novelraw Chapter 218 : Enthronement Ceremony (2)
Chapter 218 : Enthronement Ceremony (2)
In truth, the tradition of the Beastkin Nation did not include an event called an 'Enthronement Ceremony'.
While it varied case by case, an enthronement ceremony was typically an event held in nations where the change of royal power occurred frequently, intended to strengthen one's own royal authority.
The Beastkin Nation, since its founding, had never once had its royal bloodline broken.
Since the successor to the previous king always inherited the same blood, from the Beastkin's perspective, a 'coronation ceremony' where the former king takes off his crown and places it on his successor's head would have been a more accurate expression in the strictest sense.
However.
Since the upcoming ceremony was not a simple 'royal succession' like those in the past, but rather the 'reconstruction' of a new Beastkin Nation, that was impossible.
The previous king, Allen Tigris III, was already dead and gone, so there was no one to place the crown on Valencia, the next queen.
And it wasn't as if its original meaning could be found by grabbing some random, unrelated person to place the crown on her head.
Therefore, for the enthronement ceremony of the first monarch following the 'Reconstruction of the Beastkin Nation', it was decided that instead of having someone place the crown, Valencia would take the crown placed before the throne and put it on herself.
Some might look at it and say, "It's an enthronement ceremony, what kind of shabby display is this?"
But if one were to nitpick the structure of the ceremony, there were plenty of other things to point out.
Although it bore the title of 'Beastkin Nation', this place lacked not only the royal palace a nation should rightfully have, but even an outer castle to defend its borders.
There were no various ministers for administrative tasks, nor an administrative system for them.
And the Beastkin themselves had yet to fully accept the reconstruction of the Beastkin Nation.
Of course, they were aware that they were the center of attention and had a general sense of how the tides of the era were flowing.
But until this time last year, these were people who were enslaved under someone's foot or bound in prison.
Even with their nation being rebuilt now, there were more who had been raised as slaves from birth and couldn't grasp its meaning than there were those whose eyes reddened as they recalled the former glory of the Beastkin Nation.
Even the venue for the enthronement ceremony was crude.
The platform for the ceremony was the roof of an unadorned building, which at best could be called a 'slightly large mansion', situated among the temporary houses built for the Beastkin within the territory.
Naturally, the throne placed upon it was also just a slightly large, unadorned chair, brought in to make things look passable.
Even that was something The Order had managed to put together after belatedly realizing the pathetic reality; the original plan was to hold the so-called enthronement ceremony haphazardly in the small grassy yard behind the Guild House.
If not for The Order's decision to live broadcast the ceremony, and the review process that followed, it might have really been held on a bare patch of grass with nothing on it.
…Well.
The public announcement could be handled through news articles, and they had simply disregarded the miscellaneous details under the judgment that the only important thing on-site was the fact that 'the Beastkin are watching'.
But from The Order's perspective, once they had intervened, handling things in such a shoddy manner was impossible.
As long as they bore the name of the 'Guardian Cross Order', they had to meet at least a minimum standard.
Dum- Dum- Dum- Dum-
The sound of drums announcing the start of the ceremony echoed, and the event, now barely looking the part, began.
In truth, the ceremony itself was very simple.
A red carpet was laid down the center of two groups filled with Beastkin, and Valencia would walk that path, ascend the prepared platform, put on the crown, and declare her ascension.
That was the entirety of the enthronement process.
…It was just that the process was extremely drawn out so that everyone could take in every single detail with their eyes and ears.
Just as the ceremony began.
Plop-
Two people were seated in an exquisitely prime spot, one that offered a full view of the ceremony yet remained inconspicuous to others.
The combination of the two sitting side by side was quite peculiar.
Old and young.
One was an old man with white hair and a beard, wearing a monocle, while the other was a blond boy who looked to be around 10 years old.
“It's been a while, Sir Button.”
“……”
To those who didn't know, they might wonder who on earth these fellows were, but to those in the know, it was a two-shot that would make them gasp.
The head of the UMC, 'Ludwig Allegro', and the head of the Exorcists, 'Leonardo Louis Button'.
These two were the heads of key organizations, vying for the first and second ranks among the high priests of The Order, excluding the cardinals.
The two had quite a few things in common.
The fact that they were High Priests of The Order, that they were both heads of agencies that handled work in the shadows, though the degree of secrecy differed. And crucially.
“…I was not aware. That the UMC also had ties with Mr. Seo U-jin.”
The fact that they were both connected to U-jin for their own reasons.
…Of course, this was only natural, as this prime spot was a special VIP seat that U-jin had deliberately arranged to hide his and their identities from The Order's live broadcast.
“What, did you call dibs on him?”
“……”
“If you've got something good, you should share it, brother.”
