Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 487

489

“Tch. Missed her. But it’s as good as caught. Heh heh.”

Beomseok, who had slipped through the net, smiled wryly as he watched Riccola disappear into the sky. He was annoyed that he had been tricked by an Elf, but now that he knew her name and affiliation, she was as good as caught. So, he withdrew all the MR [Meta Reality] security personnel and returned to the hotel where Theresa was staying.

A few weeks later, as the transfer market was coming to an end, he visited Arc Royal City again, this time to catch Riccola. However, this time he was accompanied by Esther, not Theresa. If he could just recruit her, she would never be able to escape Beomseok’s grasp, because no Elf ever leaves their master.

Esther, standing in front of the Super Heroes Gladiator Team’s main gate, looked at Beomseok with worried eyes.

“Chairman, are you really going to recruit Riccola?”

Beomseok glanced at the CCTV camera and replied immediately.

“Yes. Why else would I bring you all the way here?”

Esther clicked her tongue, displeased. The Riccola she had seen was just another Area-class gladiator. Her technical skills were excellent, but her physical abilities were so poor that it would be difficult for her to play in the Gods Knights. The Wide League, which includes the World League and the Super Heroes Team, was two levels apart, but qualitatively different.

“But, Riccola doesn’t seem like a useful gladiator at all. I think it’s a waste of money.”

“No. She’s definitely a useful player who will be a great help to the team. So, just trust me.”

“Hmm. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Chairman, but I didn’t see anything special in her play videos. I don’t think she’ll be able to play in the Central League, let alone the World League. And the fact that she’s playing in the Wide League now is only because she’s a substitute, not because she’s good enough.”

Beomseok glanced at her and said,

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes. That’s what I found out.”

“Really? What if that research data is wrong?”

Esther immediately shook her head. The information she had verified was the match footage. There was no more reliable data than that.

“But I’m going to draw conclusions based on the match footage?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m saying it’s wrong. The match footage itself is flawed. Got it?”

“No. What do you mean?”

“She didn’t give it her all during the match.”

Esther tilted her head. She didn’t think so at all.

“Really? She seemed to be giving it her all. Diana, Remy, and Erpina all agreed with me.”

“Well, you can’t tell from the outside, so it might seem that way. But I don’t think so at all. She’s hiding her skills thoroughly.”

“But why? She’s not old enough to be plotting to go to the Walker Auction Market, is she?” [The Walker Auction Market is a place where Elves are sold to wealthy individuals.]

“Yeah. She’s not old enough. But not all Elves plot to go to the Walker Auction Market.”

“So, there are other ways to get a master?”

Beomseok slowly shook his head.

“I don’t know if there are other ways, but Riccola is not plotting for that reason.”

“But why? There’s no way an Elf would do such a useless thing if they couldn’t even get a master.”

“Heh heh. Why wouldn’t she?”

“It doesn’t make sense to give up the chance to gain fame if you can’t even get a master.”

“Yeah, fame is good. Everyone is enthusiastic about it, so it can’t be bad. But it’s different for Elves who don’t really want fame. There’s nothing to gain from going to the upper leagues… No, only the result of being restricted in their freedom…”

That was true. Playing in the upper leagues meant that their value increased, so teams made corresponding investments. The problem was that the investment did not go towards improving the Elves’ pockets and human rights.

The items added to this investment were fan service under the pretext of gladiator maintenance costs, manager fees to suppress and monitor the Elves’ freedom, and a slight increase in pocket money. Looking at this, it was clear that the team’s investment was not very good for the Elves.

Esther nodded after hearing his explanation. She knew that Gods Knights was not like that, but other teams were more strict in monitoring the Elves.

World League teams were said to have five to six managers per gladiator to monitor them 24 hours a day in preparation for unforeseen circumstances. Of course, those Elves had no freedom. But it was a different story for lower-level teams.

