Chapter 1638 – [(Relatively) Daily Life]

We sat down. Drinks and light refreshments were provided, but no one was interested in them, and even Eden was focused on the story.

I don’t intend to dwell on this, so let’s get straight to the point. Our goal is to persuade and negotiate with those who are opposed to the bill for registration of persons with special abilities and make them accept at least a compromise.

Considering Andy Freeman’s distrust and hostility toward the government, I don’t think I can do that… Should I give it a try?

“Our goals are two-fold. First, disband Freeman and register its members as heroes.”

“Doesn’t this mean that you will ultimately place us under the government and manage us?”

“It’s not a particularly bad story. First, you can be active in Heroes, and even if you live a normal life, there are tax deduction benefits. Also…”

“I’m not saying that. Who wouldn’t be able to say something nice over bait?”

“You don’t trust the government. Aren’t you an American citizen too?”

“Well…”

Andy Freeman made a bitter expression. Eventually, he spoke again.

“Just because the majority is not always right. A significant number of people with special abilities belonging to Freeman are people who have been harmed by the majority.”

“But that’s not a reason to oppose the bill. We can’t just leave it as it is because unmanaged, talented people might cause some trouble. Moreover, aren’t they also engaging in vigilante activities? Strictly speaking, that’s a crime.”

“First, there won’t be any legal problems, right? There are no charges due to self-defense or insufficient evidence.”

“Like you made the gunman commit suicide?”

“The criminal, realizing that the police were coming, made an extreme choice. I have no connection other than being nearby.”

Oh, that’s a lie.

Andy Freeman was relatively truthful in his conversation with Lucas and did not use any superpowers. She doesn’t use it anyway because she thinks it won’t work because she and Eden are not compatible with Lucas.

However, a lie came out of his mouth, which was relatively telling the truth. Saying that the gunman did not commit suicide… That means he was the one who committed suicide.

But it is meaningless if I say this now. Since he received insufficient evidence in court, even if I tell him to say no, it does not constitute evidence. At least it’s an unmanned system, so I don’t know if the damage was revealed through violence.

There are many people with superpowers in the United States, so the propensity for crime is different from that in Korea. It is difficult to find evidence for this ability, which is not noticeable, if the circumstances are well decorated.

“It would be no use talking among ourselves. So, what are your opinions?”

Andy Freeman soon turned his attention to us. If you talk to us, there will be a purpose… But for now, we have no choice but to respond.

First, as a representative, I respond to his opinion. In fact, I am in favor of registration as I came forward after receiving the government’s opinion.

“Eventually, you too have to register.”

“I understand that the Emperor of Evil is a reincarnation. Then, during his reincarnation, didn’t the majority make wrong decisions?”

“Of course there was. But it was better to follow society’s opinion than to leave it as is.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

I am the Great Demon King who presides over society.

Therefore, what I see is society itself. It’s a really sad story, but if the minority was harmed by the actions of the majority, such as the state or society, it was the majority who ultimately took their side.

In the first place, when it comes to governing society, would you just accept the opinions of a minority? That is Nuri’s role.

“It is you, not anyone else, who are going against the existing social order. So, I hope you will comply with the government’s will.”

“Hmm… I understand.”

First, he didn’t say much about my opinion. As if he had special expectations for Eden, he asked Eden as well.

“What about Miss Wakamo?”

“Well…”

I don’t know about other times, but when it comes to what Eden does, I have no intention of doing anything about it. So that part is left to Eden.

But in another sense, it is a useless story. If you were going to attack, you should have targeted my side.

“I think it is necessary to register people with special abilities as I am in this position.”

“Do you mean that even if it causes various problems with individual freedom?”

“Even if that doesn’t happen, problems arise. In the past, I almost became a victim of a crime committed by an unregistered person with disabilities.”

“… Miss Wakamo?”

First, I kept it a secret from the public and I tried to stop it, but it happened. I don’t know, but I’m far from talking about the rights of unregistered people with special abilities in front of Eden.

