Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Hero Worship and a White House Invitation
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I let out a hollow laugh while staring at the massive TV screen mounted on the street.
It was showing footage of me melting the corpse dragon with my breath in an instant.
Of course, the corpse dragon itself had been censored with a mosaic.
They wouldn't air something that grotesque in its raw form, after all.
And there I was, watching it, wondering why this clip kept popping up everywhere like some kind of ad.
"Um, Sia? What's this all about?"
"The governor seems dead set on it."
"Dead set on what, all of a sudden?"
"What else? Turning you into a hero. And cashing in on the publicity with that hero in the process."
"A hero? You mean me?"
"Who else but you, sis?"
It was like this in Korea, and now in America too... People kept trying to prop me up as some kind of hero.
I got it, sort of.
If you ignored my personal motives, what I'd done could definitely be called heroic.
Whether in Korea or America, the biggest reason I stepped up for mutant issues was simple.
To turn around the public's shattered perception of mutants.
That was the main reason I'd chosen to come to America this time too.
Another reason was America's status as a nation.
Having them owe me one meant I could call in favors later.
...Of course, once I saw what those bastards had done, I'd been so furious I nearly lost it.
Anyway, I didn't see myself as that heroic.
How could anyone call me a hero with such dark intentions lurking inside?
I'd once been a guy who dreamed of becoming a hero, so I knew full well my actions didn't qualify.
In the end, my top priority was purely personal.
But heroes? They moved for the greater good.
People with great power who used it responsibly to make the world better.
...I wasn't on that level.
So every time I got this kind of treatment, it just felt cringey.
"That's why they're acting like that when they see me?"
"...Pretty much."
Yeah. Like the crowd in front of me now, holding up signs.
-Waaaaah!
Wait, how did it even come to this? I'd just come out onto the street with Sia, and since we were there, I'd stopped to watch the clip of myself on a randomly placed TV.
But suddenly, people swarmed like clouds, cheering as they spotted me.
...Come to think of it, the latter half of that footage showed my current appearance too.
Plenty of them were even asking for autographs.
In Korea, I wouldn't have been this flustered, but in America? It hit different, like cognitive dissonance on steroids.
No, Korea treated me half like a celebrity already, but why were Americans going so wild?
They kept chanting "hero, hero" at me, and it was messing with my head.
"Uh, um... Why's everyone like this?"
"Can hardly blame them. This is California."
Sia's words made me sigh. Right, from their perspective, I had to be a hero. A fellow mutant who sided against mutants to protect humans, flying in from afar.
And this was California—San Diego, no less.
Just days ago, war drums had been beating, the city on the brink of being trampled by that horrifying corpse army.
If it weren't for me, the whole city might've been wiped off the map... So their reaction wasn't that weird.
The problem was my total lack of immunity to this stuff. It was embarrassing as hell.
In Korea, I'd have just signed a few autographs. I was an official public servant there, after all.
But America? Not so much.
In situations like this...
Time to bail.
I grabbed Sia by the scruff of her neck, leaped into the sky, and took off.
-Wow!
-Incredible!
-Thank you! We survived because of you!
Voices rose from below.
Yeah, I felt proud, for real.
One wrong move, and they all could've joined that corpse legion.
But pride was pride... and embarrassment was embarrassment.
"Surprisingly shy for you, sis? Back in Korea, you handled autographs like a pro."
"That was embarrassing too. But I'm a Korean official. I even said publicly I'd work to improve mutant perceptions—couldn't act like a jerk after that."
"Ah, true... You're nobody official here in America."
"Exactly. No need to play along. They're from a far-off country, and I'm heading back to Korea anyway. Plus, showing foreigners I'm not used to this shuts it down quick."
"For someone like that, you understood everything they said, didn't you? Like with the governor last time—you caught it all."
"Uh... yeah, you're right."
Just like Sia said, ever since becoming a dragon, I could flawlessly speak any language I heard once.
What the hell was dragon intelligence even like?
English had been my worst subject... Now I spoke it like a native.
"But why didn't you step in?"
"You needed to take the lead there. So I backed you up..."
"Oh."
"And we scored some great terms because of it, right?"
Sia nodded at my words.
"That... yeah, definitely."
"Can't wait to get back to Korea. This is getting awkward."
Sia gave a sly smile at that.
"You're a global star now, at this rate."
"Star? Nah, just a civil servant."
"You're the only one who thinks that."
"Better off as a civil servant. Hero this, hero that... Just sets up false expectations, and I'm the one who pays later."
"Ah, yeah, fair."
I stared at Sia as she replied.
"What?"
"Just... You'll have it rough too, probably. Not just me."
"I've been prepared for that since I planted the World Tree."
She met my gaze with resolute determination.
It was kinda cool.
So I started kneading her cheeks.
"Owuuu... You really love my cheeks that much?"
"Yeah. So soft and squishy—feels great every time."
"If I had to mutate, I wish it'd been into one of those sexy elf babes from media..."
"No way. This is perfect. You said you liked this form last time anyway."
"Not that I hate it, but everyone who sees me wants a cheek squeeze. It's annoying. Might have to ban it outright."
Her slight pout was just too cute.
Weird feeling, knowing she was only a year younger.
People really didn't act their looks sometimes.
She probably had no idea how adorable she came off.
If she did, she'd get it right away.
* * *
The next day.
I could tell something was off.
"Uh, so, what did you say?"
"I-I was shocked too..."
"No way, Deputy Director. For real?"
The reason Sia, the Deputy Director, and I were all stunned was simple.
The source of the call to the Deputy Director...
Was the White House.
"Why the White House out of nowhere?"
"No idea. Apparently, the governor contacted them yesterday. They specifically requested the Director and Sia attend if possible."
The scale had exploded. The White House? Did that mean the President was summoning us?
"If they want Sia there too, maybe it's about the Paradise Plan?"
"Probably... But they seem to place a lot of weight on the Director too."
Honestly, they couldn't ignore us.
Even just the lich and dullahan corpse army had nearly brought America to its knees—and I'd wiped them out.
After mastering Dragon Tongue, one conviction had solidified.
I might be the strongest mutant on Earth.
If even I felt that way, imagine how others saw me.
Enough to warrant caution, maybe probe my intentions.
Felt like I was the protagonist in some web novel with a dragon.
Toying with everyone, causing chaos at whim.
Which, let's be real, was basically my story.
Life had been smooth sailing since mutating.
Not that it was a bad thing.
White House, though.
Never imagined I'd go there in my lifetime.
It didn't even feel real. An invitation to the White House?
For me?
Like the world had flipped upside down—everything happening at once.
"...Sis."
"Yeah?"
"This isn't a dream, right?"
"Nope."
"Feels way too unreal..."
"Tell me about it. Maybe we're global stars after all?"
I threw her earlier words back at her, and Sia recoiled.
"Global stars? Nah, they're just calling us as mutant representatives."
"You said it first."
"That was a joke!"
"Yeah, me too."
The Deputy Director watched us and chuckled dryly.
"Well, piecing it together, I can guess why the White House invited us... But yeah, it does feel surreal. Never thought I'd end up there so suddenly. Sure, nominally with the California governor, but everyone knows you're the main targets—the Director and Sia."
"...Exactly."
Sia and I sighed in unison.
Worried we'd mess up and say something stupid at the White House.