Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 15

15.

“Remy, what’s going on? It seems the person in charge doesn’t know your value is 25 million Crons [a fictional unit of currency].”

“I have no idea either. The director clearly stated that my value was set at that amount.”

“The director?”

“Yes.”

His brow furrowed deeply. If the trade office manager didn’t know about it, but the director told her that, then the director was likely the one who set the 25 million Cron price tag.

He didn’t know what was going on, but if he met him like this, it seemed there would be significant difficulties in the negotiation process.

“Tsk. It seems the director will be a major obstacle in your transfer negotiations.”

“Why is that?”

“From what I can see, the director is likely the one who set that price. But the problem is that the amount is five times the market price, which is absurd. In other words, if you think about it, you might conclude that the director doesn’t want to sell you.”

It seemed that way to her too. Which team would buy a gladiator whose price was several times the market value? Especially someone like herself, who was past her prime and nearing retirement.

However, she didn’t think the kind director, who cherished her like a daughter, would block her path. Although they didn’t see each other often now that she was in a different region, they used to be close enough to share their innermost thoughts. And when she was first dispatched as an instructor due to internal policy, he personally saw her off at the door, comforting her that good days would come soon.

“That might be the case, but if I ask, he will definitely sell me. He may seem gruff on the outside, but he has always been very kind to me.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief then.”

Beomseok relaxed his guard somewhat. The greatest desire of the Elves [referring to a specific group or race in the story] was to meet and serve their master. If they were close, it would be difficult for him to ignore her longing. Still, you never knew. Beomseok began to think about the negotiation variables that would arise and solve them one by one.

When the tea on the table had cooled, the reception room door opened again. It was Arnold, who had gone to talk to the director. He had a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face, and behind him was a man in a tracksuit. He was a man in his 60s with white hair and a thick beard, and his gentle eyes were very impressive.

Remy smiled brightly and greeted him.

“Director Vincent! Hello.”

Vincent, with a warm smile, patted her on the shoulder.

“Welcome, Remy. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

“No, not at all. Thanks to your concern, I’ve been doing well.”

Feeling a strange atmosphere, Beomseok looked at Vincent with suspicious eyes. He suspected that the old geezer might have had ulterior motives for Remy and manipulated the price. Men, whether young or old, were all thieves and wolves.

Eventually, unable to watch any longer, Beomseok stood up and subtly interrupted their affectionate reunion.

“Ahem. Hello? My name is Oh Beomseok.”

Vincent, with a bewildered look, raised one eyebrow and looked at him.

“You are? The one who wants to recruit Remy?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Vincent looked at Beomseok up and down, scrutinizing him. Then he plopped down on a sofa, leaned back, and took a long breath.

“Hoo~ Don’t just stand there, sit down quickly.”

“Ah. Yes.”

Beomseok sat down, and Remy and Arnold also took their seats. A moment of silence passed between them. But soon Vincent broke the silence and got down to business.

“According to Arnold, you’re starting an amateur team?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But isn’t Remy too good to be used as a gladiator for an amateur team?”

That was entirely correct. With Remy’s skills, she could establish herself as a starting gladiator in the Area League, and in the Wide League, she could be used as a substitute gladiator depending on the team’s strength. It was a waste to use such a gladiator as an amateur player.

Moreover, the only matches in amateur competitions where professional gladiators could participate were the GA Cup, which started in the summer, the promotion tournament in early spring, and the regional semi-pro competition in the fall, so her usefulness was extremely limited.

“Of course, that’s true. But I won’t let my team stay amateur forever.”

“If you’re not going to stay amateur?”

“Yes. I will grow it into a professional team through the promotion tournament. That’s why I need to recruit excellent gladiators like Remy.”

Vincent frowned so hard that his beard twitched. This was not the answer he wanted.

“Hmph. A professional team? Do you know what a professional team means to Elves?”

“Well, Remy says it’s a pretty unhappy life.”

Vincent clenched his fists tightly. But he didn’t show a clear reaction, perhaps noticing Arnold’s presence next to him, and just coughed roughly.

He patted Arnold’s thigh and said.

“You can go out for a while.”

“Now? But isn’t this a transfer negotiation? Why should I, the person in charge…?”

“Just take that guy with you. Go outside and negotiate to your heart’s content. I have something to say to Remy right now.”

“But… there’s no need to go out…”

“Then should I leave?”

Because he was so stubborn, Arnold had no choice but to get up. Soon, Beomseok, who received Vincent’s sharp gaze, followed him out with a puzzled expression.

Vincent and Remy were left alone in the reception room. First, Vincent opened his mouth with a pitiful look.

“Were you upset?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you were upset that I didn’t let you compete in matches. That’s why I’m asking if you’re trying to join such an absurd team to compete.”

Remy quickly shook her hands. The reason she was trying to join Beomseok’s gladiator team was simply because of the expectation of serving a master.

“Not at all. I’m just going because I like him.”

“You like that bum?”

Remy, her cheeks flushed red, nodded. Vincent, seeing this, sighed so deeply that his beard fluttered.

“Hoo~ Remy. Can’t you give up on this transfer and wait until next spring?”

Remy, startled, widened her eyes.

“Why not?”

“The truth is, there’s a reason why I’m letting you out like this, even though I could have used you as a substitute gladiator.”

“What reason?”

Vincent, clasping his hands together and placing them on his chin, began to explain the reason.

Remy and he met 14 years ago, one day when the Dragon Knights team was relegated from the Area League and lost its professional status. At the time, the team implemented several reforms to rise to the Area League again, one of which was bringing Vincent, who was a coach at a famous gladiator team, as the director. However, the team’s atmosphere was extremely poor due to the relegation, and many talented gladiators had left to transfer to other professional teams, so it was truly a distant task for him to rebuild the team.

