Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 16

“Raymi. Did that guy who just left say he definitely wanted to buy you?”

“Yes.”

“Then, he must have prepared around 25 million krang [fictional currency] for your worth, right?”

Raymi, momentarily flustered, rolled her eyes. In truth, she thought Vincent would ask Beomseok for the full 25 million krang. Although she was close to the director, she would never do anything that could harm her future owner. If possible, she wanted to lower her price as much as possible to reduce his burden.

“Well, um, rather than specifically preparing that amount…”

Seeing her stammer, Vincent smirked. Having watched over countless elves for more than half his life, there was no way he couldn’t see through Raymi’s thoughts.

“If you tell me, I might reduce your price to 3.5 million krang.”

That was 1.5 million krang less than the initially suggested 5 million krang. Raymi quickly straightened her posture and nodded.

“Yes. He has about that much money prepared.”

“I thought so. Good, then. Tell them to come in. I’ll wrap up the negotiations.”

Raymi immediately got up and hurried to the door. The moment to finally meet her owner had arrived. She called in Beomseok and Arnold, who were idly staring at the distant mountains outside.

Sitting down and looking around cautiously, Arnold spoke first.

“Director, what did you talk about with Raymi?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I was just asking how she’s been.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, there were other things, but they were private and trivial, so you don’t need to know.”

Arnold, having tentatively started the conversation, began to ask what he was really curious about.

“Um, Raymi mentioned you were definitely pushing forward with this trade. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s what I intend to do.”

Arnold glanced at Beomseok and quietly muttered in his ear.

“No way. You’re not going to demand the full price listed in the documents, are you? He’ll probably storm out of here immediately if you do.”

“No. For your sake, and to secure funds for the team, I’ll suggest a reasonable amount. About 6 million krang.”

His voice was loud enough that Raymi heard him and jumped up from her seat. She thought the director had tricked her. Six million krang was almost double the 3.5 million krang he had mentioned to her earlier.

“Director Vincent! No way…!”

Beomseok firmly grabbed her sleeve and sat her down. Six million krang was definitely higher than the previously mentioned amount, but it was far lower than the initially expected 25 million krang. As Beomseok, who absolutely had to buy Raymi, it wasn’t too bad. And all negotiations had the fun of haggling. It wasn’t time to get angry yet.

He clasped his hands together and looked at Arnold.

“That’s 1 million krang more than you mentioned earlier. What’s going on?”

Arnold had nothing to say about this. In fact, he was greatly surprised that 6 million krang had been mentioned in this place. He never knew that the stubborn Vincent would concede to this extent for his sake. Now, Arnold was on the director’s side.

“I was just mentioning a rough price earlier; it wasn’t an accurate assessment of Raymi’s worth. The director, who leads the team on the front lines, would have a more accurate grasp of this. I have no objection to Director Vincent’s current opinion.”

Now the baton was passed to that old geezer. Beomseok stared at Vincent this time and opened his mouth.

“Director, you’ve suggested 6 million krang, but you’re not willing to trade for anything less than that?”

“In a single transaction, I have absolutely no intention of trading Raymi for anything less. Absolutely.”

Beomseok wore a strange expression. He seemed to be stubbornly refusing to lower the price, but on the other hand, he was leaving room for negotiation.

“Then, if it’s not a single transaction, you might lower the negotiation price?”

“That’s right. If you’re willing to take another gladiator, I’ll hand over Raymi for 3.5 million krang.”

Beomseok showed interest in the drastically reduced amount. After all, he couldn’t form a team with just Raymi and Venus, so he had to buy more gladiators. If the ability was decent compared to the price, it wouldn’t be bad to conclude another deal.

However, Arnold, who was listening from the side, couldn’t help but be horrified. No matter how much of a multiple transaction it was, it was unreasonable to value Raymi at only 3.5 million krang. She was currently classified as outside of the power structure and dispatched to other sports centers, but in the past, during the Area League days, she showed great performance and received attention from many professional teams. Frankly, there were plenty of Area League teams that would buy her if they offered a price of 5 to 6 million krang.

If he concluded this deal and reported it to the higher-ups, he would inevitably receive great criticism.

“Director! That’s too cheap. Please think again.”

Vincent, not even pretending to listen, continued his conversation with Beomseok.

“However, I will decide which gladiator to trade. There will be no such drastic price reduction for other gladiators.”

Beomseok openly displayed his discomfort at those words. If the gladiator he was offering had significantly lower abilities or an unreasonably high price, there would be no reason for him to buy. However, since it was a way to lower Raymi’s value to 3.5 million krang [currency in this world], it was worth checking out.

“I’m in a dilemma. May I know the name of that gladiator?”

“It’s a kid named Oscar.”

