Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 435

437

“Waaaaah! Waaaaaah!”

An unexpected roar erupted from the grand ballroom of the Kaila Hotel. The results of the first round of voting for the World Cup host city selection had been announced. However, the faces of the Avand bid committee members were not so bright.

In the first round of voting, Arkan received 9 votes, Avand 5, and Temoria and Brak each received 4 and 3 votes, respectively. Of course, Avand was currently in second place, but Arkan was in first place with almost twice as many votes, making it a worrying situation.

Simon, with an uncomfortable expression, calmly opened his mouth to Irvin, who was next to him.

“Chairman, what’s going on? The results seem lower than expected.”

Irvin, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief, spoke in a flustered tone.

“W-well, Arkan’s all-out offensive is too strong. The active support of the Louis faction and the Chaplin Group’s unconventional economic cooperation card are proving to be quite powerful.”

“But wasn’t that something we had anticipated? And we’ve been preparing for it all along.”

“Yes, that’s right. But a problem has arisen.”

“What problem?”

“The World League Promotion Tournament was held in Avand, wasn’t it? Arkan is now using this as an excuse to attack us. They say it doesn’t make sense for us to host another World Cup finals the year after hosting a global tournament. And this justification is working well with other figures in the Combat world.”

Simon bit his lip. It was a plausible justification, but when you thought about it, it wasn’t. Arkan also held a promotion tournament in their region when Chaplin Whisper was aiming for promotion two years ago. It had only been a year, but it seemed excessive to use this as an excuse to attack.

The promotion tournament was a justification that would be disadvantageous to mention for both Arkan and himself.

“Aren’t they trying to die together? How can they use such a justification?”

“Yes, Minister, you are absolutely right. But in this World Cup host city selection process, we are their only competitor. Temoria and Brak have minimal competitiveness and can never be rivals. So, they seem to be using this justification despite the short one-year gap.”

Simon tapped the armrest with his index finger. It seemed like the situation was not easy at all.

If all the directions for the host city selection were decided in the second vote tomorrow, it would be quite difficult. If Arkan gets more than 50% of the support in tomorrow’s vote, there would be no third vote.

Avand was planning to absorb the votes of Temoria and Brak, which would be eliminated in the second vote, and reverse the situation in the third vote.

“Could this end in the second vote?”

“W-well, that’s…”

Irvin hesitated to answer. If things continued this way, there was a high probability that Arkan would get more than half of the votes in tomorrow’s vote. If the vote difference was this large in the first round, a trend in favor of Arkan would form, and many votes might be concentrated on them.

Simon, clicking his tongue in displeasure, looked at Beom-seok, who was sitting across from Irvin.

“Beom-seok.”

“Yes, Minister.”

“How are the people you’re trying to bring in doing?”

Beom-seok scratched his head, looking embarrassed. He was also having a hard time. Persuading Theresa was not easy.

“Well, it seems like I’ve definitely brought in two votes, but the rest are a bit ambiguous.”

“Is that so? Which side are the two votes you brought in from?”

“Yes, Chairman Henry of the Hyena Group and the Rendley region under his influence.”

Irvin’s face lit up as he overheard their conversation.

“Minister, that’s a great achievement.”

“Why is that?”

“Chairman Henry and the Rendley region votes are votes we expected to be in Arkan’s support base. If they support Avand, we will get the effect of four votes.”

Simon, being a politician, knew well how beneficial it was to attract votes from competing forces. As Irvin said, if the votes Beom-seok brought were from Arkan’s support base, it would be a great help.

He looked at Beom-seok and smiled brightly.

“You’ve done a great job. It seems like it will be a great help.”

“Thank you.”

“But what is the progress of the remaining votes you promised?”

“Well, it’s not easy. The force I was aiming for was Ms. Angela’s votes, but she didn’t come this time.”

At that, Irvin urgently said to Simon.

“Minister, that side is also a strong supporter of Arkan. There are a total of three votes, and if we bring them all in, we can see hope.”

