’

In front of the Elrn Hotel in Senoside. Beom-seok, well-dressed in a suit, passed through the main gate and entered the lobby. His first target was staying here. He went to the restaurant on the third floor and waited patiently. And about 10 minutes later, a man with brown hair entered.

“Yo. Julian, over here.”

Julian, frowning deeply, approached with a long sigh. The thought of what Beom-seok had done to him during the last transfer market still made him shudder. Thanks to him stirring up trouble in their alliance, Dark Hyenas, lacking funds, had not been able to recruit a single S-class gladiator.

“Yeah. Why did you call me again?”

“What else? I heard you were here, so I contacted you to see your face.”

Julian, sitting in the seat in front of him, picked up the overturned glass, poured water, and drank it in one gulp.

“Geez. You’re so free. Don’t you know everyone is busy with the World Cup bid?”

“I know. But what do I have to be busy with? It’s just reading a one-page statement. I can do that after receiving the script and practicing reading for about an hour.”

Julian looked at him with strange eyes. He doubted that was the case. The most likely regions to host the World Cup finals were the Arkan and Avand regional governments, and Arkan was far ahead in the competition. Naturally, he didn’t think the Avand regional government would let Beom-seok’s connections go to waste.

“Are you really just reading the statement? Didn’t the bidding committee ask you for anything else?”

“They did. They told me to persuade a few people.”

“Then that’s it. We’re going to cast our vote for the Mayron regional government.”

“That’s obvious. Which regional association wouldn’t vote for their own regional government? They have to do that if they don’t want to get stoned by the fans. Right?”

“No, it’s a relief. So what? Are you asking for votes in the second or later rounds?”

“Well, it would be nice if you did, but you don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable. Everyone has their own circumstances, right?”

“That’s a relief. We originally decided to support Arkan after the second vote. If you came to persuade me about that, you would have been wasting your time.”

Beom-seok’s hand twitched. He felt a sense of despair that Julian, whom he had expected to be his most reliable card, had already fallen into the enemy’s grasp. During the last transfer period, Dark Hyenas had struggled quite a bit, losing out in the bidding war for Chaplin Whisper and Ancient Warriors, so he didn’t think they would vote for the Arkan regional government.

“Really? Well, since we’re on the subject, Arkan is definitely the trend.”

“Of course. Arkan has Chaplin Whisper and Vice Chairman Lewis backing them. And they’ve never hosted the World Cup finals before.”

“That’s right. Honestly, I hope Avand’s World Cup bid is postponed until next time. Then, after gaining experience in this tournament, we can aim for victory in the next tournament, taking advantage of being the home team.”

Julian nodded in agreement because it made sense. If Arkan hosted this World Cup finals, Avand would definitely host the next World Cup finals in four years.

The requirements were good, and there was a precedent for being rejected this time. Of course, to be selected as the host, Avand had to be in the World Cup finals again, but that was almost certain as long as Beom-seok and God Knights were there.

There’s a saying that a rich family lasts for three generations, but God Knights was more than that. In four years, the current promising players would grow, and if a few more gladiators were recruited, this team would be almost invincible.

“So, you said you’re just going to read the statement?”

“Yeah. It’s not that I’m necessarily going to, but that’s what I want to do.”

“What does that mean?”

“It doesn’t mean anything. How can I refuse when the regional minister comes to me and asks me directly? Of course, I have to pretend to do it.”

“Well, that’s true. It’s very difficult to refuse when a government official asks you.”

Beom-seok, who had roughly set the stage, decided to start the persuasion process in earnest. He had to beat around the bush a bit at first, but it was a necessary task.

To persuade Julian, a little bit of intimidation had to be added.

“Let’s put that aside and talk about something else.”

“What about?”

“Ah. The rookie draft. It seems to be quite interesting. Especially your team’s promising players, Hamilton and Wang, are no joke. Their swordsmanship is strong, and their growth potential is not bad, so if you raise them well, they could become gladiators of at least W0 class or higher.”

Julian’s eyes flickered slightly. The rookie draft was a major source of gladiators for Dark Hyenas. It was all thanks to the newly appointed director, Remramt, who was introducing useful gladiators to the Hyena Group using his extensive connections in the kendo [Japanese martial art of swordsmanship] world.

But Beom-seok was eyeing them. He had never failed to recruit a gladiator, and he had a sharp eye.

If Beom-seok jumped in as a competitor, the Hyena Group would likely suffer a great loss. No matter how good Remramt’s connections were, money was the best. He accurately grasped the growth potential and rationally offered contract money, so they couldn’t compete with him.

“W-What are you talking about? It’s not that interesting. Not all gladiators in the rookie draft have good skills and growth potential.”

“Hey. What. Still, there are bound to be some useful people among them.”

“That’s true, but there are only one or two at best. The rest have no chance of growing into World Leaguers.”

Beom-seok shook his hand and said.

“Hey. I’ve recruited Gelsomina through the rookie draft, so I know all about that. Why are you getting so serious?”

“T-That’s right. Okay, then. Well, unless you’re running a lot of gladiator teams at the group level like us, it’s just a waste of time to mess with it. So, it’s not good for you to run a single team.”

That wasn’t wrong. At best, one or two gladiators with 900 growth potential came out, and most of them were men, so there was no reason for Beom-seok to mess with them. He just had to seduce the occasional female rookie.

But since the purpose was elsewhere, he shouldn’t express affirmation.

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

Ugh. I don’t know why I’m so hungry at this time. I think I should boil some ramen. Ramen on a rainy day is somehow delicious. Hahaha.

Then everyone have a great day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.