"Skkraz, how is the empress doing?"
In the space in front of the podium which had been cleared for the dignitaries and ministers to sit, the four envoys sat side by side while waiting for the ceremony to start.
Casting a spell to mute the area around them, the man wearing the raven-emblazoned coat spoke addressing the scaled man beside him in a deep voice.
The easy-going expression on the scaled man's face turned into one of anger as he heard this question.
"Bevis, if I weren't on a diplomatic mission, I would rip your intestines out right now. You know very well she is in the last years of her life, unlike your King who only ascended to the throne 10 years back.", answered the man in a cold voice.
With a humph, the man simply sneered before turning towards the other two.
"What about you, Eldra? And you, Bos? What have your rulers told you to do?"
The first question was addressed at the elf who still had a disgruntled expression on her face. With a glance at the man who had just been called Bevis, she sneered before placing her eyes back on the podium.
As for the giant for whom a special chair had been placed after clubbing together 4 others, a wide smile appeared on his face hearing his name called.
"Bos was told to say Hi to new King. Bos happy to come out of training. Bos looking forward to stronger connection with new ally. Bos also delighted to see more happy people than sad like before."
Hearing the weird sentences coming out of the giant's mouth, the three simply nodded as if it were a normal occurence. Even the voice was a bit high-pitched.
Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted due to the rumbling sound that was heard as if an earthquake was shaking the ground below them.
Looking around, the four noticed that it was actually the people who had started leaping and shuffling around after seeing their King appear on the podium.
It seemed as if he were wearing a dragon around his body, the crimson scales shining in the sun as if tearing through the gold of the robe to take its place. The rays hitting the head of the dragon on his shoulder especially made it look lifelike, as if it were lazily basking in the sun while looking around at all of its subjects.
All four envoys could feel the infectious atmosphere in the air even though all of the sound was blocked by the spell. The giant had already stood up and was jumping along with the people, with its two hands upraised in the air cheering for the King. A pure happiness could be seen on its face, as if it were just a child who was celebrating without really knowing the reason for the festivity.
The jovial expression on the scaled man's face had returned, and he also stood up and clapped silently.
As for Bevis and the elf who had been called Eldra, they remained sitting and simply gazed at the podium.
Meanwhile, Daneel was trying hard to maintain his composure as he saw the sea of people in front of him roaring in waves as soon as he teleported onto the stage.
Before, he had only indirectly addressed everyone using the panel trinkets. But now, with so many eyes locked onto his every movement, Daneel felt a tingling in his spine as if the instinct to run away was being born inside his mind.
Was this stage fear?
Gritting his teeth and squashing this feeling into non existence, Daneel straightened his back.
"Activate Etiquette Suggestion Module in the Heads Up Display".
A ghostly figure appeared in front of him, raising its right hand and waving slowly while moving to the left.
Mimicking the figure, Daneel proceeded to do the same action.
This had been a module that Daneel bought just a few hours ago. Later deciding to cancel the appointment with the etiquette teacher, Daneel had chosen to go to the palace library and feed all the books about etiquette to the system.
The Palace library was at least half a size bigger than the academy's, making Daneel decide to come back later to completely store all of the information just like he had done before in the academy. Of course, this time, he did not have any time limit, thus he could go about it more peacefully.
On touching around 300 books pertaining to etiquette, a new kind of notification had been heard in Daneel's mind.
[New Tool: "Etiquette Suggestion Module-1" available for purchase. Host has obtained enough information about the concept to facilitate tool creation. Cost: 500 EXP]
"System, what is tool creation? It wasn't there before, right?"
[Affirmative. Tool Creation is a part of the features unlocked with the system upgrade. Suggestion modules can now be created if host obtains sufficient information regarding the concept.]
The system upgrade was simply like a genie that wouldn't stop giving. Deciding to ponder on what else he could do with this feature later, Daneel hadn't hesitated to buy the tool. He had no intention whatsoever to give even the slightest chance for the arriving dignitaries to think low of him.
Now, as Daneel controlled his body and moved while trying to mimic the suggestions, he finally had a chance to see the four envoys.
Amid the boisterous jumping and cheering from even the ministers and dignitaries, the two who were still seated stood out like a sore thumb.
The elf caught his attention first, making him look briefly into her eyes and wonder if it was really derision that he saw in them. More than the giant's size, it was its child-like expression which startled him.
As for the scaled man, he had already seen one before during the negotiation with the TriCobra society.
The last grey-robed man's decision to keep sitting made Daneel speculate as to what exactly was the stance they wanted to show him by their actions.
It was the custom that the Grand Court Mage would be the one to crown the King. Thus, Daneel had already demoted the previous Grand Court Mage to the Court Mage and promoted Kellor.
Kellor wore official yellow robes, with his bald head shining in the sun while a wide smile was on his face.
Beside him, the previous Grand Court Mage stood holding a red plush cushion.
A round crown with 8 peaks glistening with 8 different shades of gems lay on the cushion. The peak in the front was the highest, while peaks half its size were all around the crown. The highest peak also had a huge red crystal the size of a thumb embedded in the front, meant to take the breath away of anyone who chanced a look on its grandiose structure.
While the envoys looked on with solemn expressions, Kellor magnified his voice using a spell and started speaking.
"Do you, Daneel Anivron, vow to never betray the hopes vested in you by the people who chose you as their King?"
These vows had been specifically made by Daneel to fit the occasion.
"I do."
The cheers grew even more deafening as Daneel's sharp voice sounded across the Kingdom.
"Do you vow to treat any citizen fairly, be they beggar or noble?"
"I do."
"As King, do you vow to always work for the growth and prosperity of Lanthanor while keeping the best interests of the Kingdom in your mind?"
"I do!"
"With the will of the people, you are henceforth crowned as the King of Lanthanor! All Hail The New King of Lanthanor! All Hail King Daneel!"
Kellor had already picked up the crown and walked to Daneel with a solemn stride.
With the last word, the crown touched Daneel's hair, settling on top of his head comfortably.
Just like the Royal Robes, it shrunk to fit him perfectly, as if it were made specifically to be worn by him.
The cheering which Daneel thought couldn't get any louder grew into a roar that threatened to destroy everything in its path with just the sheer passion in its depths.
As the four envoys saw this scene, Bevis and Eldra's faces grew stoic seeing the support the people showed which shocked even them.
"And so dawns a new age for the Kingdom of Lanthanor. With this support, it is possible that he might actually succeed in unlocking the spirit. Many plans will need to be moved forward."
Although Bevis said these words almost as if musing to himself, his eyes flitted around observing the three others as he tried to notice any clues that they might give away due to his statement.
Only Eldra's expression of ridicule deepened, while a small fire seemed to have been lit in the depths of her huge eyes.