Early that morning, right before dawn, an emergency meeting was called at the King's round table, right in the throne room.
The reasons for such an impromptu meeting were;
1. That a formal roll call was meant to be done in person as soon as possible to make sure all senators were alive and well, and...
2. To as well discuss the way forward after the several casualties and damages the city and its people have suffered due to the invasion.
If nothing was done to address the dire situation that the city was in, things were surely going to get out of control.
So all the people of influence in the kingdom had to meet now to discuss the new laws to implement or enforce to keep things in order amid the recent catastrophe, as well as the fate of all the plans proposed and approved by the Senate before the invasion and what the undecided future of the Arutimetsu would mean for the safety of the kingdom, among several other things that needed to be discussed.
Right in the royal throne room, the king gave this order, handing his official messenger the scroll with the king's seal on it.
"Treat this as an emergency—like your life depends on it—because if the senators are not here in an hour, I will have you flogged," he instructed.
"Yes, your Majesty," responded the young messenger as he ran out with it, knowing how terrible it would be to get on the King's angry side—he knew this from experience.
King Watanabe sat on his throne, staring up through the transparent roof made of ultra-refined gold (well refined to the point of transparency). It was clear enough that the night sky was visible enough from his throne, so he took the free time to admire the beautiful sky that had finally been liberated from "the Devil's Eyes" that brought down fire and brimstone from the heavens upon the city just a few hours earlier.
He counted it as a direct blessing from the God Dominus that, while several buildings and structures were destroyed, the massive Kristos Basilica was not damaged at all.
Sources reported that two elite operatives witnessed when a meteor that was supposed to have crashed on the building instead got blocked by the over 70-foot statue of Kristos.
To the king, this would serve as a testimony to the people that God was with them, even in the middle of the storm.
It strengthened his religious faith, and he believed that the story, when sold to the people in the right way, would bring them peace of mind and quell any upcoming rebellion.
He spent several minutes thinking about this until the royal advisor came in.
Nemu Katsumi.
"Your Majesty, I thank God you are alright." "I came to talk to you as fast as I could as soon as I got the news of an impromptu meeting scheduled to hold in an hour," he said.
"Yes, Nemu. "Thank God you came on time; I was just about calling on you for help on a few things," said the King.
"Yes, your Majesty," he responded.
"Can you prepare a written agenda for the meeting in twenty minutes?" asked King Watanabe.
"Absolutely, sure. What is it going to be about?
"You know, the matters that have to be considered after the invasion..." the king said, unable to properly put it into words.
"Alright," said Nemu, with understanding, "I'll look into it."
"Thank you, Nemu. "You're a lifesaver," said the King, relieved as he was quite confused at this point given the overwhelming incidents that had just occurred beforehand.
"Please don't flatter me, sir." "I'm only doing my job," he replied, unable to take a compliment.
"Yes, Nemu. Yes, you are. "Now go," ordered the King.
Nemu bowed to him and swiftly went off to the writing press to get the job done, while the King remained on his throne, still admiring the stars through the transparent roof.
He tried to enjoy this peaceful moment while it lasted, knowing that the troubles and burdens of the kingdom would press on his shoulders in less than an hour.
Then came the voice that made his worries disappear,...
"Father, you know Sir Katsumi is just a regular person, right? "Even though he is your "very hardworking personal advisor,"...
"Yes, yes, I know," the king replied after a chuckle.
"So you know that you are overworking him, right?"
The king smiled as he looked to see exactly whom he was expecting—his beautiful daughter,
Princess Maria Watanabe
She quickly walked right up to him before he could reach her and embrace him.
They hugged each other closely.
"I'm glad you are alright, my beautiful child," he said.
"As do I, my annoying old man," she replied.
The king drew himself back, frowning his face at her response.
"I thought we had talked about this." "I'm still in my thirties; I'm not old," he said.
"Yes, Father, and I am no longer a child." "I am 17 years old!" she whined in response.
The king laughed hysterically at her response.
"So that's what this is about?" He said, "I am your father, Maria, and I've lived twice as long as you have, so to me you will always be my precious child," he explained as he kissed her forehead.
Immediately the doors opened as three noblemen got into the room,
"Good morning, your Majesty," they chorused as they came in.
Then the king gave his princess a wink, to which she responded with a curtsey and walked out. She knew the signal meant it was time to leave.
Right before she walked past the door, she bowed to the nobles that had just come in, to which they did likewise in response as she left.
One of them, the uniquely young senator Daisuke Takemichi, looked back at the King with a bright smile—one that suddenly happened as soon as the Princess greeted him back, and the king took note of this.
"The Princess grows ever more beautiful, your Majesty," he said, to the King's ignorance.
This utterance caused the other two senators to look at him with arched brows, as such a bold utterance could have given the King a bad impression that could cost the young senator his position and maybe even his life.
One of them, Senator Kohana, looked at the young man and shook his head in disappointment.
"If you have nothing of importance to say, then shut the hell up!" he said as he walked to his seat, as did the other.
Senator Daisuke took his place at the large round table, ignoring what he said to him.
Immediately after, the messenger came back to the throne room, rushed to meet the King where he was, and bowed down.
"Where are the others?" asked the King.
"On their way, your Majesty!" he responded.
"Good, so can we get started, gentlemen?"
(Author's Note: I'm sorry I haven't posted a new chapter for days now. My life has been a mess recently. Thankfully, I'm back on track today, and I've taken the time to edit all the previous chapters. Thank you for your understanding. I'll be dropping a new chapter by tomorrow, so look out for it. I love you all and take care.