Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Two Million Won Gets You In (1)
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It felt like in an instant, I'd become a celebrity, a sports star—no, something even greater.
Gazes filled with respect and admiration, along with hints of doubt and wariness, all directed at me.
Those stares kept pinning me down as the vehicle carried us toward a place I'd never seen before—a spot that made me wonder if Korea even had somewhere like this.
I didn't strike up any conversation.
Even if they tried talking to me first, I wouldn't respond easily, but there was no need for me to take the initiative anyway.
Conversation would come later.
I don't buy into physiognomy, but the white aide who'd called himself Nanomachine had a somewhat trustworthy face.
'First off, suspecting I'm a transformation ability user? That's a pass.'
How many Awakeners had he encountered in his time as presidential aide?
Surely there had been ones who transformed their upper bodies into T-Rexes, or turned their entire bodies bright blue.
And amid all that, the maid's master—the one she called 'Master'—turns out not to be some black-haired, golden-eyed beauty, but a Korean guy in a suit.
'I'd think the same in his shoes.'
As a presidential aide, it was the most common-sense, rational conclusion about the hunter world.
-This guy's a transformation ability user!
-Cosplay is his special power!
-The reason his identity's stayed hidden until now is he's been fooling the world with transformations!
...That kind of thinking was inevitable for an expert.
In that sense, I felt a little proud.
That I'd tapped into a presidential aide's mindset.
Especially since he was treating me like a definite Awakener—an 'S-rank transcendent who could summon the maid's power anytime'—with due caution—
"Mister Master?"
"...Just call me 'Kim.'"
"Mr. Kim. Just to be safe, allow me to say this."
The aide—codename Nanomachine—opened his mouth with extreme caution.
"We don't shove guns in your face demanding you become one of our national hunters, or thrust family photos at you saying 'Your daughter's so pretty,' or anything like that."
"Are you talking about North Korea?"
"North Korea... Of course. You didn't think something like that happens on this soil we're standing on now, did you? Haha."
My words softened the aide's expression just a bit.
Given America's opposition to North Korean hunter hegemony, he'd apparently picked up on my leanings from that brief exchange.
"Do you like airplanes?"
"I like them well enough, but if I don't have to fly, I won't."
"Ah... I see."
"If there's a reason to fly, of course I would. Say, if there's a tower that absolutely needs conquering."
"!!"
The aide's face shook dramatically.
"What's your name?"
"Pardon?"
"I can't keep calling you Nanomachine forever."
I offered a handshake, and the aide swallowed hard before gripping my hand.
"John Patrick. White House presidential aide and Secret Service Chief."
"Secret Service Chief?"
"State secret, sir."
"You can tell me that?"
"A man like you would understand the implications."
Now that you know the secret, you're committed, right?
"Understood. Well, if the 'contract' doesn't suit me, I can just avoid America and go everywhere else."
He flinched.
The firm grip on my hand gradually loosened, and I lightly patted the back of Aide Patrick's hand.
"Time to show me the way. So, where's our guest right now? Not the driver, I hope."
I'd suspect if it were some hulking musclehead, but everyone in this car looked like pure aides or secretaries.
"You don't mean he's waiting at some official function, do you?"
"...With the US President on an emergency visit, the local political eyes are all glued to it."
Aide Patrick pulled a tablet from his pocket.
"As for that visit, the President is currently in a real bind."
"Bind?"
"Yes. The Korean Hunter Association Chairman's meeting is postponed, ministers won't see him, and they're even handling him with a B-rank hunter—not even A-rank."
The tablet brimmed with breaking news headlines.
Laden with political barbs, but most boiled down to 'The US President reduced to side-dish status.'
"...This bad?"
"Yes. Which is why I'm relieved."
"Relieved?"
"They seem completely unaware."
Aide Patrick beamed at me.
"They think they'll make first contact with the maid or her associates, but the master reached out to us first, didn't he?"
Screeech.
"This way, please."
The car halted, and the door swung open.
Black-suited agents immediately formed a corridor in the underground garage, scanning the perimeter.
"Where are we?"
"The hotel where the President's staying. Waiting in the suite."
Waiting, he says.
The lined-up agents on both sides creased their brows at the aide's phrasing.
"You notified him we're here?"
"Yes, sir."
"No press or media swarming?"
"Strictly controlled. These men are safe—intelligence agents."
"Then, since you've come from afar."
Snap.
I lightly snapped my fingers.
"Elaine."
At her name,
Rustle.
Without warning, Elaine materialized behind me.
"!!"
"Let's go, Elaine."
"Yes, Master."
She straightened ramrod-straight and strode forward.
