Seoul Dragon - Chapter 58

While looking at the large television mounted on the street, I laughed hollowly.

On it was a scene of me instantly melting the corpse dragon with my breath.

Oh, of course, the corpse dragon had been censored with a mosaic.

If they had any sense, they wouldn't broadcast that horrific sight as it was.

And watching myself on TV, I was puzzled about why this was appearing everywhere like an advertisement.

"Hey, Sia? What's this about?"

"The Governor seems to have made up his mind."

"Made up his mind about what suddenly?"

"What else? Creating a hero. And using that hero to get some serious promotional effects."

"A hero, you say? Are you talking about me?"

"Well, who else would it be?"

Whether in Korea or America... there seemed to be people who kept trying to elevate me to hero status.

It's not incomprehensible.

What I had done could be called quite heroic if you look past my inner motivations.

Whether in Korea or America, there's only one main reason I step forward for mutant issues.

To restore the shattered perception of mutants somewhat.

That was also the biggest reason for choosing to come to America this time.

And another reason for coming to America was also because of the status the United States holds as a nation.

If I owe this country a debt, it would help me in various ways later.

...Though of course, when I opened the lid, what they had done was so horrible that I became furious.

Anyway, I don't consider myself that heroic.

How can you call someone a hero when their inner thoughts are so dark?

Since I had grown up harboring admiration for heroes, I knew that my current actions couldn't be called heroic actions.

In the end, it was because my primary reason for coming forward like this was purely personal.

But heroes are, after all, beings who move for a greater cause.

Aren't they people who make the world better with responsibilities befitting their great power?

...I don't think I'm quite at that level.

So whenever I'm treated like this, I can't help feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"So, those people are looking at me and acting like that?"

"...Seems that way?"

Yes. Like those people standing in front of me holding pickets now.

-Waaaaaaaa!

No, how did it even come to this? I just came out to the streets with Sia, and while out, I happened to watch footage of myself on a TV that was randomly set up there.

But suddenly people gathered like clouds, cheering as they looked at me.

...Come to think of it, my current appearance was also in the latter part of this video.

Quite a few people were even asking for autographs.

If it were Korea, I wouldn't have been this flustered, but since it was happening in America, I felt a strong sense of cognitive dissonance.

No, it's one thing to be half-treated like a celebrity in Korea, but why are people acting like this in America?

Everyone kept calling me hero, hero, so I was lost.

"Uh, um... why are they all acting like this?"

"They have good reason to. This is California."

I sighed at Sia's words. Yes, thinking about it, I would be their hero. Despite being a fellow mutant, I didn't take mutants' side and flew from a distant land to protect people.

Moreover, this place is California, specifically San Diego.

A city that was surrounded by war clouds and on the verge of being trampled by a terrifying army of corpses just days ago.

Honestly, if it hadn't been for me, the city itself would have been destroyed... So it's not entirely strange that they're acting this way.

It's just that I lack immunity to this kind of thing, so it's very embarrassing.

If I were in Korea, I would have just given autographs appropriately. In Korea, I'm officially a civil servant.

But America is different, right?

At times like this...

I need to escape.

I quickly grabbed Sia's neck and leaped into the sky, then flew away.

-Wow!

-Amazing!

-Thank you! We lived because of you!

Such voices came from below.

Yes. It's honestly gratifying.

If something had gone wrong, all of them might have joined that corpse army.

But, being grateful is one thing... being embarrassed is another.

"Surprisingly, you're quite shy, aren't you, unnie? In Korea, you happily gave autographs and such?"

"I was embarrassed then too. But I'm a Korean civil servant. I even explicitly stated at the press conference that I'd work to improve mutant perception, so I couldn't show an ungracious attitude..."

"Ah, right... in America, you're neither a civil servant nor anything."

"Exactly. There's no reason to force myself. After all, they're people from a distant foreign country, and I'll return to Korea. Above all, showing that foreigners aren't familiar to me is sufficient."

"For someone who says that, you understood everything they said, didn't you? When talking with the Governor last time, you seemed to catch everything."

