Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 412

414

“Mr. Herbert, have you been in charge of trades for long?”

“Why are you bringing that up now?”

“I’m bringing it up because you don’t seem to understand my point.”

Only then did Vincent restrain Herbert, giving Beom-seok a meaningful look. After several transfer negotiations, he knew Beom-seok wasn’t the type to make absurd demands.

“Alright, tell me your reasoning. Why would we benefit greatly from selling Josiah for 300 million Krang?”

“It’s simple. Chaplin Whisper can recover the current losses from another source.”

“Another source? Which one?”

“The acquisition of Irolita and Bormia.”

Vincent’s expression darkened. He had thought Clark would have informed him about the Devil Spritz [a specific strategy or item], but he never imagined that the Irolita matter would be known as well. Only the manager, himself, and a few group officials knew about this.

“So, you seem to know about the Devil Spritz incident too.”

“Heh heh. How could I not know about such a big deal?”

“But where did you hear about Irolita? We don’t have the funds to acquire her. You must have heard a false rumor.”

Beom-seok chuckled. He already knew through Aula that Chaplin Whisper’s funds were more than sufficient. He wasn’t going to fall for such a trick.

“Director Vincent, I’m not someone who would fall for such a ploy.”

“Whether you fall for it or not, we have no money.”

“Alright. Then I’ll remove the Irolita matter from the offer for Josiah. Is that acceptable to you?”

Vincent gritted his teeth. He couldn’t deny it any longer. The reason Beom-seok was offering 300 million Krang for Josiah was to secure the transfer at that price, on the condition that Chaplin Whisper wouldn’t interfere with the acquisition of Irolita and Bormia. Their values were considerable, so if competition arose, the transaction price would skyrocket.

“Fine. Since you put it that way, I’ll acknowledge it. But how did you find out about Irolita?”

“The source of information is confidential. It’s a matter of professional ethics.”

“Is that so? Could it be Rebecca?”

“It’s definitely not her. I don’t know if she knew, but I didn’t hear anything from Rebecca.”

Vincent slowly nodded. Rebecca was a member of the Chaplin family and the former Chaplin Whisper manager, but she was currently working as a gladiator for the God Knights. That’s why he had strictly ordered her not to mention this matter, even by mistake, to Beom-seok’s ears.

“Well, there’s no way Rebecca would know about this transfer. Good then. I’ll listen to your offer and decide on the sale of Josiah. Tell me.”

“Irolita for 9 billion Krang. Bormia for 7.5 billion Krang. I will absolutely not raise the transaction price beyond that.”

Vincent looked at him, dumbfounded. He couldn’t understand how that amount could be considered a considerate price.

“Do you realize that 9 billion and 7.5 billion Krang are higher than Prisika’s past transaction price?”

That was true. When Prisika was sold from her former team to the Ancient Warriors, the price was 7.4 billion Krang. 9 billion and 7.5 billion Krang were 1.6 billion and 100 million more than her transaction price at the time, respectively.

“Yes, I know.”

“Then why do you call those amounts considerate?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Prisika was an S3-class prospect at the time, but she was young, and the situation is different now.”

“What’s different?”

“Are you really asking that? In fact, Chaplin Whisper has inflated the values of gladiators lately, haven’t they? Moreover, the top World League teams are constantly accumulating funds to seize this opportunity. In other words, it’s hard to even predict how much those kids’ values will rise.”

Vincent let out a deep groan. It was true that Chaplin Whisper had been scattering a lot of money, disrupting the market atmosphere, and this transfer market was a very important turning point in determining the direction of the World League championship for several years. It was clear that Irolita and Bormia’s values would skyrocket.

“Well, that might be the case.”

“Then are you going to sell Josiah for 300 million Krang?”

Vincent shook his head. Beom-seok’s words still didn’t make sense.

The condition that Chaplin Whisper could benefit from the transfer of Irolita and Bormia by selling Josiah cheaply to him would only be established if the God Knights were proven to be a strong competitor. If it was just words, it was nothing more than an empty promise.

