Chapter 60: Return

Henry, the President of the United States, let out a sigh.

Cold sweat trickled down his back from the tension, but fortunately, he didn’t show it.

He was genuinely relieved that the other party held no hostility toward the United States.

The president’s pride?

What use was pride in a situation like this?

The person he faced was a disaster powerful enough to wipe out the United States in an instant.

He had seen it clearly—with his own eyes—the footage shown by the Governor of California.

The army of the dead that marched from northern Mexico toward San Diego was something even the full force of the U.S. military couldn’t stop.

It was the kind of terror that overturned everything people believed to be true…

Even the top U.S. military leadership had no idea how to organize a defense against it.

But… Seo-hyun had wiped out those beings completely in just three minutes.

Even Henry, who had willingly agreed to meet her in person, couldn’t help but worry.

He feared he might accidentally offend that calamity.

Seo-hyun was a living catastrophe, an absolute being no human power could resist.

Fortunately, it seemed things had gone well in the discussions with her side.

The proposal suggested by the Governor of California was quite agreeable too.

However, that didn’t mean support for mutants would begin right away.

No one knew how the other senators and representatives would respond, and there were many political obstacles to resolve.

Seo-hyun even said she would personally stop the formation of warlord factions in mutant villages.

At first glance, it sounded like a good thing—but that in itself was also a problem.

It meant relying on a foreign power to solve a domestic issue the U.S. couldn’t handle on its own.

In short, it was a matter of autonomy.

If the U.S. failed to take initiative and act on its own, the backlash in the Senate and House would be intense.

However… that wasn’t what truly mattered.

The opposition from lawmakers?

That could be handled one way or another.

Convincing them just required offering enough benefits.

At least enough that they could understand—if that much was provided, they would quiet down.

But upsetting the absolute being that had appeared in this world?

That must never happen.

Seo-hyun wasn’t someone who followed human logic.

If they failed to meet her expectations and she ended up harboring resentment toward the U.S.?

That would be the day America was destroyed.

When judging such a being, one must never feel certain.

To say she’s reasonable and understands normal conversation?

What a joke.

No one knows what could happen.

She could suddenly turn on them and reduce the U.S. to ashes.

That’s why Henry had no choice but to meet Seo-hyun’s demands as fully as possible.

Some might say this.

Isn’t the president of a country submitting far too easily?

To them, Henry wanted to ask this in return.

Then, if you act tough in front of someone who could turn your entire country to rubble in an instant, can you take responsibility when it actually happens?

If swallowing his pride could prevent a catastrophe—and it wasn’t as if she was making unreasonable demands—then he had no reason not to comply.

No, he feared the consequences if he didn’t.

‘…Looks like I’m going to be busy.’

He sighed again.

It felt like the list of things he had to do had suddenly grown massively.

His hair was already starting to thin, and at this rate, he might go completely bald.

It was about time to head back.

Her business in the U.S. was finished, and she had toured around enough.

To be precise… she was trying to go back quickly because continuing to travel around the U.S. was becoming exhausting.

Every time she went outside, people went, “Oh!”—and it brought a strange kind of fatigue.

It was a bit different from how people asked for autographs in Korea.

In Korea, people would just quietly go “Oh…” and ask for one autograph and be done with it.

But in the U.S., everything felt more intense.

Every time someone saw her, they reacted like they were seeing some incredible hero, and that kind of attention naturally became burdensome.

There were even people who tried to touch her horns when they thought she wouldn’t notice, and quite a few who were outright rude in sneaky ways.

Some, possibly under the influence of drugs, even pulled guns and tried to threaten those around them.

She calmly took those people down and handed them over to the police.

Anyway, since she had seen everything she needed to in the U.S., she prepared to return to Korea without hesitation.

This time, there was no urgent matter, so she finally got to take a plane again.

There was an issue with not having her passport, but that was resolved by getting an emergency passport from the consulate.

Sure, she could’ve just flown herself back… but she felt like taking a plane for the first time in a while.

Only she and the Deputy Director were returning by plane.

Si-ah said she had a lot to prepare with the governor, so she wouldn’t be coming back to Korea anytime soon.

What a shame.