The expression on Arnold’s face changed drastically once again. Oscar was a troublesome headache, the main culprit for disrupting the team’s atmosphere. Now that the team was doing well, she was a rotten apple that had to be removed. If other gladiators sympathized with her and started causing trouble, the current atmosphere could be easily shattered. So, the club had been constantly pressuring to get rid of her, and the conflict within the team had been ongoing due to Director Vincent’s opposition.

But now, the director was hinting at getting rid of Oscar. Moreover, he was securing funds under the guise of a trade, even though she would have a negative value considering the hospital bills for her future mental treatment. From various perspectives, the 1.5 million krang deducted from Raymi’s value was an amount he could gladly accept.

Perhaps, if he made this deal happen, he would receive great praise from above. Arnold decided to become the director’s yes-man once again.

“In that case, I also agree with the director’s opinion. Ahem.”

Beomseok cast a suspicious glance at Arnold, who was clearing his throat repeatedly while adjusting his facial expression. From what he had seen so far, Arnold was loyal to the club’s interests, and the fact that such a person suddenly agreed suggested that there was something wrong with the elf named Oscar. In a transaction, if the other party benefits, it means a loss for him, so he felt uneasy.

However, as an outsider, he couldn’t know the reason. Beomseok had no choice but to quietly seek advice from Raymi. She had been active in Dragon Knights for 29 years, so she would know the team’s situation in detail. He excused himself to everyone for a moment, then led Raymi to a corner of the reception room to start a conversation.

“Raymi, who is Oscar?”

“She’s a kid who joined the team while I was dispatched to the Demon Sports Center. The older and younger members say she has a violent temper and often causes trouble, so the team is planning to get rid of her.”

“Is that so? Anything else?”

“But Director Vincent cherishes her, so she’s still safely remaining in the club, I heard.”

“What do you think? Should I recruit her?”

She glanced at Arnold and Vincent from afar, then whispered something into Beomseok’s ear.

“It’s a very good opportunity, so you must recruit her. Director Vincent, who has a good eye for elves, insisted on bringing her in, and I also heard that she once fought several reserve gladiators alone and inflicted serious injuries, while she was unharmed. That means she has considerable skill.”

“Are you sure? It seems like she has mental issues.”

“Elves only experience mental problems for one reason: when they can’t serve their master. But Beomseok-nim is…”

Beomseok cut off the conversation as if he understood. He could already realize that this trade wasn’t so bad just from the current conversation. The mental issues, as Raymi said, could be resolved if he suppressed her once. Now, all that was left was to meet the elf named Oscar and directly confirm her abilities.

Beomseok took Raymi and sat back in his seat.

“Alright. Since you say so, I’ll think about it in a positive light. Then, would it be possible to meet the gladiator named Oscar?”

At those words, Arnold wore a triumphant smile. He felt like an old man with a wart who had met a goblin who would take it away [a Korean saying for getting rid of something unwanted]. He quickly pressed the intercom and ordered someone to bring Oscar.

10 minutes passed, then 20 minutes, and then an hour. And just when his patience was about to reach its limit, an elf hurriedly entered the reception room.

“Um, excuse me, Arnold-nim.”

Arnold, annoyed, raised his voice and said.

“What is it! Why haven’t you brought Oscar yet! Haven’t you found her yet!”

“Um, well, we found her.”

“Found her, then what!”

“She insists that if someone wants to meet her, they should come to her directly.”

Arnold clenched his teeth so hard they felt like they would break, and grabbed his hair tightly. He thought that even if Beomseok was a pushover, showing him this scene would ruin the negotiation. Thinking he had missed a good opportunity, he couldn’t stop the anger from rising to the top of his head.

“Then what are you doing! Drag her here right now, even if you have to bring guards!”

“Actually, the guards were all defeated by Oscar and taken to the nearby treatment center.”

Hearing this, Beomseok burst into laughter. He liked her temper. Even though it was a sport, gladiatorial combat was a game where you had to defeat your opponent with a sword. It wasn’t bad to have that much guts. He jumped up from the sofa and said.

“Hahaha. Then we’ll go. I’d like to see her face.”

Arnold, sensing that the negotiation was still possible, though by a thread, recomposed himself.

“A-Are you sure you’re alright with that?”

“Of course. Even the Goblins made three visits to a thatched cottage to acquire talent [referencing the story of Zhuge Liang], can’t I do that much? Let’s just consider it a walk.”

“T-Thank you for understanding. Well, I’ll guide you.”

After saying that, Arnold urged the elf employee forward. Beomseok and Raymi followed behind, and Vincent, who had been sitting on the sofa maintaining his dignity, soon got up and started walking.

Leaving the reception room, they exited the office building and headed towards the training camp’s backyard.

——

Next part coming.