Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 204

206

Amelie’s return to active duty spread around the world through various media outlets. Netizens who first saw this news online mocked the media for being late to the party. However, after Natalie’s staged show garnered a great response, the media began to cover detailed articles in earnest. They couldn’t afford to fall behind in quality, especially since they were already being ridiculed for being a day late with the breaking news.

Thanks to this, Beom-seok, who was at the center of this event, was greatly highlighted. The fact that a skilled gladiator like Amelie would accept a one-on-one duel meant that a hidden talent was now in the spotlight, which in itself was a great source of interest. Although he reigned as an absolute ruler within the Avand area, he was merely an unknown gladiator to the rest of the world, so most gladiator fans didn’t know much about him.

– Amazing. How could such a gladiator have stayed in the Area League until now?

– I heard that he is the chairman of the Gods Knights, so he never transfers to other teams. That’s why many World League teams who knew his skills from the beginning were very disappointed.

– I see. By the way, just thinking about Amelie and such an outstanding gladiator having a duel makes me excited already.

Sitting on a park bench in the training camp, Beom-seok was grinning. He felt good because a special TV program was showing him in action, touting him as a great gladiator. Moreover, he was seeing a significant promotional effect because they repeatedly mentioned the name Gods Knights.

Ring Ring.

Beom-seok frowned when he realized he was getting a call. He was annoyed because he had stopped training to watch the show, and now he was being interrupted. However, he quickly lowered the hologram TV screen when he saw that the caller was Lexter. Lexter was currently carrying out the organization-building work he had been planning. With the Economic Alliance and even the Black Society recognized as enemies, Beom-seok was eager to increase his power.

“Yo. Inspector Lexter. What’s up?”

Lexter immediately offered his congratulations in response to his greeting.

– Hahaha. Beom-seok. Congratulations. You’ve been quite the sensation lately.

Beom-seok, who roughly understood what he meant, scratched his head with an awkward expression.

“Hehe. It’s all thanks to Amelie.”

– It’s not just that. You wouldn’t have had this opportunity if you didn’t have the skills.

“Well, that’s true. I am quite skilled, aren’t I?”

He immediately admitted it. Then and now, he regarded the word ‘humility’ as merely a decoration.

– Hehehe. That’s right. You’re the guy who infiltrated the LHN Building alone and even got the checkmate [achieved a decisive victory].

Beom-seok looked around and put his index finger to his lips.

“Shh. Inspector. That never happened.”

– Oh. Is that so? Sorry, sorry. I just can’t help but be proud when I think about what happened back then. I won’t mention it again.

“Hehe. Of course, you shouldn’t. By the way, how is the Bluebird team doing? You must be very busy these days.”

The Bluebird team was a professional gladiator team under the Federal Police Agency, currently managed by Lexter. It was formed by gathering the most skilled members from tens of thousands of mobile strike forces around the world, and it maintained a fairly high level of power. So, it recently passed the tournament and succeeded in entering the Avand Pro League, and it was currently in the midst of busy preparations.

– Of course, it’s going well. Who do you think is running it?

“Really? How about the promotion evaluation team?”

– That’s already all okay. Lady Gloria volunteered to be a member of our promotion evaluation team, so it ended without much difficulty.

“Hehe. Then you’ll be starting full-scale league preparations now.”

– That’s right. So, we’re in the middle of practice matches right now. We’ve had four matches so far, and we’ve won them all. Hahaha.

Beom-seok feigned surprise and said.

“Oh, really? Congratulations.”

– Congratulations my ass. It’s the obvious result. Is our team a bit strong?

Beom-seok immediately agreed with Lexter’s enthusiasm.

Most of the police mobile strike force were elves from the Worker Auction Market who were professional gladiators. And some of them used tricks to get owners in perfect physical condition, and Bluebird was the professional gladiator team that Lexter formed by gathering them.

“Well, even though they’re a bit old, there are 21 Wide League-level players, and the rest are all Area League-level players.”

– Thanks to that, our Hera is very disappointed. She was recently pushed to the bench.

Hera was Lexter’s lover, an elf who had been very active in Gods Knights until the beginning of last year. She transferred to the Bluebird team when it was founded, but Beom-seok wasn’t too happy to hear that she had become a substitute.

“Really? Then why don’t you make her a professional coach for the promising players you recruited after I told you about them? Even though her physical condition is different, she has a knack for spear techniques, so she will help them grow a lot.”