Whether the flanking agents concealed pistols or mana in their suits,
I felt no fear.
"How...?"
"From the beginning."
Toward the stunned Aide Patrick, I pantomimed opening and shutting the car door.
"From the moment I stepped out of the house, Elaine's been shadowing me in secret."
"......Invisibility? Optical camo?"
Neither.
Just stealth via raw physical prowess, tailing me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A short while later.
Inside a suite I'd never set foot in—barely glimpsed even in vloggers' YouTube videos.
A man in a white suit with an American flag tie and black suit pants welcomed me, whiskey glass in hand.
'Is this a movie?'
They say his massive frame intimidated anyone at first glance, and the sunglasses amplified it tenfold.
Slide.
Aide Patrick approached the President and handed over a smartphone.
Had he even surrendered his personal device with SNS accounts for linking up with me?
'That's how earnest they are.'
Silent pressure weighed down.
No—even setting that aside, facing him straight-on was oppressively intense.
Hiss.
Above all, the mask clamped over his mouth.
An angular black mask like something out of cyberpunk, guarding the lower face—I froze for a split second upon seeing it.
[Pleased to meet you, Master K.]
"...Korean?"
[I'm using a translator device. It instantly converts my words to Korean and outputs them as speech. Aizen A. Luigi, President of the United States.]
President Luigi tapped the earpiece in his ear and spread his arms wide.
[Speak freely. No translation needed.]
"......."
[Did I commit some faux pas?]
Elaine's face hardened beside me, but President Luigi's gaze stayed fixed on me, not her.
This man knew.
Exactly who he was dealing with.
"Let's sit, first."
I took one of the chairs flanking a sofa.
President Luigi settled opposite, personally pouring something into an empty glass on the tea table.
[I've done a lot of thinking to get here. Reflected on every negotiation of my career, how I'd persuaded counterparts—reviewed my whole life.]
The glass filled with plain clear water.
[Faster to show my sincerity like this than bore a busy man with explanations of my plight.]
Beside the water, President Luigi drew something from his pocket.
[My smartphone. Write everything you desire here, Master.]
"...Everything?"
[Yes. Anything.]
"Anything at all?"
[As US President, I'll provide all I can. If legal, no issue at all; if skirting the law... unseen by anyone.]
"......."
[Everything within my power. Nothing else occurred to me.]
President Luigi threw up his hands in a shrug.
[Worried about 'warrants'? Citizenship issued on the spot. Want to hide here as non-Awakeners? Every national resource to ensure peace of mind.]
"What do you want?"
I spun the smartphone and slid it to President Luigi.
"If you're offering anything, there must be one thing you desperately want."
[Well...]
"One."
I held up my index finger.
"Just say the one thing. What you want most."
[.......]
"Elaine. Canned coffee."
"Yes, Master."
I extended my hand sideways, and Elaine placed a can atop it.
Where and when had she prepared it?
A nonsensical question for the impeccable Perfect Maid.
Snap.
"From me, no—"
Grab.
"What do you want from us?"
I seized not the coffee but Elaine's wrist, drawing her close; startled yet composed, she leaned in toward me.
[What I want...]
President Luigi tapped his smartphone without pause.
Right before my eyes, pulling up one photo from his gallery.
[All towers gone, humanity at peace.]
It showed him with a kindergarten kid, both holding paper crayoned with 'Earth Without Towers.'
[Conquer America's S-rank tower, and I'll grant anything.]
"......."
[Please.]
Click.
The mask detached.
"Please... help... us."
Awkward, but unmistakable Korean.
At that, I whipped out my smartphone, copied prepped text, and messaged the demands Elaine and I had prepared.
"Mr. President."
"...What then?"
"Truth is, I've held American citizenship for 28 years already. Right?"
Approved?
No.
I was born in Korea, raised by Korean parents.
"Same for Elaine here. She's—"
"Born in 2010, Master."
".......Turning 20 this year. American citizen, say."
Approved?
Of course not.
"Brokers'll crank out an ID for 2 million won, they say. Citizenship for two Awakeners can't be harder. Right?"
[Turning the US President into your identity broker?]
"Broker? We're just retroactively fixing missing records. 28 years late for me, 20 for Elaine. Bureaucratic hiccups—the State Department'll sort it."
[.......]
President Luigi quietly nudged up his slipping sunglasses.
[West Virginia.]
"?"
[Overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River.]
Mask or no, his beaming smile shone through.
[Thrilled to reunite with my hometown friends on Korean soil.]
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ [One Day Ago] "...Using the President as an identity broker?"
"He'll take care of it."
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