“Yes, when I was a student, someone with mental abilities like Andy tried to manipulate me into committing a sex crime. I had abilities back then, so I wasn’t subject to mental manipulation or hypnosis, but there were more than ten single mothers besides me who were victims. There was.”

“That’s…”

“Luckily, my dad took care of that treatment.”

Lucas and Andy Freeman’s eyes turn in this direction. The reason I feel a bit of distance is probably because I can imagine how I would have dealt with that guy.

But now that I think about it for the first time in a while, I get angry. That bastard is having a hard time in Horizon, so now that I think of it, I have to go and give him some trouble.

“As someone who almost became a victim of an unregistered person with disabilities, I think that if they commit a crime, it is difficult to identify the crime itself, so they should be registered first. Am I wrong?”

“No… It’s reasonable. I can’t say anything about that. It must be a bad memory, and I’m really sorry for reminding you of it.”

I don’t know, but Eden has a cause and a reason. Since that cannot be denied, even Freeman cannot tackle Eden’s involvement. However, even so, it does not seem to have influenced the opposition to registration of people with special abilities.

The war of words continued for a while, but the intention of the other side was firm, so it did not proceed easily. The aversion to Andy Freeman’s government was so strong that even this compromise was not accepted.

I thought he was anti-government, but I don’t think it was to that extent. I felt like I was wasting time as the story continued to run parallel, so I decided to end it here today.

“They say we made a lot of concessions, but they are putting up an iron wall. Let’s talk about it next time.”

“It won’t change even then.”

“We’ll just have to wait and see. Then…”

“Oh, I’ll stay for a little while.”

“Yes?”

“I have something to talk about separately with Mr. Freeman.”

Lucas seemed to be thinking about whether he should stay after hearing Eden’s words, but he shook his head and decided to go back, perhaps because he thought it was something he couldn’t do in front of others.

“Then I’ll be waiting for you out front. I’ll see you after the story is over.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After that, it was just us, Andy Freeman, and his security guards left in the office. As if that wasn’t enough, Eden asked Andy Freeman to take over the people.

“This is a difficult story to tell in front of others, but can you please let others know?”

“Hmm, I understand. Anyway, if you’re not from the government, there’s no need to be so careful. Moreover, even if all of us freemen attack the Emperor and Miss Wakamo, we won’t be able to win…”

He kicked his security guards out of the office. It looked like he was about to say something important, so I made a subtle noise to prevent the sound from escaping.

Soon, when we had a place to talk among ourselves, Eden called his name. To be exact, his name is not Andy Freeman.

“I’d like to say hello again, Mr. Bruce.”

“… What is that name?”

“I have the ability to find out about the past and present to the point where I could form an intelligence organization or something. Actually, when I first heard the name Andy Freeman, I was a little puzzled because I couldn’t find him right away.”

Was Andy Freeman a pseudonym? I didn’t know the underwriter’s name, but I thought it was a bit unusual to use the organization’s name as the last name. Perhaps his use of a pseudonym has something to do with his distrust of the government.

That’s why it was a bit strange when Eden tried to find it through Gaia Records. His original name was Bruce, so even if you searched for him as Andy Freeman, you couldn’t find any information about him. You can know everything from this star, but if your search term is wrong, you won’t find the answer you want.

And Andy… No, Bruce knew that there was no point in hiding it, so he told it honestly.

“Yes, just like Miss Wakamo said, my real name is Bruce. Bruce Hatlen. But since I can’t use my real name and have to live as a new person, I changed my name to Andy Freeman.”

“You must have had a hard time.”

“Very much. But I like the name Andy Freeman. Please call me Andy, not Bruce.”

What happened? Andy Freeman also slowly began to talk about that. And I could also see why he distrusts the government.

“I was captured in a government laboratory and subjected to biological experiments.”

Ah, I suddenly want to take this side.

* ​ * ​ * ​ *

Unlike martial arts, which can be learned and acquired, psychic abilities are innate. It’s hard to say which one is superior, but superpowers are specialized and therefore very useful.

