Chapter 236 – The President
I’m trying to coax the president.
I had been contemplating what to do to prepare for the Lunar Eclipse. To elicit the instantaneous cooperation of the Association, what should I do? Naturally, I needed to persuade the president. To do that, I had to meet with him.
I made up my mind and quickly put my plan into action.
The result…
“Hello, president.”
“…Huh? Who is it?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Egostic.”
In the heart of Seoul, the center of South Korea’s Association with its formidable security, president Park Junho stared directly at me as I teleported to his office, his face frozen.
“…”
His face grew slightly paler as if he were screaming in silence. Well, he probably never imagined that a villain would suddenly break into his office.
After a moment of being stunned, he sighed heavily as if the ground had collapsed beneath him, then turned back to his paperwork. He muttered to me in a voice drained of energy.
“Ah… Yes, why have you come?”
“Huh? You’re not that surprised. Aren’t you going to call the heroes or anything?”
As I smirked, walking towards the sofa, the president, who had been sitting at his desk, whispered with a weary voice that sounded like he had aged ten years.
“…So you saying you broke through the Association’s security, what can you possibly do now?”
Once I had successfully entered, it didn’t matter what I could do anymore. I had already cut off all lines of communication.
In other words, he had given up already. Well, that’s the president for you – always quick in judgment and action.
“So, why did you come here? Are you here to deal with me?”
“Hahaha, no. Why would I do that? I don’t need to do anything to someone like the president, who is doing a great job.”
I sat down on the sofa in front, laughing, and said so. That’s right, my primary goal was to persuade the president. To do that, I had to expose my weaknesses. That meant revealing my cards.
“So, I did not come here to make an enemy out of you. If anything, we’re on the same side.”
“…Huh?”
“Let me be straightforward.”
I smiled for a moment, then returned to a serious expression and said, “South Korea is in danger.”
“And to prevent that, we need your help.”
“…”
He quietly listened to my words.
I see. This is where it begins. Convincing the president to have complete trust in me. I need to unravel the story to do that. The power of persuasion comes from the narrative.
So, I needed to start from here.
“First, let me speak.”
“First of all, I never really wanted to become a villain.”
“?”
The president frowned as if he didn’t quite understand my words.
Seeing his reaction, I slowly continued.
***
After a serious conversation with the president.
“So… you never really wanted to be a villain. Your true intention is to save the country?”
The president listened to my words and nodded in agreement.
What I had said was that I initially wanted to protect the country, but I chose to act as a villain because there were certain advantages to being a villain. I engaged in acts of terror to strengthen Stardus, that’s about it.
“Yes, I understand that you may not believe me…”
“No, I believe you.”
“Really…?”
The president’s immediate response caught me off guard. He responded with a natural expression.
“…Even if you don’t believe what you’ve said, it’s still evident from your actions. Well, I might be wary of whether this is just a ruse for a grand scheme, but considering your actions so far, I have a general understanding.”
With a dignified expression, as though he knew everything from the beginning, he nodded his head.
In response to his words, I felt somewhat dumbfounded.
…No, wait. Why is he believing in a villain so easily? If he’s the president, shouldn’t he be suspicious? What if he’s trusting me only to be betrayed in the end? He’s putting too much trust in me right from the start. If I deceive him after building up that trust, the situation could become uncontrollable. But then again…
‘Well, it’s the president.’
He has always been like this. He quickly makes judgments without much thought and always acts according to those judgments. And it just so happened that he was usually right. That’s how he ended up as the president.
Nevertheless, believing in what I say isn’t a bad thing. While I was thinking that, the president spoke to me with a weary voice.
“Well, for now, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a villain or not, Egostic. I’m more interested in that major threat you mentioned. What’s so important that you had to reveal your true identity to me?”
In response to his question, I decided to explain further.
“Do you know about the Wolgwanggyo?”
“Obviously, I’m aware of it. Those guys have been causing trouble for a while now.”
“They are trying to connect portals from other worlds to Earth, releasing monsters on our planet.”
“…”
I went on to provide more details, such as the quantity of these monsters, which would far exceed what our heroes could handle, and how the country would descend into chaos.
