Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 356

358

“I suppose that’s true. It would be difficult to refuse a request from a senior member of the organization. But it seems like you’re going against their wishes now, so what’s the reason for that?”

“Because I realized the seriousness of the situation. Before, the influence of Ilsimhoe [a secretive organization] on our economic group wasn’t that significant, but now it’s different. So, I thought it would be better to honestly tell the other elders in the organization before things get out of hand and handle this quietly.”

Beomseok was deeply impressed by Teresa’s words. She was so good at hiding her true intentions, answering each question logically and smoothly. If he had talked to her without knowing, he would have thought she was a loyal member of the organization.

“Hahaha. I see. That’s perfectly understandable.”

“I’m so grateful that you understand. To be honest, I was very worried about how Beomseok would take this.”

Beomseok, with his arms crossed, smiled slightly at them. He couldn’t let her get away with trying to incite division among the economic groups. If conflicts arose among the members of the economic groups, it would make future battles difficult. Fortunately, he had a good plan to drive a wedge between them and Honorary Chairman Meyer.

“Hmm. But you two are making a mistake right now.”

“Yes? A mistake?”

“There are things you need to know in this world, but there are also things you shouldn’t know. This matter falls into the latter category.”

Teresa’s eyes flashed for a moment. The nuance in Beomseok’s words was strange.

“Are you saying I should have kept my mouth shut and pretended not to know?”

“That’s right.”

“But why?”

“Before that, let me ask you one thing. Aren’t you curious if I know the details of this matter?”

She nodded. The only people who knew about this were some members of the Black Society, herself, Honorary Chairman Meyer, and his immediate family. There was no way Beomseok could have known.

“Yes. Now that you mention it, I am curious. Who gave you the information?”

“It was Honorary Chairman Meyer himself.”

Teresa’s brow furrowed for a moment. The name coming out of his mouth was too unexpected. Meyer was the one leading the attack on the Leopard Project.

“I, is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“That’s impossible. Honorary Chairman Meyer has a lot of animosity towards Leopard because of past grudges. So he thinks he must bring Leopard down. But how could Honorary Chairman Meyer have given such information to Beomseok?”

“Huhu. Well, I heard there was such a thing decades ago. It was quite a long time ago. And the person who suffered at the time was Leopard. He had his company taken away by Honorary Chairman Meyer.”

“So, Honorary Chairman Meyer doesn’t have any resentment towards Leopard?”

“Well, he doesn’t have any resentment, but he seemed to have some uncomfortable feelings. Even though it was business, it was like stealing a close junior’s company. So at first, he pretended not to know, but when the Black Society approached him through this, things changed.

If the Black Society tries to use the power of the organization to destroy a growing company, it could damage their morality, and he could also get a lot of useful information by chance. So he contacted me closely to prepare and is cooperating with the Black Society. Of course, I think it’s a good idea, so I’m actively following it.”

Teresa’s face turned pale. She thought Meyer was a pawn to break the unity of the economic groups, but it turned out he was a dagger aiming for the Black Society’s throat.

She asked again in a slightly trembling voice. To accurately grasp the facts, there was one thing she had to address.

“But Beomseok, you had bad feelings towards the Hyena Group, didn’t you? So why did you join hands with Honorary Chairman Meyer?”

Beomseok clicked his tongue with a troubled expression.

“Tsk. It’s true that I have bad feelings towards the Hyena Group because of what happened in the past. But the only people I dislike are Henry and Julian, not Honorary Chairman Meyer. He had retired from the front lines of management when I clashed with the Hyena Group. Besides, Honorary Chairman Meyer came in person, leading his old body, and asked me to help him punish his son and grandson in the future, so I couldn’t refuse.”

Piler, who had heard everything, looked very disappointed. He thought it was a great opportunity to eliminate his political rivals within the organization, but after listening to this, it wasn’t. As expected of Meyer, known as the old fox. If he hadn’t talked to Beomseok before hitting him, his father, Chairman Vermillion, would have been in trouble.

“Now all the questions are answered. I didn’t think Honorary Chairman Meyer, who is so considerate, would make such a huge mistake. Hahaha.”

“Yes. So I hope you can quietly let this pass.”

“It seems like we should, but it might be a little difficult. Too many members of the organization already know about it.”

Beomseok, glancing at Teresa, let out a long sigh with a pitiful expression.

“Oh, dear. That’s too bad. It would have been very beneficial to me.”

“Really? Why?”

“Actually, I made a lot of money in the process of the Black Society trying to acquire the Leopard Project. If this fact becomes known, I won’t have such income again, will I?”

“Oh, is that so? I’m so sorry.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. What can I do about something that’s already known?”

Teresa’s expression was quite a sight to behold. Listening to it, she realized that she had been completely played by the old monster Meyer and Beomseok. At the time, the Black Society had suffered a lot of financial losses while attacking the Leopard Project.

She said with a trembling smile on her lips.

“Ho, hoho. Beomseok and Honorary Chairman Meyer really gave the Black Society a good blow.”

“Haha. Yes, that’s right. But the funny thing is that Chairman Lucas is surprisingly stupid. Actually, I jokingly told him the contents of what I said today during a phone call, but he didn’t understand at all. Then he resented Vermillion, and I thought I was going to die laughing.”

Piler suddenly joined the conversation.

“Ah. So that’s why they hit our Vermillion. And that’s why Beomseok contacted us in advance, saying that the Black Society might attack us.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

At this point, Teresa had no choice but to trust Beomseok’s words 100%. The conversation with Piler matched perfectly, so she couldn’t help but believe it. She thought she should urgently inform her father of this fact and got up from her seat.

