Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 75

“Here you go, sir.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for your trouble.”

“You’re welcome. Goodbye.”

Bumseok, his arms full of bags, took out a hot dog from one of them and approached Jeremia.

“Here. Eat.”

Jeremia, startled, finally recognized Bumseok and took a step back. She couldn’t possibly not recognize the ace of the team they were facing in three days. Normally, she would have already left, but she couldn’t resist the hot dog dangling in Bumseok’s hand. She looked like a bear conflicted in front of a honey pot in a snare.

“H-How are you here…?”

“What about me? Can’t I eat a hot dog?”

“N-No, but…”

Bumseok, with an annoyed expression, shook the hot dog in his hand.

“Are you going to eat it or not?”

Jeremia hesitated for a moment. She seemed to be contemplating whether she should accept food from a gladiator from a rival team. However, having sneaked out of the team to come all the way here, she couldn’t just go back. She had forgotten her wallet and electronic notebook in her haste, so she had no money on her.

Driven by instinct, she quickly reached out and snatched the hot dog from his hand. Then, with a look of deep contemplation, she looked back and forth between the hot dog and Bumseok.

“C-Can I really eat this?”

“Eat it! I’m not asking for money!”

She then crammed the hot dog sandwich into her mouth ravenously. She looked so pathetic, like a starving beggar who hadn’t eaten in days. Soon, Bumseok found a secluded spot and looked around. He was worried that others might see him as a bad owner starving his owned elf [a type of player in this world], and he also needed to have a long conversation with her. Spotting a small park in the distance, he took out another hot dog and lured Jeremia by dangling it in front of her.

“Here. Follow me, I have something to say.”

Jeremia followed without fail, wagging her tail. She looked just like a mutt following passersby with food, unaware that it might be smeared with soybean paste [a common Korean prank, like offering poisoned candy].

“S-So, what’s the matter? What do you want to talk to me about?”

Jeremia, arriving in front of a bench in the park, hesitated and glanced at Bumseok. She had followed him because of the hot dog, but she should never have met him.

Bumseok sat down on the bench and placed the bag of hot dog sandwiches next to him, saying,

“What. It’s nothing much. I just thought we could chat.”

“What is there to talk about? I don’t think I have anything special to say.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not asking for anything special. We just happened to meet, so I thought we could eat hot dogs together and have a little chat. I’m bored being alone.”

Jeremia, licking her lips at the contents of the bag, leaned slightly against one side of the bench. If that was the case, there was no reason to refuse. She just needed to have a snack and respond.

She shamelessly took out a hot dog and took a bite.

“Munch, munch. Go ahead. I’ll listen.”

Bumseok, having created a conversational atmosphere, decided to start his work.

“Jeremia. Why were you just licking your lips in front of the hot dog stand? Doesn’t the team give you an allowance?”

“No. I forgot to bring my wallet and electronic notebook because I sneaked out. They give me plenty of allowance.”

“Then you can just go back and get it. You seemed to be lingering in front of the stand for quite a while.”

“Well, if I go back, the managers will drag me straight back to the team. Then I won’t be able to eat hot dogs for a while.”

“Why? You can just ask the manager to buy them for you.”

“That’s a bit difficult. They won’t let me eat anything other than the team’s designated diet. You may or may not know, but World League teams only feed their gladiators food that helps improve their performance. They absolutely won’t let us eat junk food like hot dogs, which have an unbalanced nutritional profile.”

Bumseok nodded. Certainly, at the World League level, teams had to be meticulous in managing their gladiators. The most expensive elf was worth 7 billion Krang [currency in this world], and if something went wrong because of bad food, the loss would be enormous. Moreover, the team could claim that it was for the elf’s health, so they could avoid criticism from elf enthusiasts.

“I see. World League elves are quite expensive, so the team must put a lot of effort into it.”

“Yes. That’s why it’s hard for me. I didn’t know this until I came to the Great Hyena team. The lower leagues aren’t so bad. They don’t nitpick about what we eat.”

