Chapter 3359: The Right to Rule (1/2)
When Ves finally completed his crown design, he had to present it to his client before he could proceed with fabricating it. After all, it would be too late for him to cry if Rion didn’t like the end product!
“Oi! Rion!” He called to the armored dwarf looking down from above. “I finished my design for your crown! Come take a look. If there are any elements that you don’t like, tell me and I’ll try and fix it. That said, this is the best crown that I have envisioned for a dwarven sovereign such as yourself. Any suggestions you make will likely dilute its concept.”
Someone as knowledgeable as Rion was likely aware of this dynamic, but it didn’t hurt to remind him of how troublesome it was to implement significant changes to an existing design.
Rion went through a lot of trouble to commission a crown from ‘Vulcan’ instead of anyone else. It did not make sense to second-guess or challenge the judgement of the contractor.
Of course, a lot of people forgot about this point and demanded changes anyway.
If their requests were something as simple as changing a color or making minor cosmetic alterations, then creators such as Ves were more than happy to accommodate their client’s wishes.
If the proposed changes negated hours of work put into designing important elements, then a contractor would definitely get pissed!
Right now, Ves hoped that the Iron Emperor wasn’t too picky. A lot of time had already passed and the deadline was only 6 hours away.
When Rion descended from the catwalk and approached the workshop terminal, he quietly studied the projection design from every angle.
“I AM IMPRESSED WITH YOUR DESIGN RESULTS. NO OTHER DESIGN IS ABLE TO STIR MY EMOTIONS AS YOUR WORK.”
Even though the imperial crown only existed in a virtual form at the moment, Ves had invested so much of himself into it that it had already come to life in a way.
It was no surprise that Rion would feel attracted to the crown. Ves had specifically designed it to complement the Iron Emperor in many different ways!
All of those years of working alongside Gloriana allowed him to pick up many different lessons on how to tailor a product to a specific individual.
Although Ves still wasn’t as good as Gloriana when it came to customizing his work, he still possessed a substantial skill in this aspect compared to many other mech designers.
The dwarven leader began to frown as he beheld the bulk of his upcoming possession.
“YOUR PROPOSED DESIGN IS LARGER AND HEAVIER THAN I PREFER. THE CROWN MUST BE LARGE ENOUGH TO BE RECOGNIZABLE, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT SHOULD LOOK OVERPOWERING WHEN I PLACE IT ON MY HEAD.”
Ves anticipated this complaint. He had already thought of a suitable response.
“Don’t tell me that your big head is too fragile to bear this crown. You’re a dwarf. Your head is harder than that of other people. If you think your skull is too fragile, then just reinforce it with a metal sheath or something.”
“YOU ARE DOING A POOR JOB IF THE ONLY WAY TO WEAR THIS CROWN IS TO AUGMENT MYSELF TO ENDURE ITS WEIGHT.”
“On the contrary. I think I’ve done a great job!” Ves grinned. “My crown is meant to convey a lot of presence. It’s not enough to rely on glows. It needs to possess a substantial amount of physical mass in order to turn it into a dwarven head ornament. Besides, the right to rule is meant to be a burden. You need to feel its weight on your head. You don’t choose to wear the crown. The crown chooses you to be its bearer.”
The strange words that Ves had issued caused Rion to sense a deeper message.
“TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS CROWN.”
“To me, the crown is more than a heavy piece of metal. It is a symbol of authority. In order to make it as unquestionable as possible, I have made it inseparable from Vulcan. The crown possesses a lot of unique abilities but only those who hold the divine right of kings are able to channel its power.”
Silence stretched as Rion weighed the implications of this explanation. He was attracted by the prospect of gaining new abilities. The Banner of Vulcan that had become his personal partner already bestowed him with useful capabilities that had served him well as a ruler.
Yet he did not let his dėsɨrės blind him to the potential risks and downsides of the crown.
“YOU HAVE TIED THE CROWN TO YOURSELF.”
Ves smiled. He did not deny it. “Isn’t that what you asked for? You wanted to borrow Vulcan’s authority in order to gain legitimacy in front of dwarvenkind. This is exactly what the crown can do. It solves multiple problems. Not only will you be able to prove Vulcan’s existence, you’ll also be able to show that you hold the divine right of kings. Vulcan will directly validate your claim that you deserve to become the emperor of all dwarves.”
Rion was clever enough to detect the loopholes in that arrangement. He could only pull off his masterplan if he retained Vulcan’s approval.