Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Thanks to the information overload the day before, I had a head-splitting migraine the next day. My entire mind was filled with the supernatural, so-called ‘information sets’. It overwhelmed me so much that I felt like slamming my head against the wall even when I walked. These symptoms felt exactly the same as a bad hangover. When I woke up, my sister even thought that I drank throughout the night.
“If I knew I would be this way, I would have skipped class. I wouldn’t even try to act like a good student…” As I walked to school, regret filled my heart. At a time like this, I envied the students who came from overseas to study here and who stayed in dormitories on campus. At the very least—if they wanted to skip school, it would not be so troublesome. All they had to do was lock themselves in their own dormitory.
Me, on the other hand… my sister had supernatural instincts. I did not dare to skip classes while she was around. What’s more, I was already in my junior year. My results were already sub-par. If I carried on to skip classes… I would really be in a bad state.
Of course, I could also view this entire thing from another perspective. Given my current state—even if I did not skip classes, I would not be able to improve by much. Alright, let’s take it that I did not say anything.
Groggily, I continued on the path. From time to time, I shook my head, trying to clear it. Although this path was relatively deserted and there were few cars—if I really did get into an accident, there would be great trouble. However, heads were not dustpans. No matter how hard I tried to shake my head, I could not get rid of the rubbish inside it.
Suddenly, a weird feeling washed over me. I felt like I was being stared at. This feeling immediately made me alert. My cluttered mind also cleared up considerably.
I looked up and scanned my surroundings. At the entrance to a sidewalk on my right, I saw a little girl looking in my direction.
She looked no more than thirteen or fourteen years old and was dressed in a white dress that resembled a windbreaker. Her hair was below shoulder-length, and she looked quite adorable. Her pink lips were gently pursed, causing one to be confused whether she was smiling or not. Still, she was beautiful. Her tiny nose was upturned, making her look slightly haughty.
In addition to her demure posture, she looked every bit a Lolita1. However, that gaze of hers made me feel slightly flustered. Her dark black eyes looked very lively, but they looked unfocused. Her pupils were focused on me, but if I did not feel like I was being stared at, I would have thought that this little girl was blind.
I regained my composure and smiled in the kindest and warmest way I knew. Walking forward, I asked, “Little girl, what’s the matter?”
… Why did I feel like someone was going to say I was a weird uncle who was going after a little girl? Was I mistaken?
The little, adorable girl lifted her chin. Her unfocused eyes did not sweep over any other part of my body. However, I immediately felt like she had control over every single move I was about to make. This was a very weird feeling. I was at a loss for words as to how to describe it.
This was a very extraordinary Lolita! At once, I made a judgment.
Yet, how much of what I have experienced lately was normal? In my own mind, I immediately made some kind of connection between this girl and the Xyrin Empire. What else was going to surprise me now?
The Lolita in front of me observed me expressionlessly for some time. Then, as if having decided something, she nodded and bowed to me.
I did not know if I was mistaken, but I felt like something in my mind called out to the girl in front of me.
“I am honored to meet you, Emperor.” The initially silent and emotionless Lolita suddenly spoke and scared me. “My name is Pandora-zero. I am a Xyrin General.”
“Huh?” This shocking introduction immediately stunned me. I could only let out a completely meaningless sound. What did the Lolita just call me? Emperor? Did she also say she was a Xyrin General?
Did this little girl appear to make sense of my dream and what was going to happen in the future?
The Lolita in front of me did not seem to sense my confusion. Once she finished introducing herself, she quietly remained standing there, looking up slightly. Her unfocused eyes did not seem to show even a flicker of emotion.
Faced with this scene, I finally had no choice but to begin seriously analyzing my situation. If this Lolita was not lying to me—and it was unlikely that she was because I had never mentioned anything about the Xyrin Empire to anyone else, she must have been a member of the mysterious Xyrin Empire.
Back in my dream, the immortal sister also told me that she was heading towards somewhere. I just decided not to pay too much attention to her. From the looks of the situation now, it seemed like they had really sent someone down to the ground. According to what I observed about that world, this girl was probably a robot.
A world that previously only existed in my dreams was becoming more and more of a reality. They were even appearing as real ‘humans’ in this world. There was not enough space in my brain to process all of this. Thus, curiously and coincidentally, I reached out my hand to touch the Lolita’s face.
