Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 72

The Godz Knights’ round of 16 opponent was the Wind Seagulls team. They were a seeded semi-pro team, considered weak enough to be easily dealt with. However, things changed when the Hyena Group lent them 13 gladiators. All 19 participants were either active pros or former pro gladiators.

Because of this, Beom-seok approached the round of 16 with a standard strategy rather than a deception tactic using spies. Since the main players and the second-string players were almost at the same level, there was little advantage to be gained from changing the order of *chuljang* [lineup/roster]. It was better to use this match to reassure the internal spy.

Nevertheless, Godz Knights safely passed the round of 16 with a record of 2 wins and 2 draws.

Waggle waggle. Waggle waggle.

The weather was gloomy, as if rain would pour down at any moment. The low-lying gray clouds stole the warmth of May and spread coldness around. However, the heat in the Lima City Colosseum was intense. Today was the day of the Great Hyenas’ round of 16 match. Despite the many disappointments they had caused, the newly transformed team strength was attractive enough to give fans high hopes.

Weaving through the crowds, Beom-seok walked towards the ticket booth with Diana. He had come to watch the game. With the quarter-finals only three days away, training was important, but seeing the enemy team’s strength with his own eyes was also crucial. Of course, it didn’t matter if he watched it on TV, but the atmosphere was completely different from watching the game in person.

He soon bought 25 tickets and called out to the Godz Knights team members who were gathered some distance away.

“Hey. Everyone come here! Be careful not to get separated in the crowd!”

“Yes, Master. We’re coming now.”

Reimi answered briefly and led the team members to him.

Beom-seok handed a ticket to Diana first and then distributed tickets to the team members in the order they approached.

“Here. Take good care of it.”

Weeing. Weeing. Weeing.

Beom-seok stopped his hand at the sudden blare of sirens and looked up at the distant sky. Judging by the sound, it was definitely an ambulance. A flicker of anticipation crossed his face. He wondered if any of the Great Hyenas team members were injured.

However, Beom-seok soon showed his disappointment. It was before the start of the match, and the patient being carried out through the entrance on a floating stretcher was not an Elf, but an ordinary man.

He clicked his tongue and was about to turn his head when he saw the black-haired doctor next to the patient and widened his eyes.

‘Hmm? Why is Susan here? Was she dispatched at the request of the [Amateur Gladiator] association?’

Susan was a surgeon working at the Mikhail Treatment Center, and she had treated Venus when she was seriously injured in the past. Initially, he had shown interest and tried to court her, but he had been too busy with team management lately and had gradually forgotten about her. Since he had met her again by chance, he needed to say hello and try to reconnect.

Beom-seok turned around and looked at his team members.

“Diana and Reimi, take the rest of the team to the stands first. I have somewhere to go right now.”

“Yes. I understand. We’ll do that. See you later.”

Beom-seok, having separated from the Godz Knights team members, walked towards Susan. She was waving her hand at the emergency flying car that was floating into the air. Beom-seok subtly approached her from behind and spoke as if he were a passerby.

“Looks like someone got hurt?”

Susan, who was still looking at the ambulance, replied.

“Yes. A spectator lost his footing on the stairs leading up to the stand and got a little hurt.”

“Oh dear. How did that happen…? Was he badly hurt?”

“Hmm. I don’t know. There’s nothing wrong with the bones, but judging from the swelling around the ankle, there’s probably some damage to the muscles. I need to see it with an MRI scanner to know for sure, but there isn’t one in the infirmary here.”

“Ah. I see. But why are you here, Susan?”

Susan looked at Beom-seok in surprise.

“Y-you, who? Ah! Mr. Beom-seok!”

Beom-seok gave a gentle smile. It had been almost a year since he had left the treatment center, but she recognized him right away. He felt a little pleased that he had made enough of an impression to be remembered.

“Hahaha. You remember me. Did you perhaps have feelings for me?”

“Hoh ho ho. No. I just happened to see someone who looked familiar appear in the stadium, so I watched him closely and recognized you. I was so shocked by what happened in the past that I remembered you easily. At the treatment center, you performed a master-servant ritual with an Elf who was undergoing treatment…”

Beom-seok covered Susan’s mouth and looked around. That incident should never be revealed to the outside world. If someone heard about it and reported it to the broadcast, he would be humiliated all over the world as a topic of conversation. Fortunately, he confirmed that there was no one watching around him and let out a long sigh of relief.

