Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 464

‘Oh? Margaret’s coming in early?’

MR Security, which Margaret manages, had a contract with the Avonde Police Department to assist with security during the World Cup finals. The reason MR Security personnel participated in suppressing the hooligan riot last time was precisely because of this.

Although the quarter-finals were over and many tourists from other regions had left, it wasn’t quiet enough to leave work early yet.

He watched Margaret’s flying car slowly land and looked at Rezaris.

“Rezaris, take the others back to the accommodation first.”

“What about you, Master?”

“Ah, I have some business to take care of, so I need to go out for a bit.”

“Really? I understand. Then I’ll take everyone back, so don’t worry and go.”

Rezaris took the waiting unmanned electric car with her elves. As they headed to the accommodation, Beomseok approached Margaret’s car, which had just landed.

“Margaret, you’re here.”

As the car door opened, Margaret smiled brightly and stepped out.

“Hey, Beomseok! What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be at the national team training camp?”

“Ah, I got a day off. But why did you leave work early today? Haven’t you been busy lately?”

“I have some things to take care of.”

“Things? What kind of things do you do after leaving work?”

“Ah, because I participated in the suppression last time, the fees increased. Anyway, it’s just reviewing report documents, so it doesn’t matter if I do it at home.”

Beomseok nodded. Simple document review was something that could be done at home.

“Really? Will it take long?”

“No, it’ll be over soon. About 30 minutes?”

“That’s good. Then let’s go out and have some fun later, instead of working.”

“Go out? At this hour?”

“That’s just a figure of speech. I just mean let’s go out to the city and have dinner. You probably haven’t eaten yet at this hour.”

Although that was true, Margaret hesitated, looking troubled. Having dinner with him was something to welcome, but the aftermath was scary. Tonight, the downtown and entertainment districts would be full of local fans celebrating Avonde’s victory. She didn’t need to see what would happen if she went to such a restaurant with him.

“Would it be okay? If you show up at a restaurant now, it’ll be chaos.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be fine with a hat and sunglasses.”

“How can you wear sunglasses in a restaurant this evening?”

“Is that a bit much?”

“Yes. People at the restaurant will probably think it’s weirder and keep watching. Then your identity will soon be revealed.”

“Well, then let’s go to a hotel restaurant. They’ll kick us out if we make too much noise, so I’ll refrain from it.”

Margaret thought for a moment and then nodded. Hotels had their own internal regulations, and there was an unspoken etiquette among the guests. Even if he visited, she thought there wouldn’t be a big commotion like in a regular restaurant.

“Well, that’s not bad. Shall we go to the Rainbow Hotel buffet restaurant? It’s really delicious there.”

A hotel buffet restaurant wasn’t bad. There was the problem that the quality and freshness of the ingredients were a bit lacking, but he liked that he could eat as much of his favorite food as he wanted.

However, Gloria was a bit of a concern. No matter how high her affection was, she wouldn’t be happy to see him having dinner with another woman.

That would be a burden for Margaret, and there could be a problem with her affection. Her current affection was at 98. Every day was cautious, so he couldn’t take risks here.

If the upward trend of affection were to be reversed due to an unexpected event, it could cause considerable difficulties in the capture [winning her over].

“Rainbow Hotel? Well, that’s good too, but let’s go to another hotel. I’ve been there too many times, and the food is getting old.”

“What’s there to get tired of in a buffet? It’s all the same there. Let’s just go to the Rainbow Hotel. If Gloria finds out that we went to another hotel restaurant, she won’t be happy.”

“Well, that’s true, but we can just go to the Rima Hotel. Let’s taste the food at the best hotel in Rima City.”

The Rima Hotel was the best hotel in Rima City, formerly owned by the Star Group, but was bought by the Rainbow Group a few years ago. Naturally, it was Gloria’s hotel, so there was no burden even if it was revealed later.

“Hmm, that’s okay. I’ve never been there either. Then let’s go there.”

“Okay, let’s go quickly then.”

Beomseok, arm in arm with Margaret, headed to his flying car with a faint smile on his face. The Rainbow Group’s headquarters office was still in the Rainbow Hotel, so the possibility of meeting Gloria was extremely low.