With low admission revenue, there were financial limitations, so they could not deploy that many managers, and the Elf gladiators could enjoy some freedom. Lower-level teams like Super Heroes could only attach one manager, and at night, the security team was only monitoring the dormitories.

“Hmm. That’s true. Yes. I understand. So, you’re saying that Riccola craves freedom more than fame?”

“It seems so, but it might not be true.”

“Really? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, maybe she craves freedom for a distorted sense of fame? It seems that she is looking for fame in a place other than as a gladiator.”

The reason Beomseok thought so was that the Elf’s characteristics also represented her personality to some extent. Riccola’s characteristic was ‘Hero of Seclusion’. Heroes are bound to be famous, so it couldn’t be said that she hated fame.

Here, ‘seclusion’ was added in front. This meant that she might be interested in a mysterious kind of fame, not the fame that comes with a glamorous spotlight.

At that moment, the door opened and a middle-aged man with red hair came out. It was Heinz, the trade manager of Super Heroes. He greeted Beomseok with a very bright expression.

“Welcome, Beomseok. Come on in.”

Beomseok slowly examined him and said.

“But is it really okay for me to go in? The affiliated gladiators will be very upset.”

“Oh, why are you so worried? There’s no way they would ever think of going to Gods Knights, a World League team. Put your worries aside and come on in.”

“Yes. Thank you. Then I won’t refuse.”

Heinz, who accompanied Beomseok, had a big smile on his face. It was like a windfall.

Currently, the gladiator Beomseok wants is Riccola. Her value is currently only 8 million Krang [Krang is the currency used in this world], but if the recruiting party is Gods Knights, a World League team, the story changes 180 degrees.

He would probably get at least twice as much, and if he was generous, he could get tens of millions, or even over 100 million Krang. With that money, he could buy several useful core gladiators. The team would grow dramatically. It was almost impossible to get such luck by selling a substitute gladiator, so he had to make Riccola like him and then pass her on.

“Come on, this way.”

He led him to the reception room on the second floor. It wasn’t much different from other reception rooms, but it was unique in that Riccola was already there waiting. She was startled when she saw Beomseok, because she thought he might have come to catch her.

“Oh, no. Why are you here?”

Heinz quickly approached her and patted her on the shoulder.

“How is it? Surprised, right?”

“Well… Yes. There’s no way I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Heh heh. I’m sorry. It was such an unbelievable fact that I couldn’t be sure and couldn’t tell you. Please understand.”

“No, but still. You should have told me right away if something like this happened.”

His complaints were understandable, but Heinz couldn’t tell him. No matter how much of a substitute she was, she was the team’s property.

He couldn’t stir up her mind by blowing wind into a low-probability event. Frankly speaking, she would not have been able to attend this meeting if Beomseok did not have the will to sell her.

According to rumors, Beomseok was very weak to the desperate eyes of Elves.

“Hahaha. Understand. It’s all for the good of everyone.”

Riccola relaxed her tense gaze. Then she remembered that she had thoroughly hidden herself. Of course, he couldn’t have known.

But she soon realized that it wasn’t true.

“Riccola. Long time no see. How have you been?”

Riccola slowly backed away. First of all, it was her first time meeting him. There was no way he would act like he knew her.

“Do you know me?”

“Hmm. We met a few weeks ago? Have you already forgotten? You shot a net at me and ran away.”

Riccola swallowed hard and turned pale.

“H, how did you know me…? I definitely…”

“What was that supposed to be hiding…? You were making it obvious…”

“I… I never did that…”

“Yes, you did. You just don’t know it. Anyway, sit down quickly. I don’t want to waste time with useless words.”

“W, what do you mean? S, surely… You’re not going to arrest me and call the police…?”

Heinz pinched her waist and glared at her with sharp eyes. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but he couldn’t tolerate any more interference with the negotiations.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Just sit down. Beomseok came to buy you. Don’t you want to go to Gods Knights?”