– I was thinking the same thing. Isn’t our Aurora a spear master? I’m going to make her a personal coach to teach that kid professionally.

“You made a good decision. If that kid grows up to a certain extent, she will receive a much higher annual salary than Hera did when she was active. Even if you lose some money now, it will bring you great benefits in the future.”

Lexter nodded and subtly looked at him. And for some reason, he scratched his head in an embarrassed manner.

– But Beom-seok. Actually, there’s a favor I wanted to ask.

“What favor?”

– Do you have any tickets left for your team’s opening game?

Beom-seok looked at him with a relaxed expression. After the news of Amelie and Beom-seok’s match spread widely in the media, not only general admission tickets but also season tickets were completely sold out, but about 5,000 tickets were left in case of an emergency. Esther had secretly set them aside, knowing that requests like this would come in.

“Why? Don’t you like soccer, Inspector?”

– Of course, I do. But since you’ve been in the news lately, I’ve been bragging to the Federal Police Agency that I’m very close to you, and now everyone is asking me to get them tickets. Even the director of the Federal Police Agency, who is a gladiator fanatic, and several executives have been subtly asking, and I’m going crazy.

At that, Beom-seok nodded without hesitation. The executives and personnel within the Federal Police Agency were key figures in charge of global security. There was no harm in giving out some tickets.

“How many do you need?”

– About five hundred.

“What? I’ll send them to you soon. Oh, and I’ll lend my room to the director and executives.”

– Your room?

“Yes. There is an indoor viewing area assigned to the chairmen of the home team. It can accommodate about ten people, and the view is very good, so it’s great for watching.”

Lexter’s face lit up. If he lent such a special VIP seat to the director and executives of the Federal Police Agency, his reputation would be greatly enhanced.

– But are you sure it’s okay?

“Of course. I have to go out for the game, so I won’t be using that room.”

– Oh, that’s right. Hahaha. Anyway, thank you so much.

“You’re welcome. Isn’t this the least I can do for you, Inspector? Please ask me for things like this often.”

– Okay. Then let’s see each other that day.

“Yes. I understand. Then take care.”

Beom-seok, who had ended the call with him, got up from his seat and headed to the training ground. And he looked at Remi, who was training in the distance, with a troubled look. He was reminded of Lexter’s story about making Hera Aurora’s personal coach. He had considered Remi’s retirement after Polia’s retirement ceremony.

‘Although Remi’s performance is helpful to the team, it’s a waste to keep her coaching skills buried. Her trait has a 1.5x development effect on up to 5 people.’

Currently, Remi was playing as a starter. She was a very valuable resource in Gods Knights, which had a small number of useful gladiators, but there was an aspect that she was not fully utilizing her trait of thorough teaching because she was playing as an active gladiator. In addition, Remi’s potential had recently dropped. The fact that her potential dropped without any injuries meant that she had reached the aging stage. A full-scale decline in physical ability was expected in the future. Fortunately, the position of veteran to which she belonged had found a numerical surplus, so he thought it was necessary to turn her into a coaching staff to double the development speed of promising players.

After much deliberation, he finally called Remi, who was training, with a gesture. If he didn’t bring it up now, he wouldn’t be able to bring it up later.

“Remi. Can you come here for a moment?”

She, who was wielding a sword, perked up her ears and approached with hurried steps.

“Yes. Master. Did you call me?”

“Yes. I have something to talk to you about.”

“What is it?”

Beom-seok, who looked around, pointed to the path behind him with his thumb. It was such a sensitive topic that it was ambiguous to put it out in front of others.

“Shall we talk while walking together?”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

Beom-seok, who started walking on the narrow block road, couldn’t open his mouth for a long time. Although Remi’s potential had fallen, she was still able to play as an active player. If she was still eager to go out to gladiator matches, the conversation would be very embarrassing. Of course, she would be happy to follow if he only gave an order because she was an elf under his command, but that’s why he was even more careful. Because she would gladly accept it with a smiling face, it was difficult for Beom-seok to guess how hurt she would be.

“Hmm. Remi. Do you remember the boiled beans and broccoli lunch box?”

It was a sudden question, but Remi fell into faint memories. She was able to attract Beom-seok’s attention with that lunch box, and eventually she was able to serve as his master.

“Yes. I remember. How can I forget that lunch box? It’s the link that connected me and Master.”