At that time, the gladiator who gave him great strength was Remy. She, who was at her peak, showed outstanding skills in the promotion tournament, and greatly contributed to the team’s re-entry into the Area League that year. In addition, she faithfully fulfilled her role in the continuing league matches, and after 13 years, the team has advanced to the Wide League and improved its strength enough to look forward to the Central League again.

In response, Vincent decided to give her a small reward. It was to find a master that the Elves wanted most. However, the problem was that Remy was considered the team’s property. If he carelessly handed her over to the general public at a low price, he could be in trouble for being audited. Moreover, professional teams were extremely reluctant to trade with the general public.

However, if there was a will, there was a way. After 고민 [Korean word for ‘deliberation’ or ‘worrying’] for a few days, he was able to find a way. There was an exception that allowed gladiators over 30 years old who were classified as outside the team’s strength and had not been traded within 2 years to be put on the Walker Auction Market. The Walker Auction Market was a market where older Elves from sports clubs or public organizations were sold at auction, and the prices were very low, so many ordinary people who wanted to find a lover participated. Thanks to this, many of the Elves who came to the auction met the master they had dreamed of.

“Do you know what I mean? You just have to wait a few months and your dream of serving a master will come true. So give up on this trade here.”

It was truly grateful that Vincent had gone to such lengths for her. However, the dream of serving a master was right in front of her. Beomseok was volunteering to be her master.

“Director. I’m so grateful that you care so much. But you don’t have to go to the trouble of doing that.”

“Wh, what do you mean? Are you saying you don’t want to serve a master?”

“No. Beomseok said he would be my master.”

Vincent, with surprised eyes, raised his thumb and pointed to the door of the reception room.

“Are you talking about that bum who just left?”

“Yes. Him.”

Vincent had a dazed expression. It was hard to believe.

“Didn’t that guy say he was going to create a professional gladiator team? If so, he’ll create it in the form of a corporation, and he’ll try to make you, who has high recognition, an asset of the team in order to raise funds through funding.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Impossible? What’s impossible? Our team, as well as other professional gladiator teams and other sports teams, all operate the team in that way.”

“But he said he’s not a noble saint, so he can’t do that. He said he’s going to create a harem team made up of only his women.”

Vincent twitched his eyebrows in surprise. If that was the case, it was a truly ideal team. For the Elf, she was happy to be able to serve her master, and the team received absolute loyalty from the affiliated gladiators, which greatly helped to improve their strength.

But there was one big problem here. It was difficult to dispose of Elves who were no longer useful or needed by the team. Ordinary teams would sell them to raise funds, but the team that Beomseok mentioned could not do that. An Elf who has formed a master-servant relationship would rather die than be separated from her master forever.

“Is that so? Then you can bring in trades, but you can’t send trades. What does he say he’ll do with Elves who have exhausted their usefulness to the team?”

“He said he could use them as coaches, managers of active gladiators. If not, he said he could use them for cleaning, security, or as kitchen staff.”

Vincent chuckled. It was quite funny to use Elves who had been professional gladiators and had a strong sense of pride as cleaners or kitchen staff. His team’s Elves would definitely strongly resist. But they were beings who faithfully obeyed their master’s orders. If they could only serve their master, they would throw such pride into the trash and willingly pick up brooms and kitchen knives.

Vincent quietly closed his eyes and fell into thought. It was about an Elf he had purchased several years ago.

Oskar. She was an Elf with such great talent that he strongly insisted on recruiting her to the team. So, 3 years ago, when she was barely learning to speak and write at a childcare facility. He bought her for a huge sum of 8 million Crons and sent her to a dedicated coach for gifted education. But as soon as she joined the team last year, she caused a series of major incidents and accidents and turned into a troublemaker.

When he sent her to a match to fight the opposing gladiator, she would suddenly jump into the audience and grab a spectator by the collar, and at night she would secretly go to the entertainment district, drink alcohol, and get into fistfights with the guests. Also, discord with other gladiators in the team was common, and one day she stole the team’s corporate card and was caught gambling at a gambling house.

Thanks to this, Vincent, who had strongly suggested recruiting her, was in a difficult situation. Of course, he was not in danger of being dismissed because of his contribution to growing the team, which had fallen to the amateur league, into a strong team looking forward to the Central League in 13 years, but he was under administrative orders to dispose of Oskar as soon as possible.

‘A team like this would allow that child to fully demonstrate her skills.’

The reason why an Elf with strong loyalty goes astray like that was due to one thing. It was the despair of not being able to serve a master. In most cases, after a certain period of time, they would recognize their situation and accept their fate, but very rarely, Elves with weak mental strength would not be able to overcome the instinct to serve a master and would act out like Oskar.

In this light, the most certain way to properly guide a problem Elf was to have her meet a master. But working in this field to some extent, you could immediately see that the method was very difficult. If you let them go in that way, it was obvious that other normal Elves who saw this would try to cause problems in the same way in order to meet a master. Then, of course, the team would fall into extreme chaos, and in the end, a situation could arise where it would have to be disbanded. So, in most cases, they would continue to hold them in the team and try to subdue them like taming a wild horse, or they would imprison them in some mental health center under the pretext of mental illness.

The method that Vincent wanted from his current team was the latter. It was a method that he could never allow, and if he did, the child might have to live in a cage for decades.

But now, unexpectedly, a good solution has emerged. It was to sell her to the team that a person named Beomseok was creating. Then the child would be able to serve a master and eventually return to her original form as an Elf and live a faithful life. It was a win-win situation, Beomseok was happy to get a talented gladiator, and he was able to get some transfer funds and an opportunity to prove that his past decision to choose her was the right one.

Vincent, having finished all his thoughts, slowly opened his closed eyes.

————-

I’ll go again next time.