"Uh... yes, that's right."

As Sia said, since becoming a dragon, I could speak any language I heard perfectly.

Just what kind of intelligence do dragons have?

English was the subject I was least confident with... now I can speak it at a native level.

"But why didn't you step forward?"

"Because you needed to take the lead in that situation. So I tried to support you..."

"Ah."

"Thanks to that, we could secure better conditions for various things, right?"

Sia nodded at my words.

"That's... definitely true."

"I need to return to Korea quickly. If this continues, it'll be troublesome."

Hearing my words, Sia smiled slightly.

"By now, you're pretty much a global star."

"What star? Just a civil servant."

"Nobody but you thinks that way."

"Being just a civil servant is better. If unreasonable expectations rise, the one who gets tired later is me."

"Ah, that's true."

I gazed at Sia as she responded.

"Why?"

"No, not just me, but you'll probably have a tough time too."

"I've already prepared myself for that. From the moment I planted the World Tree."

She looked at me with firm resolve.

It seemed... cool.

So I vigorously squeezed her cheeks.

"Uhhh... do you like my cheeks that much?"

"Yeah. They're soft and squishy, so I like touching them every time."

"Since I mutated anyway, I wish I had more mature beauty body type like elves in media..."

"No way. This is the best. Didn't you say you liked your current appearance last time?"

"It's not that I dislike it, but everyone who sees me tries to squeeze my cheeks at least once, so it's annoying. At this rate, I might just ban cheek-squishing altogether."

How could she be so cute, speaking slightly sulky?

Feeling strange that this is someone just one year younger than me.

People definitely tend to act according to their appearance.

Sia probably doesn't know how cute she looks.

If she knew, she'd understand immediately, right?

And the next day.

I distinctly felt something had gone wrong.

"Uh, so, what did you say?"

"I, I was surprised too..."

"Whoa, Vice Chief, is that for real?"

The reason Sia, the Vice Chief, and I were so shocked was simple.

The source of the contact the Vice Chief received...

Was the White House.

"Wait, why is the White House suddenly involved?"

"I don't know either. Yesterday, they contacted the Governor. Particularly, they requested that the Bureau Chief and Sia attend if possible."

The scale suddenly expanded. Wait, does the White House mean the President called for us?

"Seeing they asked Sia to attend too, could it be about that? The Paradise Plan."

"That's most likely... but besides that, they seemed to place considerable weight on the Bureau Chief as well."

Honestly... they couldn't help but pay attention.

Just the corpse army led by Liches and Dullahans almost brought a huge crisis to America, and I swept them away.

After mastering dragon words, I gained one conviction.

The conviction that I might be the strongest mutant on Earth.

If even I feel this way, what would others perceive?

It's sufficiently worthy of caution, and they'd likely want to probe my intentions.

It feels like I've become the protagonist of a web novel featuring dragons.

That kind of protagonist who amuses themselves as they please and causes some chaos.

Come to think of it, isn't that my story?

Since mutating, I've been living without any obstacles.

Well, not that it's bad.

Still, the White House.

I never thought I'd go there in my lifetime.

Actually, it didn't feel real. A White House invitation?

For me too?

Really, with the whole world turning upside down, it feels like everything is happening.

"...Unnie."

"Yes?"

"This isn't a dream, right?"

"No, it's not."

"It doesn't feel real..."

"Me neither. Maybe we're global stars?"

When I returned Sia's earlier words, Sia also looked disgusted.

"What global star? Aren't they just calling us representatives of mutants?"

"You said that earlier."

"That was a joke!"

"Yeah, mine too."

Watching us, the Vice Chief just chuckled.

"Well, considering everything, I can roughly understand why the White House is inviting us... but it really lacks reality. I never thought I'd suddenly visit the White House. Of course, nominally, we're being invited along with the California Governor, but everyone will know. The main targets of the White House invitation are you, Bureau Chief, and Sia."

"...I know, right."

Sia and I sighed simultaneously.

Worried about saying something wrong at the White House.