“So, the Wolgwanggyo is behind all this. I thought they went quiet because they were taking a break. But now they’re planning something like this, turning the whole country into a territory for these monsters…”
He asked after hearing all of this.
“So, what should we do?”
“First, we need to establish defense mechanisms. Shelters, safe havens, and the like. Abilities can help build these in a few months. We also need firearms, even if they’re not highly effective, they can still be useful. I can send you more detailed information on other preparations later.”
“Alright, I see. I learned a lot in just one day. Frankly, it’s a bit overwhelming… But I never expected that you carried out acts of terror for the sake of strengthening Stardus. Why did you carry out a terror attack when you had such a reason?”
The president admitted he was surprised by my reasons but found it impressive. I subtly emphasized how my actions contributed to the safety of South Korea and the reputation of the Hero Association.
“Either way, if Stardus’s power gets stronger, it’ll be better for South Korea’s security, right? It’s beneficial for the Hero Association as well. After all, the success of the association is linked to the success of the country.”
“Haha, you’re right. You seem to be quite informed after this conversation.”
The president, who enjoyed getting straight to the point, agreed with my reasoning. We continued to have a more in-depth discussion.
“But…”
“Yes?”
Suddenly, with a serious expression, the president asked me a question, his demeanor slightly tense.
“So, how do you know my real name?”
“What do you mean?”
“My real name is Park Makchun. I’m certain there isn’t a single person who knows it. I even deleted all the records. How do you know it?”
“…?”
He asked me with a serious face, and I puzzled over what he meant by that. Then it suddenly hit me that I had revealed Park Makchun’s name while joking around with him about being friends when I went to the hotel earlier.
“Oh, that. I just happened to find out.”
“…”
What? Why?
***
“Anyway, I think I should be going now.”
“Sure, I understand.”
I began preparing to leave after conversing with the president for some time.
I had prepared for various situations, thinking that persuading the president would be difficult, and now it was surprisingly easy. It was a bit perplexing, but ultimately, it was a good outcome.
As I was about to leave, the president asked me one last question.
“Wait… so, is everything we’ve discussed confidential?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. Please keep it a secret from the employees, of course, and never tell Stardus.”
“Got it. Hmm… wait a moment.”
He nodded in response to my words but then suddenly seemed to realize something and asked me.
“So, is it alright to tell other heroes besides Stardus?”
“Hmm…”
Was that okay? The president was always good at picking up on strange things, after all. Well, it might not matter since we all had to cooperate anyway.
So, I just told him directly.
“Oh… Yes, it’s fine. Icicle already knows my true identity, and now that I think about it, Shadow Walker does, too.”
“…”
In response to my words, he caressed his empty head and muttered with a sense of betrayal.
“…Without my knowledge, all our heroes were already tangled up with the villains.”
“…Haha.”
“Alright. I’ll be on my way.”
“Okay. Goodbye.”
Leaving behind the president, who seemed disoriented and was holding his head, I departed.
We had decided to meet again later, and if our plans became more concrete by then, I could contact him. For now, we only discussed matters related to quickly preparing for the construction of shelters and relaxing PMC regulations.
Listening to the president’s sigh about the numerous tasks ahead of us, I teleported away.
Great, I succeeded in persuading the president. However, it felt a bit strange that lately, Lee Seola, Shadow Walker, and now the president, all heroes who should be my adversaries, were starting to know my true identity and becoming my allies. Was this really all right?
Well, after all…
‘As long as Stardus continues to see me as an enemy, it doesn’t matter what others think.’
That’s right. I reassured myself with this thought in mind. Stardus would probably keep opposing me, and that was fine.
***
And on that night…
[For you, Stardus.]
[Having one villain to worry about should be enough for you. I don’t want to distract you from the others. Lately, you’ve seemed a bit down, and I’m concerned about what might be bothering you, so I didn’t reach out separately. I hope you start smiling again soon.]
“Hmm, hmm.”
Stardus lay on the bed at home, reading the letter written by Egostic over and over.
Unconsciously, she kept curling the corners of her mouth.
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