Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 451

“Hmm. So that’s what happened. I understand how you feel. When you’re done in by an Elf, only those who’ve experienced it know the bitterness. I understand. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you.”

Bum-suk clenched both fists. If that was the case, it was as good as beating Director Vincent. Vincent might not know that Bum-suk was after Priscilla, but Bum-suk knew very well that Vincent was planning to gift Priscilla to Chaplin Whisper.

And now, even President Fritz was stepping in to help. Director Vincent was bound to get blindsided. But it wasn’t time to rest easy yet.

Right now, all he’d done was dissuade one person from targeting Priscilla. There were bound to be more than one or two wealthy individuals looking to recruit her at the Lower World Walker Auction Market.

Fritz watched Rebecca as she lined up the champagne brought by the waiter.

“By the way, Rebecca. How’s team life treating you?”

“Yes. For now, I get to participate in matches frequently.”

Fortunately, Fritz nodded. Rebecca seemed to enjoy gladiatorial combat immensely, perhaps due to his influence.

So much so that even while accepting her grandfather’s offer to become the leader of Chaplin Whisper, she continued to pursue her life as a gladiator. Thanks to that, the team had been developing, and he had felt sorry for her when she was greatly disappointed at not being able to participate in matches. He was very relieved that she seemed much happier since transferring to God Knights.

“That’s a relief. But how’s your spear technique training going?”

“Well, it still feels far off. That’s why I haven’t been able to show it in matches yet.”

Fritz looked at Rebecca with a puzzled expression. Spear techniques were simpler than swordsmanship, so the training process was much shorter. There was nothing much to learn, just stabbing appropriately and occasionally striking with the spear shaft. With Rebecca’s level of combat sense, she should be able to quickly build up enough skill to compete in matches.

“Don’t tell me? You didn’t just join God Knights to participate in matches, did you? If so, you’ll be severely scolded by your grandfather later. The reason he allowed you to quit your leadership position was precisely so you could learn God Knights’ spear techniques.”

“Oh, come on, Dad. You saw Bum-suk’s matches, didn’t you? How can you learn that kind of spear technique in just a year or two? I’m working hard, so don’t worry.”

Fritz pondered and nodded, recalling God Knights’ matches. He often watched his daughter’s matches, so he knew well what kind of spear techniques Bum-suk employed. Indeed, his spear techniques were somewhat different from those of ordinary gladiators.

“Indeed. That’s true.”

In the meantime, Director Vincent and some Chaplin Whisper gladiators went up onto the stage, and the event began. Although they weren’t reporters, some event staff continuously captured their *moments* in photos and videos to commemorate the day, and scenes of champagne bottles popping could be seen here and there.

The crowd gathered at the venue burst into laughter at the witty remarks of the event emcee [master of ceremonies], while some happily savored the food brought by the waiters.

“Now, let’s welcome the director who led our Chaplin Whisper to victory in the World League.”

As Director Vincent came to the front of the stage, Bum-suk clapped along with the invited guests. Although he felt a bit of envy, he had that much generosity.

Soon, Director Vincent’s speech began, and he raised his champagne glass to wet his throat. And at the moment he glanced at the banquet hall door, he wore a look of astonishment. The thing he had been worried about had finally happened.

Theresa, dressed in a dress, was entering the venue.

‘Damn it! She said she couldn’t come!’

He had roughly *guessed* that she might come, but in fact, he hadn’t been able to say for sure. He had contacted Angela and asked her to assign Theresa a lot of work to prepare for this situation. He never thought she would defy even her mother’s orders to come to this event.

He tapped his electronic notepad once, then stood up from his seat with a flustered expression.

“Excuse me, President Fritz?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I need to go back to the team for a moment.”

“What’s the matter with the team?”

“It seems there’s been a bit of an accident. I need to take care of it and come back.”

Fritz nodded. He didn’t know what kind of accident it was, but it was only a few minutes from here to the God Knights training camp. He wouldn’t fault him for going as if he were just going to the bathroom. There was still a lot left in today’s event schedule.

“Alright. Then go quickly and come back.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Rebecca stood up with him and said,

“Bum-suk, I’ll go too.”

“No. It’s a business matter, so I can go alone. You stay here with your father.”

“Really? Then you’ll be back soon, right?”