If there were three votes, it would be a total of five votes combined with the previous two votes. Since all of them were originally Arkan’s votes, persuading them would mean that the difference of about ten votes could be closed.

Simon looked at Beom-seok and said in a whisper.

“Is it possible to persuade them?”

“It’s a bit difficult. If Ms. Angela were here, I could easily persuade them, but now her daughter, Theresa, is handling all the voting because she is ill.”

“Then why don’t you persuade that child?”

“That’s a bit difficult. Theresa and I don’t have a very good relationship.”

Simon, clicking his tongue, looked at him again. He was very disappointed that he had to give up three votes.

“Still, can’t you do something?”

“Yes, I’ll try my best. If I can get in touch with Ms. Angela, I can get enough votes, and I can persuade other people, so don’t worry too much.”

“Hmm, I see. Then I’ll trust you.”

Shortly after, lunch began at the banquet hall. It was a short time of about two hours, but it was very precious to the people from the regions who wanted to host the World Cup finals. It was not common for all the people participating in the vote to gather at once.

Accordingly, Beom-seok also busily moved around and started the persuasion work. With a donation of 200 million Krang [fictional currency] per person, he had no choice but to be busy.

‘Hmm, they’re sitting over there.’

His target was none other than the people from the Ibrahim faction. Even though all factions had made an implicit promise to remain neutral in the World Cup finals, there was no way that their influence would not be felt at all.

Especially in this case, the Louis faction was breaking the rule and actively helping the Arkan region, which made it even more so. Accordingly, many people from the Cooper faction, which was in competition with them, were already sending support to Avand.

If he could properly win over a few people from the Ibrahim faction, he could at least prevent Avand from being brutally defeated in the second vote.

“Chairman Ibrahim, how have you been?”

At Beom-seok’s glib greeting, Ibrahim turned his old eyes.

“What brings you here?”

Beom-seok, with a brazen smile on his face, took a seat in the empty spot.

“Hahaha. Isn’t it obvious?”

Then, Chairman Henry whispered softly into Ibrahim’s ear so that he could not be heard. He thought that he would have said something good because he had decided to support him through Julian, but he felt uneasy for some reason.

It was because he remembered the fact that Julian had betrayed him last transfer season. Really, there were no separate enemies and allies in this system.

They just moved according to their own interests, and there was not even a speck of loyalty.

Soon, Chairman Ibrahim slowly opened his mouth.

“Hehe. You’re asking for votes.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Is that so? But why are you doing such a thing?”

“It just turned out that way. I’m the only person among the Avand Bidding Committee who is connected to the main figures in the Combat world. Originally, the Avand region was a backwater in the Combat world, wasn’t it?”

“That’s true. Avand has only recently become known thanks to Gods Knights, and it didn’t have much recognition.”

“Yes, so I decided to step in. I feel sorry for Chairman Irvin’s hard work.”

Beom-seok was particularly emphasizing Irvin. He was also the chairman of the Avand Professional Combat Association, but he was also a lower-level member of the Ibrahim faction. It was enough to gain Chairman Ibrahim’s favor.

But unexpected words came out of his mouth.

“Chairman Irvin? Who is that?”

“Yes?”

While Beom-seok was embarrassed, Henry whispered again. Ibrahim, who now roughly understood, said awkwardly.

“Ah. Are you talking about Chairman Irvin? I know him well. I heard that he is leading the Avand Professional Combat Association very well.”

“Ha, haha. Yes, that’s right. So I’m actively supporting him.”

He smiled, but Beom-seok’s heart was not so. How vast is the organization that he doesn’t know the chairman of a region? Besides, it was now the World Cup host city selection period. Avand was also one of the leading candidates, but it seemed too much to not recognize Irvin, the chairman.

Still, Beom-seok was able to grasp one important fact here. Chairman Ibrahim was only attending this event because it was an important event, and he was maintaining an attitude that he did not care where the World Cup would be held. If not, there was no way he would not know Irvin.