“…Strictly speaking, I am your senior as a priest. I don't expect respect, but please maintain the proper decorum, Sir Ludwig Allegro.”
Hmph-
Ludwig Allegro snorted.
“Proper decorum my ass, over a measly year. You can have your seniority.”
“……”
“There's no order when it comes to dying, anyway. If you go first, I'll give you your senior's honors then.”
“……”
A tense battle of wills unfolded.
Louis Button, who had been silently listening to Ludwig's words, got to the point.
Normally, it wasn't his style to jump straight to the main topic without an introduction, but he knew well that attempting such a conversation with this fellow would likely result in being dragged into his pace.
“…Strictly speaking, it's different. But yes. In modern slang, it is correct that I 'called dibs' on him.”
“……”
“I have had my eye on Mr. Seo U-jin since the Gateway zone.”
From Louis Button's perspective, he had a lot to say for himself.
He didn't know why the UMC was getting involved now, but Louis had been through enough with U-jin to be confident in their special relationship.
“Moreover, Mr. Seo U-jin is the one on whom I officially used an Indulgence. If we were to strictly classify our relationships, mine is different from yours, Ludwig Allegro.”
He wasn't wrong.
Receiving an Indulgence was an extremely difficult feat in the first place, and personally using one was even rarer.
Using it on someone other than oneself was such an exceptional case that it was hard to find even when searching through The Order's long history.
Taking into account Louis's usual conduct and past actions, no one dared to speak about the Indulgence to his face, but it was an affair that likely caused quite a bit of grumbling behind his back.
And it was Louis who had accepted all that and used the Indulgence on U-jin.
From Louis's standpoint, he couldn't help but think he should be the top priority.
Hmph-
But Ludwig snorted once again.
“Don't act like you did him a big favor. It's not like I don't know. You did it because you punched the numbers on your calculator and got the answer you wanted.”
“……”
“And is that really what's important? What's more important is how much support you give him to spread his wings.”
“……”
“This Beastkin Nation also took shape right after I polished it a few times, didn't it? To be blunt, he's a talent too precious for the Exorcists to monopolize. For the greater good.”
Hah-
Louis let out a sigh and spoke to him in a warning tone.
“Do not be a shameless man, Ludwig.”
“I refuse.”
“…Observe the proper order. I was first.”
“One decides their own order. Why is someone else coming and giving me their fucking two cents?”
Throb
A vein popped on Louis's forehead.
“Did you just say 'fucking'?”
“I did.”
Shrug-
“And all that ordering him around and checking up on him just because you called dibs, isn't that something a priest shouldn't do? Everything should be done with the benevolent heart of a savior.”
Ludwig Allegro's added words were slightly off-topic.
For a moment, Louis paused, unable to understand the context.
But he soon realized what Ludwig was talking about.
“This bastard, really… No wonder there wasn't a single reply to my letters. It was all because of you.”
Ludwig Allegro replied while cleaning his ear.
Dig, dig-
“Well, he's busy focusing on his work, so why'd you have to go and spout such strange nonsense?”
“……”
“We're keeping all twenty-eight of your carrier pigeons, so take them with you next time you stop by. We're feeding them well.”
“You……”
And so, with no regard for the enthronement ceremony, the heated argument between the two escalated beyond who was right or wrong, developing into a childish debate over who was better.
It continued until the protagonist of the situation, U-jin, appeared.
“You've arri—”
Flick-!
U-jin, who had appeared late after finishing up some business, was flustered.
He had just arrived at the special VIP seats and was about to bring up a topic he had prepared, but the two men, who had been in the middle of a heated debate, suddenly turned their gazes to him in unison.
“Who's better?”
“Who is better, Mr. Seo U-jin?”
“……”
The question that followed was even more absurd.
They weren't kids just starting kindergarten, but two old men over a hundred years old. What on earth could they have been talking about to produce such a question?
He remained silent for a moment, pondering how to answer.
‘……’
U-jin soon realized it was a pointless worry and tossed out a careless answer.
“Well, you're both so great it's impossible to say who's superior.”
“That's not the kind of vague answer we—”
And before the predictable objection could be fully voiced, he changed the subject.
“More importantly, are you two interested in doing a job with me?”
The two men's mouths stopped moving.
The reason was simple.
Even if he didn't know the exact reason they were fighting, their dispute had started from a debate over who would get to do the 'next job' with U-jin.
Since the argument originated from that very point, they might have ignored any other topic, but they couldn't help but fall silent at U-jin's question, which pierced the core of their discussion.
“A job?”
“A job, you say?”
The questions came back simultaneously.
Nod-
And U-jin's following words.
“It's nothing much… I just want to screw over Isaac Einstein.”
…contained some rather provocative content.