343 – Catastrophe (4)

The White House. The name carries with it a weight that is by no means light.

“The president must step down!!!”

“Pull me down! You crazy b*stard!!!”

“Someone kill me!!!”

The scene in front of the White House was now more like a madhouse than a flea market. Those who had lost what they had, those who wanted more, and those who had nothing in the first place were all looking for the president with bloodshot eyes.

“Take responsibility!!!”

Increasing crime. A failing economy. Soaring unemployment. In fact, up until this point, it was perfectly normal. In fact, it was right to think that America was better than others. In the first place, players appeared, so how could things be the same as before? As the number of businesses failing increased, so did the number of new businesses that flourished, but there were always those who failed to adapt and were eliminated. That’s when the government was the one to turn to.

If the President takes appropriate action here, discontent can be easily suppressed.

“…Mr. President.”

“Wait.”

“…yes.”

But the President did nothing. He really did ‘nothing’. His daily routine was to wait for the returnee, and he did nothing else.

“…”

Even to a secretary or bodyguard who didn’t know much about politics, it seemed right that the president should do something now. At the very least, he should contact the ‘regressor’ and get some help. However, the president just waited endlessly, and at the same time, he firmly believed in something.

“Only the returnees should come.”

The regressor will come.

“Then we can solve everything.”

The regressor will solve it.

This was fanaticism beyond the realm of belief, and it was clear evidence that the president was half-mad. If it had been before, someone would have pointed it out, but the authority the president had built up using tools such as books was so high that no one dared to speak up.

“If only the returnees come…”

“I’m here.”

And no one expected it.

“You came.”

The regressor himself would come to me like this now.

“I’ve been waiting.”

Except for the smiling president.

**

“We have cola, tea, coffee, and alcohol. Which one would you like?”

“No need.”

“Haha, then shall we get right to it?”

Even though he intentionally showed that he was upset, the president did not react and just sat down leisurely. It was an attitude that made anyone think that he was the superior and I was the inferior.

“How about the gift I prepared?”

The president chuckled as he said that.

“I have never been inside the tower, so I have no way of detecting it… but I asked the players I know, and they said that the atmosphere on Earth has changed. My guess is… that the Returner has taken some action. Is that correct?”

The tone of voice that said I would really like this situation. A sly smile. A relaxed voice.

entire.

“This is so fucked up.”

I didn’t like it.

“Don’t laugh. I don’t like seeing it.”

I couldn’t use the expressions I wanted because I was speaking in English (the president isn’t a player), but I felt like shit right now.

Did Jeter or the President ever ask for my opinion? Did he ever consult me? Did he even give me a choice?

No. Not all of them. They are just arbitrarily exposing my identity, giving me power, and asking, “What do you think? Do you like it?”

Of course, there will be those who like it. Although his identity was compromised, he gained tremendous power in return, and now all that’s left is to truly conquer the tower.

But this is not the way I wanted to do it. I can break the tower without this help. At least for now, I believe so.

“…”

No. Now that I think about it, it’s an excuse. If I had gotten a great reward from the fight with the Heavenly Demon and become this strong as a result… I don’t think I would have been angry. I would have just considered myself lucky and been happy that I could break the tower quickly.

The reason why I feel so bad right now is because others have been doing things on their own without asking my opinion. I don’t like this situation where they are arbitrarily pushing things onto me and expecting things from me.

Who are you? Who are you to decide my fate? Who are you to spread my personal information? Who the hell are you? The president? I’m a regressor, you piece of shit.

It’s not that I don’t want to break everything. I want to make the US President, who I only saw on the news, kneel down and apologize. Guns? Bombs? Players? Tell him to bring them all. I don’t think I’ll lose… Even if I lose in the worst situation, I’ll just go back and do it.

Regressor’s Counter? Seal? There’s no way that would work on me now. I’m truly invincible. I’ve become a state where there are no enemies.

“Do you understand why I was angry?”

But I didn’t do that. It was possible to solve it with force, but I held back and explained it well in words, and I explained to the president in detail why I was angry. I was careful not to let my emotions get the best of me. Word by word.

I don’t want to be the king of the apocalypse. The world I want to live in is the modern society I knew, and I have no intention of creating a new order.

I just wanted a position where I was moderately famous. Moderately respected. Moderately happy. Moderately responsible. When I said I wanted to be a hero, that was exactly the kind of position I wanted.

Now, in front of the President of the United States, I am explaining to them what they did wrong to me. Slowly, so that they can understand.

How did it end up like this? How did it end up here? How did I end up in the position of admonishing the President of the United States?

“…”

The president couldn’t laugh anymore. He drank the tea on the table, closed his eyes tightly, put his hands together on his head, and muttered something.

“sorry.”

He jumped up from his seat, bent his back at a 90-degree angle, and spoke softly, in a cracked voice. I’m sorry.

“I guess asking you was the first thing… Yeah… That’s obvious… I’m sorry… I… I… I think I was crazy. Now I feel like my eyes are clearing up…”

“…”

“I did this without asking for your opinion… I did it as I pleased because I was the superior… I am truly sorry.”

Watching the president apologize, my mood completely fell into the abyss. I feel so frustrated. I feel like I’m going to collapse from the frustration.

If you didn’t even apologize, you should have just come out and acted shamelessly. If you had called the security guard and said, “What are you doing?” If you had suddenly pulled out a gun from your desk and fired it. If you had said I wasn’t worth listening to and kicked me out.

If that were the case, I would have taken revenge. I would have returned with this person, hidden my identity, and installed someone else as president. If it were the previous country, I would have thought, ‘Who are you to change the president?’ But the transcendent strength changed the height of the gaze. If it were the current country, I could do it. I could do it.

But I can’t blame him for coming out so humble. I didn’t even feel like blaming him when he bowed so politely, even though he was the president of a country, and the president of the United States at that. I should say I felt empty.

“My life is ruined.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do you know how many people curse at me?”

“We will do everything we can to resolve the situation.”

He came out so humbly, but would swearing at him make him feel better? Would squeezing him make him feel better? On the contrary, it would only make him miserable. Knowing that fact made me feel even worse.

“…I will not accept an apology.”

The only revenge I could take was to not accept the apology. I was clearly the victim, but I was really annoyed because there was nothing I could do right away.

Let’s not hold back. Yes, let’s not hold back as much as possible.

“…Are you sorry?”

“…yes.”

“I am. I am angry. I am really, really angry.”

It’s true. I’ve been suppressing my emotions for fear of the repercussions it would have on the President, but I’ve let go of that restraint.

“I will regress. Even if I regress, I will still have memories of this episode. Don’t make the same mistakes. I will come back again.”

But apart from not enduring it.

“Even if you reveal my identity, I will reveal it.”

First, we need to resolve the situation. We need to end this whole thing right now.

Then let’s think about what to do.

The emotional limitations have been overcome in the evening. If you return, the President’s memories will follow.

[I suffered damage.]

[Return to the moment you first entered the 29th floor.]

***

This is not the end. It’s just a process.

First of all, preventing my identity from being revealed through the president is only the beginning. The heads of each country now know my name and are paying attention to me. It will not be easy to solve this alone.

Just imagining it makes my head spin, but there was a way. If everything goes according to plan, I can go back to my daily life.

Let’s think positively. I think I’ve gotten off to a good start. For now, I’m more concerned about mental stability than worrying. I quickly gained the warrior’s recognition and fell asleep right away.

“…Why?”

The next day.

Again, the pain struck. I could tell now that I was used to it.

“… status window.”

The hero trait has been activated.