… I was not a pedophile! I really was not a pedophile. My hand slipped. It really slipped!
Suddenly, I became extremely conscious of what I was doing. At once, I pulled my hand back. However, the soft touch made me reject the thought that the person in front of me was a robot.
“Xyrin Apostles are living creatures half-constructed out of energy,” the Lolita said. She completely did not mind what I just did and took the initiative to explain these things to me in an emotionless voice. “We are not robots. Xyrin technology is very different from the natural technology that you use in this world. Even though it looks like natural technology, it is actually made up of supernatural energy and occultism combined.
“Given the current state of your technology, you might never understand it. Strictly speaking, my current body’s physical properties and structure are very close to those of the carbon-based living creatures in this world. I can even eat and recharge ordinarily like the carbon-based living creatures here do. This is because constructing technology allows me to change the physical properties of my own body. Under non-combat conditions, you can see Xyrin Apostles as normal human beings.”
This must have been hard on her. She was explaining so much to me in that robotic voice.
I repeated her words in my head several times before I finally understood what she was trying to say. There was no other choice; all of these things were very supernatural. The fact that I could calmly process the information and analyze it all without insisting she was joking and running away showed that I was already working outside the boundaries of my own mind. However, because of my human limitations, I felt slightly giddy.
“In other words, first, the Xyrin Empire is extremely powerful; but the humans on earth would never understand it so there is no point explaining too much. Second, I can treat you like a human being?”
“That’s right,” the Lolita answered concisely.
Alright, I passed this question. After all, given my own standards and the fact that even chemical equations look like an alien language to me, I will probably never find technology to be a common topic between me and an alien. I would take her word for it.
“Then, I have a question. Just listen and answer whatever you can. The way I look at things now, the Xyrin Empire really exists. How does it relate to my dream, then? Why did I become your Emperor as well? I don’t think you would so easily address an ordinary man as ‘Emperor’, right?”
I had to ask this question. Although it felt great to be addressed as ‘Emperor’ by people from an empire that sounded so amazing, this title probably was not going to come easy. If this was all a misunderstanding, it might end in a tragedy. What’s more, according to the 99.999999% of commands that were inexecutable, the empire which had been asleep for God-knows-how-many-years would probably not bring me much benefit. Instead, it would surely bring me trouble.
“Until now… the timing was wrong… an unknown number of years ago, the Xyrin Empire experienced a huge change. The entire empire went into a deep sleep. Recently, the only system that was collecting external information on behalf of the empire suddenly detected a fluctuation in thought which came from this plane. According to our analyses, this fluctuation completely matched the soul imprint of our empire’s Emperor.
“Thus, the empire awakened, and I was sent to assist you. All other information had been destroyed for an unknown reason; that is why they cannot be verified. However, there is one thing that has been confirmed: You are one of the Emperors of the empire. All the Xyrin Apostles, who have woken up to this date, now have all confirmed this same fact.”
“Wait, one of the Emperors?” I caught onto her choice of words. It sounded like Emperors were mass-produced in the Xyrin Empire.
“That’s right. The Xyrin Empire refers to everyone with NT-level permissions as Emperors. According to our latest updated database, the Xyrin Empire has a total of 135 Emperors. They are distributed in various ruling areas around the world. Each Emperor also has equal authority. You are not among these 135 Emperors, but the reason for this is unknown.”
Good, Emperors’ meeting!
“Well… can I not be an Emperor?” I carefully asked. What a joke. There were 135 true Emperors. Without a doubt, each of them was more powerful than me. If I was lucky—even if I had a brick in my hands, I would not be able to defeat them. Once another Xyrin Emperor woke up and discovered that I was an imposter, he or she would be able to easily send a subordinate to deal with me. Then, none of the 99.999999% of commands, which were inexecutable, would be of any use!
The best outcome would be that I would be diced into pieces and scattered across an area of 960 million kilometers.
“According to Xyrin Law, someone who gives up his NT-level permissions would be taken to be giving up his own existence. Are you sure you want to make such a choice? You have to confirm this three times.”
… My entire family would be killed if I want a refund?!
The hairs on my neck immediately stood up as I quickly waved my hands around. “Alright, alright! I was just kidding! I will be an Emperor, but I’ll make this clear first: You were the ones who asked me to be an Emperor. If I fail to do any of the tasks required of me, I will not pay any compensation. Even if you sold me away, I would not be able to afford it!”