And there will be no research to analyze the principles of that supernatural power or to make it possible to use it later. Perhaps research is still being conducted in a research lab somewhere?

But the important thing is that the government conducted biological experiments without consent, which is a huge scandal. If it explodes, President George will probably have to come down from his seat.

“When I was 10 years old, I developed superpowers. I can’t say I didn’t use them because I had powers at such a young age, but at least I didn’t commit any serious crimes. At most, I could get cookies from a local store.”

“And then you got caught?”

“Yes, I don’t know how I found out, but at the time I didn’t even think about erasing traces or anything like that, so someone must have noticed and taken action. But…”

A mental ability that is rare among supernatural powers. Moreover, his ability was so great that he could control people from a young age.

So he was kidnapped by the government and subjected to biological experiments. Either the ability becomes stronger or you can give it to someone else, it will be useful.

I wonder if the government would do something like that, but people who talk about sacrifice in the name of patriotism are everywhere. He was the victim.

“For ten years, I grew up oppressed in that laboratory. I was fortunate enough to escape by manipulating a researcher, but my parents were also dead, and I had nowhere to go.”

“That’s right…”

“From then on, I changed my name to Andy Freeman and started living as a different person. And I gathered like-minded colleagues to investigate the people who kidnapped me and performed biological experiments on me. The only thing I didn’t expect was the existence of this ability. It has been revealed to the world.”

“If it had been in the dark, it would have been resolved in a secret way, but it couldn’t be revealed, right?”

“That’s right. If I go around killing people, the government will definitely use that as an excuse to further oppress people with superpowers and manipulate them as they please.”

“Is there any evidence that the research institute was operated under government support?”

“This is information I heard from the researcher who controlled me at the time of my escape. There was no physical evidence because I was in a hurry to escape at the time, but I am certain that the person being manipulated would not tell lies.”

“Hmm.”

If the opponent was simply talking about freedom, I would side with the government, but since they are victims for a legitimate reason, I can’t say anything.

I think I know why he said I would remain neutral. He was probably planning to reveal relevant information if the situation became unfavorable. Then the government’s position will be in trouble, and at least I will withdraw my hand.

“It’s hard for us to say anything because we are in each other’s positions. We’ll go back and talk to the government and then come back.”

“I’m looking forward to hearing good news.”

When we returned, we separately informed President George. He asks in a shocked voice if this is his first time hearing what Andy Freeman went through.

-Biological experiment?! Is that true?!

“I’m sure. Didn’t the president know?”

-I swear to God, I had no idea. First, we will investigate that separately.

It’s a phone call, but I don’t think it’s a lie. In the first place, it was 20 to 30 years ago when Andy Freeman was kidnapped and in the lab, so if you want to find him, you have to catch a president from several generations ago.

No, is it a stereotype that the president would be involved? In any case, it becomes clear that he is connected to a high-ranking person in the government.

Since both sides are at fault and each side has a cause, the question is how to handle this situation. That’s why Andy Freeman distrusts the government, so I don’t think it will be easy to persuade him.

“Ah, this is why using my brain is such a hassle. It would be great if I could use my strength.”

“You can still do it with strength.”

“Dad is the type to punish the perpetrator, not the victim. What should I do…”

“Then how about officially recognizing the organization called Freeman and accepting it as a government department?”

“Are we going to start distrusting the government?”

“First, all you have to do is bring out all the people involved in the biological experiment, punish them legally, and make Freeman an independent organization that is under the jurisdiction of the government but does not receive any orders. I think they will accept it under those conditions.”

“Oh?”

If you punish the people involved, Andy Freeman will feel some relief… If you guarantee a certain level of autonomy, there is a high possibility that he will accept it. At least it is the best way to see it now.

I’m glad my daughter is smarter than her dad. It makes me happy to see that she resembles her mother.

“I envy my dad. If you’re so strong, you don’t need a smart brain.”

“Strength is something you have to develop. It’s good to have a smart mind.”

Still, it is much better to be strong than to be weak and not smart.

What is smart? I have the power of evil!!!!