Case file No. 0: Pandora (Part 1)

June 17th, Year 1988 of the Unified Continental Calendar, 10:15 pm

"Alright ladies and gentlemen on to the last, but certainly not the least!"

The enthusiastic voice of the man echoed as he joyfully signaled the viewers to follow him. He was a man who was on a shorter spectrum and was waving his hands to signal the rest of the group The young man had the glint of a fiery gaze in his eyes, like that of a child, so it also made the others who were viewing the rest of the historical ornaments to follow along

All of the visitors were wearing extremely luxurious suits and dresses, Which is only to be expected. After all, the place they were on was the National Museum of the Empire, Home to the blessed items and heirlooms that were used by the royal family

They walked on as the scenery around them began to change bit by bit. It became more extravagant and royalish, which made them all the more excited. Many of them laughed along as they talked with their friends and family, while others were waiting in anticipation for the next heirloom

"Annnnd here it is folks, the one and only! Behold, The beloved throne that was used by the first Emperor himself!"

"""Woaaah..."""

Nearly all of them muttered the same thing inside their breaths. For the thing that was in front of them wasn't just a luxurious chair, to the people of the Empire that was a symbol of power, a symbol of a man that started it all

The gold linings that were attached to the chair were shining as the visitors viewed as close as they could, there was an Imperial guard standing close and watching them so they weren't really allowed to touch it

But from their eyes alone, they could tell that anyone who sat in that chair must've felt that they're above the world...

The young guide smiled as he felt a feeling of satisfaction rising through his veins, though it was more similar to a sense of national pride

"Alright everyone, I'll just be there at the corner. You can all continue admiring that beautiful piece of craftsmanship for as long as you like, We'll return back to the exit once everyone is satisfied...Heh, guess they can't hear me huh?"

Everyone's senses were glued to the throne in front of them so they didn't really register anything much other than that.

As the young guide walked closer to the side, he saw a lone woman who was standing idly by. She was a petite girl who was intently staring at not the throne, but the people who were admiring it

Her golden eyes glistened as her snow-white hair fluttered with the wind, she was wearing a black dress which the young guide found to be weird. After all, it was mostly only used worn for burials, Most Imperial girls would prefer to wear more bright and joyful colors

"Helllloooo there madam, are you enjoying the tour so far?" Putting those thoughts aside, he went in and started a conversation

"Hm? Oh yes, it's been quite fascinating actually. I haven't had the viewing experience in a while"

Her voice rang inside his heart like a bell. The young guide never thought that she'd be charmed by one voice, but hers was just hypnotizing if anything...

"O-Oh I see, well it's no wonder. These items tell beautiful tales from the history of our country that no man would be able to hate" He said as he pumped his chest, to which the woman laughed

"Fufufu, Oh no I wasn't talking about those. I've been in and out of this place for about five times this month alone, but I just can't really find the appeal in these things"

"H-Huh..."

The young boy couldn't help but be surprised. The entrance to the national museum was quite expensive, so for her to just visit this place like that means she's quite stacked...

"It's the people who I watch"

"The...People?" The young guide asked, clearly confused

"The one's visiting this place. It's their stories that I'm more interested in. Their actions, their expressions...their tone of voice, each and every one of them tells me a tale far more interesting than the one in this extravagant crypt"

"C-Crypt? Excuse me madam but this is the resting place of the items used by our beloved ancestors who built the prosperous country you're standing on. Calling it a crypt is a bit too much don't you think?"

The young guide was clearly offended, but the woman only stared back at him with amusement as she smiled

"You really are a patriotic lad huh? If I tell you right now that the country you're so enthusiastic about built their economy and power through the sufferings of other smaller, weaker countries would you believe me?"

"I'd say you're full of donkey doo. The Royal Empire rose to power due to the hard work and innovations that were created by the Emperors and the people"

"I see...Fufu, knowing that there are gullible fools like you really makes me frightened about how good our propaganda is..."

