2 Grand Opening

The very next day was quite chaotic as at least two hundred people were currently gathered in front of the Multiverse Museum, each of them standing or sitting around waiting until the promised time for the grand opening of the exhibit.

It seemed that the simple posters that had appeared yesterday morning had managed to garner quite a lot of attention, and while two hundred or so people weren't much compared to the entire Mondstadt population here in the city, it was still quite a number.

This large number of attendees shouldn't be an issue, considering how big the building was.

At the present time, it was only around ten or so minutes before the specified time. It was at this time that both Aether and Paimon could be seen making their way through the crowd, looking around with curious eyes.

"Oh, wow! There sure are a lot of people here!" Paimon commented as she flew around a bit crazily. She then flew back next to Aether before adding. "Where do you think Amber is? She said she'd meet us here around this time."

"Not sure, I guess we'll have to just look for her." Aether could only shrug as he gave a response. With how many people there were here, it was hard to spot the outrider despite her unique appearance among ordinary folk. "If not, we'll probably see her after the place opens."

"Oh~? If it isn't our Honorary Knight!"

Both Aether and Paimon seemed to hear a familiar voice as they turned their heads to see a tall male with royal-blue hair walking over to them, and if you looked closely, the person also donned a black eyepatch that covered their right eye.

This person's identity was obvious to both of them, this person was Kaeya. A member of the Knights of Favonius, as well as the person serving as the Cavalry Captain within the order of the knights. As usual, Kaeya walked over to them with a smile on his face while giving a small wave.

"Kaeya!"

"It's certainly a surprise to see you here, and without a doubt a pleasant one at that." Kaeya chuckled a bit as he stopped in front of them. "It seems that you too were attracted to this event by the posters from yesterday."

"So, you're also here for the exhibit?"

"Naturally." Kaeya nodded after hearing Paimon. Kaeya then turned his attention to look up at the grand-looking building, his eyes showing clear signs of curiosity. "After seeing such a place and hearing of this event, how could I possibly resist?"

Aether then added. "We only really heard about it after running into Amber."

"Aether! Paimon!"

As if right one cue, the girl in question soon called out to them as they turned to see Amber rushing over after squeezing through the surrounding crowd. She was breathing a bit heavily after running over and stopping beside them.

"I-It took forever to find you guys!" Amber laughed a bit between breaths before turning her attention upwards towards Kaeya. "Oh, Kaeya! You also came here to see this museum?"

"Of course. Why else?"

"Huh. I didn't really think this would be your kind of thing..."

"Then again..." Paimon decided to chime in as she narrowed her eyes a bit at the cavalry captain. "Kaeya is known to be a bit of a flirt. If Paimon remembers correctly, this upcoming exhibit is a love story. If that's the case, then it makes sense for Kaeya to be here!"

"While I don't know about being a flirt, Mondstadt is known as the City of Romance." Kaeya chuckled after hearing Paimon's words. "An exhibit to show a truly tearful love story, quite fitting, is it not? If we get what we're promised, we may leave in tears."

"Paimon doesn't cry that easily!" Paimon quickly claimed with a confident look on her face. "They'll have to try really hard if they want Paimon to cry!"

"I feel like you jinxed yourself, Paimon..." Aether deadpanned a bit as he crossed his arms over his chest. Paimon did what he'd refer to as setting up a red flag, he had a gut feeling Paimon was going to be crying later. "Just don't use my hair to wipe your tears."

"Paimon won't cry, she's much stronger than tha- wait, the Tone Deaf Bard!"

Paimon didn't finish what she wanted to say before shouting the last part, her eyes were locked on a familiar figure a few metres away from them. The person looked rather young, with very dark blue hair and green tips coloured at the ends of their braids.

This person was Venti, otherwise known as Tone Deaf Bard, and also known secretly as Barbatos. You heard that right, this person who couldn't be any older than fifteen by appearance was the literal Anmeo Archon!

After hearing Paimon's voice, the person seemed to have taken notice of the group as they turned to look over at them with surprise. After realising who they were, the person Paimon claimed as the 'Tone Deaf Bard' walked over with a big smile.

"It's you guys! It seems that even the knights are interested in a love story every now and then!"

"You also like love stories, Tone Deaf Bard?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Venti gave a small laugh before placing both hands on either side of his waist. "I'm not only here to hear a promised story of love, but also to see what kind of place this is! I'm sure I'm not the only one who's curious about who owns the museum."

"Paimon has some doubt. Do you even have any mora to get in?"

"Who do you think I am?" Venti said with a faked tone of offense. "You're talking to the best bard in town! I make quite a bit of mora after singing and telling stories, I'll have you know. A mere 1,500 mora is nothing at all!"

"Paimon has a feeling you were originally intending on using that mora to buy wine, but somehow managed to hold back..."

"Hehe~."

"What do you mean 'hehe'!?"

