Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 25

The place James and Erpina arrived at was the waiting area for elves about to be auctioned. Inside, around 30 elves scheduled to be sold that afternoon were seated. James and Erpina were looking at the elf sitting in the very back row, waving their hands. It was Polia, the elf gladiator Bumseok had briefly checked on earlier. She was an older woman whose physical abilities had declined noticeably, which was why he hadn’t paid her much attention.

Yet, Polia greeted them as if she knew them well.

“James. You’ve come.”

James subtly lifted the bag in his hand and said,

“Oh, yeah. We’re here. Polia. Have you been very hungry these days?”

“No. Please, sit here.”

Polia brought two empty seats from the elf waiting area and gestured for James and Erpina to sit. He handed the lunch bag to Erpina, sat down, and tightly grasped Polia’s hands, nearly crushing them.

“Polia. I have good news.”

“What is it?”

“Actually, due to the TNB Bank incident today, your auction price has dropped significantly. The immediate purchase price, which was 1.1 million krang, and the starting price of 330,000 krang, have been greatly reduced to 600,000 and 180,000 krang, respectively. Moreover, everyone is failing to sell one after another, so if you’re lucky, we might be able to buy you for 180,000 krang.”

“Really?”

A bright smile bloomed on Polia’s face. The money James had prepared to buy her and Erpina was 2.5 million krang. Of that, 1.1 million krang was borrowed from the bank using his house as collateral. If she were sold for 180,000 krang, combined with the 730,000 krang he paid for Erpina, it would total 910,000 krang. Then, even after repaying the bank loan, 490,000 krang would be left, greatly reducing James’s financial burden.

“Hahaha. Now, all that’s left is for the three of us to live happily. Well, the economy is a bit tough, but it won’t last forever, right? Hahaha.”

Erpina, who was opening the lunch box and placing portions on James’s and Polia’s laps, chimed in,

“Yes, sister. Let’s take good care of James together from now on. Earlier, I saw that he really seems like a good person, just like you said. You know, there was a club official who wanted to buy me for a whopping 7 million krang, but he didn’t sell me because of you. I was so grateful that I almost cried.”

Polia’s eyes widened as she looked at James. She couldn’t believe that he had given up 7 million krang for her and Erpina. Of course, she had experienced James’s character enough while living with him, but she didn’t know he could maintain his composure in the face of such a large sum.

A subtle emotion welled up, and her eyes began to moisten.

“T-thank you. For doing so much for us.”

“What? It’s for Polia, so I can do that much. Here, what are you doing? You should eat quickly.”

James split the wooden chopsticks and handed them to Polia. She looked at Erpina, told her to eat together, picked up one of the neatly arranged sandwiches, and gently placed it in her mouth. As they began their meal, they chatted, using stories of the past as side dishes.

Polia was originally a gladiator for the Aquarius Fish team in the Silonia Area League. Her skills weren’t outstanding enough to make her a permanent starter, but her unique diligence and loyalty to the team earned her more attention from fans than many starting gladiators.

One day, a human boy came to her. He looked a little over 10 years old, and his sparkling eyes and polite gesture of handing over an autograph and pen made her feel fond of him. She calmly sat down, signed the autograph, and even spent some of her meager allowance to buy him snacks at a nearby confectionery [a candy store]. This connection developed into affection for each other over time. They would secretly talk at night between the fences of the club’s practice camp, and James would cheer loudly and encourage her whenever she had a match. This went on for 15 years. Now, judging that she was too old and no longer valuable, the Aquarius Fish team decided to release Polia from the team. He, who had been steadily saving money to buy her, ran to the club as soon as he heard the news. He thought that the time had come for their affection to bear fruit.

However, the Aquarius Fish team official flatly rejected his offer, which proposed a decent amount. The reason was the sports club’s custom of not selling affiliated elves to ordinary people, regardless of age. They already had elves using loopholes to their advantage in the Walker Auction Market when they got old, so there was no reason to create another escape route and disrupt the team’s discipline. If this fact were to become known to the elves within the team, it was obvious that they would trouble the fans by using their purchase as an excuse. As a sports club that lived off the love of fans, this was something they had to avoid at all costs, and they mostly put them up for sale at the Walker Auction Market secretly, unless a large sum of money, several times the original value, was offered.

However, James’s enthusiasm surpassed the will of these sports clubs. Whether they were annoyed or moved by his affection for Polia, one club official secretly tipped him off about the date she would be sold at the Walker Auction Market. And as he anxiously waited for the auction date, he received an unexpected request from Polia. It was about whether he could buy Erpina as well.

In fact, Erpina had transferred to the Aquarius Fish team from her parent team, Dark Zeus, 22 years ago because she couldn’t adapt. Like Oscar, she caused accidents due to her desire for an owner, giving her team a headache. When the Aquarius Fish team coveted her talent, her parent team sold her off cheaply. However, there was no way that a leaky bucket wouldn’t leak outside. Even after transferring, she continued to cause trouble, embarrassing club officials. In response, the team ordered Polia, who was the most diligent at the time, to help her adapt to the team.

Having met each other in this way, she and Erpina quickly became close. Polia healed her wounded heart with her unique sociability.

They talked about many things, and the biggest topic of interest was the Walker Auction Market. Since it was the only escape route to get an owner, Erpina immediately brought up the topic at the end of their conversations. At this time, Polia passed on the tricks she had learned from her senior teammates. She told her that if she pretended to gradually lose her stamina and strength and complained of frequent injuries a few years before she reached the age to be sold to the Walker Auction Market, she could leave the club sooner. And she also said that in order to do this, she had to live a diligent team life and gain the trust of club officials.