“Hehe. That’s right. I was surprised to see that lunch box at the time, and I looked at you again.”

“So, I’m grateful for that lunch box every day. Thanks to that, I was able to meet a good master.”

Beom-seok inadvertently looked at the clear summer sky. He had been neglecting Remi with other new elves. It was because of his desire to quickly raise promising players, but it was a very sorry thing for her.

“A good master… I don’t think it’s that much.”

Remi, who was startled, waved her hands wildly.

“No. You’re really a good master. I’m happy every day.”

“Really? Then that’s a relief. As a master, there’s nothing more sad than seeing a lover elf unhappy.”

After saying that, Beom-seok continued to walk without saying anything. Even the reckless man didn’t have the courage to tell Remi to retire after seeing her bright smile. Later, he even regretted calling her out.

Sensing a strange atmosphere, Remi opened her mouth to Beom-seok. Because the elf’s heart and eyes were always directed at the master, she could tell what kind of mood he was in.

“Master. What do you want to say, but you keep hesitating? Is it bad news?”

“Ah. It’s not that… No. I’ll tell you later. Let’s go to the training ground first.”

Remi followed him with anxious eyes. She felt like there was definitely something important to talk about, but she was terrified because he didn’t say anything. There were the Oscar and Rapine cases last year, and she thought she might be loaned to another team. The number of veterans competing for the starting position was 11. There was talk that Matilda, who had a strong attacking tendency, might be removed as a vanguard, but there were still 10 people. In addition, although it was a secret, her physical abilities had been gradually declining for some time. Beom-seok could have noticed this and judged that it would be impossible to play in the Wide League.

However, she had to sacrifice herself because it was for the master. And even if she went on loan, she could commute if it wasn’t too far, so it wasn’t time to despair yet.

“Um, do I have to go far away?”

Beom-seok turned around at her sudden question.

“Have to go far away? What are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you trying to send me on loan?”

He laughed in vain with an absurd expression. She had misunderstood badly.

“Why would I send you on loan?”

“But you sent Oscar and Rapine on loan to Dragon Knights before.”

“At that time, it was too bad for them to play in the Area League, and I just needed some money. Why? Do you hate being loaned out so much?”

Remi nodded. A loan that required her to live apart from Beom-seok was the most painful thing for an elf after the death of her master.

“Of course. But I’m always prepared for the sake of my master.”

“That’s it. It’s not a loan.”

Remi blocked his way with a bright face. If it wasn’t a loan, there was no reason for her to be afraid. An elf was always happy if she could always stay by her master’s side.

“Master, is that really true?”

“Yes. I will never send you on loan for the rest of my life.”

“Then what do you want to say to me?”

Beom-seok, who had deeply touched his tongue [hesitated], looked at her for a long time, and finally decided to reveal the truth. If he couldn’t say it now that he had the chance, he wouldn’t be able to bring it up for the rest of his life.

“It’s not that, but I called you to ask if you would like to be a professional coach. If you dedicate yourself to coaching, Gods Knights can become stronger.”

At that, Remi didn’t seem to be very shocked. If she had received this request during her Dragon Knights days, it would have been like a bolt from the blue, but now there was no problem at all. No, she even felt happy because it could be more helpful to him.

“Okay. I’ll be a professional coach.”

“Really? I’m grateful if you do that, but are you really okay? You’ll have regrets about being an active player, right?”

“No. I’ve been an active player for almost 30 years, so I have no regrets now. And to be honest, I’m more interested in teaching.”

“Hehe. Thank you. Good! Your retirement match will be the opening game that the whole world is watching. It will be a great honor, so it will be a consolation.”

Remi smiled brightly. The match between Amelie’s Chaplin Whisper and Gods Knights was very likely to be the biggest event in the gladiator world this year. To have a retirement ceremony here, there was no greater honor as a gladiator.

“Thank you so much for your concern. I’ll work hard that day.”

Beom-seok, who patted her on the back, moved his light steps toward the training ground. He felt relieved that Remi’s retirement was resolved without any problems. Now, thanks to her, the promising players of Gods Knights had a foundation to grow greatly.

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

Already three days have passed this year. But there’s an old saying that resolutions last three days, and I feel it’s amazing. I tried to quit smoking on New Year’s Day, but I couldn’t even last three hours. Hahaha. Resolutions last three days. Not just anyone can do this. Hahaha.

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