Pandora

(This chapter is free.)

Thanks to yesterday's torrent of information, I woke up the next day with a splitting headache. My head was full of those so-called command sets that reeked of surrealism, leaving me so dazed I felt like walking into a wall. The symptoms were exactly like a hangover, to the point that when I got up that morning, my sister thought I'd spent the entire night before last drinking myself senseless.

"If I'd known it would be like this, I should've just skipped school. Why did I have to pretend to be such a good student..." As I walked to school, I felt a wave of regret. At that moment, I couldn't help envying those students whose homes were elsewhere and had to live on campus. At least when they skipped class, it was much less troublesome—they could just hole up in their dorms and lock the door. But me... my sister's intuition was superhumanly accurate. I didn't have the nerve to skip class in front of her. Besides, I was already in my final year of high school, and my grades weren't that great to begin with. If I skipped class too... things really wouldn't look good.

I trudged along in a daze, occasionally shaking my head hard in an attempt to wake myself up. This secluded little road didn't have much traffic, but if I got into some kind of accident, that would be a real disaster. Unfortunately, my head wasn't a dustpan—no matter how hard I shook it, I couldn't fling out all the messy stuff inside.

Just then, I suddenly felt something strange, as if someone were watching me. The sensation sent a jolt through me, and my foggy mind cleared quite a bit.

I raised my head and looked around, then spotted a little girl at the entrance of an alley not far to my right, looking in my direction.

She looked only thirteen or fourteen. She wore a white dress that resembled a trench coat and had long black hair falling over her shoulders. She was extremely cute. Her soft pink lips were lightly pursed in a curve that wasn't quite a smile but was pleasing to the eye nonetheless. Her small nose tilted up slightly, lending her a touch of mischief. Combined with her gentle, tranquil air, she was the very picture of a beautiful loli. Yet her eyes made me feel that something was off. Those large black eyes should have been lively, but they seemed completely unfocused. Her pupils were merely turned in my direction. If I hadn't felt her gaze fixed on me, I would have suspected that this little loli was actually blind.

I composed my expression, put on what I considered my friendliest smile, walked over, and said, "Hey, little girl, is something wrong?"

...Why did I feel like someone was secretly calling me a creepy uncle who abducted lolis? Was that just my imagination?

The cute loli across from me slightly raised her head. Her completely unfocused eyes did not seem to turn toward any part of my body, yet I immediately felt that every single movement I made was entirely grasped by the little girl before me—an extremely strange feeling that was impossible to describe.

This was no ordinary loli! I reached that conclusion immediately.

But how many ordinary things had happened to me lately? My mental world had somehow become connected to something or other. Honestly, I felt like my nerves were almost as tough as aerospace steel by now...

The loli in front of me observed me expressionlessly for a while. Then, as though she had confirmed something, she nodded slightly and bowed to me.

I didn't know whether it was an illusion, but I seemed to feel something in my mind resonate with the little girl before me.

"It is an honor to meet you, Emperor," the emotionless loli said, startling me the moment she opened her mouth. "My name is Pandora-zero, Shilin General."

"Huh?" That earthshaking introduction sent me straight into a system crash, leaving me able to make only such a meaningless sound. What had this little loli just called me? Emperor? And her identity—Shilin General? This plot had derailed way too far, hadn't it?

The loli before me did not seem interested in answering my questions. After introducing herself, she simply stood there quietly with her head slightly raised, her unfocused eyes revealing not the slightest emotional fluctuation.

I stared fixedly at the little girl in front of me, trying to find even a hint of prankishness in her expression, but I failed. Her expression was calm, with no sign of pretense.

If this little loli wasn't lying to me, then she was a member of that mysterious... whatever it was. Judging by the nature of that world, was this little girl actually a robot?

A world that had originally existed only in dreams was suddenly becoming more and more real. It had even produced a living, breathing "person" from that world. My brain felt like it was nearing overload, so, as if possessed, I reached out and lightly pinched the little loli's cheek.

...I wasn't a loli lover. I really wasn't a loli lover. My hand slipped. It really had just slipped!

