Chapter 350: The Choice I Made
I sat in my office for what felt like hours after our conversation, my head pressed against the cool surface of my desk. The room was sparse with only a desk, a chair, a single bookshelf with maybe a dozen volumes, and a window that looked out over the city lights. I’d never bothered to decorate it properly. What was the point when every day brought new crises that demanded my attention elsewhere?
Sienna’s words echoed in my mind like a broken record. Is this all worth it? The question felt heavier now, sitting alone in the quiet darkness. Away from the others, away from their expectant faces and unwavering loyalty, I could finally confront the doubt that had been growing in my chest like a tumor.
What did I really want?
The answer should have been simple. I was fighting against rank injustice, against a system that condemned people to lives of poverty and limitation based on arbitrary classifications assigned at birth. I was trying to create a world where someone like me wouldn’t be dismissed as worthless because of an F-Rank job.
But was that really what I wanted? Or was I just telling myself that to justify the path of destruction I’d carved through the world?
I thought about the assassination attempt earlier. The way the bullet had shattered the window, the way they persisted despite missing. The way the girls looked at me afterward. Not with accusation, but with concern. With love.
And I was going to get them all killed.
The thought hit me like a physical blow. I lifted my head from the desk, staring at the empty office walls. When had this become about me becoming World President? When had a personal quest for ultimate power transformed into a situation where I was fighting injustice?
I knew the answer, even if I didn’t want to admit it. It was all when I got involved with the government.
I was hiding from them, but that night when Anthony told me that half the world’s government was on my side was the day everything changed.
I didn’t even want to think about it anymore. I simply put my head on my desk and rested my eyes.
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