Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 267

As it became clear that Theresa’s father was a member of the Black Society [a powerful, often clandestine, organization], Beom-seok moved quickly. He focused his information gathering on digging into their background. Soon after, Beom-seok achieved his goal, identifying the suspicious flow of their funds and recording it on video.

He immediately took this data to Ravelocity, to Vice Chairman Louis. Although the evidence was somewhat weak, it didn’t matter. Beom-seok’s task was only to reveal the mastermind behind this incident and to remove Jillym from Sheila’s favor, not to find solid evidence for a court case. In other words, he only needed to persuade Vice Chairman Louis and Sheila, and to screw over Theresa, the true culprit.

“Beom-seok! Welcome!”

Vice Chairman Louis greeted Beom-seok, who had come to his office, with a bright expression. He had promised to resolve all his worries today, so he couldn’t help but be excited.

Beom-seok looked around the room and asked,

“Yes. But where are the others?”

“They’ll all be here soon. Come on, sit comfortably here.”

“Ah. Yes. Thank you.”

He sat on the reception sofa and placed the electronic document file on the table. Seeing this, Louis looked at Beom-seok with a meaningful gaze.

“Is this the evidence?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Can I take a look?”

“I don’t mind, but let’s watch it together when everyone is here. That’s when interesting things will unfold.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Vice Chairman, you just need to deploy guards outside the door to prevent them from escaping.”

Louis gave a slightly bitter smile.

“Heh heh. Are you telling me to catch Jillym?”

“Not necessarily. This evidence is a bit weak to prove their guilt or innocence. Even if they are arrested and handed over to the police, there is a high probability that they will be released again due to insufficient evidence. However, it is enough to put pressure on them. If you create an atmosphere of fear by deploying guards, they will reveal their true colors on their own.”

“Is that so? Then why announce it now without gathering more evidence? Wouldn’t it be better to catch them properly when you catch them?”

“That’s because of Sheila. This is such a shocking story, and the mental pain she will have to endure is considerable. The more time passes, the more intense it becomes.”

He said this, but in fact, Beom-seok’s own circumstances were more pressing. Currently, Gods Knights were in first place in the league with 28 wins, 5 draws, and 1 loss in 34 league games. With only four games left, they had almost secured the championship, so they had to focus on training in preparation for the promotion tournament. At this crucial time, he, the team’s main gladiator, couldn’t afford to be tied to Vice Chairman Louis’s affairs.

And Theresa was also proving difficult to deal with. She was so careful that it was not easy to catch her. Whether she was using communication devices under other people’s names, no matter how much he looked at the communication records, he could not find any suspicious activity, and the fund transfer details were impeccably clean. In addition, she was extremely reluctant to meet Rubin and Jillym, so he only managed to grasp the funding method with difficulty. Of course, if he continued to put in effort and watch, he would be able to gather concrete evidence someday, but he doubted he would even get his expenses covered. It wasn’t his primary job, so he couldn’t bear such trouble.

Not knowing this, Vice Chairman Louis glanced at him.

“Sheila is having a hard time? Is that true?”

“Yes. A real soap opera [a melodramatic and often convoluted story] is unfolding behind the scenes.”

Louis revealed embarrassment and anger at the same time. He was furious that the word ‘makjang’ [soap opera] came out of Beom-seok’s mouth, wondering just how dramatic the situation was becoming.

“I think I need to prepare myself thoroughly.”

“You should. Vice Chairman Louis, there will be things that will shock you too.”

“Me too?”

“Yes. One of your most trusted close aides is at the center of this situation.”

Louis couldn’t close his mouth, as if he was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that the conspiracy had extended beyond Sheila to himself.

“I… is that really true?”

“Yes. It’s certain.”

Louis crossed his arms and made a serious expression. If his closest aide had betrayed him, the situation could spiral into a very dangerous situation. This incident was an attempt to absorb the Louis faction through Sheila. They might even secretly assassinate him to speed up the process.

He looked at Beom-seok with a meaningful gaze. There was one person he could guess. Among the people being called today, there was only one person who could be called his closest aide.