“There’s something you need to prove before that, isn’t there?”

“Are you talking about the God Knights’ financial power?”

“I’m glad you understand. That’s right.”

“We currently have 1.1 billion Krang in funds.”

Vincent glared at him with a dumbfounded look. It was impossible to aim for two S-class gladiators with 1.1 billion Krang.

“Are you trying to play with me right now?”

“No?”

“Then what are you relying on to spout such nonsense?”

“Because the God Knights have no debt. And if we want, we can raise more than 3 billion Krang in funds. Don’t you understand what that means?”

Vincent clasped his hands together and squeezed his eyes shut. If that was true, the God Knights’ financial power could not be ignored. Even though the God Knights had the lowest capital ratio in the World League, they were still a World League team. If they wanted to borrow money without any debt, they could easily raise 10 to 20 billion Krang.

But he couldn’t trust his words. There wasn’t a professional sports team without debt.

“Hmm. No debt? Is that true?”

“Of course. I hate debt.”

“Really? That’s amazing. I can’t believe you raised the God Knights to the World League without debt.”

“What do you mean? That was all possible because there was no debt. Since there was no debt, the income didn’t flow into the banks, so we bought promising players with sufficient funds. And you know very well, Director, that our God Knights have low salaries and team operating costs, and even fewer shareholder dividends.”

“All of this came together to make that possible.”

Director Vincent immediately nodded as if he understood. The God Knights’ operating method was certainly unique. In many ways, their financial expenditures were low, which made it easier to acquire gladiators. In addition, Beom-seok had never failed to acquire a gladiator. That meant he could save a lot of money.

“I see. That could be true.”

“Thank you for believing me. Then it will be easier to talk in the future.”

“But with that financial capacity, you’re going to give up on Irolita and Bormia? If you only acquire her, the God Knights’ power will increase significantly. I’m wondering about that point.”

The reason was very simple. In order to thwart the ambitions of Chaplin Whisper and the Ancient Warriors in this transfer market, cooperation with other top teams was essential, and if he coveted Irolita or Bormia, that alliance could not be maintained.

Moreover, the values of the S-class gladiators being traded this time would skyrocket. There was no need to explain it in other words, as it was judged that 9 billion Krang and 7.5 billion Krang were not that high.

Rather than recklessly acquiring gladiators, it was better to coordinate this situation well and ensure that the S-class gladiators on the market were evenly divided. Then, in the end, the God Knights, with their good growth potential, would have the most powerful force and could become the team closest to winning.

Of course, Beom-seok had no choice but to choose the path of not spending much money and lifting the championship trophy.

But he couldn’t explain this to Director Vincent. The moment he opened his mouth, the alliance with Chaplin Whisper would turn into enemies, not allies.

“The fact is, Irolita and Bormia aren’t the only gladiators worth targeting.”

“Heh heh. Are you saying you’re going to target other S-class gladiators coming out in this market?”

“I can’t specifically say, but that’s roughly it.”

“What if I reject this deal?”

“Then, as planned, one of Irolita or Bormia will become my subordinate elf [a metaphor for acquisition]. If I focus on just one, Chaplin Whisper won’t be able to take both of them. No, even if they take both, the damage Director Vincent will suffer will never be at the level of 1 to 2 billion.”

Vincent glared at him with narrowed eyes. This was nothing short of a threat. But he couldn’t reveal his current emotions. If Beom-seok really intended to attack, the damage Chaplin Whisper would suffer would be enormous. It was certainly worth considering an alliance with the God Knights through Josiah.

“It’s absurd, but it doesn’t make sense at all.”

“A win-win situation would be a more accurate expression. It’s a mutually beneficial deal. So, will you hand over Josiah to me for 300 million?”

Director Vincent went into deep thought. He wondered if he should accept Beom-seok’s offer. The God Knights were the biggest financial competitor to Chaplin Whisper right now, so he couldn’t be too careful.

‘If Beom-seok uses his enormous financial power to interfere, Chaplin Whisper will inevitably suffer a great loss. Surely, as that guy says, it won’t be at the level of 1 to 2 billion. On the other hand, the damage from handing over Josiah will only be a few hundred million at most.’