In the end, Erpina changed her behavior 180 degrees based on her words. She developed her skills through blood and sweat, and showed infinite loyalty to the team. She took the lead in fighting the opposing team in every game, and always showed courteous respect to team officials. After doing this for several years, she grew into one of the league’s top gladiators and received frequent love calls from numerous upper-league teams. And some time later, she transferred to her current team.

It was the Captain Bears, a gladiator team that preferred young and energetic elf gladiators, so the cycle of sending affiliated players to the Walker Auction Market was fast. From Erpina’s point of view, it was a perfect team.

From this point on, she fought without sparing her body. It was common for her to get injured and receive treatment after every game, and sometimes she suffered major injuries and spent several months in the treatment center. However, the team treated her as if a treasure had come in. Although she missed a lot of games due to injuries, her appearance of fighting with a burning spirit in every game earned her great support from fans. On the days Erpina played, her jersey number 12 was sold like hotcakes, which brought great profits to the club.

After about 10 years, Erpina, thinking that the time had come, began to subtly pretend that her strength and stamina were declining. As a year or two passed, she showed increasingly disappointing performances, but the team had no idea that she was deceiving them. They didn’t know what she was thinking inside, but on the outside, she always looked like she was doing her best for the team. Eventually, six years after starting her act, her team misjudged that she had exhausted her usefulness. They knew that some elves experienced rapid aging around the age of 30, and that the extent was further exacerbated by frequent injuries.

Having come to the preliminary meeting of the Walker Auction Market, which she had dreamed of, Erpina met an unexpected person. It was Polia, who had been kind to her in the past. The two were happy to talk about many things, including James. Listening to anecdotes about him, who seemed like a good person, Erpina looked envious, and later subtly asked if they could live together. In response, Polia also wanted to live with her, who she got along with, and made the same request to James. He, who found it difficult to refuse the request of his beloved lover, even borrowed money using his house as collateral and came to buy them today.

“So that’s what happened. You should have told me sooner. Tch.”

Bumseok, who had heard their past stories from outside the waiting room, wore an emotional expression. Of course, he wasn’t moved by their love and passion to get an owner. He was just expressing his joy at knowing that there was still an opportunity to get Erpina.

He made up his mind not to miss this opportunity and rushed to the auction house to secure a seat early.

– Participants in the hall. We will now begin today’s afternoon auction. Now, let me introduce elf number 74, Jenny Yang, who played as a pitcher for the Blue Diamonds. The immediate purchase price is 930,000 krang, and the auction starting price is 300,000 krang. Please pay close attention.

A curtain was drawn, and an elf wearing a baseball uniform appeared. She had a slender figure and was quite a beauty, so she would have received a lot of attention under normal circumstances, but the gazes of the auction participants looking at her were cold. Well, in the current situation, where only about 20 seats were barely filled, it was really difficult to change the atmosphere no matter which elf came out.

She, who had been showing off all kinds of pitching forms on the stage, eventually sat down and burst into tears. She had come to the dream stage she had longed for, but she had no choice but to turn her steps back to her team, so she couldn’t help but feel sad. But whether she gained sympathy from this appearance, one bidding count went up.

The auctioneer’s voice became lively at the rare bid.

– Okay! 300,000 krang has been offered. Is there anyone else!

But that was it. In this situation, there was no one who would compete and buy an elf at a high price. But a deal was a deal. Jenny, who had been chosen, ran towards her owner, who was coming up to the stage, as if she was flying, and shared a joyful hug.

– Okay, then next is elf number 75. She is…….

Most of the auctions that followed were concluded smoothly. The elves who watched Jenny’s example from behind gained the favor of the participants by bursting into tears on stage in the same way. Some elves even managed to get two bids as soon as they came on stage and started crying. After all, men were animals that were weak to women’s tears.

– Okay, then next is elf number 97, Polia. She is a master of swordsmanship who has been working as a professional gladiator for the Aquarius Fish team for 42 years. She is currently 45 years old, which seems a bit old, but her still elastic body and firm hips are by no means inferior to any other elf.

Finally, it was the moment that Bumseok had been expecting and looking forward to. He was determined not to miss it this time, and he had his finger on the immediate purchase button from the start. Of course, he also wanted to tease James by continuing to bet, but if he suddenly pressed the immediate transaction button, he would be completely out of luck. He couldn’t ruin the opportunity to get Erpina back for a little revenge.

– Okay, then let’s start the bidding. The immediate sale price is 600,000 krang, and the transaction starting price is 180,000 krang. We ask for a lot of support from everyone.

The bidding button was activated as soon as he finished speaking. Bumseok immediately pressed the immediate purchase button without any hesitation. Instantly, the 3D electronic display showed that the transaction had been concluded for 600,000 krang, and next to it was the name of Bumseok, who would be the owner. The expression on the auctioneer’s face as he looked at this was really something to behold. He couldn’t have imagined that an immediate transaction would take place in the current situation. Especially since Polia, an older woman who was one of the lower-ranked auction items that came out today.

But there were others who had even more embarrassed expressions on their faces. It was James and Erpina. Judging from the auction results so far, they had lost Polia to someone else, whom they thought they would be able to buy with ease. Moreover, before they could even press the bidding button.

Whether he knew this or not, the auctioneer, who had come to his senses, raised his hand and shouted.

“Congratulations! Polia has been sold for 600,000 krang. Mr. Oh Bumseok, the owner, please come up!”

Bumseok, with a calm appearance, slowly got up and went up to the auction stage. He drew a cruel, widespread smile on his lips as he looked at Polia’s face, which was turning blue.

—————-

Next, we’ll go again.