“Hoo~ Susan. Please keep that a secret. I won’t be able to hold my head up if it gets out.”

“Hoh ho ho. Yes. Don’t worry. Keeping the patient’s secrets is the unwritten rule of us doctors.”

Beom-seok smiled and continued the conversation.

“Hahaha. Is that so? That’s a relief. By the way, when did you see me play a game?”

“Yes. In the round of 32. I was the emergency doctor in charge then, too.”

“Ah. Really? But why didn’t you say hello?”

Susan gave a shy look and smiled slightly.

“Just because. I was worried that it might interfere with your game. Athletes get very nervous before a game. They have to concentrate, too.”

He nodded his head repeatedly. Certainly, it was common for people to become nervous before a game as they concentrated on the match.

“Ah. Yes. That’s true before a game.”

“But. Mr. Beom-seok. You don’t have a game today, so why did you come to the Colosseum?”

“I came to scout the strength of a rival team. We’ll be meeting one of the two teams playing today in the quarter-finals.”

Susan pondered the bracket and suddenly nodded her head.

“Ah. The winner today will face Godz Knights. Hmm. But you must have a lot of worries. I heard that all the teams playing today are strong.”

“Hahaha. Yes. So, I have a favor to ask. If there are any minor injuries, just give them a 4-week diagnosis and send them to the treatment center. So they can’t come out for the next game.”

“Hoh ho ho. You’re joking… It’ll be revealed as soon as they get examined at the treatment center anyway.”

“Hahaha. I guess so.”

Susan responded with a smile and glanced at her watch.

“But is it okay for you to be talking to me like this? The game will be starting soon.”

“I don’t mind. Do you have anything urgent to do, Susan?”

Of course, she was busy. She had only come out like this to carry the injured person to the ambulance, and it was still working hours. And when the game started, she had to be on standby in the medical room in case of an unexpected situation.

“Ah. Yes. I have to go to the medical room before the game starts.”

He wore a look of regret on his face. He was reluctant to turn away from her, not knowing when he would see her again. In order to win her over, it was better to build up enough rapport to be able to contact her again.

“Ah, I see. I’ve been holding you up when you’re busy. But I’m sorry, but I’d like to continue talking for just 5 more minutes. Do you have time?”

“Hmm. I have time for about 5 minutes. I can’t do more than that.”

Beom-seok pointed to the small park in front of the stadium.

“Then let’s have a cup of tea there and continue talking.”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

Beom-seok took her to the park and pulled out a 3-clang premium coffee from the vending machine next to the long bench and handed it to her.

Susan took a sip and said, recalling a vague memory.

“By the way, the Elf I treated back then was Venus, right? I can tell by looking at her.”

“Yes. That’s right. Thanks to you, she’s flying around as if nothing ever happened.”

“That’s a relief. Actually, it was quite dangerous at the time. The wound wasn’t a big deal, but she lost too much blood because she missed the treatment period.”

“Yes. My heart still pounds when I think about that time.”

Beom-seok was about to bring the coffee cup to his lips when he suddenly asked a question.

“By the way, Susan, what are you doing here at the Lima City Colosseum? Were you dispatched here at the request of the treatment center?”

“……..”

Susan looked blankly at the waves in the coffee cup, as if she felt a bitter emotion at those words. It was too long a story to tell quickly.

The director of the Mikhail Treatment Center where she worked was quite greedy. He had his nephew appointed as the head of the administration department and directly ordered him to only accept patients who could make money. He also urged doctors to prescribe expensive medicines for even minor illnesses to increase treatment costs. In addition, he was reluctant to pay employees’ salaries, citing various reasons to cut their wages.

Then one day, a patient was brought to the hospital. It was an old Elf who was taking care of a poor and elderly owner, and she was seriously injured and in need of urgent surgery. Fortunately, the director and his nephew were away for a seminar that day, so Susan colluded with a female administration staff member she was close to and secretly treated her for free. However, this secret did not last long. An Elf nurse owned by the director secretly witnessed this scene and reported it.