“Is that traitor Rubin?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

Louis, who had been thinking about this situation, realized that the mastermind behind this was not an economic organization. Rubin was the first to inform him that Jillym had approached Sheila at the instigation of an economic organization. Since the culprit himself would not have revealed the mastermind, it was certain that there was another mastermind. And he recalled one possibility and mentioned it in a quiet tone.

“Then there’s a high probability that the real mastermind is the Black Society. They are the ones who need our Louis faction the most.”

Beom-seok expressed his agreement with a smile. As expected of a prominent figure of an era, he had an eye for seeing the essence of the situation. At the mention of a traitor, he inferred Rubin and even the Black Society. He was indeed Vice Chairman Louis.

“Heh heh. As expected of you, Vice Chairman. I can’t hide anything from you.”

Soon, he unfolded the data and began to explain the details of the incident in detail. He told everything about how Rubin had pretended to like Sheila and the fact that Theresa’s father was a member of the Black Society. Vice Chairman Louis, who had heard the details, was shocked and remained silent in a stiff posture.

After a while, three men and women entered the office: Sheila, Jillym, and Rubin. They had seen the elf guards standing guard at the entrance, so they looked intimidated.

Sheila cautiously approached Vice Chairman Louis.

“Ah, Father, what’s going on? Why are there guards outside?”

“Well, there’s someone I’m going to take care of today.”

“Who?”

“You’ll know if you listen to Beom-seok. Just sit quietly and listen today. It’s all because of you.”

Sheila sat next to Chairman Louis with an awkward expression, and Rubin hurriedly went to Beom-seok. Judging from the situation, he expected that Jillym would be finished today.

“Beom-seok. Is everything being resolved now?”

“Yes. It will be resolved soon. The whole story of the incident will be revealed today.”

Rubin smiled brightly and sat next to him. He had no doubt that Jillym would be removed and he would take Sheila’s place. He gave Jillym a bitter smile.

“Heh heh. Mr. Jillym, please come and sit down too.”

However, Jillym roughly sensed something was wrong and couldn’t sit down, looking anxious. The atmosphere in the room was not good.

“Wh, what’s going on? Why is everyone doing this?”

“Why? Do you have something to feel guilty about?”

At Rubin’s pointed words, Jillym looked frightened. Surely, if there was nothing wrong, Rubin, who had been kind until now, would not openly show hostility. But he couldn’t back out now. There were many guards with fierce eyes outside. Jillym had no choice but to pray in his heart and then sit next to Sheila.

Seeing this, Beom-seok immediately took out the electronic document and raised a hologram screen on the table. It was a scene of an elf and Thomas meeting intimately. He pointed at the elf and looked at Jillym.

“Mr. Jillym, you know this elf well, right?”

Jillym swallowed hard. He was definitely a grateful elf who had saved him from danger several times. But he couldn’t admit it. He guessed that the elf was a bodyguard sent by an unidentified entity who was pushing him from behind. If he affirmed the truth here, it would be admitting that there was a mastermind.

“I don’t know him well.”

“It would be better for your well-being to admit it honestly. The thugs who attacked you at the time were all sent by our side. That means there are plenty of witnesses who can prove that you know that elf. If you lie here, it will be a loss for you, so tell the truth.”

At those words, Sheila jumped up from her seat. How could they attack her lover? But soon, she sat back on the sofa after receiving Louis’s sharp gaze.

Jillym, judging that there was no other way, nodded.

“Now that you say that, I remember. Yes, I’m familiar with him. He’s the benefactor who helped me when I was attacked by a thug before.”

“You’ve probably received help several times, didn’t you feel something strange?”

“Yes. He appeared every time I was in danger in a secluded place, so it was a bit strange. But that’s it. I don’t know the reason.”

Beom-seok noticed that he was lying, but he decided to let it go. The big fish to catch today was Sheila’s childhood friend sitting next to him. Jillym was just a bait to be used and discarded.

“Thank you for telling the truth. By the way, the person this elf is secretly meeting is a man named Thomas, who is the closest aide to Filer, the chairman of the Youth Business Association. Thanks to this photo, we believed that you approached Sheila at the instigation of an economic organization.”

Jillym’s eyes widened. It was truly surprising that those who were helping him were economic organizations. But now there was no time to think about other things. Beom-seok had revealed even the mastermind he didn’t know about, so he might know all the truth of the incident.