‘No. What is he interested in that he is not interested in such an important event?’

The importance of hosting the World Cup was truly indescribable. This is because the local community receives enormous benefits, so the local government is actively expressing its willingness to host the event. So in the past, all kinds of factions fought for their own interests, but now they were expressing neutrality.

Even if it was a local government, it was not good to make government officials feel resentful. Besides, the benefits of maintaining neutrality were much greater.

The benefits for those who provide definite votes and those who do not could not be the same.

But these political issues had nothing to do with Beom-seok. Now he had to persuade Chairman Ibrahim to get votes. If he got his sole cooperation, three votes, 600 million Krang, would fall into his hands.

“So, as a reward for the hard work of the lower-level members, wouldn’t it be okay for the chairman to show some generosity? Then Chairman Irvin will be a great help. In fact, as someone from the same hometown, I feel sorry for him. Even though he is running around day and night because of this World Cup host city selection process, he is struggling quite a bit because the organization is not giving him strength.”

At that time, someone approached the seat where Ibrahim faction member Beom-seok was sitting and said.

“Chairman Ibrahim, don’t listen too much. That kid is not such a patriotic kid.”

The moment Beom-seok turned around, he frowned. The identity of the person who was interfering was none other than Vice Chairman Louis. He was the head of a huge faction. His level was completely different from his own. He thought that this conversation would not be easy.

As expected, Chairman Ibrahim, who was also concerned, emptied his seat next to him and welcomed him.

“Vice Chairman Louis, please sit here.”

“Thank you, Chairman.”

As Louis sat down, Ibrahim said bluntly.

“By the way, Vice Chairman Louis, what brings you here?”

“Well. I came to ask about the contents I suggested before, didn’t I? Have you thought about it well?”

“What? Is there anything to think about? It’s for the benefit of everyone in the Combat world, so I have to take the lead.”

“That’s a great decision. Perhaps this will greatly develop our Combat world.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Louis smiled slightly and looked at Beom-seok. He roughly guessed the purpose of his visit. It seemed clear that he intended to persuade Chairman Ibrahim to get votes.

‘Hehe. As expected, I’m going to have a fight with that guy. It’s not dignified, but it can’t be helped. It’s all for Shyla.’

The reason why Louis is actively pushing Arkan this time is because of his friend Chairman Chaplin’s request, but the bigger reason is to check Beom-seok’s potential. He could not hand over Shyla’s future husband’s seat and his faction to a young boy who knows nothing.

Of course, he was satisfied with his abilities through some past incidents, but he had never been hostile because he had maintained a deep friendship with him. There is no better way to know the true power of the other person than to fight each other bloody.

So Louis himself stepped onto the ring that Beom-seok would climb. In order for Avand, which had been staying on the outskirts of the Combat world, to obtain the right to host this World Cup finals, it was necessary to bring in him, who had ties to the center of the Combat world.

Louis looked at Ibrahim again.

“By the way, I have one request.”

“What request are you talking about?”

“I would like you to cast your vote for the Arkan region in this World Cup host city selection vote.”

Then Beom-seok immediately stepped forward. He could not afford to lose the Ibrahim card as it was. If he persuaded him, it would not be difficult to persuade the remaining Ibrahim faction members. In other words, now was the turning point in this selection process.

“Chairman, it is customary for the Federal Professional Combat Association to remain neutral in the World Cup host city selection process. This is for the sake of the relationship with the local government and the interests of the entire Combat world. But Vice Chairman Louis has rebelled against this.

If Chairman Ibrahim agrees to this, this unwritten rule will be completely broken. Of course, there is no need to listen to it.”

Ibrahim, who had a difficult expression on his face at those words, turned his eyes to Louis. Certainly, the chairman could not help but feel this way.

============================ Work Afterword ============================

I’m out of my mind because I came after drinking. I’ll have to go to bed now.

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