“Here we are. Get out.”

Arriving at the hotel entrance, he got out of the car with Margaret. The hoteliers who saw him quickly approached and exchanged glances with each other, looking embarrassed.

The hero of today’s quarter-final victory had visited, so they couldn’t help but be surprised. They wanted to rush in and ask for an autograph right away, but they couldn’t because of the superiors glaring at them from behind with sharp eyes.

“Welcome, Beomseok! Where shall I take you?”

“Hmm, first of all… I’m going to the buffet restaurant.”

“The buffet restaurant? Then please follow me.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Beomseok followed an elf hotelier and arrived at the buffet restaurant on the 3rd floor. It was right next to the corridor with a spiral escalator, and it was quite crowded inside. It seemed that many guests were visiting because it was the weekend and the World Cup period.

“What should we do? It’s quite crowded… Shall we go somewhere else?”

Beomseok looked at Margaret with a subtle gaze. Honestly, the buffet restaurant was good, but a place with a secluded private room was more desirable. A romantic view outside the window and elegant cuisine. Adding high-quality wine to this was more effective in raising women’s affection.

However, Margaret went inside as if ignoring his wishes.

“But there are many seats. Let’s just go in. I really wanted to eat the buffet.”

“Ah, ah. Really? Let’s do that.”

As expected, Beomseok was weak in front of women. He couldn’t deny it at all. Following behind, he pursed his lips slightly and headed to an empty seat deep inside the restaurant.

“What, what is it? Oh, it’s Gladiator Beomseok… Why is he here?”

“I know, right. Maybe he came out for a while? There are times like that.”

Margaret didn’t know what to do, feeling burdened by the guests’ murmurs. Beomseok was used to it because he had always experienced it, but she wasn’t.

Margaret, whose face turned red, sat down and turned her head away.

“Margaret, what’s wrong?”

“It’s embarrassing because people keep staring.”

“Why? It’s not like we’re having dinner together for the first time…”

Indeed, during the time he raised so much affection, there was no way they hadn’t eaten out together. However, the fans’ reactions weren’t as blatant as today. At most, they would stare for a while, or a few who made a fuss would come and hand over autograph papers. And since he mainly used restaurants that Beomseok frequented, the atmosphere was calm because he was used to it.

But now it was a little different. Everyone inside was watching at once, scrutinizing their every move.

“But it wasn’t as bad as today.”

“Hmm, that’s true, but it can’t be helped. Everyone must be excited after watching today’s quarter-final game. In fact, the Avonde national team hadn’t even made it to the World Cup finals until the last tournament, and there had never been a World Cup semi-final appearance in any sport. Of course, they’d be happy.”

“Y-yes, but…”

Beomseok pulled her arm and got up from his seat. They had to eat since they had come.

“Come on, don’t mind them, let’s have dinner.”

“B-but…”

At that time, a beautiful stranger with passionate red hair came over with cutlery and calmly looked at Beomseok.

“Excuse me, Beomseok. Can I join you for dinner?”

Beomseok swallowed hard. The black dress that revealed her shoulders and well-proportioned thighs was so attractive.

Normally, he would have joined without hesitation, but today Margaret was next to him, so he had to refrain. If he created a situation that would cause jealousy, the affection he had barely raised would be cut down sharply.

“Join me for dinner? Do you know me?”

“Hahaha, I know you well. It’s just that you don’t know me. Actually, I’m a big fan of yours, so I wanted to have dinner with you.”

Beomseok put his arm around Margaret and said quietly.

“Hahaha, I’m sorry. I have company like this. I ask for your understanding.”

“Really? Is she your girlfriend?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m sorry.”

Even with his refusal, the red-haired woman spoke gently without any regret. No, she even smiled bitterly as she scanned Margaret. She was quite pretty, but she thought she was inferior to herself. Humans were all generous to themselves.

“Really? Then I can’t help it. But it’s okay to sit at the next table, right? There aren’t many seats.”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I rented out this whole restaurant?”

“Thank you.”

The red-haired woman gestured to the young women sitting at a nearby table. They were a black-haired and a blonde woman, and like attracts like, they were quite beautiful as well. It seemed she hadn’t given up on Beomseok yet.