“So, so what about it? I don’t know that elf well, and I didn’t even know he was related to an economic organization. I just happened to get help.”

“Heh heh. Of course, I know. That’s why I said it in the past tense. When I looked into it in detail, Mr. Jillym was just deceived. In other words, strictly speaking, you’re a victim.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“In fact, Mr. Jillym was destined to never be connected to Sheila. Because you were scheduled to be eliminated if you achieved certain results. In fact, the person who was planned to have a relationship with Sheila is Mr. Rubin next to me.”

Rubin’s shocked gaze turned sharply to Beom-seok. He was suddenly pointed out as the culprit, so he couldn’t help but be embarrassed.

“Beom-seok. What are you talking about?”

“You’ll know if you look at the next screen.”

When Beom-seok manipulated the electronic document, a new video appeared. It was a CCTV video inside a personal safe provided to customers at a bank, and a man with blue hair opened a safe and put a box inside. And then, in the next scene, Rubin was taking out the box from the same safe and checking the bundles of bills.

“Wh, what is this data screen?”

“What else could it be? It means that Rubin was instigated by someone and betrayed Vice Chairman Louis.”

“That’s ridiculous! Vice Chairman Louis is the benefactor of our family. How dare I!”

“Mr. Rubin, do you think I’m a fool? The man with blue hair in the previous screen is an employee of the Youth Business Association office who helps Theresa with her work. You were clearly trying to approach Sheila at her instigation.”

Rubin jumped up from his seat and insisted.

“That’s impossible! This is inside a bank safe! No bank leaks such screens to the outside! It’s absolutely impossible! It’s definitely a manipulated screen!”

“Heh heh. Of course, it’s illegal. So I can’t use it as court evidence. But it’s possible to take care of you personally. Vice Chairman Louis here doesn’t care about illegal or legal, unlike the public authorities.”

Rubin, who received Vice Chairman Louis’s sharp gaze, staggered back towards the door. His intention was to get out of this place first. But soon, he realized that there were many guards stationed outside and gave up. Even if he was a modified human, it was very difficult to escape past several elf guards. Moreover, Beom-seok and Sheila, who were excellent swordsmen, were also here.

He had no choice but to rummage through his arms and take out a matchbox-sized box and hold it in his hand. It was an emergency transmitter given by Theresa, a device that could call for help with a simple operation. When he tested it before, the elf guards rushed to protect him as if they were always waiting by his side. He thought that he could get out with their help.

Rubin smiled bitterly and looked at Beom-seok.

“How did you know? I hid it thoroughly.”

“What did you hide thoroughly? You were acting like a suspicious guy openly. Even a fool or an idiot wouldn’t do that.”

“Heh heh. It seems like I made a big mistake somewhere. But you won’t be able to catch me.”

Rubin, judging that it was time to leave this place, opened the surface of the box and pressed the button.

“Ah!”

He dropped the box on the floor with a short scream, widening his eyes when he saw the dark blood flowing between his palms. A small thorn-like thing had pierced his palm and caused a small wound.

“Wh, what happened? It didn’t do this when I tested it before.”

Rubin looked at the box on the floor and made a bewildered expression. The box was melting, emitting white smoke and a musty smell, as if it contained a strong acidic liquid. And the more frightening fact was that his whole body was gradually becoming paralyzed and stiff. He recalled the phrase ‘evidence destruction’ and hurriedly looked at Beom-seok, but it was too late. The rapidly transmitted paralysis was preventing even his tongue from moving.

He soon collapsed to the floor with his eyes wide open and even stopped breathing.

“Hey! Get up, don’t put on a show!”

Beom-seok shouted, but Rubin was not moving at all and was not thinking of getting up. Thinking something was wrong, he ran out and pressed Rubin’s neck. He noticed that there was no heartbeat at all and shouted at Louis.

“Vice Chairman! Please call a doctor quickly!”

Soon after, emergency personnel rushed into the office at Vice Chairman Louis’s urgent call. But they looked at Rubin’s condition, quietly put him on a floating stretcher, and covered his face with a white cloth. Rubin had to go to the morgue, not the emergency room.

============================ Author’s words ============================

Everyone, have a nice day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.