"It's true that I'm curious though..." Amber said as she placed a finger on her chin. "This building popped up out of nowhere, it's as if someone managed to build it over the course of a single night! As far as I'm aware, something like that shouldn't be possible!"

"Wondering about it won't solve anything, we'll just have to wait and see once the museum opens." Kaeya spoke up before adding. "However, let's not let our so-called investigation get in the way of enjoying the occasion."

Everyone agreed with Kaeya's words, baseless conclusions weren't going to get them any real answers, and they'd have to wait for the exhibit to open before they could get any concrete information. For now, they hung around for the next few minutes having idle chatter.

Since there were only ten minutes before the grand opening, none of them waited for much longer as the surrounding crowd soon began to notice the entrance glass doors began to open. Despite being made of glass, none of them could see through it.

Despite the number of people here, silence surprisingly persisted as everyone watched with rather bated breaths as a figure soon began to emerge from within the building. As the figure stepped out with casual yet refined steps, they were soon able to see the person in full.

The person who came out was none other than Niall, his hair was unchanged but his clothes had been replaced with a more formal attire. He was wearing a white dress shirt underneath a tight unbuttoned black suit jacket. Of course, he also had on sleek black formal pants and a pair of black polished leather shoes.

To finish off his attire, he even had a small white cloth poking out from his suit jacket's chest pocket. Strangely enough, Niall also had something in his hand that only Aether seemed to recognise, and that was a microphone.

As Niall walked out, he soon stopped right behind the red railing strip that obviously was placed to tell people that the museum was currently off limits. He didn't speak up immediately, instead giving a glance around at everyone who was currently staring at him.

He could hear all kinds of comments, but he ultimately ignored them all as he noticed the very particular group of individuals near the front. Niall's eyes widened ever so slightly, but he soon relaxed as a calm smile formed on his face.

"Hello? Can everyone hear me?" As Niall switched on and spoke into the microphone, his voice seemed to echo through the area as the people at the front noticeably flinched at the unexpected volume of his voice. "Sorry about that. I hope everyone can hear me from back there."

Niall hadn't gotten the chance to test the microphone, so he wasn't entirely sure how amplified his voice would be. In any case, it seems that it was more than loud enough as everyone was now entirely focusing on him.

"I'm sure you all are curious about who I am, and no doubt just as curious about the place behind me." Niall spoke with a calm and confident tone. "My name is Niall, and I'm the owner of the Multiverse Museum. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

With that, Niall gave a small bow of his head after introducing himself.

"Everyone here has most likely come after seeing the posters around the city, and I'm sure some of you are still confused about everything. Despite that, everyone here has decided to give this place a chance. For that, I'm truly grateful."

As Niall continued to speak, his formal way of speaking as well as his politeness seemed to gradually but surely calm the crowd down as they all continued to listen without interruption. Seeing this, Niall could only inwardly nod to himself.

"While the term museum may not be unfamiliar to you, the words you read such as 'Multiverse' are probably outside the scope of your vocabulary. I'll explain my establishment as simply as possible. Just like any museum, its purpose is to display pieces of significance, let them be from the distant past or the recent future. The difference with my museum is that... the works are from entirely other worlds."

Niall stopped talking after saying those words, mainly because the crowd's reaction was well within his expectations. Countless comments began to be thrown around, some obviously filled with curiosity, interest, and of course doubt.

It was a pretty damn big bombshell to hear that a recently opened business was displaying items of significance from other worlds, so it was no surprise that many people speculated the authenticity and legitimacy of his words.

The only ones who didn't seem to doubt his words were Aether, Paimon, and Venti. Surprisingly, even both Kaeya and Amber believed him to some extent. They were both familiar with Alice, and if what they'd heard is true, she too had travelled to other worlds at some point in time.

"You all have doubts, and I could never blame you for that, it's completely understandable. However, I swear upon my name and everything I own that the words I speak hold nothing but the truth. All I ask is that you give me a chance."

People began to discuss once again, this time in whispers. Though, with how many people doing so, the whispers were no different from shouts. Niall then coughed a few times, making them go silent before paying attention once again.

"Once you enter this building, each person will need to purchase a ticket to enter the main exhibit, you already know this. However, anyone below the age of five will not require this, they are free to enter without cost. The process for buying a ticket be explained to you shortly. Just know that the ticket will only be valid for the day it is purchased, thus if you wish to enter on another day, you'll buy another one. That ticket you buy will allow you free access to the building at any point during open hours. For now though..."

As Niall finished those words, he calmly reached down before grabbing hold of the red strip that separated him and the crowd. Tightening his grip, Niall allowed a small smirk to appear on his face before he shouted.

"I declare the Multiverse Museum officially open!"

As soon as Niall declared this, everyone was surprised when countless fireworks seemingly shot into the sky from somewhere on the roof of the building. The brightness and beauty of the fireworks immediately captivated them, no doubt also catching the attention of people elsewhere in the city.