When I was invited to the White House, I was a bit flustered at first.
But after thinking it over, I thought, “Well, I guess I am someone worth inviting,” and I calmed down.
No need to make a fuss.
Someone like the President wouldn’t invite us without a reason.
There must be a purpose behind the invitation.
For example, issues related to mutants.
At this point, America’s mutant problem isn’t something that can be easily solved.
Frankly speaking, it’s already beyond the government’s control.
There have been massive conflicts between American citizens and mutants, and it hasn’t even been a full year yet.
And now, with the San Diego invasion incident happening, public opinion toward mutants—except for a few individuals—wasn’t going to improve.
Even if the U.S. federal government tried to step in and mediate, old conflicts like this don’t resolve so easily.
It would just fuel more resentment.
They’ve had countless chances to mediate before, and only now they want to step in.
The budget will keep pouring out, and ineffective policies will continue to drag on.
But if we step in, maybe the situation could change a little.
If we completely separate mutants and regular people, we could at least reduce the conflict to some extent.
Well………… there might be opposition to the idea of managing mutants in completely closed-off areas.
That’s basically creating city-sized armed factions.
Some might fear that a military regime even more extreme than Mexico’s could form.
I’m sure the U.S. President is well aware of that.
So what we’re here to tell the President today is that we have no intention of doing that.
And that the federal government should allocate additional funding to California.
That should cover it.
Well………… I’m not sure how cooperative the U.S. President will be.
That person is notoriously sensitive when it comes to budgets and money.
Still, that’s not my responsibility.
That’s clearly something Si-ah and the Governor of California should handle.
The White House looked exactly like how it did in the movies.
It even felt oddly familiar.
Maybe because I’ve watched too many terrorist movies over the years?
Still, there was this strange sense of tension.
Maybe it’s because I’ve lived my life as an ordinary citizen.
We were immediately escorted to the West Wing, where the President and his aides conducted their work.
The Governor of California made it clear to us that we wouldn’t have much to do.
At most, the only thing we’d need to weigh in on was how the city where the mutants would live should be operated.
That worked for us too, so we simply nodded silently.
I just hoped no one would say anything strange or unnecessary.
To ease my nerves, I had Si-ah sit on my lap and gently stroked her cheek.
……It felt like holding a comfort doll.
Si-ah seemed very tense, trembling slightly from time to time.
Normally, she would’ve grumbled or complained, but now, she just let my touch calm her without a word.
And so, about 30 minutes passed while we waited in the West Wing.
Finally, the President made his entrance.
The President of the United States, Henry Randolph.
He greeted us with a smile.
But I could tell that smile wasn’t genuine.
Clear wariness.
Since becoming a dragon, I’ve become even more sensitive to other people’s emotions.
There’s no way I could miss that level of caution.
This much, I had already expected.
Those eyes of his were measuring my power and thinking about how to use it.
At first, I felt a bit nervous, but the moment I met his gaze, that feeling vanished.
Rather than someone acting overly friendly, I found it easier to deal with someone who looked at me with such calculated eyes.
Alright, let’s hear what he has to say.
“Well now, I get to see the face of the hero who saved the nation.”
He started off by praising me, but it was clearly a way to test me.
Now then, what’s the best way to respond here?
First, I lowered my posture.
This man sat at the top of global power—there was no need to provoke him unnecessarily.
When dealing with someone whose stance isn’t yet clear, it’s better to gain their goodwill.
Picking a fight too early only leads to trouble in the long run.
“That’s a title far too generous for me.”
“Too generous?”
He looked at me with interest.
Apparently, Henry had expected me to act like a reckless brat.
After all, he must have already known everything about me.
To him, I was just a 24-year-old kid, and he probably thought I’d go wild with my newfound power.
“Before I mutated, I was just an ordinary college student. If the mutation hadn’t happened, I probably never would’ve experienced any of this.”
“It’s not too generous at all. Like I just said, you saved the entire country. They were enemies that grew stronger the more people they killed. And you stopped them early. “
“With………… overwhelming force. And you’re someone from a distant foreign land, no less. If that’s not a hero, then who is? You deserve praise.”
“……A hero should have a noble conviction. Unfortunately, I don’t have one.”
“Conviction? Hahaha! That depends on how you dress it up. Sounds like you’ve watched a few too many superhero movies. In any case, I didn’t bring you here to talk about heroes, so let’s leave it at that.”