“Well, I’ll go and see. I’ll contact you if it looks like I’ll be late.”

“Yes. I understand.”

As Rebecca sat down again, Bum-suk quickly got up, went around the side of the banquet hall, and headed towards the entrance. He was dying to slip out through the side door, but it was a bit difficult because Chaplin Whisper team officials were using it for event management. As soon as Theresa entered the room, he started walking quickly towards the door.

“Bum-suk! Over here!”

Bum-suk frowned at the faint voice of a woman coming from behind. The owner of the voice was none other than Theresa. Although the banquet hall was large, he was tall, so he was easily noticeable to others.

But Bum-suk still moved busily. He was trying to pretend he didn’t hear. There were so many people participating in the event and it was so crowded that it was common for voices to be drowned out.

“Bum-suk, where are you going?”

Just as Bum-suk was about to step out of the door, he was finally grabbed by Theresa’s hand. Even if he was in a hurry, he couldn’t shake off her running towards him. He stepped out into the banquet hall corridor, turned around, and wore a surprised expression.

“Oh. Isn’t this Ms. Theresa? What brings you here?”

“Why didn’t you even look at me when I called you?”

“Ah. It must be because it was so crowded that I didn’t hear you.”

Bum-suk scratched his head with an awkward expression, and Theresa looked at him with strange eyes.

“Really?”

“Hahaha. Yes. Actually, I have a habit of not hearing other people well when I’m focused on something. All men are like that, but I’m especially bad.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. The reason I succeeded as a gladiator is because of this habit. Because I don’t have any other *distractions*, I can concentrate only on gladiatorial combat.”

It sounded so persuasive that Theresa nodded. Indeed, to build up such swordsmanship skills at that age, he must have had something different from others. And in the reviews of experts, his concentration was said to be very great when participating in gladiatorial matches.

“Well, let’s say that’s the case. But where are you going now?”

“Ah. Something happened within the team, so I need to go urgently.”

“What happened?”

“It’s a bit difficult to tell you. It’s something that shouldn’t be known to outsiders. I really ask for your understanding on this point.”

Theresa turned her head away with a sulky face.

“Where are the secrets between me and Bum-suk? Are you perhaps leaving because you don’t like seeing me come?”

“No, absolutely not. To be honest, I was greatly disappointed when I came to the banquet hall today and didn’t see Ms. Theresa.”

“Really? Then please tell me what you’re going for. I won’t tell anyone, so don’t worry.”

Bum-suk swept his hair back as if he were in trouble. How could he make up a story that didn’t exist? But if he didn’t say anything, Theresa would look at him suspiciously, so he had to make an excuse somehow.

“Ah. It’s about the World Cup finals. This time, the World Cup finals are being held in our Avon region, so our team has a lot of things to do in many ways. We have to show our faces to the media often for publicity, and of course, we have to enter first at the opening ceremony, and someone has to go out as a representative to take the oath. But it seems there’s been some *hitch* in planning the event right now. So I’m going to exchange opinions with the association to coordinate this.”

“Really? Then can’t you handle it by phone?”

“That’s a bit difficult. To make my decision, I need to refer to the data, which is in my office within the team. Besides, I even unplugged the cord to save electricity, so I can’t boot up the office computer remotely and can’t get the data.”

“But you can tell the staff below to go and turn on the computer, right?”

“That’s also a bit difficult. It’s evening, so most of them have *left work*, and there’s a lot of confidential data on my computer. So I always put a security lock on it and come out, so I can’t let them in *willy-nilly*.”

Fortunately, Theresa understood and was convinced. She knew that it was busy in many ways because the World Cup game had been held in her region, Mairaya, before, and that there were various secret things to handle when managing a large professional team.

“Well, I guess so. Okay. Then I’ll go with you.”

“Yes? You’re following me? Ms. Theresa, aren’t you here to attend today’s event?”

“No. I came because I wanted to see Bum-suk. The event is just a subsidiary thing.”

“No, but since you’ve already attended, you should brighten up the place. If you just leave, Chaplin Whisper will be disappointed, right?”

“I don’t care. Anyway, I’ve left my name in the guest book, and no one will know if I’m missing. And Bum-suk is leaving, so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t go.”