Then the choice was very simple. Damage was damage, but if they couldn’t acquire Irolita and Bormia this time, Chaplin Whisper’s firm championship strategy would fail.

He couldn’t help but want to accept Beom-seok’s offer. But the problem was that he was the director. He could talk to the team management about the gladiators he wanted and the gladiators he had to sell, but he couldn’t touch the transaction amount.

Especially this time, the money going back and forth was enormous, so it was even more so.

He glanced at Herbert. The person who would primarily decide on the gladiator trade was him.

“Herbert, what do you think?”

Herbert sighed deeply. He also had a head and ears, so he couldn’t not understand what Beom-seok’s offer meant.

Now it was a matter of choosing between a loss of hundreds of millions of Krang and a loss of billions of Krang. Of course, he knew what a reasonable decision was, but he couldn’t make a decision on his own.

Since the amount of money was large, he needed permission from higher up.

“Well, I don’t think it’s something I can decide. It doesn’t make sense to hand over Josiah for 300 million Krang, but we can’t afford to lose a huge amount of money.”

“I know that. I’m asking for your opinion.”

“I would choose the former. Hundreds of millions are better than billions.”

“Then can you express your opinion to the manager?”

“I’ll talk about it, but I can’t guarantee the result.”

Understanding, Vincent didn’t say anything more and turned his gaze to Beom-seok.

“It seems difficult for us to make a decision. I think we should end this negotiation here.”

“Yes. It’s a difficult decision, so that’s natural. But please contact me as soon as possible. The winter transfer market period is very short.”

“I understand. I’ll urge the management.”

“And if Chaplin Whisper does anything suspicious in the future, we’ll consider this partnership as if it never happened and go back to the original plan. Please keep that in mind.”

“Good. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Beom-seok got up from his seat as if he had finished his meal. No, even if he hadn’t finished his meal, it was right to leave now given the atmosphere.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Why don’t you stay a little longer? Why are you in such a hurry?”

“The gladiator to be acquired may change, so I have to go quickly and come up with a new acquisition strategy. Now is the time when even a minute is precious.”

“Well, that’s true. Then I won’t hold you back.”

Beom-seok lightly bowed to everyone and quickly left Vincent’s residence with a bright smile. Irolita and Bormia were originally cards he was going to discard. He might be able to get Josiah almost for free through this, so he couldn’t help but feel good.

In the end, he returned to the God Knights training camp with a triumphant look.

The weather was unusually clear. A flying car was flying in a long arc over the cloudless sky. The person inside was Beom-seok. His destination was Ravelo City, the home city of Real Heroes. He was scheduled to meet with Vice President Louis here.

Beom-seok, who got off in the downtown entertainment district, turned on the navigation and started looking for the road. He had been to the old teahouse where he was supposed to meet Vice President Louis before, but the road was so congested and remote that he couldn’t find it easily.

After a while, Beom-seok, standing in front of a shabby teahouse, opened the door and entered.

“Welcome.”

Beom-seok, greeted by an elf who appeared to be an employee, looked around to see if Vice President Louis had arrived. Seeing the empty teahouse, he went to a seat in the far corner and sat down, realizing Vice President Louis had not yet arrived.

Then the teahouse elf approached and spoke kindly.

“What can I get you, sir?”

“I have company, so I’ll order later. Just give me a cup of water for now.”

“Yes, please wait a moment.”

The employee elf soon brought a glass of water and placed it in front of Beom-seok.

“Thank you.”

“Then have a good time.”

As the employee elf returned, and Beom-seok was about to empty the glass full of water, another group entered the teahouse. It was Vice President Louis and his escort elf, Daisy. When they saw Beom-seok getting up, they approached and greeted him happily.

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

The weather is really making sweat blind me. Even showering is only temporary. This heat is making my mind hazy, so I can’t even write properly. Sigh~ The weather needs to cool down quickly.

Everyone, be careful of the heat. I’ll see you all again tomorrow.