Seeing this, he felt sorry and went to the food display with Margaret. It seemed like a prepared table [a tempting opportunity], but he had to ignore it, so he was heartbroken.

“Beomseok, don’t pay attention to those women. They’re definitely foxes [sly and manipulative women] approaching you for your money. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so brazen.”

Beomseok swept his chest at Margaret’s cold voice. If he had responded incorrectly, he would have been in great trouble in the future.

‘Hmph, Margaret seems very concerned…’

The reason Beomseok thought so was very simple. Men in this era were obsessed with elves, so they saw women as disgusting beings. Of course, there was no way there would be a gold digger who would seduce men with her sexual charm.

Arriving at the sushi corner, he coughed repeatedly and said.

“Ahem, that’s why I’m paying attention. So don’t worry about it either.”

“Of course. Why would I pay attention to those women? But I’m a little worried that those women are sitting next to us. You never know what tricks they might play.”

Beomseok sighed and looked at the three beauties with a wistful gaze. It was still a pity.

“Sigh~ I can’t help it. It’s not like we rented out this restaurant.”

“That’s true, but I’m uneasy. I think they’ll keep trying to do something.”

“Shall we go to another restaurant then?”

“I don’t want to. Why should we run away from here as if we did something wrong? If anyone should move, it’s those vixens [another term for sly women].”

Feeling uneasy, Beomseok looked troubled. Seeing is believing. With the beautiful women lingering in his eyes, he couldn’t help but pay attention. If he accidentally glanced at them and got caught, Margaret’s jealous anger would pour down like a waterfall.

So Beomseok persuaded her again.

“Still, you have to eat comfortably to digest well.”

Margaret showed him a plate filled with seaweed rolls.

“But I’ve already filled my plate. It’s a waste to just leave.”

“What’s a waste? The buffet price isn’t that much.”

Margaret still shook her head. There was no way she, the president of the company, would be stingy with 800 crowns [currency]. However, she couldn’t because she felt like she would lose if she backed down like this. She didn’t say it directly, but the red-haired woman seemed to look down on her.

“No, money doesn’t fall from the sky, so we have to save what we can.”

“Really? Then shall we go into a private room? You have to pay extra, but it seems better that way?”

“It’s okay. Let’s just eat here.”

Again, Margaret didn’t say yes. It wasn’t because she was worried about the money that she was acting like this. She had to take revenge for the arrogant gaze that the red-haired woman had sent her a little while ago.

Margaret continued to pass by the food display and steadily picked up food. So Beomseok gave up and focused on choosing food. It seemed that the woman’s stubbornness had been triggered, so it was better to stay still here. If he insisted on his own opinion, he could end up provoking her anger.

“Margaret, come and sit down quickly.”

Returning to his seat, he sat facing Margaret and picked up a fork. Then he put a shrimp sushi in his mouth and started asking strange questions. The three beauties had gone to get food, so they weren’t in their seats, but he still had to prevent the focus of the conversation from being on them.

It was better to just pass it off naturally now.

“Oh, right, Margaret. Have they caught the guys who set fire to the Rima City Colosseum before?”

Margaret, who had been glaring at the red hair standing in front of the food display, quickly turned her head and said.

“No, they haven’t been caught yet. When I looked into it, it seemed that they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the culprit yet.”

“Really? That’s unexpected. Usually, those kids are sloppy and get caught easily.”

“That’s right, but this time it seems a little different.”

“Why?”

“It seems like they came with a plan from the start. They wore helmets, and they even had a special coating to prevent tinting and infrared projection, and they even wore special clothes to prevent genetic information from hair or dandruff from getting into the hands of the police. And it’s not clear where they moved after setting the fire, whether they identified all the CCTVs [closed-circuit television cameras] placed around the stadium.”

“Are they experts?”

Margaret calmly nodded. They had thoroughly prepared their equipment and infiltrated, so she couldn’t deny that point.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

It’s already late September. And Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving] is in a week. Hahaha. Ha, haha. ㅠㅠ. But I’m scared of Chuseok. It’s nice because it’s a day to play, but the aftermath is not easy. Aigoo, aigoo [sigh, sigh].

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