Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 465

“That’s a possibility. And if the Avand team loses, those who would benefit might have planned and executed it in advance.”

Beom-seok stared intently at Margaret.

“That could be. Then who would benefit?”

“Well, first, the Kelot team officials and fans who played against Avand today. If the Rima City Colosseum burns down, their team’s chances of winning increase. And professional sports gamblers are also very likely. They’re at a crossroads of either losing a huge amount of money or not, so they might be tempted.”

Beom-seok nodded in agreement. He didn’t know about the former, but the latter seemed very likely. There were quite a few people in the world who would do anything for money.

“I see. That makes sense.”

“So, what are you planning to do?”

“Well? With the culprit’s identity not clearly established, there’s nothing we can do right now, is there? For now, we have no choice but to wait for the police investigation.”

“Well, should we step in too?”

“No need. There’s no need for us to get involved. Frankly, if the police can’t catch them, there’s no way we can.”

Margaret nodded. MR Security was better than the police only in the field of computer-related matters, but this case required a comprehensive investigation as its foundation to arrest the culprit.

Since the police had secured all the CCTV footage from the day of the incident, there was no need for MR Security to get involved. Moreover, this case became a global issue along with the World Cup finals.

If they failed to catch the culprit, the police would be in trouble, so they would not abandon the investigation midway.

“I guess so. The police have formed a special investigation team and said they will definitely solve this case, so the results will come out soon.”

After saying that, Margaret picked up a piece of food and glanced sideways at the next table. The beautiful trio who had been flirting with Beom-seok had returned with plates of food. They sat down and subtly moved their table closer.

At that moment, two young children, who didn’t even look like elementary school students, squeezed through the gap and held out autograph papers to Beom-seok.

“Are you Gladiator Oh Beom-seok?”

“Yeah, that’s right. But why?”

“Please sign here.”

Beom-seok glanced at the man in his thirties sitting at a distant table, who seemed to be the children’s father. Judging by his embarrassed expression, it seemed that he was the one who really wanted the autograph. After all, there was no way these young children would know what kind of gladiator he was.

However, he readily took out a pen and signed. He couldn’t turn down the autograph request from the budding young children.

“Here you go. I did five, so share them nicely.”

“Thank you, *hyung* [older brother or respected male figure]. My dad will be very happy.”

“Hehe. Okay, go on now.”

At this point, several fans approached and requested autographs. It was annoying, but he couldn’t give it to some and refuse others, so he responded to each one and scribbled down messages.

However, not everyone crowded around and made a fuss, and some conscious people quietly went about their business so as not to disturb his meal, so it wasn’t too annoying. Perhaps that’s why Beom-seok was able to respond to all the autograph requests in no time.

“Okay, that’s it. Then have a pleasant meal.”

As the last middle-aged woman walked away with the autograph paper, Beom-seok picked up his fork again to eat. However, as if there were still fans who wanted an autograph, an autograph paper was being held out in front of him.

It was none other than the woman with the red hair sitting at the next table.

“Please do it for us too.”

Beom-seok, who had picked up the pen again, looked at her and said.

“Yes, what’s your name?”

“It’s Rosa. And the black-haired friend over there is Riley, and the blonde friend is Epra.”

Beom-seok, thinking that their names were as pretty as their faces, smiled slightly and began to sign. Because he was interested, he couldn’t help but put more effort into the inscription on the autograph paper.

Noticing this, Margaret said bluntly.

“Beom-seok, isn’t the heart mark unnecessary?”

Startled, Beom-seok scribbled the rest and handed the autograph paper to Rosa.

“Here you go.”

Rosa, who received the autograph paper, looked at Beom-seok with a seductive smile and said.

“By the way, are you two not dating?”

“What do you mean?”

“Since you’re dating, there’s no reason to use such formal titles that make you feel distant. Don’t you think so?”

Margaret, her face flushed red, glared at her.

“What does it matter to you what we call each other?”

“It’s just that it’s a bit strange. I’m a big fan of Beom-seok, so I know him well, and I’ve never seen anyone like you among his lovers. Actually, Beom-seok doesn’t care about scandals, so if he has a lover, he doesn’t bother hiding it from the media.”

“But there’s no reason to go out of our way to announce it, is there? Don’t you think so?”

“Ah, really? Then would you like to tell me? Are you really dating Beom-seok?”

Margaret glanced at Beom-seok. It was true that she liked him, but they weren’t particularly in a romantic relationship yet. They just often shared meals like this, so it was more accurate to describe them as acquaintances.

Then Beom-seok said to Rosa in a quiet voice.

“We are dating. That’s why we came to have a cozy meal alone today.”

“Are you sure? Then show me the proof.”

Even with her persistent questioning, Beom-seok didn’t make a particularly unpleasant expression. She was bold, but she was beautiful, so he could forgive her, and it seemed that he could use her as a pawn to attack Margaret. Right now, Margaret was even showing jealousy that she wouldn’t normally show.

“Hehe. What proof?”

“Kiss each other once. Then I’ll believe you.”

Beom-seok looked at the hotel guests who were glancing at them and smiled slightly.

“That’s a bit much. This isn’t a special space just for us. There are also many children. I think we should be polite and observe manners.”

“That’s true. But do you know that Beom-seok’s words just now mean that you can’t provide proof that you’re lovers?”

Beom-seok readily replied. She was now giving him a golden opportunity.

“Hehe. Why wouldn’t there be proof? There’s a good reason why we’re eating at this hotel. That is, we’re not just going to eat and leave.”

Rosa looked flustered for a moment, and Margaret glared at Beom-seok with a flushed face. His words implied that he would spend a passionate night with Margaret in a hotel room after this meal.