Just squishing her soft cheeks used to calm her mind and soul.

Naturally, their return flight was in first class.

I had never had any connection to first class before, so in many ways, it felt like a whole different world.

Enjoying the rather luxurious first-class cabin, I confidently entered the airport.

However, unlike a celebrity’s arrival, I wasn’t swarmed by huge crowds.

Which made sense, since I hadn’t announced my return anywhere and came straight back.

“There really aren’t many people here.”

“Haha, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? I can’t tell you how relieved I am not to be stuck in a crowded airport.”

“Right? Are you heading home now?”

“Nope. Home? Haha, there’s no way I could afford such a luxury. I have to write a report on everything that happened in the U.S. and send it directly to the Director.”

“…Oh. Do you want me to do it instead? If you just give me the format, I can write it up. I don’t really get physically tired, so it’d be better for me to handle it.”

“Still, it’s my job to do…”

“Hey, you’ve already been handling my responsibilities too, haven’t you? Just let me take care of it. What if you collapse from overwork later?”

The Deputy Director looked hesitant.

He seemed genuinely uncomfortable with the idea of me taking over his task.

I didn’t think he was like that, but… turns out, he’s quite the workaholic.

Actually, maybe not quite—maybe just outright.

Then again, no one could handle that workload without being a workaholic.

Anyway, after receiving the report format from him, the Deputy Director finally went home.

As for me, the moment I stepped out of the airport, I spread my wings.

And immediately took off toward my studio apartment in Seoul.

“Was your trip to America fun?”

“Nope.”

The moment I returned, my younger sister asked me that.

“Huh? Why not?”

“Don’t even ask. I felt like a superhero straight out of a movie.”

“That bad? I saw the news, and it looked insane… everything was covered in mosaic.”

“You should be grateful for that mosaic. If you saw it with your own eyes, you’d faint, seriously.”

Apparently, right when the Governor of California released the footage, Korean news also issued an emergency report.

So, people here pretty much knew what kind of video it was.

“That serious? Wait, so what’s the superhero part about?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. The U.S. almost got wiped out. From what I heard, none of their latest high-tech weapons worked. Because it was an army of corpses.”

“Whoa…”

“I heard the federal government was even debating whether or not to use nuclear weapons. And I’m the one who stopped it. That’s why I came back being treated like some movie protagonist.”

“Nuclear weapons…? Wow, that could’ve been a disaster. So you stopped all of that by yourself?”

“Well. I took care of it in three minutes.”

“…Just how strong are you?”

“Strong enough to conquer the world if I felt like it?”

I don’t know.

My sister’s jaw dropped.

She must’ve realized I wasn’t joking, not even a little.

“World domination…? Anyway, you’re basically a global celebrity now.”

“You sound just like Si-ah…”

“Si-ah? Oh, you mean the High Elf? Why?”

“She also kept calling me a global star or whatever.”

“Well, isn’t it true? You literally saved America. So, did they give you any kind of special treatment?”

She seemed more curious about how I was treated in the U.S. than anything else.

“…Yeah, I did get some.”

“What kind of treatment?”

“I met directly with the president.”

“The President of the United States!?”

“Yep.”

My sister flinched at that, eyes wide, then paused to think it over and nodded slowly.

“It sounds totally unbelievable, but considering what you did… I guess it makes sense.”

That’s how it feels.

It’s like… things I couldn’t have even imagined just a few months ago are now real.

Even I… I still can’t fully believe it.

“Then how do you think I feel? Wow… even you, sis…”

She still had her mouth wide open, laughing in disbelief.

“Haah…”

“What’s with the sigh all of a sudden? Shouldn’t you be happy now that you’ve become a global star?”

“There’s a limit, you know. Now even more people are going to swarm around me. I might even end up on one of those super patriotic Korean TV channels… at this rate…”

“Ugh, no thanks…”

She shook her head like the thought alone disgusted her.

“And more importantly, you shouldn’t be acting so carefree. Thanks to that magazine, everyone knows you’re my sister now.”

“Oh.”

My sister’s expression froze at my words.

She was probably going to have a much harder time at school now.

What can we do?

She just has to push through with grit and determination.

That’s the burden of having a famous family member.