“I, I have to go now.”

Piler looked at her as if it was out of the blue.

“What are you talking about? You asked me to see Beomseok today, didn’t you?”

“Ah. I just remembered something urgent. And I’ve said everything I wanted to say to Beomseok today.”

“Come on. You should at least have a meal before you go.”

“I’m sorry. It’s something I need to deal with very urgently.”

Beomseok nodded as if it didn’t matter. It was better to avoid meeting her if possible. Teresa had the ability to know the future, albeit with a one-hour limit.

“If you have something to do, it can’t be helped. Then go ahead.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll be on my way.”

Beomseok, watching Teresa leave in a hurry, smiled bitterly. Now that Teresa had taken this false information, the Black Society had no choice but to cut ties with Honorary Chairman Meyer.

They couldn’t continue to hold hands with someone they knew was acting as an enemy spy. And Honorary Chairman Meyer had to distance himself from the Black Society without complaint. He had created a loophole for him to escape, so there was no way he could interact with the Black Society while enduring the fate of being a Nakdong River duck egg [a Korean idiom referring to someone who is ostracized or abandoned].

Or maybe he would actively attack them and try to prove that what he had just said was not wrong.

After that, he had various conversations with Piler, whom he had met after a long time, and then returned to the training camp. Like Teresa, Beomseok was also very busy today.

A warm breeze in late May swept through the Lima City Colosseum. Beomseok, who got off Aaron in the north parking lot, neatly arranged his hair fluttering in the breeze and led his team towards the gladiator waiting room.

“Everyone, stay focused!”

“Yes!”

Everyone answered vigorously to Beomseok’s command. Today’s opponent was the Flying Ogre team, which ranked second in the Getty Shoe Central League.

Although they were among the weaker teams participating in this tournament, they should never be underestimated. No matter how much weaker they were evaluated than the Gods Knights, it was certain that they were not an easy team if they came to the tournament. And the first loss in the promotion tournament meant elimination.

In other words, they would have to wait at least another year to challenge for promotion. To be promoted, they had to win the first two games, including today’s game.

“If we lose today, there will be no promotion. Never underestimate your opponent!”

Beomseok shouted again as he entered the gladiator waiting room. No matter how many times he emphasized it, he couldn’t stress the importance of today’s game enough. The team members agreed with his words without considering them nagging.

“Yes!”

Beomseok and the Gods Knights team members briefly summarized today’s strategy in the gladiator waiting room and then took a short break. It was better to conserve as much energy as possible in preparation for the upcoming game.

Wow! Wow!

As they entered the dugout, they heard the cheers of the crowd echoing through the stadium. Beomseok, sitting down on his bench, looked out with a disappointed expression. The stands were packed without a gap to step on, but in reality, the only money they would get was the tournament prize money. If it were converted as usual, at least 90 million Krang [currency unit] should have been in his hands.

‘Well, the Avond Association has to make money too.’

Beomseok soon got up from his seat and went outside. It was to warm up. Warming up before the game was very important, and it was a must-do even if it was annoying because he could connect with the fans who came to cheer.

He slowly stretched, responding to the fans who were shouting and calling him one by one with gestures.

– What’s going on now? Who is this gladiator?

As today’s participating gladiators were listed on the electronic display board, the commentary box became noisy. It was because an unexpected name was written on the list. It was Liza, a rookie gladiator who had never played for the Gods Knights until now.

The commentator answered with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

– Liza is a cyborg who was recruited by the Gods Knights two years ago.

– Oh, is that so? But why haven’t I seen her before?

– Ah. That’s because she hasn’t participated in league games or amateur games before or after being recruited. In other words, it’s her debut.

Even more embarrassed, the announcer drew a question mark over his head. It was confirmed that she was a gladiator of the Gods Knights, but he couldn’t understand why they were sending a rookie to the game on such an important day. The promotion tournament was a brutal competition where you would be eliminated with just one loss.

– I, I can’t understand at all. I wonder what Diana’s intention is to put such a rookie on today’s entry list.

– Well, it’s hard for me to figure that out. Usually, they don’t send out rookie gladiators to such important games like today.

– But they sent her out now, didn’t they?

– That’s right. Maybe Director Diana has something she believes in about Liza.

The announcer shook his head. Today, a game between Central League teams heading to the World League was about to take place. It was a place where gladiators from all over the world gathered, but no matter how good a rookie gladiator was, there was no way she could perform properly.

– Still, what kind of game is today’s game that she’s taking such a risk? This tournament is a battle between gladiator teams to advance to the World League. Every single member is not an easy person. But a rookie who doesn’t even have experience in the Area League. I still don’t understand.

– Hmm. Well, I agree with that. No matter how I think about it, a rookie’s participation is a risk.

As the story progressed to this point, the fans who came to cheer began to waver. There were so many home fans that they didn’t boo, but they were worried. If they lost badly today, their dream of advancing to the World League would disappear like the morning mist at dawn.

So Beomseok walked to Liza. He was worried that she might be intimidated by listening to the commentators’ comments. But when he came, he didn’t think he needed to worry. Right now, she was talking to Philip, who was babbling through communication, and she wasn’t paying attention to anything around her.

“Ahem. Liza.”

Liza, who hurriedly lowered the screen, looked at Beomseok with an apologetic expression. She seemed to have mistaken that he was going to scold her for doing other things before an important game.

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

It’s so hot. It would be a disaster if this weather continues. I’m so weak to the heat. ㅠㅠ.

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