“Hmm. Well, then I can’t help but admit it.”

“Thank you for understanding. Then can I go back to eating? I’m a bit hungry.”

Rosa subtly moved to the next table and sat down. She had accidentally seen a famous gladiator she admired and thought it was fate, but she was greatly mistaken. He was completely absorbed in the country bumpkin-like woman in front of him and showed no interest in her at all.

“Margaret, let’s go then.”

Beom-seok, who had finished his meal, took Margaret and left the buffet restaurant. Throughout the lobby, she was glaring at Beom-seok with a dissatisfied face. It was because he had made her uncomfortable with his ridiculous words.

“Beom-seok, how can you say such misleading things?”

“Hahaha. Sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t help it? There were many other things you could have said, right?”

“That’s true, but what can I do if that’s all I could think of at the time? And if I said no, you would have been in trouble.”

Margaret, standing on the escalator leading down to the lobby, raised her voice.

“It’s all because you introduced me as your lover from the beginning. You could have just said we were friends.”

Beom-seok looked at her with a strange gaze. The reason he said that was because Margaret was showing jealousy towards them. Frankly, if it weren’t for the influence of her favorability, there was no reason for him to show a cold reaction to those women.

But what’s the use of saying this now? He had to be satisfied with maintaining her favorability and quietly listen to her nagging.

“I’m sorry. I was a bit annoyed by them. And I also wished that you were really my lover.”

Margaret, who inadvertently looked at him, blushed slightly. His answer wasn’t exactly unpleasant. She was just hesitating because he had many other women, but she also admired Beom-seok very much. If he really didn’t have a wandering eye, Margaret might have been the first to confess her love.

As soon as she got down to the lobby, she headed towards the front door at a fast pace. It seemed that she wasn’t ready yet.

“Margaret, wait a moment…….”

Margaret turned her head at Beom-seok, who was grabbing her wrist.

“What is it?”

Beom-seok pointed to the back with his thumb. There, the three women who had been sitting at the next table were coming down the escalator. It seemed that they had come out together by chance, but her thoughts were different. She thought they were following them.

“Why are those women following us? Are they really trying to confirm it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

Even if it was a coincidence, it didn’t matter. They were now looking at Margaret and Beom-seok, who were about to leave, with strange eyes.

She pointed to the counter on one side of the lobby as if she couldn’t help it and said in a loud voice.

“Beom-seok, the front desk is over there. We don’t need to go out and ask the bellboys.”

Beom-seok poked her in the side with an expression that said, ‘What luck!’ First of all, he needed to be troubled.

“Hey, Margaret, what are you talking about?”

“I can’t help it. Now that things have come to this, I think we should stop by the front desk and ask about a room. If we just leave, you’ll become a liar.”

“But, but……. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s the World Cup finals right now, so there won’t be any rooms available. Then we can just leave with that excuse.”

Beom-seok lowered his head in disappointment. Rima Hotel was the best accommodation in this city. It was very likely that there would be no vacancies today.

“Th, that’s right.”

“Besides, those women are just having a meal and going back. So we just need to pretend to talk to the front desk staff for a while.”

His expression became even more distorted. He thought a good opportunity for attack had come, but it wasn’t. If those three beauties were just ordinary guests, there was no need to book a room.

“Sigh~ I guess so. Let’s go then.”

Beom-seok took Margaret to the front desk. And seeing the elf hotelier sitting in the middle, he said in a small voice.

“Hey, do you have a room?”

The elf hotelier, who stood up in a hurry, shook her head with a troubled expression. As expected, there were no rooms available.

“Beom-seok, I’m sorry. All rooms are booked during the World Cup period. Would you like me to find another hotel for you?”

“No. There’s no need to go that far.”

At that time, a familiar voice was heard from behind. It was Rosa. She was now heading towards the elevator.

“Beom-seok, are you really staying?”

“Ah. I was going to, but they said there are no rooms available.”

“I guess so. We barely managed to book a room. It’s really difficult to get a room during these events.”

“Yes. By the way, are you staying at this hotel, Rosa?”

“Yes. I’ll be here throughout the World Cup. My home is in Lavello City, so it’s a hassle to go back and forth for every game, so I’m just staying here for sightseeing.”

Beom-seok tilted his head. Lavello City was the home of Real Heroes. Then it was very unlikely that she was an Avand fan.

“Then you weren’t supporting Avand?”

“Ah. Yes. We are supporting the Irat team. But we are also personally supporting Beom-seok, so we always enjoy watching Avand games.”

Well, there was no law that said you couldn’t like a gladiator from another team just because you had a separate supporting team. Moreover, Beom-seok was one of the few male gladiators and was at the top, so he had many such fans.

“I see. Then I hope you will continue to support me in the future. I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes. Goodbye.”

Just as Rosa was about to turn around, the female hotelier who had come to the counter was surprised and looked at Beom-seok. Her name was Pria, and she used to be at the Rainbow Hotel before coming here, so she had met him several times.

“Oh my. Beom-seok, what brings you here?”

Beom-seok looked at her with a troubled expression.

“Ah. I was just seeing if there were any vacancies.”

“Vacancies? Oh, really? I’ll get one ready for you soon.”

“What are you talking about? They said there weren’t any?”

Pria smiled slightly and said.

“Actually, we always leave one VIP room for special customers. You can have that room.”

“Ar, are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yes. Beom-seok is someone our chairman thinks highly of, so we should definitely do that much.”

Margaret’s face next to him became quite a sight at those words. It seemed that she was inevitably going to enter a hotel room with him. Right now, Rosa and her friends were not leaving and were staring at them intently. If she backed down here, she would become a laughingstock, and those vixens would rush at Beom-seok.