“Let’s.”
From just that short exchange, it felt like he had already figured out what kind of person I was.
The wariness in his gaze had eased a little.
Honestly, I’d say this was a pretty good first meeting.
Someone might ask me.
Why not just bulldoze through and push my opinion no matter what?
Isn’t even the President of the United States just a regular person in front of you?
Is there really a need to lower yourself this much?
That’s one option.
But it’s not one I care for.
Even after becoming a dragon, even after gaining a pride that soared high…………… at my core, I’ve always preferred the life of an ordinary citizen.
Though I’ve come too far for that now, I still want to hold on to that basic attitude.
Honestly, I don’t even like complicated settings like this.
All the probing, the guessing at people’s intentions.
I was someone who just wanted to live a simple life, doing government work without too many worries.
More than anything, it’s just annoying.
As long as the other party doesn’t try to push me around, I’m willing to let things slide.
Yeah, something like this.
“If someone tries anything sloppy, they might just lose their head.”
“As long as you don’t try to use me however you want, that won’t happen.”
“I’m well aware. What kind of idiot would pick a fight with someone who holds their life in their hands?”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Haha! That could’ve been a disaster. If I had tried to pull something, what would you have done?”
“I would’ve burned down the White House.”
I answered flatly, and I could feel both Si-ah, sitting beside me, and the Governor of California tense up in shock.
Of course, I wasn’t joking in the slightest.
“Of course you would. Even I wouldn’t stay quiet if someone tried to use me however they wanted. You know, the more we talk, the more I like you. Have you ever considered becoming a U.S. citizen?”
“Unfortunately, I’m already bound to the Korean government. And more than that, there aren’t many places as livable as Korea.”
“That’s a shame. Well, this chit-chat has gone on quite a while. Let’s get to the real discussion. I heard from the Governor that you need federal funding.”
“In that case, it’d be better to hear from the High Elf here, Si-ah, rather than me.”
From there, it was Si-ah’s turn.
Si-ah and the Governor of California explained to the President why federal funding was necessary and what they planned to do by gathering the mutants.
The Governor even went so far as to prepare a detailed report calculating the social costs caused by mutants and the expenses required to manage them.
After listening to their explanation, the President wore a slightly contemplative expression.
“The purpose is certainly admirable. I like it.”
“But then again… just because the purpose is good doesn’t always mean the result will be. Right? When the last mutant incident happened, they formed a warlord faction.”
“A closed-off town just for mutants… well, I can’t even call it a town. If a military power rises from a city of that scale, it’d be an even greater threat than before, wouldn’t it?”
“Then how about a pilot operation?”
At that moment, Si-ah chimed in.
“A pilot operation?”
“Yes. We’ve already secured a place for the mutants to stay through the World Tree, so we’ll give it a set time period and monitor the condition and behavior of the mutants living there. Also, there’s nothing Your Excellency needs to worry about.”
“Nothing I need to worry about?”
“I’ll step in when the time comes.”
When I said I’d step in, the President nodded.
The fact that I had flown all the way to the U.S. and saved them might’ve given him a certain level of trust in me.
“And how would the pilot operation be run?”
“We’d start with the state government’s budget. If the response from the mutants is positive, we’d gradually increase the funding.”
“And the benefit to the federal government from that would be…………… a reduction in the social costs caused by mutants, I assume.”
“That’s right. Mutants in the U.S. are already exhausted, and they want a place of their own. A place where they can live normal lives without rejection or discrimination. But, Your Excellency knows as well as I do. That kind of place is nearly impossible to establish in today’s America.”
Si-ah’s words were decisive.
Just as she said, it was nearly impossible to create a place where mutants could live in peace in the current state of America.
Even if each state were ordered not to discriminate, discrimination would still happen.
So we create a space just for them, and gain a bit of breathing room.
“You’re thinking of buying time.”
“Yes. And during that time, we want to gradually improve public perception of mutants.
Of course, any mutants who act violently will be dealt with by us.”
Si-ah quickly explained to the President how they planned to improve the image of mutants.
The Governor of California chimed in as well.
And so…………….
“Alright. For now, I understand. I’ll view this proposal positively. However, I can’t give you a definite answer here. There’s likely to be a long process ahead.”
“That’s more than enough.”
Having drawn a somewhat positive response from the President, we were finally able to take a breather.