Riccola composed herself at the sound of the bolt from the blue and sat down quietly. Then the story changed. No matter how much she didn’t want to go to an upper-league team, Gods Knights was an exception.

Beomseok also sat down calmly and looked at Heinz.

“Well, shall we start the price negotiations in earnest? What is the specific amount you want?”

“Hahaha. How would I know Riccola’s value? Just offer as much as Beomseok wants her. Then I’ll think about it carefully and make a decision.”

It seemed that Heinz had no intention of offering an amount first. In such a deal, it was impossible to know the amount that the other party could afford, so a preemptive offer was forbidden. If they offered too low, their profits would be reduced, and if they offered too high, the deal itself could be canceled.

Beomseok, who fully understood this, held up three fingers. That was the maximum amount he had set for Riccola’s value: 30 million Krang.

Then Heinz, clenching both fists, shook his head, trembling. It was a very satisfactory amount, but he was trying to test if there was anything more to squeeze out.

“30 million Krang… It’s not a bad amount, but I’m still worried.”

Beomseok chuckled at that. He found Heinz, who was trembling with that amount, amusing. 30 million Krang was 1/100 of the amount he had in mind. If the degree of recognition was so different, the negotiation itself was meaningless.

“Heh heh. Is that so? Then how much does Heinz want?”

He hesitated to hold up his fingers, but eventually held up all five.

“How about 50 million Krang? I think we can be satisfied with that amount…”

“Hmph.”

Beomseok chuckled again. That amount was just as amusing. But Heinz seemed to think differently. He immediately lowered the offered amount.

“Well, I’m just saying I’m satisfied, but I’m not saying I want all of this amount. Otherwise, there’s no need to trade between us. We can understand even a lower amount. Ahem.”

“Ah. Really? Then how much would be enough?”

“How about 40 million Krang? I think it’s a pretty reasonable amount for me…”

Fritz swallowed hard after making the offer and looked at Beomseok’s face. 40 million Krang was five times Riccola’s value. If the deal was made, it would be a jackpot in itself.

“Well, that’s not bad.”

Fritz, relieved by Beomseok’s answer, took a deep breath. It meant affirmation.

“Hahaha. Yes, that’s right. It’s definitely not a bad amount. Hahaha. Then shall we come to an agreement at this point?”

“Well, I’ll have to think about that for a while…”

It was Beomseok who unexpectedly expressed his disapproval. 40 million Krang was an amount that he could spend as pocket money at any time, but he was worried about whether it would be beneficial.

Currently, the skill of Riccola that he is thinking of is W0 class. If he snatched such a gladiator for 40 million Krang, the Super Heroes team would not be upset. Then, every time she performed, complaints would come out, so there was no way that noise would not be heard.

Currently, Gods Knights is a World League team. Since appearances are also important, it was right to avoid this kind of transaction that only focused on monetary gain.

Whether he knew this or not, Heinz lowered the transaction price even further.

“Then how about 35 million Krang? I think that amount would be okay. No, if you want, I’m willing to hand it over for 30 million Krang.”

Beomseok shook his head and held up two fingers.

“I’ll give you 200 million Krang. However, it must be stated that neither party will raise any complaints about this transaction in the future. How about it?”

“200 million Krang? 200 million, not 20 million?”

“Yes, of course.”

Heinz jumped up and shook his hand. 200 million Krang was twice the maximum amount he had expected. Although there was a condition that complaints about the transaction were impossible, this was what he wanted more.

“Of course! Then I’ll grant all the conditions you want!”

“Hahaha. Well, let’s make a contract quickly. The transfer deadline is tomorrow, so there’s no time now.”

“Yes. I understand. I’ll process it as quickly as possible.”

The two ended the deal in a friendly atmosphere. Heinz was satisfied because he had a huge sum of 200 million Krang in his hands, and Beomseok was pleased because he had obtained Riccola, who was worth billions of Krang, without any noise.

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

The weekend is gone and it’s Monday. Everyone, please persevere. I’ll see you again tomorrow.