Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 142

“Actually, our team invested a large sum to recruit a gladiator named Agelia. That’s why we don’t have enough funds to purchase Hestia,” Ethan said with a dark look.

“So, are you saying you can’t proceed with the acquisition of Hestia?”

“No. We still want to acquire her. However, due to our financial situation, we cannot acquire her for the price we initially offered.”

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Ethan brought his face closer to the screen and said, “How much would it take to make the trade?”

“Hmm. I can’t say exactly how much, but you can expect it to be in the early 20 million krang range [currency]. If it’s more than that, we won’t be able to do it.”

That was similar to the amount offered by the Blue Bird team. If there were many competing teams, the price of the gladiator would rise accordingly, so it seemed reasonable to proceed with a trade with Godzknights as well.

“Okay. I understand. Then, I’d like to meet sometime today or tomorrow. Do you have time?”

“Of course. I don’t have anything particularly busy these days, so I have plenty of time.”

Ethan checked the time for a moment and then said immediately, “Are you available this afternoon? The transfer deadline isn’t far off, so we want to proceed as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, I am. If I hurry and prepare now, it will be around 3 o’clock.”

“Great. Then let’s meet then.”

“Yes. Then, I’ll see you at 3 o’clock.”

Bumseok, who greeted him lightly with a nod, ended the call. Then, he looked at Esther, who was standing in front of him, and asked for advice.

“Esther, this has become difficult. It seems that Fire Lions intends to diversify its clients. What should we do?”

Esther answered immediately as if she had already thought about it. “The current situation isn’t necessarily bad. If you think about it, it can be seen as a great opportunity.”

“Why?”

“Now that we have expressed our intention to acquire her, even if the Blue Bird team re-acquires Hestia, there will be no problem. Since she was the gladiator we wanted, we can just insist that we brought her back by adding a little premium. Moreover, since we are trading with both sides, we will have a greater chance of acquiring her, and we will also be in a better negotiating position because we can understand the transaction information on both sides. That means we can judge Fire Lions’ intentions that much more easily.”

“But Fire Lions can contact other teams and proceed with the acquisition, just like they contacted us. Then we might lose Hestia.”

Esther shook her head from side to side. “The possibility is very low. Gladiators don’t have a fixed price. The price at which they are traded *is* the price. But the problem is that the side that expresses its intention first has to bear a great loss. Fire Lions, who want to sell Hestia at a good price, cannot easily contact other teams. The reason they contacted us now is because we offered a high price in the past, so it was out of hope.”

Bumseok looked at her with a proud expression. It was worth teaching her all this time. The fact that the selling side was offering a specific gladiator to another team meant that they were in a hurry or that the gladiator was not needed within the team. In either case, the buying side would greatly lower the price. Fire Lions, who wanted to sell Hestia at a high price, could not easily choose that method.

“Okay. Then tell me the acquisition strategy you have in mind.”

“It’s very simple. We or the Blue Bird team set a bottom line and freeze the price. Of course, we should take the price slightly higher so that Hestia comes to Godzknights if possible. That way, there will be no possibility of problems later.”

“In other words, you’re talking about collusion.”

“Yes, because that’s the best strategy we can choose.”

Bumseok nodded easily. Whether he acquired Hestia from Blue Bird or Godzknights, the money came out of his pocket. There was no reason to create competition and suffer losses. Collusion was the obvious and only strategy he could choose.

“Okay. Let’s do that. Then I’ll prepare and go to Fire Lions. Esther, you contact Inspector Lexter and tell him to keep the transaction price frozen.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Hearing the answer, he got up from his seat. He had quite a few things to do now, so he needed to move quickly. Bumseok put on his suit jacket and coat from the hanger in one corner of the chairman’s office and then went outside.

Bumseok was leaving the office building in a hurry. He waited for a moment on the street in front of the door, and when the driverless electric car came, he immediately got in. It was better to use a car like this for quick transport because the parking lot was quite far away. At that moment, a woman waved her hand and ran up to him in a hurry. It was Natalie, who had moved to Godzknights yesterday and was living with him.

“Chairman, just a moment! I have something to say!”

Bumseok, who turned off the driverless electric car, looked at her.

“What is it? I’m busy now, so say it briefly.”

Natalie, who had arrived right in front of him, took a long, deep breath and then held out the camera she was holding in front of his face.

“Just say anything.”

He cast a sharp gaze at Natalie. It was absurd that she had stopped a busy person and told him to say anything. Of course, he couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

“Are you kidding me? If you have something to say, say it properly.”

“I have something to say, but I don’t have anything special to say.”

“What does that mean! You have something to say but you don’t have anything to say! I’m busy now. Let’s talk about it after I come back.”

Bumseok ignored her and tried to start the driverless electric car, but Natalie quickly jumped into the passenger seat. He shook his head and turned the car toward the parking lot.

Seeing this, she quickly raised the camera and asked a question. “Um, I see you’re going somewhere?”

“Yeah, I’m going to Heath City for a while.”

“Heath City? Where is that?”

“It’s one of the major cities in the Wellington Regional Government.”

Natalie knew Wellington Regional Government well. The wine produced in this region was quite delicious and widely known around the world.

“Oh, really? Are you going to buy some wine?”

“Am I crazy? Why would I go all the way there to buy wine?”

“Then what are you going for?”

“Ah, I’m going to the Fire Lions team, which is based in Heath City.”

“Why?”

“What else? I’m going to recruit a gladiator.”

At this, Natalie’s eyes sparkled and she clung to him. “Really! Then let me go with you.”

“No. Why are you following me? I told you a little while ago. I’m not going to play.”

