My Crown, I'll Wear It Myself

With eleven standard seconds remaining until the coronation ceremony, Nimrod walked into the ceremonial hall.

The breath of many nobles hitched; the giant approaching them possessed a far more oppressive presence than he had appeared to have on the surveillance footage.

Kozubar and most of the others thought to themselves: Could it be that a deity from the myths of the Age of Strife has descended?

Some thought of the war god Svantovit, but the giant lacked four heads and four faces.

Others thought of the thunder god Perun, but the giant did not have a head of copper.

Yelena and a few other nobles frowned, glancing out of the corner of their eyes at Magos Kaminski.

Is he a cyborg of the Adeptus Mechanicus? Are they dissatisfied with the dual-governance structure and have decided to flip the table to unify Tezwork directly?

Countless torrents of 0s and 1s surged across Kaminski's ocular sensors, moving so fast they emitted a faint crackling sound.

A summary of the scan results then appeared in binary code, while the built-in translator, following pre-set protocols, automatically converted the Tech-Lingua into Vostonian Low Gothic:

[Threat Level: Lethal.]

[Physiological Structure: Unparseable.]

[...]

The Magos realized that the giant before him exceeded the scope of his scanning and analytical capabilities.

Yet he did not stop, forcing his scanning modules to continue working until a wisp of black smoke drifted up; only then was he forced to halt, the two lower mechanical mechadendrites on his back extending forward.

After sparks flickered for a moment, Kaminski's scanning module returned to normal, and he turned his head away in frustration.

Howard Fender, dressed in red robes with gold trim, spoke loudly to the assembly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the dawn of a new era."

"My lords, the House Boleslaw has long since lost its virtue; they have taken openly and schemed in the shadows to seize the assets of every family."

"The King of Boleslaw was nothing but a Hive Giant Rat squatting over Tezwork, despicable and greedy."

The blonde Count's words stirred the anger of everyone present, as every family had suffered losses to some degree.

"Fortunately, a noble soul descended from the heavens; Nimrod came to Tezwork and overthrew the tyrannical rule of the Boleslaw King."

"The servants of the Omnissiah have also seen the light of the Machine God shining upon him."

"Now, let us invite Magos Kaminski to crown the new King."

Kaminski's lower two mechadendrites lifted the crown, and after the pair of tentacles above them took it, they held it high before he stepped toward Nimrod.

Red and green lights flickered across the Magos's filter screens as logic and the instinct to explore mysteries clashed violently.

The one-hundred-and-twenty-one-meter distance felt like ten kilometers to Kaminski.

He arrived before Nimrod, and just as he was about to tell the man to bow and recite the ceremonial holy words, Nimrod reached out, took the gold-crafted crown, and placed it directly upon his own head.

His throne was not granted by the Adeptus Mechanicus; it was the fruit of his own conquest.

Everyone was stunned; this did not conform to tradition.

Red light flashed frantically across Kaminski's filter screens, and his vocal synthesizer emitted a tremolo.

"Nimrod... crown... protocol..."

The Magos did not enter maintenance mode this time, but his overheated logic processing modules were unable to complete their calculations for the moment.

"Magos Kaminski, you cannot reach my head; it is only fitting that I crown myself."

The nobles were silent. On such an occasion, every movement carried specific political significance; the new King's action was not merely a matter of height difference as he claimed, but held a distinct political meaning.

They all looked at the two upright double-headed scepters on the crown, the same thought surfacing in their minds.

It seems this King Nimrod does not believe that the royal family and the Adeptus Mechanicus are dual powers.

So, what does Kaminski think?

The nobles held their breath, palms sweating; was another great war about to break out?

Even Yelena, who had been so certain before, could not help but doubt her own judgment. Was the new King a madman who wanted to go to war with the Adeptus Mechanicus?

Everyone turned their gaze toward the Magos, waiting to see how he would react.

Kaminski remained silent for several seconds; to everyone except Nimrod, the time felt exceptionally long.

Finally, the synthesized voice sounded.

"The Omnissiah protects you, Nimrod!"

The Magos did not deliver the coronation holy words written by Magos Kivior as he had in every ceremony of the past, but he had signaled his recognition of Nimrod as the new King.

Nimrod remained calm and composed. Kaminski was exactly as he had imagined; protocols were indeed important, but political rituals were not as vital as efficiency and industrial output.

The Magos had discovered that Nimrod's combat power exceeded his calculations, and since he hoped that this powerful figure would resolve the Vostonia crisis, the tech-priests would not choose war over political tradition.

In his logic processing, the importance of maintaining efficiency and industrial output far outweighed political tradition.

Accepting his own transgression of breaking tradition was the inevitable result of his logical calculations.

Nimrod would cooperate with the Adeptus Mechanicus, but he had to be the one in charge; if he could not lead, there was no need for cooperation—he would simply reduce them to ruins and rebuild.

Today was merely the beginning; as his strength grew, he would reshape the order of Vostonia according to his own vision.

Howard breathed a sigh of relief; if war had broken out, no one besides him would have stood on Nimrod's side.

To avoid any further accidents, he shouted aloud.

"The new King has ascended! Will you not offer your loyalty?"

With those words, he was the first to drop to one knee, following the tradition of the Muskan people, and declared loudly.

"I, Howard Fender, offer my loyalty to our King, Nimrod! Whatever my King commands, I shall follow, and I shall carry it out!"

Yelena, having been beaten to the punch, hurriedly dropped to one knee as well.

"I, Yelena Kournikova, offer my loyalty to our King, Nimrod! Whatever my King commands, I shall follow, and I shall carry it out!"

Kozubar and the others also reacted, hurriedly offering their loyalty to the new King.

Nimrod scanned the crowd. "I accept your fealty!"

After the others rose, he spoke to Howard, who had yet to stand.

"Howard Fender, I hereby grant you the title of Count, in recognition of your loyalty and contributions."

Nimrod once again broke with Muskan tradition, as the granting of titles should have taken place in his Hive Spire, not a noble's residence.

"As for the rest of you, your titles remain unchanged; resume the operations of your industries and factories immediately."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully acknowledged the order.

"As you command, my King."

"Howard, stay behind. Everyone else, execute your orders at once."

Kaminski walked up to Nimrod.

"The next is Bainiban. Tech-Priest Rosicky will communicate with you regarding the design plans for weapons and armor."

"Please follow the agreement and restore the operations of all Upper Hive factories within five work cycles."

"I will fulfill my promise."

After everyone had left, Howard sent Bukayo to find the steward and retrieve the prepared equipment, then proceeded to the palace.

"Rawlslev will take over the industries formerly held by House Boleslaw. As for the industries of the other families, you are to produce a distribution plan within one stellar hour."

"As you command, my King."

Howard understood that although Nimrod had handed the industries of the fallen families over to him, he could not distribute them at will, nor could he embezzle from them or funnel the most profitable assets into House Finde.

To win Nimrod's trust, he had to distribute them based on industrial synergy and the principle of maximizing efficiency.