As a result, Susan was severely scolded by the director, and she got angry in the middle and yelled at him and quit the treatment center. She didn’t want to see the director’s face, who only cared about money.

“Hoo hoo. You should have been more patient. Is that so?”

“Mr. Beom-seok, you don’t know the situation at the time. I was so angry. I really couldn’t stand it. The director said that people without money are unconditionally lazy, so it’s a good thing for the world if they die and disappear. Does that make sense?”

“How can there be such a terrible person? Besides, the injured person is an Elf, not a human, right?”

“Hoh ho ho. I said that and got into a big fight. The director got very angry, saying that I was splitting hairs unnecessarily. I fought back, too.”

Eventually, Susan left the Mikhail Treatment Center and started looking for a job at other treatment centers. However, the director was quite petty, and he spread all kinds of slander wherever she went, preventing her from getting a job. He was a fairly influential director in Lima City, so Susan couldn’t easily find a job and had to live as a jobless person for about half a year.

Then, recently, she heard from a job placement agency that the Amateur Gladiator Association was recruiting Elf and modified human specialists to work during this promotion tournament, and she came here to work part-time as a medical practitioner to earn a living before finding another job.

“Ah? So, you don’t have a regular job right now?”

“Yes. That’s right. I’ll have to get a job soon, though.”

Beom-seok put his chin on his hand and looked at Susan intently. From what he had seen before, she was quite an outstanding doctor. Since a team doctor is a must when you go pro anyway, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to recruit her on this occasion. And the reason why he hadn’t been able to win Susan over until now was because he didn’t have a chance to see her. If they lived in the same place, they would become closer and affection would blossom, and one day they would be able to get intimate and spend a hot night.

Beom-seok, who had made up his mind, decided to reveal his thoughts.

“Susan, is there a treatment center that’s telling you to come right away?”

“Not yet. If there was, I wouldn’t be working part-time like this.”

“Then, I have a favor to ask. Could you wait just ten more days?”

“Why is that?”

“Actually, it will be definitely decided whether our team will be promoted to pro in about ten days. If we get promoted to pro, we will definitely need a team doctor, and I would like you to take on this position.”

Susan didn’t know what to do at the unexpected offer of recruitment. It was a very tempting offer because she was going back to being jobless as soon as this promotion tournament was over, but she was curious about the reason why he would put her in the important position of team doctor after only seeing her a few times.

“What’s the reason you’re thinking of me as a team doctor? Actually, you don’t know much about me. I’m talking about my experience, qualifications, and personal information.”

“It’s simple. From the time you treated Venus, I think you’re quite a capable doctor, no matter what anyone says. And since you worked at the treatment center, you must have a license, and since I recognize your skills, there’s no reason to question your experience, right? And as for your personal information, you’re kind and conscientious enough to treat an Elf with a poor owner for free, so I know that you’re a very kind and conscientious person without having to look at any documents. So there’s no need to hesitate any longer.”

Susan had nothing to say as he spoke so fluently. No, she even felt good because he thought so highly of her. It didn’t seem like a bad idea to build a new career as a team doctor rather than continuing to live as a jobless person. She also didn’t want to get into a fight with the director by being nosy, and she wouldn’t have much to do except for minor checkups, so it would be easy on her body.

Then there was only one problem.

“Um. How much will you pay me?”

“Well. I haven’t really thought about it because I suggested it so suddenly. How about an annual salary of 400,000 clangs? I’ll also provide food and transportation expenses, and accommodation if you want.”

400,000 clangs was about 50,000 less than the Mikhail Treatment Center where she used to work. However, it could be said to be better when combined with various benefits like food, transportation, and accommodation. The monthly rent for a studio apartment was usually around 3,000 to 4,000 clangs, and the expenses for food and transportation were also considerable. When you consider everything, it wasn’t a bad deal for Susan.

“So that offer is only valid if you get promoted to a pro team?”

At those words, Beom-seok shook his head without even thinking about it. He had to recruit her if they got promoted, but he couldn’t just let her go even if they didn’t get promoted. His pockets weren’t so empty that he would miss a woman he liked because he was worried about an annual salary of 400,000 clangs.