Even Now
"Does that even make any sense?"
The President of the United States of America. Ronald kept letting out hollow laughs throughout his emergency meeting with the Secretary of Homeland Security. The man across from him oversaw the Department of Homeland Security — the agency that handled the NSA, the CIA, the FBI, and every other domestic and foreign intelligence outfit.
Of course, Ronald had assumed that any emergency matter such a man would bring him could not be ordinary…
But still. Even so.
"Are you telling me that I, the President, genuinely did not know that such a facility existed right in the middle of the capital!?"
"Mr. President. The capital of the United States is Washington, not New York…"
"I mean the de facto capital!"
A gate to another world, smack in the middle of downtown Manhattan? And the President didn't know about it? How was that supposed to make any sense?
"Is that really allowed? Hiding that kind of classified information from me — the President!?"
"It is allowed. This is America."
"You insolent—! You're fired! I'm firing you right this second!"
"As you wish. But first, take a look at this."
"I said you're fired!"
Leaving the loudly ranting President behind him, Secretary Hagway held out a single file. Ronald, who until a moment ago had been red-faced and shouting at the top of his lungs, immediately changed expression and began to scan the documents.
The way he turned each page was exceedingly grave. The frivolous air vanished without a trace; from Ronald now radiated the presence of a man who truly was the president of a nation.
Before long, having finished reading, Ronald lifted his eyes and looked at his secretary.
"This file — is it true?"
"It is, Your Excellency."
"Remarkable. Another world, elves, magic… if this is real, I understand why even the President was kept in the dark."
People called him the most incompetent president in history, the worst of them all — but a man who had risen all the way to the presidency of a nation could not possibly be incompetent. His business and political instincts had climbed to heights ordinary people could never hope to reach.
The problem was simply that he used those abilities entirely for his own benefit. He was nowhere near as incompetent as people liked to believe.
"And this — this cold fusion. Can we apply the technology to our country right away?"
"According to the scientists, yes. It's being controlled so perfectly and so safely that if we can just reverse-engineer the principle, we should be able to apply it to existing nuclear reactors immediately."
"And after handing over a gift like that, all they asked for was a visit to Earth… Heh. Checkmate."
Rationally speaking, it was something that should never be done. The other party was a monster capable of anything imaginable. It was a risk so catastrophic that sticking your head into a tiger's open jaws didn't even begin to compare…
But sometimes a king must make choices that are neither rational nor reasonable.
"Hagway. Have you ever heard of a king who was so afraid of another country's king that he couldn't even invite him into his own land? I haven't."
"Sir? What are you suddenly—"
"I have no intention of going down in history as the first idiot to do so. Invite them."
"…Are you serious, Your Excellency?"
"Of course."
Ronald pointed at him with a single index finger — that distinctive presidential gesture — and spoke.
"I'm always serious."
Honestly, in that moment alone, Secretary Hagway found himself able to respect the President from the bottom of his heart.
Ever since I had been reborn as a dragon in another world, my life had been nothing more than a continuous stream of days flowing past like a river. There had been nothing I poured passion into, nothing I threw myself toward with great expectation.
Looking back now, I understand that this was not simply a dragon's nature, but a survival mechanism — a way to keep from losing my sense of self. Thousands of years. Thousands of years. That was how long I had already lived as a dragon.
In that vast stretch of time — enough to live out a human life dozens of times over — I had accomplished essentially nothing of substance. I had developed magic, created fantasy-like beings such as elves and dwarves, and obtained power worthy of being called a Dragon King, yes.
But the feelings I'd had when I first arrived in this world — wanting to meet an intelligent being on my level and talk, wanting to go back to Earth and sprawl out watching Shorts — of those desires, I had achieved not a single one.
Across thousands of years, I had achieved nothing spiritually. If I had chased my goals with everything I had, I would certainly have collapsed somewhere along the way. Even as a dragon, I would have gone mad in the end. Effort had a way of eating people alive like that.