“Huhu. There’s something to that. The team’s finances are also an issue, and the value itself is cheap, so there’s no reason to touch it. Besides, how much does controlling what you eat really help your performance? It’s enough to just eat a balanced diet.”

“That’s what I’m saying. World League teams interfere with even the smallest things, which is very tiring.”

Bumseok smiled and decided to move the conversation to the next stage.

“By the way, Jeremia, how many years have you been a gladiator?”

“Well, about five years. But I’ve been learning swordsmanship for about eight years. The Dark Hyenas team assigned me a training coach as soon as I was born.”

“Ah, really? But why are you playing in the amateur league? You’re affiliated with a World League gladiator team, even if it’s the second team. Doesn’t that hurt your pride?”

Jeremia shook her head as if she didn’t care at all. There was one promise the team made when they sent her here. That was to set her retirement date at 30 years old, so now she could meet her owner 2-3 years earlier, at the very least. For elves playing as sports players, it was an offer tempting enough to throw away their pride.

“What’s the point of this pride when I can meet my owner sooner?”

Bumseok grinned slyly. He expected that his intentions would be properly understood. She was giving up her pride as a professional and playing as an amateur gladiator just because they promised to reduce her retirement date to 30 years old, so she would do anything if he told her he would let her get an owner even sooner.

“I thought so. I knew something was strange. But, do you think they will keep their promise to retire you at 30? Professional teams buy and sell players as needed, so if you transfer to another team, will that promise still be valid?”

That was a concern for Jeremia as well. However, there wasn’t exactly another way.

“Well, when I transfer to another team, I can just refuse to go if they don’t include the same contract clause.”

“Hmm. That might work. But they said they’d release you at 30, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, there are still 22 years left. That must be tough.”

When he mentioned the number directly, Jeremia felt a sense of despair. Was this what it felt like to be told to go to the army ten times? She couldn’t help but sigh and let out a deep breath.

“Huu~ Still, I should take comfort in the fact that I’m doing pretty well compared to my other teammates. There’s a sister on our team who is excellent at swordsmanship but has been playing on the team until she was 40 years old.”

Bumseok, thinking he had set the mood, decided to start his full-scale work. It seemed that Jeremia had several managers attached to her, so they would surely realize she was missing and try to find her. He needed to finish quickly and disappear.

“By the way, Jeremia, how would you feel if your retirement period could be shortened even more?”

“How many years?”

“Well? I don’t know exactly how many years right now. It depends on when our Gods Knights team advances to the professional league and raises funds.”

At that moment, Jeremia’s eyes trembled. Depending on how you heard it, it could sound like Bumseok was trying to recruit her. Gods Knights was a gladiator team that never recruited elves without owners. If she could go, she would live a happy life as an elf.

She turned her body and looked straight at Bumseok.

“S-Surely. Are you trying to recruit me?”

“Yes. It’s embarrassing to say, but I fell in love with your beauty at first sight at the lottery ceremony. So I vowed that one day I would make you an elf to serve me at night.”

It wasn’t entirely untrue. When he first met her, he had wanted to hug Jeremia’s haughty and confident appearance. However, her value was so high that he couldn’t even think about it.

Feeling the sincerity in his words, Jeremia looked excited. She thought she might be able to get an owner.

“B-But my value is, Bumseok-nim. It’s not at a level you can afford. It’s a whopping 410 million Krang…”

“That’s the problem. No matter how much I think about it, it’s too expensive. But if our team advances to the professional league and raises money with all our might, it seems possible enough. Also, if I’m lucky and your value drops and you even leave the Hyena Group, that period could be even faster. So don’t be too disappointed. I’ll be your owner in a few years.”

Certainly, Jeremia’s value was high. However, even if it was a lower league, there was no way a professional team couldn’t recruit her if they put all their efforts into it. Even the lower teams in the Area League had at least 60 million Krang in admission revenue each year, and they were getting more than that in broadcasting revenue, advertising revenue, uniform sales, and sponsorship fees.