Bum-suk couldn’t say anything, so he couldn’t say that he would go alone anymore. Even though he had something to do, he couldn’t tell her to stay alone when he was leaving like this. He sighed deeply and then answered.

“Well. Then let’s go together. Instead, please stay outside when I’m handling things. It’s difficult if it’s known outside.”

“Hahaha. Yes, I will.”

Bum-suk had no choice but to take Theresa out of the hotel. If he just stood here and ran into other Chaplin family members, it would be very difficult.

Back at the training camp, he locked Theresa in the reception room and *goofed off* in his office. It was inevitable because he had to handle things that didn’t exist. Bum-suk spent a long time surfing the Internet and *goofing off*, and only came out after dark.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting so long. It was a bit complicated, so it took some time.”

Theresa, who had been alone in the reception room, stood up with a bright expression as if she didn’t care at all.

“No. It’s okay. It’s my fault for coming suddenly.”

If it was *genuine*, she could be said to be a really good woman. Even if she was an uninvited guest, she would get angry if she was left alone like this for a long time. But Bum-suk knew very well that her mindset was *fake*.

“Hahaha. Thank you for understanding.”

“What. Then shall we go have dinner?”

“Dinner?”

Theresa pointed to the outside of the window with her finger. It was long past dinner time now.

“I. I came without eating dinner. You’re not going to pretend you don’t know, are you?”

“Ah. That’s right. Come to think of it, I haven’t had dinner yet either. Then shall we go out?”

“Yes. I’ll pay today, so feel free to choose the place.”

“Hoo? Is that so? Then there’s a restaurant I know very well, would you like to go there?”

“Yes. As much as you want.”

Bum-suk took her to the team’s restaurant. It was better not to eat out with Theresa as much as possible. If he ate the wrong meal, the game could be over as it was.

He turned on the lights in the restaurant and said.

“Come on in.”

Theresa looked at him with a puzzled gaze. She was embarrassed that he had told her to go to dinner and had only come to a place like this. And now there was no one there, so there was no cook to cook for her.

“No. Are we going to eat here?”

“Hahaha. Yes. Don’t you like it?”

“W, well, it’s not that, but are you okay? It looks like the restaurant staff have all *left work*.”

“It doesn’t matter. I can do it.”

“You’re going to cook, Bum-suk?”

“Yes. Actually, I really wanted to treat Ms. Theresa to a meal. To convey my heart. Well, I can’t help it if you don’t like it.”

Theresa waved her hands wildly. Although the other party was Bum-suk, she was looking forward to it because he said he would personally treat her to a meal for her lover.

“No. I’m okay.”

“Huhu. Then please sit near me. I’ll cook well and treat you.”

As she sat at a restaurant table, Bum-suk went into the kitchen and took out the kitchen utensils. The side dishes he was going to make today were *Sundae Guk* [Korean blood sausage soup] with plenty of allicin [a compound found in garlic] and *Hongeo Hoe* [fermented skate], and he was going to serve *Ojingeo Jeotgal* [seasoned squid] and *Gejang* [marinated crab] as side dishes. He wanted to take out *Bosintang* [dog meat soup], but he couldn’t bring himself to eat it because of his taste, so he gave up.

After preparing all the ingredients, he started boiling water and at the same time started slicing *Hongeo Hoe* with skillful *knife skills*.

‘Ugh. What is this smell! I feel like I’m in the bathroom.’

The sweet ammonia scent from the *Hongeo Hoe* spread throughout the restaurant. Theresa, who had been expecting it for a while, covered her nose and didn’t know what to do. The dishes that Bum-suk was making now were things that could not be easily *encountered* unless they were Korean. His subordinate Elves had adapted well for their master, but Theresa was definitely not.

After a while, Bum-suk placed a plate containing *Hongeo Hoe*, aged kimchi, and boiled pork, along with salted shrimp, in front of the table where she was sitting. Theresa frowned and looked at him, *showing her disgust* at the smell she felt at the tip of her nose.

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

I saw a balloon flying earlier, and it was completely a UFO. The street light was reflected and only the bottom was bright, but if it weren’t for the string hanging down, I would have *made a fuss* to find the camera. I guess this is why people mistake balloons for UFOs.

Hey, I thought for a moment. ㅠㅠ.

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