Which meant that the emotion filling my heart in this very moment was, without question, something without precedent.
When will they get here?
My daily routine had not changed in the slightest. As the Dragon King who ruled this region, I mediated disputes when they arose, watched over the creatures I had created so they could live well, and occasionally issued absurd commands that gave them a reason to keep going.
An ordinary day no different from any other — except for one thing.
Right now, I was waiting desperately for someone. Each day crawled by with agonizing slowness. I became aware of every single beat of my heart.
In my heart of hearts I was ready to lose my mind from wanting to cross the gate that very instant and enjoy the civilization on the other side — but I had waited thousands of years for a moment like this. Waiting a few more days was hardly difficult.
And then.
—Bang!
—Ratatatat!
"…They're here."
A noise that had no business being heard in the Elf Forest began to reach me. Gunfire. The sound of gunpowder exploding, of steel balls launched at the speed of sound — the sound of the civilization that had truly elevated hairless apes into the masters of their planet, spitting fire.
The instant I heard it, I donned my formal attire and wrapped the entire Elf Forest in my mana — a message that if, by some one-in-a-million chance, anyone tried to interfere with this occasion, I would not let them walk away.
Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.
— O Great One. Those of whom You spoke have arrived.
"Mm."
At last.
"I'll be there shortly."
I had received my invitation to Earth.
"…It's real."
"Ha, haha. At my age, I never thought I'd be living The Lord of the Rings."
"—W-wow, wow, woooow—!"
The three people who had crossed the gate broke into exclamations as they took in the other world's scenery. It was a landscape that existed nowhere on Earth. Yet even in that moment, the gunfire of soldiers erupting nearby served as a reminder that this place was far from safe.
Swallowing hard, the three of them followed the guidance of Ranger Regiment Alpha Squad and headed into the elves' forest. The only other intelligent species America had encountered in this world. Whether other intelligent beings existed remained unknown — but they were the only ones America knew of.
"So there really is a race of elves or whatever?"
"According to the files, they all look identical, like clones…"
"You'll see for yourselves. It's dangerous — under no circumstances leave the formation."
Under the soldiers' strict escort they walked for some time, until before long a tree of exceptional size even within this forest came into view. It was the World Tree that marked the village where the elves lived. Looking at the golden-haired beauties with long ears gathered before it, the three of them let out quiet gasps of admiration.
Whether they had sensed the visitors through that magic of theirs, or simply overheard their approach with the excellent hearing that came with those long ears — the elves had gathered as a group in front of the village, waiting as if to receive them.
"—Welcome, strangers from Earth."
"Thank you for your hospitality. I am Susanna, White House Chief of Staff of the United States of America. I come today as a representative of the United States."
"Likewise — Nolan, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States."
"I-I'm Amy, Research Director!"
Upon hearing their introductions, one figure among the elves naturally stepped forward. The elves' representative, as described in the reports.
"Chief of the Elves. High-Elf Eruel."
"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Eruel. The reason for our visit today is none other than—"
"—Is everything ready?"
"—!?"
And then, someone appeared before them. As unnaturally as a person being inserted into a poorly edited video — someone who, even though they had not looked away for a second, simply materialized in a single frame.
First of all, she was tall. Impossibly tall. A size not easily found even in America, where large people were common. Over six and a half feet, with a presence that matched that towering height. And above all else—
"…W-who are you?"
"Ah. Did I startle you? My apologies."
—the great horns growing from her head, horns that made it obvious at a single glance that she was not human, allowed them to roughly guess her true nature.
"We greet the Great One."
Before anyone knew it, the countless elves behind her had dropped to their knees with their heads bowed. The being with horns like a demon's offered a faint smile as she looked down at Susanna.
"So then — shall we go from here?"
"…Gulp—."
At the thought that she now had to bring this being before the President, Susanna found herself wondering whether she ought to break the agreement even now.