The moment I realized what I had done, I quickly pulled my hand back. But the soft sensation from that brief instant made me dismiss the idea that she was a robot.

"Shilin Apostles are Mana Construct lifeforms." The little loli across from me did not take my abrupt behavior to heart at all. Seemingly seeing what I was wondering about, she spoke in that voice devoid of emotional fluctuation. "We are not robots. Arcane technology is also vastly different from the natural technology of your world. Although it appears similar to natural technology, it is actually a technology based on surreal energy and mysticism, closer to the magic and alchemy found in this world's legends. Strictly speaking, the nature and structure of my current body are extremely close to those of Carbon-Based Lifeforms in this world. I even need to replenish energy through eating, just like ordinary Carbon-Based Lifeforms. This is because Mana Construct technology allows us to freely alter the material form of our bodies. Outside of combat, you may regard Shilin Apostles as normal humans."

It really wasn't easy for her to explain such a long passage in such a mechanical voice.

I went over her words in my head again and again before finally more or less understanding what she meant. It couldn't be helped—this whole thing was simply too surreal. The fact that I could calmly listen and analyze it instead of shouting things like "Impossible!" or "You're kidding!" and running away already showed how tough my nerves were. Still, limited by my own intelligence, I remained a little dizzy...

"So, you look like high-tech alien lifeforms, but you're actually alien lifeforms that can use magic?"

"Yes." The little loli was concise as ever.

Fine, I'd let that question pass. After all, nobody had ever seen what real magic looked like. And while the things from that world seemed steeped in science, nobody actually knew what powered them. I would just treat them as magic and alchemy.

In fact, from the moment the little loli announced where she came from, I had stopped hoping this plot would develop in any sensible way.

"Then how exactly did you enter my dreams? And why did I become your Emperor? The title Emperor shouldn't be handed to some ordinary person so easily, should it?"

I had to ask this. Being called Emperor by a seemingly badass empire was certainly awesome, but that title wasn't something to take lightly. If it turned out to be some misunderstanding, I would definitely be in deep trouble. And judging by that command set that was ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine... percent unusable, this empire that had slept for who knew how many years might not bring me any benefits at all. Trouble, on the other hand, was guaranteed.

"...Time error... an unknown number of years ago, the Empire suffered a great catastrophe. The entire Empire entered dormancy. Until recently, the Empire's only external information-gathering system still in operation detected a thought wave originating from the depths of this plane. According to information comparison, this thought wave completely matched the soul characteristics of an Empire Emperor. The Empire thus awakened, and I was dispatched to assist you. Other records have been damaged for unknown reasons and can no longer be verified. However, one point has already been confirmed: you are one of the Empire's Emperors. This has been confirmed by all currently awakened Shilin Apostles."

"Wait, you said one of the Emperors?" I caught that phrase at once. So Emperors were mass-produced creatures?

"Yes. Individuals possessing NT-Level Authority are called Emperors. According to the most recently updated Database records, there are a total of 135 Emperors, distributed across ruling regions throughout the universe. Every Emperor possesses equal authority. However, you are not among these 135 Emperors. The specific reason cannot be analyzed."

Well, damn. An Emperor Council!

"Um... can I choose not to be this Emperor?" I asked cautiously. Come on, there were 135 genuine Emperors. Without question, every one of them was far more formidable than me. If another Shilin Emperor woke up and discovered that I was an impostor, any one of them could casually take me out. That was not something a rookie like me, whose commands were ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine-nine-nine... percent unusable, could contend with!

"According to Shilin Law, an individual who relinquishes NT-Level Authority is considered to have relinquished their own existence. Do you confirm that you wish to make this choice? This confirmation will be conducted three times."

...Did relinquishing one's own existence mean getting killed off?

"Fine, I'll be this Emperor. But let me make this clear first—you people were the ones who wanted me to do it. If anything happens later, don't come looking to make trouble for me!"

And just like that, I, Chen Jun, an originally ordinary college student, somehow became the somehow Emperor of some inexplicable Empire on some year, some month, some day...