"A-A Fool?! Now excuse me madam I-"

Before he could speak, the woman held up her hand and said

"Now this was a nice chat young lad, But I believe you have more...Pressing business to attend to"

She pointed at his guests that was already waiting impatiently near the exit

"A-Ah!" The face of the young guide grew pale as he attempted to quickly ran towards them

But before he did so...

"Oh...Are you satisfied with your seeing madam? Cause by the looks of it we're about to leave the museum" The young guide tried to return to his professional and lighthearted tone, but what see said earlier still pissed him off

"Hmmm, Apologies but I believe that I'll stay here for a while"

She stated as she took a glance at her pocket watch

"Hmph, you talked about how these things didn't interest you one bit and now you're holding us up? I can't leave you because you paid for a package tour madam, We still have more destinations and sights to go through that you'll hopefully find...Interesting"

"Interesting...Huh?...Unfortunately, I've already seen almost all of the famous sights in this country...or at the whole continent at that matter, so I would really have a hard time being amused there"

This made the young guide all the more confused, but before he could ask about it, the woman broke into a smirk as her golden eyes peered into the young guide's soul

"So...Fufufu, allow me to show you something that's truly interesting..."

"Huh? -!"

In that instant, everyone present felt a shockwave so loud and strong that it basically shook the very earth itself. The young guide thought at first that it might've been a natural disaster, but seeing as how it immediately stopped, he concluded was forced to conclude otherwise

Panicked, everyone started to run around across all directions. The place that was once filled with civilized viewers was now thrown into pure anarchy...

"Ahhh...Now this is the sight..."

The woman smiled as she looks at the panicked crowd with an expression of pure bliss. The young guide wondered if there was something off about the mind of the woman as she walked closer to the displayed throne

"Oi, what are you doing lady?! We need to get out of here"

"Oh, you can all go first. I'd very much love to try and experience the feeling of this Immaculate looking seat first" Her eyes were practically sparkling with each step she took

"H-Hah? Hey, are you crazy?! Hey, stop! You can get executed for that you know?!"

"Fufufu, Oh you need to understand young lad that life is very, very short. So If there's an opportunity to experience something new that's laid in front of you then you might as well try it right?... Hehehe"

She gave a frightening chuckle as she walked closer amidst the crowds

The Imperial guard who was protecting the throne from any of the panicked and running crowds took notice of her going closer and so walked forward

"Halt, you aren't allowed any further! This is the throne of the-"

But before he could fully stop here, the woman moved quickly and injected a syringe down the man's neck. His eyes convulsed upwards before his body fell limp to the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut

"W-Wha..."

"Oh, don't worry too much, he's just taking a nice nap on the job"

She casually says as she tossed the blockades aside and walked closer to the throne

The young guide, unable to bear the sight in front of him stood up and went on a dash to tackle the woman

But before he could even stand up, the woman turned to him and fired a shot that missed him by a hair. His body was completely paralyzed, and his mind was overrun with fear

"You're an amusing kid I'll give you that. But you should really know how to read the mood. I only prepared enough knockout serums for one person, so if you decide to interfere with me then next thing you know, you'll be talking with the ancestors that you admire"

The way the woman says this as if she's done this many times made the young guide tremble

"Oh my, did I overdid it? I'm so sorry young lad, here take this as a token of my apology"

From her pockets, she tossed a stack of cash which rolled onto the floor towards him. Bassed from how thick it was he could tell that it already exceeded the value of a mere few a thousands

"W-Who the hell are you?"

"Me?"

The woman asked as she finally sat down on the throne. She let out a groan as she laid back and enjoyed the sensation of the seat

"If I had to pick one out the many ones I've got...I guess I'm more well known as...Pandora"

The face of the young guide grew pale as he picked up the cash and immediately broke on a sprint

"Fufufu..."

Pandora watched as the young lad continued to run for his life. She laid further back as she completely enjoyed the discord that was happening in front of her. To which she could only mutter to herself

"Aaaahh...It feels good to be home..."