Of course, there wasn’t much left after deducting team operating expenses and dividends to shareholders, but Gods Knights could secure quite a bit of funds because they excluded the latter. Looking at this, they could recruit her in at least 6-7 years if they were determined.

“Y-You’re not kidding, are you?”

“Of course not. Just wait a few years. Then you’ll see yourself rolling around naked with me in the bedroom.”

Jeremia couldn’t calm her pounding heart. The dream that had felt so distant was now just a few years away. And if she worked to lower her value and only left the gladiator team belonging to his rival team, the Hyena Group, that period would be much shorter.

She put down the hot dog sandwich she was eating and looked at Bumseok with trembling eyes. The person who might become her owner was right in front of her, so she was overwhelmed.

Jeremia covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes filled with tears.

“Sniff. I-I’ll always be ready and waiting for the day I serve Bumseok-nim as my owner.”

“Yes. I’m glad you said that. But it might take a long time, so you have to be patient. If we fail to get promoted in this promotion tournament, the waiting time will increase by a year.”

She shook her head wildly. For her sake and for the sake of Bumseok, who would be her owner, the Gods Knights could never fail in this year’s promotion tournament.

“That can’t happen. Gods Knights will definitely be promoted this year. Even if it’s not, I’ll make it happen.”

Bumseok, thinking that his intentions had been properly understood, cheered inwardly. As expected, elves were too simple in front of the name of owner.

“How? You’re not going to do something that goes against sportsmanship, are you? I can never tolerate that.”

Jeremia had a dazed look in her eyes. She was impressed by how conscientious he could be. Now that she was completely smitten, she couldn’t help but see Bumseok in a good light.

“But, Bumseok-nim doesn’t need to feel guilty. They’re doing worse than that.”

“Worse? What do you mean?”

“Actually, I know what Julian and his associates are doing. Loria, who came with me, is actively involved in that. So I overheard some things.”

It seemed like she was talking about Julian’s machinations. He already knew the content, but he didn’t need to reveal that he had noticed it, just in case.

“What are they doing?”

“There are several things, but the most vicious trick is that they bought out one of the Gods Knights’ gladiators.”

Bumseok opened his mouth in surprise.

“R-Really? Who is it?”

“I didn’t pay attention, so I didn’t hear. However, what I do know is that on the day of the quarter-final match. That spy is going to team kill Bumseok-nim as if by mistake. And even if the Great Hyenas team loses, they have worked to ensure that the Gods Knights can never be promoted. The person who was bought out will intentionally take banned substances to cause the Gods Knights team to forfeit.”

This time, he looked really surprised. He had never heard of the latter.

‘Julian, you bastard! You’re playing so dirty! I almost got screwed if I didn’t know this.’

As in reality, the penalty for drug use was very high in this game as well. If a professional, whether it was the first or second team, was caught taking drugs after playing a game, the player would be banned from playing for a month, and the team would be penalized with -3 points. The amateur league, which emphasized purity, was even more severe, with the player being disqualified for one year and the team being disqualified from the competition.

In other words, the Gods Knights had zero chance of being promoted in this tournament.

“Yes. The Great Hyenas are going to do this. Then I can’t just sit back and take it.”

“That’s right. You have to teach them a lesson.”

Bumseok narrowed his eyes and looked at her.

“Jeremia. Can you help the Gods Knights win?”

“Just tell me what to do. I’ll help you with all my heart.”

“Thank you. Then do this during the game.”

He brought his mouth to Jeremia’s ear and whispered softly. It was about helping in the quarter-final match and how to lower her value when she returned to the Dark Hyenas team.

She steeled her heart, listened to everything, and promised with a determined expression that she would definitely help the Gods Knights team win for Bumseok.

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

It was a rare personal weather day today, and it wasn’t too hot. I remember suffering from the heat last year. I don’t know if I’m going to get through the year without knowing summer. It should be a little hotter in the summer to taste the best.

Then, everyone have a comfortable summer day. I’ll see you again at the same time tomorrow.