“Me neither. I’m going to work.”

“Work? What work?”

“Filming a broadcast program.”

At the sudden words, Bumseok turned his gaze to her.

“No, what broadcast program are you filming that you’re following me there? You’re not going to do something weird, are you?”

“No, it’s a very good program.”

“Well, what is it!”

“Godzknights 24. It’s a program that informs viewers of the small things that happen in the Godzknights team.”

He made an absurd expression and ran his hand over his face. Even though LKS Broadcasting was a small broadcasting company, there were more than a few problems if the incidents and accidents that occurred within the team were broadcast to the outside world as they were. If this Hestia trade was broadcast, the Phoenix Lions team would be angry, and the Hyena Group might jump into the recruitment war. He needed to stop her at all costs.

“You, what are you talking about! You should have told me about such a program first!”

“Hehe, I just thought of it while sleeping yesterday. I was going to tell you anyway.”

“No. Why did you even think of that?”

“Well, since I’m staying at Godzknights, I can easily capture the things that happen at Godzknights on camera. And if we broadcast the joys and sorrows that a professional gladiator team experiences, the viewers’ reactions will be good.”

Bumseok said pleadingly, “Hey, Natalie, we have our own circumstances. There are a lot of sensitive issues that should never be revealed to the outside. Especially today’s trade should never be broadcast until the deal is closed. It’s respect for the other team.”

“Then you can broadcast it after the deal is closed.”

“Even so, what would my position be if I brought a broadcaster to the transaction location?”

“You can hide your identity.”

“Hey! How can you hide your identity when you’re holding up a camera!”

Natalie made a sly expression. “Ah, that’s right. Then I’ll talk to the Fire Lions representative and ask for their understanding.”

Bumseok grabbed his throbbing forehead.

“Whether you talk well or not, it’s rude to bring a broadcaster like you!”

Natalie drooped her shoulders and showed a weak appearance. She thought it was a very good program, but she was facing opposition from the start and couldn’t even try it. She looked at Bumseok with the most desperate expression possible.

“Really not?”

“Of course not!”

At that moment, clear moisture welled up in Natalie’s eyes. Seeing this, Bumseok was startled and waved his hand. A woman’s tears. The next step was a drop in favorability. As Bumseok, who had to recruit her, he had to avoid it at all costs.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll cooperate. But if the Fire Lions representative objects, filming is absolutely prohibited! And all programs related to our team that will be broadcast in the future must be vetted in advance. Got it!”

Natalie’s face immediately bloomed with a bright smile.

“Yes, I understand. Please take care of me in the future.”

Bumseok, who shook her hand, sighed deeply. He felt pathetic at how he was being swayed by women like this. Recently, Susan has been showing an icy reaction, and now Natalie too. There was never a peaceful day.

He got out of the car in the parking lot, which he soon arrived at, and got into Aaron. There were other flying cars, but Aaron, which could move at ultra-high speed, was the right choice to get to Heath City on time.

Heath City was located on low, flat terrain. A small river about 100 meters wide flowed through the heart of the city, and the rows of antique stone bridges in between were very impressive. It was known that the winters were cold and snowy, but today the climate was mild and there was not much snow.

Bumseok, who got out of the car in the Fire Lions’ training camp parking lot, headed to the Fire Lions team office building with a worried expression. He was more worried about getting permission to film Natalie than negotiating the acquisition of Hestia.

“Welcome, Bumseok! It’s been a long time,” Ethan, who had come out to greet him in front of the building door, was smiling brightly. Bumseok shook hands and greeted him.

“Nice to see you again.”

Ethan looked at Natalie, who had followed him, and asked, “Hahaha, yes. But who is the lady next to you? I haven’t seen her before.”

Before Bumseok could answer, Natalie immediately took out a business card and handed it to him. This time, the title of producer was written on the business card. It was too much, even though a woman’s transformation was innocent. She always had dozens of business cards in her pocket, including one that said she was an accessory craftsman. It was amazing that she managed to find a business card with the words producer written on it.

“Hello, I’m Natalie, a producer at LKS Broadcasting.”

“Yes? LKS Broadcasting?” Ethan tilted his head. He had never heard of the company name LKS Broadcasting.

“Yes, it’s a local broadcasting company in Lima City.”

He finally understood Natalie’s answer. With so many broadcasting companies rampant around the world, he couldn’t possibly know about a broadcasting company in Lima City, a distant region. It was understandable that he didn’t know.

“Ah, I see. Anyway, nice to meet you.”

“Yes, me too.”

“Um, but what brings LKS Broadcasting to our team?”

“Ah, recently, our broadcasting company started filming Godzknights. It’s to tell viewers about the small stories of a professional gladiator team. But today, Bumseok said he was coming to this team for a gladiator transfer, so I followed him to film.”

Ethan, who made a difficult expression at the words, looked at Bumseok. He was reluctant to reveal the close trade negotiations between the two teams to the outside.

“Um, Bumseok, this is difficult for us.”

It was just as difficult for Bumseok. Just as he was about to answer that he would cancel the filming, Natalie immediately stepped forward and said, “Don’t worry, I will never broadcast it or reveal it to the outside until this trade is over.”

That was fortunate, but not everything in the world goes as people want. At some point, it could leak out and cause problems.

“Of course, that’s fine, but no one knows what will happen, right?”

“Yes. So, to keep it a secret, I came alone without anyone knowing. The filming crew and writers don’t know anything about today. I promise to keep it a secret.”

Indeed, it was a bit strange for a filming crew. He had never seen a producer come with a camera and film alone. If Natalie was paying so much attention, he thought he could trust her.